1Sa 20, 1Sa 26 | ESV | STEP | Then 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 ?

1 Then David fled from Naioth ^ain 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?” 2 And 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.” 3 But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that ^bI have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, ^cas the Lord lives and ^das your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^ethe new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, ^fthat I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6 ^gIf your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run ^hto Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly ⁱsacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that ^jharm is determined by him. 8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, ^kfor you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. ^lBut if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that ^mit was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.

12 And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks 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? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, ^othe 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. ^pMay the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 ^qand do not cut off ^{▼▼Or but if I die, 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.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ^s“May ^{▼▼Septuagint earth, 16let not the name of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David. And may} the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, ^ufor he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to him, ^v“Tomorrow is the new moon, and ^wyou will be missed, because ^xyour seat will be empty. 19 On 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. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew the stone Ezel} 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And 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, ^zas the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ^aa‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 ^abAnd as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^acthe Lord is between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25 The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, ^{▼▼Compare Septuagint; Hebrew stood up} and Abner sat by Saul’s side, ^aebut David’s place was empty.

26 Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. ^afHe is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 But on ^agthe second day, the day after the new moon, ^ahDavid’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?” 28 Jonathan answered Saul, ^ai“David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 He 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.”

30 Then 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? 31 For 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.” 32 Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, ^aj“Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 ^akBut Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew ^althat his father was determined to put David to death. 34 And 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.

35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, ^am“Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew from beside the south} 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. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, ^ao“Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ^ap‘The Lord shall be between me and you, ^aqand between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. ^{▼▼This sentence is 21:1 in Hebrew}

1 Samuel 26

David Spares Saul Again

1 ^asThen the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to ^atthe wilderness of Ziph with ^authree thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with ^avAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within ^awthe encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother ^axAbishai the son of Zeruiah, ^ay“Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within ^azthe encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground ^baat his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, ^bb“God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand ^bcagainst the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, ^bd“As the Lord lives, ^bethe Lord will strike him, or ^bfhis day will come to die, ^bgor he will go down into battle and perish. 11 ^bhThe Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is ^biat his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ^bja deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. ^bkAs the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was ^blat his head.”

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, ^bm“Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, ^bn“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^bofor they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in ^bpthe heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek ^bqa single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, ^br“I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 ^bsThe Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will ^btsucceed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.