Samuel I_Chapter 20

David fled from Naoth in Ramah and came to Jonathan, saying to him, What have I done. What sin is there? What crime did you commit in front of your father, that he was seeking my life?

Jonathan replied, “Absolutely not.”. You will never die. There is nothing that my father does, big or small, that he doesn’t let me know. How could this be the only thing hiding from me? Never so.

David swore again, saying, Your father will surely know that I have found favor in your sight. He thought to himself, “It’s better not to let Jonathan know, I’m afraid he’s worried.”. As the living Lord, I swear before you that I am only one step away from death.

Jonathan said to David, ‘I will do for you what you ask in your heart.’.

David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the first day of the lunar month, and I will eat with the king. Please let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the third day.”.

If your father sees me not at the table, then say, David earnestly begs me to allow him to return to his own city of Bethlehem, because his whole family is there to offer the annual sacrifice.

If your father agrees, then the servant will be safe. If he gets angry, you know he’s determined to harm me.

Please be kind to your servant, for you have formed an alliance with your servant before the Lord. If I am guilty, why not kill me yourself? Why hand me over to your father?

Jonathan said, There is absolutely no such thing. If I knew that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?

David said to Jonathan, “If your father answers you harshly, who will tell me?”?

Jonathan said to David, “Let us go into the field.”. The two of them went to the field.

Jonathan said to David, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be a witness. Tomorrow around this time, or on the third day, I will explore my father’s intentions. If I have good intentions towards you, will I not send someone to tell you?

If my father intends to harm you, I will not tell you to let you go in peace. May the Lord punish me severely. May the Lord be with you, just as he was with my father before.

Be kind to me according to the Lord’s mercy, not only that I may not die while I am alive,

Even when the Lord cuts off your enemies from the earth after my death, you shall never cut off your favor from my house.

So Jonathan formed an alliance with the house of David, saying, May the Lord use David’s enemies to pursue the sin of breaking the covenant.

Jonathan made David swear again because he loved him as he loved his own life.

Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and your seat is vacant. People will pay attention to your absence.

Wait for three days, then hurry down and wait at the rock of Iser, where you used to hide in trouble.

I will shoot three arrows towards the side of the rock, like shooting at a target.

I will send the boy, saying, Go and find the arrow. If I say to the boy, ‘The arrow is at the back, bring it, and you can come back.’. I swear by the living Lord, you will be safe and sound.

If I say to the boy, ‘The arrow is ahead,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you.

As for the words that you and I have spoken today, the Lord is a witness between us forever.

David went and hid in the field. On the first day of the lunar new year, Wang sat at the banquet to have a meal.

The king sat by the wall as usual, with Jonathan standing by, Abner sitting by Saul’s side, and David’s seat vacant.

However, on that day Saul did not say anything. He thought that if David was in trouble and accidentally contaminated with impurity, he must be unclean.

David’s seat is still vacant on the second day of the first lunar month. Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t Jesse’s son come to eat yesterday or today?”?

Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly begged me to let him go to Bethlehem.”.

He said, “Please allow me to go, because my family has offerings in the city.”. My elder brother instructed me to go. If I find favor in your eyes now, please allow me to go and see my brothers. So David did not go to the king’s table.

Saul was angry with Jonathan and said to him, “Do I not know that you, the son of a stubborn and rebellious woman, are you pleased with Jesse’s son and have brought shame upon yourself, so that your mother may be ashamed naked?”?

If the son of Jesse lives in the world, you and your kingdom will not stand. Now you need to send someone to capture him and hand him over to me. He is damn.

Jonathan said to his father Saul, “Why should he die?”? What did he do?

Saul swung his spear at Jonathan to stab him, and Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

So Jonathan got up from the table in anger and did not eat on the second day of the first lunar month. He was troubled by David because he saw his father humiliating him.

The next morning, Jonathan went out to the field according to his date with David, and a young boy followed him.

Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrow I shot.”. The boy ran away, and Jonathan shot an arrow in front of the boy.

The boy arrived at the place where Jonathan’s arrow fell, and Jonathan called out to the boy, saying, Isn’t the arrow ahead of you?

Jonathan called out to the boy again, saying, Go quickly, do not delay. The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master.

The boy didn’t know what this meant, only Jonathan and David knew.

Jonathan gave the bow and arrow to the boy and commanded him, ‘Take it to the city.’.

As soon as the boy left, David came out from the south side of the rock and fell to the ground, bowing three times. The two kissed and wept at each other, and David cried even more bitterly.

Jonathan said to David, ‘We two have sworn by the name of the Lord,’ May the Lord be a witness between us, and between our descendants forever. ‘. Now you can go safely. David got up and left. Jonathan also returned to the city.