1 Samuel 18-20

1 Samuel 18

¹And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

²And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.

³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

⁴And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

⁵And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, [and] behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

⁶And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music.

⁷And the women sang one to another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.

⁸And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?

⁹And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

¹⁰And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand;

¹¹and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

¹²And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was departed from Saul.

¹³Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

¹⁴And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him.

¹⁵And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him.

¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah's battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

¹⁸And David said unto Saul, Who am I, and what is my life, [or] my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?

¹⁹But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

²⁰And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

²¹And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time.

²²And Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.

²³And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.

²⁵And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired;

²⁷and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

²⁸And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him.

²⁹And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David's enemy continually.

³⁰Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much [ set by.

1 Samuel 19

¹And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.

²And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:

³and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and if I see aught, I will tell thee.

⁴And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:

⁵for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great victory for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice; wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

⁶And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death.

⁷And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.

⁸And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.

⁹And an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand.

¹⁰And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

¹¹And Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain.

¹²So Michal let David down through the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

¹³And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' [hair] at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.

¹⁴And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

¹⁵And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

¹⁶And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' [hair] at the head thereof.

¹⁷And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, so that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

¹⁸Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

¹⁹And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

²⁰And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

²¹And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.

²²Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.

²³And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

²⁴And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

1 Samuel 20

¹And 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?

²And he said unto him, Far from it; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.

³And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.

⁴Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.

⁵And 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.

⁶If thy father miss me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.

⁷If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him.

⁸Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee: but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?

⁹And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?

¹⁰Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly?

¹¹And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

¹²And Jonathan said unto David, Jehovah, the God of Israel, [be witness] : when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, [or] the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee?

¹³Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

¹⁴And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not;

¹⁵but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, [saying], And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David's enemies.

¹⁷And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

¹⁹And when thou hast stayed three days, 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.

²⁰And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.

²¹And, behold, I will send the lad, [saying], Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, and come; for there is peace to thee and [ no hurt, as Jehovah liveth.

²²But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away.

²³And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between thee and me for ever.

²⁴So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food.

²⁵And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty.

²⁶Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

²⁷And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon, [which was] the second [day], 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?

²⁸And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem:

²⁹and 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 is not come unto the king's table.

³⁰Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame of thy mother's nakedness?

³¹For 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.

³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore should he be put to death? what hath he done?

³³And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death.

³⁴So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

³⁵And 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.

³⁶And he said unto his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

³⁷And 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?

³⁸And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

³⁹But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.

⁴¹And 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.

⁴²And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall 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.