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 ? 2And he said unto him , Far from it ; thou shalt not die : behold , my father doeth nothing either great or small , but that he discloseth it unto me ; and why should my father hide this thing from me ? it is not so . 3And David sware moreover , and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in thine eyes ; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this , lest he be grieved : but truly as Jehovah liveth , and as thy soul liveth , there is but a step between me and death . 4Then said Jonathan unto David , Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee . 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 . 6If thy father miss me at all , then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city ; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family . 7If he say thus , It is well ; thy servant shall have peace : but if he be wroth , then know that evil is determined by him . 8Therefore deal kindly with thy servant ; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee : but if there be in me iniquity , slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 9And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee ; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee , then would not I tell it thee ? 10Then said David to Jonathan , Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly ? 11And Jonathan said unto David , Come , and let us go out into the field . And they went out both of them into the field . 12And Jonathan said unto David , Jehovah , the God of Israel , be witness : when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day , behold , if there be good toward David , shall I not then send unto thee , and disclose it unto thee ? 13Jehovah do so to Jonathan , and more also , should it please my father to do thee evil , if I disclose it not unto thee , and send thee away , that thou mayest go in peace : and Jehovah be with thee , as he hath been with my father. 14And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah , that I die not ; 15but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever ; no , not when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. 16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David , saying , And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David ’s enemies . 17And Jonathan caused David to swear again , for the love that he had to him ; for he loved him as he loved his own soul .
The Plan to Discover Saul's Intentions
18Then Jonathan said unto him , To-morrow is the new moon : and thou wilt be missed , because thy seat will be empty . 19And when thou hast stayed three days , 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. 20And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof , as though I shot at a mark . 21And , behold , I will send the lad , saying , Go , find the arrows . If I say unto the lad , Behold , the arrows are on this side of thee ; take them , and come ; for there is peace to thee and no hurt , as Jehovah liveth . 22But if I say thus unto the boy , Behold , the arrows are beyond thee ; go thy way ; for Jehovah hath sent thee away . 23And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of , behold , Jehovah is between thee and me for ever .
The Festival and Saul's Anger
24So David hid himself in the field : and when the new moon was come , the king sat him down to eat food . 25And the king sat upon his seat , as at other times , even upon the seat by the wall ; and Jonathan stood up , and Abner sat by Saul ’s side : but David ’s place was empty . 26Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day : for he thought , Something hath befallen him , he is not clean ; surely he is not clean . 27And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon , which was the second day , 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? 28And Jonathan answered Saul , David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem : 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 favor in thine eyes , let me get away , I pray thee , and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king ’s table . 30Then Saul ’s anger was kindled against Jonathan , and he said unto him , Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame , and unto the shame of thy mother’s nakedness ? 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 . 32And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him , Wherefore should he be put to death ? what hath he done ? 33And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him ; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death . 34So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food the second day of the month ; for he was grieved for David , because his father had done him shame .
The Farewell of David and Jonathan
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 . 36And he said unto his lad , Run , find now the arrows which I shoot . And as the lad ran , he shot an arrow beyond him . 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? 38And Jonathan cried after the lad , Make speed , haste , stay not . And Jonathan ’s lad gathered up the arrows , and came to his master. 39But the lad knew not anything : only Jonathan and David knew the matter . 40And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad , and said unto him , Go , carry them to the city . 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 . 42And Jonathan said to David , Go in peace , forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jehovah , saying, Jehovah shall 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.