| Chapter
20 |
| 1 | And
David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I
done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he
seeketh my life? |
| 2 | And he
said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do
nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me: and why should my
father hide this thing from me? it is not so. |
| 3 | And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly
knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan
know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, there is but a step between me and death. |
|
4 | Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul
desireth, I will even do it for thee. |
|
5 | And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon,
and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may
hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. |
| 6 | If thy father at all miss me, then say,
David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for
there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. |
| 7 | If he say thus, It is well; thy servant
shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined
by him. |
| 8 | Therefore thou
shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a
covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity,
slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? |
| 9 | And Jonathan said, Far be it from
thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come
upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? |
| 10 | Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what
if thy father answer thee roughly? |
|
11 | And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the
field. And they went out both of them into the field. |
| 12 | And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD
God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the
third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto
thee, and show it thee; |
| 13 |
The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do
thee evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in
peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father. |
| 14 | And thou shalt not only while yet
I live show me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not: |
| 15 | But also thou shalt not cut off thy
kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies
of David every one from the face of the earth. |
|
16 | So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David,
saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies. |
| 17 | And Jonathan caused David to
swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own
soul. |
| 18 | Then Jonathan
said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy
seat will be empty. |
| 19 |
And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come
to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and
shalt remain by the stone Ezel. |
|
20 | And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I
shot at a mark. |
| 21 | And,
behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say
unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come
thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth. |
| 22 | But if I say thus unto the young
man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent
thee away. |
| 23 | And as
touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be
between thee and me for ever. |
| 24
| So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the
king sat him down to eat meat. |
| 25
| And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by
the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place
was empty. |
| 26 |
Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath
befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. |
| 27 | And it came to pass on the morrow,
which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul
said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat,
neither yesterday, nor to day? |
| 28
| And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to
Bethlehem: |
| 29 | And he
said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and
my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favor in
thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he
cometh not unto the king's table. |
|
30 | Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto
him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast
chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy
mother's nakedness? |
| 31 |
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be
established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he
shall surely die. |
| 32 | And
Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be
slain? what hath he done? |
| 33 |
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it
was determined of his father to slay David. |
| 34 | So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and
did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David,
because his father had done him shame. |
| 35 | And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went
out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with
him. |
| 36 | And he said unto
his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he
shot an arrow beyond him. |
| 37 |
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had
shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? |
| 38 | And Jonathan cried after
the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the
arrows, and came to his master. |
|
39 | But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the
matter. |
| 40 | And Jonathan
gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the
city. |
| 41 | And as soon as
the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his
face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another,
and wept one with another, until David exceeded. |
|
42 | And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch
as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be
between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose
and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. |
