Jonathan Helps David

1And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before the face of your father, that he is seeking my life?”

2And Jonathan said to him, “Far be it! You shall not die! Behold, my father will not do a thing great or a thing small without first telling me. And why should my father hide from me this thing? This is not so.”

3And David took an oath again and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly as YHWH lives, and as your soul lives, but a step is between me and between death.”

4And Jonathan said to David, “What your soul says, I will do for you.”

5And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed, the New Moon† is tomorrow, and I shall surely sit with the king to eat. Let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third evening. 6If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David urgently requested from me to run to Bethlehem his city, for a yearly sacrifice is there for all of the clan.’ 7If thus he says: ‘Good,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is enraged, then be sure that evil is determined by him. 8Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for into a covenant of YHWH you have brought your servant with you. And if there is in me iniquity, kill me yourself; and for what is this that you should bring me to your father?”

9And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you, for if I ever found out that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, would I not tell you?”

Jonathan and David Renew Their Covenant

10And David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me? Or what if your father answers you roughly?”

11And Jonathan said to David, “Come and let us go out into the field.”

And the two of them went out into the field. 12And Jonathan said to David, “By YHWH, God of Israel—when I have sounded out my father by this time tomorrow or the third, and behold, there is good toward David, then will I not send to you and tell you. 13And may YHWH do to Jonathan, and thus may he add, if the evil upon you is good unto my father, and I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And YHWH be with you as He has been with my father. 14And not only while I still live, will you show me loving devotion† of YHWH, that I may not die. 15And you shall not cut off your loving devotion from my house even to forever, not even when YHWH has cut off each man of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

16And Jonathan cut with the house of David: “And may YHWH seek it at the hand of the enemies of David.” 17And Jonathan added for David to vow out of love for him, for with the love of his own soul he loved him.

18And Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be found empty. 19And on the third day quickly go down, and come to the place where you hid yourself there on the day of the deed, and remain by the stone of Ezel.† 20And I will shoot three arrows to the side, sending them out as though at a target. 21And there I will send a boy: ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are here on this side and away from you, take them and come,’ then there is safety for you and there will be no matter, as YHWH lives. 22But if thus I say to the young man: ‘Behold, the arrows are away from you and further beyond,’ then you must go, for YHWH has sent you away. 23And as for the matter that we have spoken of—I and you—behold, YHWH is between me and between you even to forever.”

24And David hid in the field; and the New Moon had come, and the king sat down by the food to eat. 25And the king sat on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat at the side of Saul, and the place of David was found empty. 26And Saul did not say anything on that day, for he said, “Something has happened to that he is not clean; he surely is not clean.”

27And it came to pass on the next day, the second of the New Moon, that the place of David was found empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come either yesterday or today to eat?”

28And Jonathan answered Saul, “David urgently requested from me to go to Bethlehem, 29and he said, ‘Let me go, please, for our clan has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother himself has commanded to me. And if I have found favor in your eyes, may I go away, please, and see my brothers.’ Upon thus he has not come to the table of the king.”

Saul Seeks to Kill Jonathan

30And the anger of Saul was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame, and to the shame of the nakedness of your mother? 31For all the days that the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you and your kingdom shall not be established. And now send and bring him to me, for he is a son of death.”

32And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?”

33And Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, and Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. 34And Jonathan arose from the table in the heat of anger, and he ate no food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved for David because his father had treated him shamefully.

35And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a small boy was with him. 36And he said to his boy, “Run, find now the arrows that I shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot an arrow beyond him.

37And the boy had come to the place where the arrow was that Jonathan had shot, and Jonathan cried out after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow from you and beyond?” 38And Jonathan cried out after the boy, “Hurry, hurry; do not delay.” And the boy of Jonathan gathered up the arrows and came back to his master.

39And the boy did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. 40And Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy who was to him, and he said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.”

41The boy had gone, and David arose from the side at the south,† and he fell on his nostrils to the ground, and he bowed down three times. And they kissed one another, and they wept one with another. But David did so more.

42And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since the two of us have sworn in the name of YHWH, saying, ‘May YHWH be between me and between you and between my seed and between your seed, even to forever.’” And he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.