1 Samuel 20
The Friendship of
David and Jonathan |
1 |
And David fled from Nai'oth 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?
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2 |
And he said unto him, God forbid; thou
shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or
small, but that he will show it me: and why should my father hide
this thing from me? it is not so.
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3 |
And David sware moreover, and said, Thy
father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and
he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly, as the LORD liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, there is but a step between me and
death.
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4 |
Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever
thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.
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5 |
And David said unto Jonathan, Behold,
tomorrow is the new moon, Num. 28.11 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.
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6 |
If thy father at all miss me, then say,
David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to
Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for
all the family.
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7 |
If he say thus, It is well; thy
servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be
sure that evil is determined by him.
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8 |
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy
servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the
LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in
me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy
father?
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9 |
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee:
for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to
come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
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10 |
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall
tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
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11 |
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and
let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into
the field.
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12 |
And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father
about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and,
behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not
unto thee, and show it thee;
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13 |
the LORD do so and
much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee
evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest
go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he
hath been with my father.
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14 |
And thou shalt not only while yet I live
show me the kindness of the LORD, that I die
not:
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15 |
but also thou shalt not cut off
thy kindness from my house for ever: 2 Sam. 9.1 no, not when the LORD hath cut off the
enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
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16 |
So Jonathan made a covenant with
the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
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17 |
And Jonathan caused David to swear again,
because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own
soul.
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18 |
Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat
will be empty.
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19 |
And when thou hast stayed three
days, then 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.
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20 |
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
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21 |
And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the
lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them;
then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.
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22 |
But if I say thus unto the young man,
Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the
LORD hath sent thee away.
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23 |
And as touching the matter which
thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
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24 |
So David hid himself in the field: and
when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat
meat.
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25 |
And the king sat upon his seat, as at
other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan
arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was
empty.
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26 |
Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing
that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
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27 |
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, 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
today?
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28 |
And Jonathan answered Saul, David
earnestly asked leave of me to go to
Bethlehem:
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29 |
and 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 cometh not unto the king's table.
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30 |
Then Saul's anger was kindled against
Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse
to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's
nakedness?
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31 |
For 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.
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32 |
And Jonathan answered Saul his father,
and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he
done?
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33 |
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite
him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to
slay David.
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34 |
So Jonathan arose from the table in
fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for
he was grieved for David, because his father had done him
shame.
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35 |
And 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.
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36 |
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out
now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an
arrow beyond him.
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37 |
And 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?
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38 |
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make
speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows,
and came to his master.
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39 |
But the lad knew not any thing: only
Jonathan and David knew the matter.
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40 |
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his
lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
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41 |
And 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.
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42 |
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace,
forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD 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.
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