Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 133^[a]

The Blessings of Brotherly Accord

¹ A song of ascents. Of David.^[b]

Chapter 20

David and Jonathan’s Friendship. ¹ David fled from Naioth in Ramah and he went to Jonathan and said, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father that he is trying to take my life?” ² He answered him, “You will surely not die! Everything that my father does, whether it is important or insignificant, he confides to me. Why would my father hide this from me? It is just not so.” ³ But David swore an oath saying, “Your father knows very well that you like me, so he said to himself, ‘I will not let Jonathan know about it, lest he be grieved by it.’ As the Lord lives and as you live, there is only one step between me and death.”

⁴ So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do for you, I will do it.” ⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon celebration,^[a] and I am supposed to dine with the king. Let me go and hide myself in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. ⁶ If your father should miss me, tell him, ‘David begged me for permission to hurry to Bethlehem because they are offering an annual sacrifice there for the whole clan.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘That is fine,’ then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, you can be sure that he is plotting harm. ⁸ Deal kindly with your servant, for you have entered into a covenant before the Lord with your servant. If I am guilty, kill me yourself, why should you hand me over to your father?”

⁹ Jonathan answered, “Never! If I knew for sure that my father was planning to harm you, would I not tell you?” ¹⁰ David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father’s answer is harsh?” ¹¹ Jonathan said, “Come. Let us go out into the field.” So they went out into the field together. ¹² Jonathan said to David, “By the Lord, the God of Israel, by this time on the day after tomorrow, I will have sounded out my father. If he is well disposed toward David, will I not send word to you to let you know? ¹³ Otherwise, may the Lord do this and more to Jonathan. But if my father wishes to harm you, I will send you away so that you can be safe. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ Only will you not treat me with the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I not be killed? ¹⁵ Never cease being kind to my family, even when the Lord has eliminated all of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on all of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him more than he loved himself.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is a new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ The day after tomorrow, hurry down to the place where you hid yourself when this trouble began, and stay by the stone of Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows off to the side of it, as if I were shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will send a boy out saying, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you. Bring them,’ then, as the Lord lives, you are safe, there is no danger. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are ahead of you,’ then go on your way, for the Lord is sending you. ²³ The Lord is a witness between me and you forever in regard to the things about which we have spoken.”

³⁵ Jonathan Warns David. The next morning, Jonathan went out into the field at the time he had arranged with David. He had a small boy with him. ³⁶ He said to the boy, “Run, find the arrows that I shoot.” The boy ran off, and he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the boy arrived at the place that Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan said, “Is the arrow not ahead of you?” ³⁸ Then Jonathan cried out to the boy, “Hurry, run, do not stop!” The boy picked up Jonathan’s arrows and returned to his master. ³⁹ (The boy did not know anything about this, only Jonathan and David knew what was happening.)

⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said, “Go, carry them into the city.” ⁴¹ After the boy had left, David got up from the south side of the place, and he bowed down three times before him, face to the ground. They kissed one another, and they wept over one another, David more so. ⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord saying, ‘May the Lord be between me and you, between my descendants and your descendants, forever.’ ” He got up and left, and Jonathan went back into the city.

¹⁹ A Church at Antioch.^[a] Meanwhile, those who had scattered after the persecution that arose because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia,^[b] Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word only to Jews. ²⁰ However, among them there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene who went to Antioch where they started preaching also to the Greeks, proclaiming to them the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of them became believers and turned to the Lord.

²² News of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and perceived the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with resolute devotion, ²⁴ for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were added to the Lord.

²⁵ Barnabas then went to Tarsus^[c] to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.