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The Friendship of David and Jonathan

20David 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?’ ²He said to him, ‘Perish the thought! 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!’ ³But 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.’ ⁴Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Whatever you say, I will do for you.’ ⁵David 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. ⁶If 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.” ⁷If he says, “Good!” it will be well with your servant; but if he is angry, then know that evil has been determined by him. ⁸Therefore 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?’ ⁹Jonathan 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?’ ¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, ‘Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?’ ¹¹Jonathan replied to David, ‘Come, let us go out into the field.’ So they both went out into the field.

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 towards David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? ¹³But 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. ¹⁴If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord; but if I die,^{* 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.’ ¹⁶Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the Lord seek out the enemies of David.’ ¹⁷Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life.

18 Jonathan said to him, ‘Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, because your place will be empty. ¹⁹On 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.^{* 20}I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹Then 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. ²²But if I say to the young man, “Look, the arrows are beyond you”, then go; for the Lord has sent you away. ²³As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness^* 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. ²⁵The 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.

26 Saul did not say anything that day; for he thought, ‘Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean.’ ²⁷But 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?’ ²⁸Jonathan answered Saul, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem; ²⁹he 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 favour in your sight, let me get away, and see my brothers.” For this reason 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? ³¹For 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.’ ³²Then Jonathan answered his father Saul, ‘Why should he be put to death? What has he done?’ ³³But 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. ³⁴Jonathan 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.

35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him was a little boy. ³⁶He said to the boy, ‘Run and find the arrows that I shoot.’ As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷When 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?’ ³⁸Jonathan called after the boy, ‘Hurry, be quick, do not linger.’ So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹But the boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement. ⁴⁰Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said to him, ‘Go and carry them to the city.’ ⁴¹As 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.^{* 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, for ever.” ’ He got up and left; and Jonathan went into the city.^*

David and the Holy Bread

21^*David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, ‘Why are you alone, and no one with you?’ ²David said to the priest Ahimelech, ‘The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, “No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.” I have made an appointment^* with the young men for such and such a place. ³Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.’ ⁴The priest answered David, ‘I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.’ ⁵David answered the priest, ‘Indeed, women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?’ ⁶So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

8 David said to Ahimelech, ‘Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.’ ⁹The priest said, ‘The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one.’ David said, ‘There is none like it; give it to me.’

David Flees to Gath

10 David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath. ¹¹The servants of Achish said to him, ‘Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,
“Saul has killed his thousands,
   and David his tens of thousands”?’
¹²David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. ¹³So he changed his behaviour before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence.^* He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard. ¹⁴Achish said to his servants, ‘Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? ¹⁵Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?’

Psalm 34

Praise for Deliverance from Trouble

Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
¹ I will bless the Lord at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
² My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
   let the humble hear and be glad.
³ O magnify the Lord with me,
   and let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your^* faces shall never be ashamed.
⁶ This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him, and delivers them.
⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good;
   happy are those who take refuge in him.
⁹ O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want.
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

¹¹ Come, O children, listen to me;
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Which of you desires life,
   and covets many days to enjoy good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
   and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil, and do good;
   seek peace, and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
   and his ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
   to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
   and rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
   and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
   but the Lord rescues them from them all.
²⁰ He keeps all their bones;
   not one of them will be broken.
²¹ Evil brings death to the wicked,
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
   none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.