Jonathan Helps David

(Psalm 59:1-17)

1And David fleeth from Naioth in Ramah, and cometh, and saith before Jonathan, ‘What have I done? what [is] mine iniquity? and what my sin before thy father, that he is seeking my life?’ 2And he saith to him, ‘Far be it! thou dost not die; lo, my father doth not do anything great or small and doth not uncover mine ear; and wherefore doth my father hide from me this thing? this [thing] is not.’ 3And David sweareth again, and saith, ‘Thy father hath certainly known that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved; and yet, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, but — as a step between me and death.’ 4And Jonathan saith to David, ‘What doth thy soul say? — and I do it for thee.’ 5And David saith unto Jonathan, ‘Lo, the new moon [is] to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening; 6if thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days [is] there for all the family. 7If thus he say: Good; peace [is] for thy servant; and if it be very displeasing to him — know that the evil hath been determined by him; 8and thou hast done kindness, to thy servant, for into a covenant of Jehovah thou hast brought thy servant with thee; — and if there is in me iniquity, put thou me to death; and unto thy father, why is this — thou dost bring me in?’ 9And Jonathan saith, ‘Far be it from thee! for I certainly do not know that the evil hath been determined by my father to come upon thee, and I do not declare it to thee.’ 10And David saith unto Jonathan, ‘Who doth declare to me? or what [if] thy father doth answer thee sharply?’

Jonathan and David Renew Covenant

11And Jonathan saith unto David, ‘Come, and we go out into the field;’ and they go out both of them into the field.

12And Jonathan saith unto David, ‘Jehovah, God of Israel — when I search my father, about [this] time to-morrow [or] the third [day], and lo, good [is] towards David, and I do not then send unto thee, and have uncovered thine ear — 13thus doth Jehovah do to Jonathan, and thus doth He add; when the evil concerning thee is good to my father, then I have uncovered thine ear, and sent thee away, and thou hast gone in peace, and Jehovah is with thee, as he was with my father; 14and not only while I am alive dost thou do with me the kindness of Jehovah, and I die not, 15but thou dost not cut off thy kindness from my house unto the age, nor in Jehovah’s cutting off the enemies of David, each one from off the face of the ground.’ 16And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought [it] from the hand of the enemies of David; 17and Jonathan addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him.

18And Jonathan saith to him, ‘To-morrow [is] new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after; 19and on the third day thou dost certainly come down, and hast come in unto the place where thou wast hidden in the day of the work, and hast remained near the stone Ezel. 20‘And I shoot three of the arrows at the side, sending out for myself at a mark; 21and lo, I send the youth: Go, find the arrows. If I at all say to the youth, Lo, the arrows [are] on this side of thee — take them, — then come thou, for peace [is] for thee, and there is nothing; Jehovah liveth. 22And if thus I say to the young man, Lo, the arrows [are] beyond thee, — go, for Jehovah hath sent thee away; 23as to the thing which we have spoken, I and thou, lo, Jehovah [is] between me and thee — unto the age.’

24And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat, 25and the king sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David’s place is looked after. 26And Saul hath not spoken anything on that day, for he said, ‘It [is] an accident; he is not clean — surely not clean.’ 27And it cometh to pass on the second morrow of the new moon, that David’s place is looked after, and Saul saith unto Jonathan his son, ‘Wherefore hath the son of Jesse not come in, either yesterday or to-day, unto the food?’ 28And Jonathan answereth Saul, ‘David hath been earnestly asked of me unto Beth-Lehem, 29and he saith, Send me away, I pray thee, for a family sacrifice we have in the city, and my brother himself hath given command to me, and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren; therefore he hath not come unto the table of the king.’

Saul Seeks to Kill Jonathan

30And the anger of Saul burneth against Jonathan, and he saith to him, ‘Son of a perverse rebellious woman! have I not known that thou art fixing on the son of Jesse to thy shame, and to the shame of the nakedness of thy mother? 31for all the days that the son of Jesse liveth on the ground thou art not established, thou and thy kingdom; and now, send and bring him unto me, for he [is] a son of death.’ 32And Jonathan answereth Saul his father, and saith unto him, ‘Why is he put to death? what hath he done?’ 33And Saul casteth the javelin at him to smite him, and Jonathan knoweth that it hath been determined by his father to put David to death. 34And Jonathan riseth from the table in the heat of anger, and hath not eaten food on the second day of the new moon, for he hath been grieved for David, for his father put him to shame.

35And it cometh to pass in the morning, that Jonathan goeth out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little youth [is] with him. 36And he saith to his youth, ‘Run, find, I pray thee, the arrows which I am shooting;’ the youth is running, and he hath shot the arrow, causing [it] to pass over him. 37And the youth cometh unto the place of the arrow which Jonathan hath shot, and Jonathan calleth after the youth, and saith, ‘Is not the arrow beyond thee?’ 38and Jonathan calleth after the youth, ‘Speed, haste, stand not;’ and Jonathan’s youth gathereth the arrows, and cometh unto his lord. 39And the youth hath not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word. 40And Jonathan giveth his weapons unto the youth whom he hath, and saith to him, ‘Go, carry into the city.’ 41The youth hath gone, and David hath risen from Ezel, at the south, and falleth on his face to the earth, and boweth himself three times, and they kiss one another, and they weep one with another, till David exerted himself; 42and Jonathan saith to David, ‘Go in peace, in that we have sworn — we two — in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah is between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed — unto the age;’ and he riseth and goeth; and Jonathan hath gone in to the city.