| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” | 1David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my offense? How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!" |
| 2And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” | 2Jonathan said to him, "By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won't happen!" |
| 3But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” | 3Taking an oath, David again said, "Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 'Don't let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.' But as surely as the LORD lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!" |
| 4Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” | 4Jonathan replied to David, "Tell me what I can do for you." |
| 5David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. | 5David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. |
| 6If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ | 6If your father happens to miss me, you should say, 'David urgently requested me to let him go to his city Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.' |
| 7If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. | 7If he should then say, 'That's fine,' then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. |
| 8Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” | 8You must be loyal to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the LORD's name. If I am guilty, you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?" |
| 9And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” | 9Jonathan said, "Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn't I tell you about it?" |
| 10Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” | 10David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?" |
| 11And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field. | 11Jonathan said to David, "Come on. Let's go out to the field." When the two of them had gone out into the field, |
| 12And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? | 12Jonathan said to David, "The LORD God of Israel is my witness. I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? |
| 13But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father. | 13But if my father intends to do you harm, may the LORD do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don't let you know and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. May the LORD be with you, as he was with my father. |
| 14If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; | 14While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the LORD, or else I will die! |
| 15and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” | 15Don't ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth |
| 16And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.” | 16and called David's enemies to account." So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. |
| 17And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. | 17Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. |
| 18Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. | 18Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. |
| 19On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. | 19On the third day you should go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. Stay near the stone Ezel. |
| 20And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. | 20I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. |
| 21And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. | 21When I send a boy after them, I will say, "Go and find the arrows." If I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,' then come back. For as surely as the LORD lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. |
| 22But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away. | 22But if I say to the boy, "Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,' get away. For in that case the LORD has sent you away. |
| 23And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.” | 23With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the LORD is the witness between us forever!" |
| 24So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. | 24So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. |
| 25The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. | 25The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David's place was vacant. |
| 26Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” | 26However, Saul said nothing about it that day, for he thought, "Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean." |
| 27But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” | 27But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David's place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has Jesse's son not come to the meal yesterday or today?" |
| 28Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. | 28Jonathan replied to Saul, "David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. |
| 29He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.” | 29He said, 'Permit me to go, for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go to see my brothers.' For that reason he has not come to the king's table." |
| 30Then Saul’s anger 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 own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? | 30Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, "You stupid traitor! Don't I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother's nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? |
| 31For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” | 31For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!" |
| 32Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” | 32Jonathan responded to his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" |
| 33But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. | 33Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David. |
| 34And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him. | 34Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. |
| 35In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. | 35The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. |
| 36And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. | 36He said to his servant, "Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot." As the servant ran, Jonathan shot the arrow beyond him. |
| 37And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” | 37When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to the servant, "Isn't the arrow further beyond you?" |
| 38And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. | 38Jonathan called out to the servant, "Hurry! Go faster! Don't delay!" Jonathan's servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. |
| 39But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. | 39(Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) |
| 40And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” | 40Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, "Go, take these things back to the city." |
| 41And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. | 41When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. |
| 42Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. | 42Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the LORD saying, 'The LORD will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city. |
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