Parallel Bible results for "1 samuel 20"

1 Samuel 20

Third Millennium Bible TMB

1 And 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?"

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 to me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so."

3 And David swore 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."

4 Then said Jonathan unto David, "Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee."

5 And David said unto Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow 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 evening.

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.'

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.

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?"

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 to thee?"

10 Then said David to Jonathan, "Who shall tell me? Or what if thy father answer thee roughly?"

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.

12 And Jonathan said unto David, "By the LORD the God of Israel, when I have sounded out 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 to thee,

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 to thee and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and the LORD be with thee, as He hath been with my father.

14 And thou shalt not only show me the kindness of the LORD while yet I live, that I die not,

15 but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever -- no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth."

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."

17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to David, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed because thy seat will be empty.

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.

20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.

21 And behold, I will send a lad, saying, `Go, find 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.

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.

23 And concerning the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be witness between thee and me for ever."

24 So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat meat.

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.

26 Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day, for he thought, "Something hath befallen him. He is not clean, surely he is not clean."

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, "Why cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday nor today?"

28 And Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem."

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."

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?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Therefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die."

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said unto him, "Why shall he be slain? What hath he done?"

33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to slay David.

34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no meat the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

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.

36 And he said unto his lad, "Run, find now the arrows which I shoot." And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

37 And when the lad had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad and said, "Is not the arrow beyond thee?"

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.

39 But the lad knew not anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

40 And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad and said unto him, "Go, carry them to the city."

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, but David more.

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.

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 David fled from the pastures at Ramah, came to Jonathan, and asked, "What have I done? What crime am I guilty of? What sin have I committed against your father that he's trying to kill me?"

2 Jonathan answered, "That's unthinkable! You're not going to die! My father does nothing without telling me, whether it's important or not. Why should my father hide this from me? It's just not that way."

3 But David took an oath, saying, "Your father certainly knows that you support me, so he said [to himself], 'Jonathan must not know about this. It will bring him distress.' But I solemnly swear, as the LORD and you live, I'm only one step away from death."

4 Jonathan said to David, "I'll do whatever you say."

5 David replied, "Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, when I should sit and eat at the king's [table]. But let me go and hide in the countryside for two more nights.

6 If your father really misses me, tell him, 'David repeatedly begged me to let him run to Bethlehem, his hometown, because his relatives are offering the annual sacrifice there.'

7 If he says, 'Good!' then I will be safe. But if he gets really angry, then you'll know for sure that he has decided to harm me.

8 Now, be kind to me. After all, you forced me into an agreement with the LORD. If I have committed any crime, kill me yourself. Why bother taking me to your father?"

9 Jonathan answered, "That's unthinkable! If I knew for sure that my father had decided to harm you, I would have told you about it."

10 Then David asked, "Who will tell me whether or not your father gives you a harsh answer?"

11 Jonathan said, "Let's go out into the country." So they went out into the country.

12 "As the LORD God of Israel [is my witness]," Jonathan continued, "I'll find out in the next two or three days how my father feels about you. If he does feel kindly toward you, then I will send someone to tell you.

13 If my father plans to harm you and I fail to tell you and send you away safely, may the LORD harm me even more. May the LORD be with you as he used to be with my father.

14 But as long as I live, [promise me that you will] show me kindness because of the LORD. And even when I die,

15 never stop being kind to my family. The Lord will wipe each of David's enemies off the face of the earth.

16 At that time, if Jonathan's name is cut off from David's family, then may the LORD punish David's house."

17 Once again Jonathan swore an oath to David because of his love for David. He loved David as much as [he loved] himself.

18 "Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival," Jonathan told him, "and you will be missed when your seat is empty.

19 The day after tomorrow you will be missed even more. So go to the place where you hid on that other occasion, and stay by the rock.

20 I will shoot three arrows from beside it toward a target.

21 Then I will send out a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' Now, if I tell the boy, 'Look, the arrows are next to you; get them,' then come [back with me]. You will be safe, and there will be no trouble. I swear it, as the LORD lives.

22 But if I tell the boy, 'The arrows are next to you,' then go, because the LORD has sent you away.

23 We have made a promise to each other, and the LORD is [a witness] between you and me forever."

24 So David hid in the countryside. When the New Moon Festival came, King Saul sat down to eat the festival meal.

25 He sat in his usual seat by the wall, while Jonathan stood. Abner sat beside Saul, but David's place was empty.

26 Saul didn't say anything that day, thinking, "Something has happened to him so that he's unclean. He must be unclean."

27 But on the second day of the month, David's place was still empty. Saul asked his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't Jesse's son come to the meal either yesterday or today?"

28 Jonathan answered Saul, "David repeatedly begged me [to let him go] to Bethlehem.

29 David said to me 'Please let me go. Our relatives will offer a sacrifice in the city, and my brother ordered me to be there. If you will permit it, please let me go to see my brothers.' This is why he hasn't come to your banquet."

30 Then Saul got angry with Jonathan. "Son of a crooked and rebellious woman!" he called Jonathan. "I know you've sided with Jesse's son. You have no shame. [You act] as if you are your mother's son but not mine.

31 As long as Jesse's son lives on earth, neither you nor your right to be king is secure. Now, send some men to bring him to me. He's a dead man!"

32 Jonathan asked his father, "Why should he be killed? What has he done?"

33 Saul raised his spear to strike him. Then Jonathan knew his father was determined to kill David.

34 Jonathan got up from the table very angry and ate nothing that second day of the month. He was worried sick about David because Jonathan had been humiliated by his own father.

35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the country to the place he and David had agreed on. Jonathan had a young boy with him.

36 "Run," he told the boy, "please find the arrows I shoot." The boy ran, and Jonathan shot the arrow over him.

37 When the boy reached the place where Jonathan's arrow [had landed], Jonathan called after him, "The arrows are next to you!"

38 Jonathan added, "Quick! Hurry up! Don't stand there!" Jonathan's young servant gathered the arrows and came to his master.

39 The boy had no idea what was going on, but Jonathan and David understood.

40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy. He told the boy, "Take them back into town."

41 When the boy had left, David came out from the south side [of the rock] and quickly bowed down three times with his face touching the ground. Then they kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the loudest.

42 "Go in peace!" Jonathan told David. "We have both taken an oath in the LORD's name, saying, 'The LORD will be [a witness] between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" So David left, and Jonathan went into the city.