17
Y'honatan had David swear it again, because of the love he had for him - he loved him as he loved himself.
18
Y'honatan said to him, "Tomorrow is Rosh-Hodesh, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
19
The third day, hide yourself well in the same place as you did before; stay by the Departure Stone.
20
I will shoot three arrows to one side, as if I were shooting at a target.
21
Then I will send my boy to recover them. If I tell the boy, 'They're here on this side of you, take them,' then come - it means that everything is peaceful for you; as ADONAI lives, there's nothing wrong.
22
But if I tell the boy, 'The arrows are out there, beyond you,' then get going, because ADONAI is sending you away.
23
As for the matter we discussed earlier, ADONAI is between you and me forever."
24
So David hid himself in the countryside. When Rosh-Hodesh came, the king sat down to eat his meal.
25
The king sat at his usual place by the wall. Y'honatan stood up, and Avner sat next to Sha'ul, but David's place was empty.
26
However, Sha'ul didn't say anything that day; because he thought, "Something has happened to him, he is unclean. Yes, that's it, he isn't clean."
27
The day after Rosh-Hodesh, the second day, David's place was empty; and Sha'ul said to Y'honatan his son, "Why hasn't Yishai's son come to the meal either yesterday or today?"