| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. | 1Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, |
| 2But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: | 2told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. |
| 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 what I see, that I will tell thee. | 3I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.” |
| 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 theeward very good: | 4The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. |
| 5For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? | 5Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the LORD brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!” |
| 6And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. | 6So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be killed.” |
| 7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. | 7Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before. |
| 8And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. | 8War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away. |
| 9And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. | 9But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the LORD suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, |
| 10And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. | 10Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night. Michal Saves David’s Life |
| 11Saul also 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 shalt be slain. | 11Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.” |
| 12So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. | 12So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped. |
| 13And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. | 13Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat’s hair at its head. |
| 14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. | 14When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed. |
| 15And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. | 15But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!” |
| 16And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster. | 16But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head. |
| 17And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee? | 17“Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal. “I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.” |
| 18So 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. | 18So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. Then Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth. |
| 19And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. | 19When the report reached Saul that David was 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 appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. | 20he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy. |
| 21And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. | 21When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other troops, but they, too, prophesied! The same thing happened a third time. |
| 22Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. | 22Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded. “They are at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him. |
| 23And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. | 23But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth! |
| 24And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? | 24He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?” |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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