1Sa 20 | EngLXX | STEP | And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of Jonathan; and he said,What have I done, and what is my fault, and wherein have I sinned before your father, that he seeks my life?

‏ 1 Samuel 20

1 And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of Jonathan; and he said,What have I done, and whatis my fault, and wherein have I sinned before your father, that he seeks my life? 2 And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from you: you shall not die: behold, my father willnot do any thing great or small without discovering it to me; and why should my father hide this matterfrom me? This thing is notso. 3 And David answered Jonathan, and said, Your father knows surely that I have found gracein your sight, and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent: butas the Lord lives and your soul lives, as I said,the space is filled up between me and death. 4 And Jonathan said to David, What does your soul desire, and what shall I do for you. 5 And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrowis the new moon, and I shall not on any account sit down to eat, but you shall let me go, andI will hide in the plain till the evening. 6 And if your father do in anyway enquire for me, then shall you say, David earnestly askedleave of me to run to Bethleem his city, forthere is there, a yearly sacrifice for all the family. 7 If he shall say thus, Well, —all is safe for your servant: but if he shallanswer harshly to you, know that evil is determined by him. 8 And you shall deal mercifully with your servant; for you have brought your servant intoa covenant of the Lord with yourself: and if there is iniquity in your servant, kill me yourself; butwhy do you thus bring me to your father? 9 And Jonathan said, That be far from you: for if I surely know that evil is determinedby my father to come upon you, although it should not be against your cities, I will tell you. 10 And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if your father should answer roughly? 11 And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into thefield. 12 And Jonathan said to David, the Lord God of Israel knows that I will sound my fatheras I have an opportunity, three several times, and, behold,if good should be determined concerning David, and I do not send to you to the field, 13 God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shallalso report the evil to you, and make it known to you, and I will let you go; and you shalldepart in peace, and the Lord shall be with you, as he was with my father. 14 And if indeed I continue to live, then shall you deal mercifully with me; and if I indeeddie, 16 you shall not withdraw your mercy from my house for ever: and if you do not, when theLord cuts off the enemies of David each from the face of the earth,should it happen that the name of Jonathan be discovered by the house of David, then let theLord seek out the enemies of David. 17 And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him. 18 And Jonathan said, To-morrowis the new moon, and you will be enquired for, because your seat will be observed as vacant. 19 And you shall stay three days, and watch an opportunity, and shall come to your placewhere you may hide yourself in the day of your business, and you shall wait by that stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark. 21 And behold, Iwill send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow. 22 If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrowis here, and on this side of you, take it;then come, for it is well with you, and there is no reasonfor fear, as the Lord lives:but if I should say thus to the young man, The arrowis on that side of you, and beyond; go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the word which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lordis witness between me and you for ever. 24 So David hides himself in the field, and thenew month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat. 25 And he sat upon his seat as in former times, even on his seat by the wall, and he wentbefore Jonathan; and Abenner sat on one side of Saul, and the place of David was empty. 26 And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, It seems to have fallen out that he isnot clean, because he has not purified himself. 27 And it came to pass on the morrow, on the second day of the month, that the place ofDavid was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jessae attended both yesterdayand today at the table? 28 And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far asBethleem his city; 29 and he said, Let me go, I pray you, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and mybrethren have sent for me; and now, if I have found grace in your eyes, I will even go over and see mybrethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king. 30 And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and said to him, You son of traitorousdamsels! for do I not know that you are an accomplice with the son of Jessae to your same, and to theshame of your mother's nakedness? 31 For so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the earth, your kingdom shall not be established:now then send and take the young man, for he shall surely die. 32 And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done? 33 And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to kill him: so Jonathan knew that thisevil was determined on by his father to kill David. 34 And Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the secondday of the month, for he grieved bitterly for David, because his father determinedon mischief against him. 35 And morning came, and Jonathan went out to the field, as he appointedto do for a signal to David, and a little boywas with him. 36 And he said to the boy, Run, find me the arrows which I shoot: and the boy ran, andJonathan shot an arrow, and sent it beyondhim. 37 And the boy came to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan criedout after the lad, and said, The arrowis on that side of you and beyond you. 38 And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, Make all speed, and stay not. And Jonathan'sboy gathered up the arrows, and brought the arrows to his master. 39 And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and Davidknew. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city. 41 And when the lad went in, then David arose from the south, and fell upon his face, anddid obeisance to him three times, and they kissed each other, and wept for each other, for a great while. 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, and as we have both sworn in the name of theLord, saying, The Lord shall be witness between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever—evenso let it be. And David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.