1 Samuel 20

David ran away from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What am I guilty of? What sin have I committed against your father, that he wants to kill me?"

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?

NoteNaioth in Ramah was where David had taken refuge with the prophet Samuel; Ramah was Samuel's home town. David is now back near Saul's home at Gibeah, a few miles away.

2Jonathan said to him, "That will never happen. You will not die. Look, my father does nothing, big or small, without telling me. Why would he hide this from me? It is not true."

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

3But David swore an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that you think well of me. He has said, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, or it will hurt him.' But as surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as you live, I am only one step away from death."

3And 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.

Note"As surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as you live" was the standard Hebrew oath formula, swearing by the life of God and by the life of the person addressed. It was the strongest assurance a speaker could give.

4Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want, I will do it for you."

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

5David said to Jonathan, "Look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am supposed to sit and eat with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the third day.

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.

NoteThe new moon, the first day of the lunar month, was a monthly festival marked by sacrifices and a feast. At court it meant a formal meal at the king's table, and members of the royal household and officials were expected to attend, so an absence would be noticed.

6If your father notices I am gone, then say, 'David begged me to let him hurry home to Bethlehem, his own town, because his whole family holds a sacrifice there every year.'

6If 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.

NoteBethlehem was David's family town, roughly ten miles south of Saul's base at Gibeah. Extended families (clans) held their own yearly sacrifice, a shared meal at which the animal offered was eaten by the relatives who gathered for it. It was a family obligation, and a plausible reason to be away from court.

7If he says, 'That is fine,' then I am safe. But if he becomes very angry, you can be sure he has decided to harm me.

7If 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.

Note"Your servant" is David speaking of himself. Referring to yourself as the other person's servant was ordinary polite speech to a superior, and Jonathan was the king's son.

8So treat me, your servant, with loyal kindness, since you brought me into an agreement with you before the LORD. But if I am guilty of anything, kill me yourself. Why hand me over to your father?"

8Therefore 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?

NoteThe "agreement before the LORD" is a covenant: a formal, sworn bond, made with God called on as witness, that created obligations as binding as those of blood kinship. David and Jonathan had made this pact earlier.

9Jonathan said, "Never! If I ever found out for certain that my father had decided to harm you, would I not tell you?"

9And 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?

10Then David asked Jonathan, "Who will bring me word if your father answers you harshly?"

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

11Jonathan said to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." So the two of them went out into the field.

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

12Jonathan said to David, "The LORD, the God of Israel, is my witness. I will find out what my father thinks, by this time tomorrow or the day after. If he means well toward you, I will surely send word and let you know.

12And 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 shew it thee;

13But if my father intends to harm you, then may the LORD punish me severely if I do not tell you and send you away safely. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father.

13The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew 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.

Note"May the LORD punish me severely" translates a set oath formula, literally "may God do so to me and more also." The speaker calls down an unnamed punishment on himself if he breaks his word.

14And as long as I live, show me the LORD's faithful kindness, so that I am not killed.

14And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:

Note"Faithful kindness" translates the Hebrew word hesed: the loyalty and practical help owed to someone you are bound to by covenant or kinship. It is not warm feeling but committed obligation.

15And never cut off your kindness from my family, not even when the LORD has wiped every one of David's enemies off the face of the earth."

15But 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.

NoteJonathan is asking for the lives of his descendants. When a new ruling family took the throne in the ancient Near East, the previous king's male relatives were commonly killed to remove rival claimants. Jonathan is asking to be exempted from that.

16So Jonathan made an agreement with the house of David, saying, "May the LORD hold David's enemies to account."

16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies.

Note"The house of David" means David's family line and his descendants after him. The agreement is made not just with David personally but with everyone descended from him.

17Jonathan had David swear the promise again, because he loved him. He loved David as much as he loved his own life.

17And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18Then Jonathan said to David, "Tomorrow is the new moon. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

18Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

19On the third day, go down quickly to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and stay beside the stone called Ezel.

19And 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.

Note"The third day" is counted inclusively, the usual Hebrew way: today counts as the first day, so the third day is the day after tomorrow. The stone called Ezel is otherwise unknown; the meaning of the name is uncertain, and the Hebrew of this verse is difficult, so translations differ over the details of the landmark.

