New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came before Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin against your father that he is trying to take my life?"
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And David went in flight from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and said, What have I done? What is my crime and my sin against your father that he is attempting to take my life?
2 He said to him, "Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me; and why should my father hide this from me? Never!"
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And he said to him, Far be the thought: you will not be put to death: see, my father does nothing, great or small, without giving me word of it: would he keep this secret from me? It is not so.
3 But David also swore, "Your father knows well that you like me; and he thinks, "Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.' But truly, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death."
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But David took his oath again and said, Your father sees that I am dear to you; so he says to himself, Let Jonathan have no idea of this, for it will be a grief to him; but as the Lord is living, and as your soul is living, there is only a step between me and death.
4 Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you say, I will do for you."
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Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever your desire is, I will do it for you.
5 David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at the meal; but let me go, so that I may hide in the field until the third evening.
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And David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow is the new moon, and I will not be seated with the king at his table: but let me go to a safe place in the country till the evening.
6 If your father misses me at all, then say, "David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'
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And if your father takes note of the fact that I am away, say, David made a request to me for himself that he might go to Beth-lehem, to his town: for it is the time when his family make their offering year by year.
7 If he says, "Good!' it will be well with your servant; but if he is angry, then know that evil has been determined by him.
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If he says, It is well, your servant will be at peace: but if he is angry, then it will be clear to you that he has an evil purpose in mind against me.
8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?"
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So, then, be kind to your servant; for you have been united with your servant in an agreement made before the Lord: but if there is any wrongdoing in me, put me to death yourself; why take me to your father?
9 Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! If I knew that it was decided by my father that evil should come upon you, would I not tell you?"
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And Jonathan said, Do not have such a thought: for if I saw that my father was designing evil against you, would I not give you word of it?
10 Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?"
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Then David said to Jonathan, Who will give me word if your father gives you a rough answer?
11 Jonathan replied to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." So they both went out into the field.
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And Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go out into the country. And the two of them went out together into the open country.
12 Jonathan said to David, "By the Lord, the God of Israel! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or on the third day, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?
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And Jonathan said to David, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be witness; when I have had a chance of talking to my father, about this time tomorrow, if his feelings to David are good, will I not send and give you the news?
13 But if my father intends to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, so that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.
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May the Lord's punishment be on Jonathan, if it is my father's pleasure to do you evil and I do not give you word of it and send you away so that you may go in peace: and may the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.
14 If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord; but if I die,
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And may you, while I am still living, O may you be kind to me, as the Lord is kind, and keep me from death!
15 never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."
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And let not your mercy ever be cut off from my family, even when the Lord has sent destruction on all David's haters, cutting them off from the face of the earth.
16 Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord seek out the enemies of David."
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And if it comes about that the name of Jonathan is cut off from the family of David, the Lord will make David responsible.
17 Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life.
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And Jonathan again took an oath to David, because of his love for him: for David was as dear to him as his very soul.
18 Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, because your place will be empty.
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Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon: and it will be seen that you are not present, for there will be no one in your seat.
19 On the day after tomorrow, you shall go a long way down; go to the place where you hid yourself earlier, and remain beside the stone there.
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And on the third day it will be specially noted, and you will go to the place where you took cover when the other business was in hand, waiting by the hill over there.
20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
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And on the third day I will send arrows from my bow against its side as if at a mark.
21 Then 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, collect them,' then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.
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And I will send my boy to have a look for the arrow. And if I say to him, See, the arrow is on this side of you; take it up! then you may come; for there is peace for you and no evil, by the living Lord.
22 But if I say to the young man, "Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go; for the Lord has sent you away.
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But if I say to the boy, See, the arrow has gone past you: then go on your way, for the Lord has sent you away.
23 As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness between you and me forever."
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As for what you and I were talking of, the Lord is between you and me for ever.
24 So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat at the feast to eat.
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So David went to a secret place in the country: and when the new moon came, the king took his place at the feast.
25 The king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood, while Abner sat by Saul's side; but David's place was empty.
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And the king took his seat, as at other times, by the wall: and Jonathan was in front, and Abner was seated by Saul's side, but there was no one in David's seat.
26 Saul did not say anything that day; for he thought, "Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean."
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But Saul said nothing that day, for his thought was, Something has taken place making him unclean; it is clear that he is not clean.
27 But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. And Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast, either yesterday or today?"
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And on the day after the new moon, that is, the second day, there was still no one in David's seat: and Saul said to his son Jonathan, Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast yesterday or today?
28 Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem;
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And answering Saul, Jonathan said, He made a request to me that he might go to Beth-lehem,
29 he said, "Let me go; for our family is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, let me get away, and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table."
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Saying, Our family is making an offering in the town, and my brothers have given me orders to be there: so now, if I have grace in your eyes, let me go away and see my brothers. This is why he has not come to the king's table.
30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan. 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?
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Then Saul was moved to wrath against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of an evil and uncontrolled woman, have I not seen how you have given your love to the son of Jesse, to your shame and the shame of your mother?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die."
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For while the son of Jesse is living on the earth, your position is unsafe and your kingdom is in danger. So make him come here to me, for it is certainly right for him to be put to death.
32 Then Jonathan answered his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"
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And Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said to him, Why is he to be put to death? What has he done?
33 But Saul threw his spear at him to strike him; so Jonathan knew that it was the decision of his father to put David to death.
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And Saul, pointing his spear at him, made an attempt to give him a wound: from which it was clear to Jonathan that his father's purpose was to put David to death.
34 Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, and because his father had disgraced him.
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So Jonathan got up from the table, burning with wrath, and took no part in the feast the second day of the month, being full of grief for David because his father had put shame on him.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him was a little boy.
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Now in the morning, Jonathan went out into the fields at the time he had said to David, and he had a little boy with him.
36 He said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows that I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
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And he said to the boy, Go and get the arrow I let loose from my bow. And while the boy was running, he sent an arrow past him.
37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called after the boy and said, "Is the arrow not beyond you?"
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And when the boy came to the place where the arrow was, Jonathan, crying out after the boy, said, Has it not gone past you?
38 Jonathan called after the boy, "Hurry, be quick, do not linger." So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
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And Jonathan went on crying out after the boy, Be quick, do not keep waiting about, go quickly. And Jonathan's boy got the arrow and came back to his master.
39 But the boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.
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But the boy had no idea what was going on; only Jonathan and David had knowledge of it.
40 Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said to him, "Go and carry them to the city."
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And Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy, and said to him, Take these and go back to the town.
41 As soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He bowed three times, and they kissed each other, and wept with each other; David wept the more.
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And when the boy had gone, David came from his secret place by the hill, and falling to the earth went down on his face three times: and they gave one another a kiss, weeping together, till David's grief was the greater.
42 Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since both of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, "The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.' " He got up and left; and Jonathan went into the city.
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And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we two have taken an oath, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. Then David went away, and Jonathan went into the town.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.