20I will shoot three arrows to the side of that stone, as if I were aiming at a target.

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

21Then I will send a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say clearly to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come out. As surely as the LORD lives, you are safe and there is no danger.

21And, 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.

22But if I say to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are past you,' then go, because the LORD is sending you away.

22But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.

23And about the matter you and I have talked over, remember, the LORD is a witness between you and me forever."

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

NoteCalling the LORD a witness between two people made him the guarantor and enforcer of the agreement, the party who would act against whichever man broke it.

24So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat.

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

25The king sat in his usual place, the seat by the wall. Jonathan got up, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.

25And 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.

NoteAbner was Saul's cousin and the commander of his army, the highest-ranking man at court after the king. The seat by the wall was the protected, honored position. The Hebrew of this verse is unclear about Jonathan's movement; the ancient Greek version reads that Jonathan sat opposite Saul rather than getting up.

26Saul said nothing that day, because he thought, "Something must have happened to him. He must be unclean. Yes, that is it, he is unclean."

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

Note"Unclean" here means ritually unclean, a temporary condition, not dirty or immoral. Contact with a corpse, a bodily discharge, or certain foods put a person in a state that barred them from a sacred meal until they washed and waited a set time. Saul assumes a harmless explanation for David's absence.

27The next day, the second day of the month, David's place was still empty. Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, yesterday or today?"

27And 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?

NoteSaul calls David "the son of Jesse" rather than using his name. Naming a man only by his father this way was a way of holding him at a distance and refusing him respect; Saul does it repeatedly from here on.

28Jonathan answered Saul, "David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem.

28And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:

29He said, 'Please let me go, because our family is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So if you are pleased with me, please let me slip away and see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."

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 favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table.

30Then Saul burned with anger at Jonathan. He said to him, "You son of a twisted, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have sided with the son of Jesse, to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who gave birth to you?

30Then 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?

NoteThe insult is aimed at Jonathan, not really at his mother. "Son of a twisted, rebellious woman" is an attack on Jonathan's worth by way of his origins. The King James "thy mother's nakedness" translates a Hebrew idiom for sexual shame attached to the family a person came from.

31As long as the son of Jesse is alive on this earth, neither you nor your kingship will last. Now send for him and bring him to me, because he must die."

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.

NoteJonathan was Saul's eldest son and the expected heir. Saul's point is that Jonathan is destroying his own inheritance by protecting a rival to the throne.

32Jonathan answered his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"

32And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?

33Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father had made up his mind to kill David.

33And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.

NoteSaul's spear was kept beside him as a mark of royal authority as well as a weapon; he had already thrown it at David on two earlier occasions.

34Jonathan got up from the table burning with anger. He ate no food that second day of the month, because he was grieved that his father had shamed David.

34So 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.

35In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time he had agreed on with David, and a young boy went with him.

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.

NoteThe boy is a servant attendant. Sending a boy to retrieve shot arrows was normal practice: arrows were made by hand and worth recovering.

36He said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows I shoot." As the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow past him.

36And 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.

37When the boy reached the spot where Jonathan's arrow had landed, Jonathan called after him, "Isn't the arrow past you?"

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?

38Jonathan called after the boy again, "Hurry! Be quick! Do not stop!" So Jonathan's boy picked up the arrows and came back to his master.

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

39The boy knew nothing about what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew what it meant.

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

40Then Jonathan handed his weapons to the boy and said to him, "Go, carry them back to the town."

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

Note"Artillery" in 1611 English meant a person's weapons or gear, here the bow and arrows he had been shooting. It had nothing to do with cannon.

41As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side of the stone. He bowed facedown to the ground three times. Then they kissed each other and wept together, and David wept the hardest.

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.

NoteBowing face to the ground three times was the formal gesture of respect given to a king or a superior; David is honoring Jonathan as the king's son. A kiss on greeting or parting was the ordinary custom between men, with no romantic sense. The final Hebrew phrase, literally "until David made great," is unclear: it may mean David wept the longest or hardest, or that he wept until he could control himself.

42Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace. We have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is a witness between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" Then David got up and left, and Jonathan went back into the town.

42And 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.