¹Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and said in Jonathan's presence, “What have I done and what is my iniquity and what is my sin before your father that he should seek my life?” ²And he said to him, “Far be it – you will not die. Look, my father will not do anything great or small without informing me, and why should my father hide this matter from me? It is not the case.” ³And David swore again and said, “Your father certainly knows that you like me, and he has said to himself, ‘Don't let Jonathan know this, in case he is grieved’, but as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is just a step between me and death.” ⁴And Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your inclination dictates, I will do for you.” ⁵And David said to Jonathan, “Look, it is the new moon tomorrow, and I really ought to be sitting with the king to dine, but let me go, and I will hide in the country until the third evening. ⁶If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David made a point of asking me for leave to dash off to Bethlehem his city, because there is an annual sacrifice there for all the family.’ ⁷If he replies with this, ‘That's all right’, then your servant will have peace, but if it infuriates him at all, know that he intends evil. ⁸And act graciously towards your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you, and if there is any iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why then should you bring me to your father?” ⁹Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you, for if I were at all aware that my father intended evil to come on you, would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me about it if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let's go out into the field.” So the two of them went out into the field. ¹²And Jonathan said to David, “By the Lord God of Israel, when I investigate my father at this time tomorrow and up to the third evening, if he is well-disposed to David, and I do not then send a report to you and inform you, ¹³may the Lord so do to Jonathan and more. But if my father decides to do harm to you, then I will inform you and let you go, and you can go in peace, and the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. ¹⁴And let it not be while I am still alive that you do not show me the Lord's kindness, in which case I would die. ¹⁵And do not ever cut your kindness off from my house, nor when the Lord cuts David's enemies off, each one from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, and he said, “May the Lord require any penalty from the hand of David's enemies.” ¹⁷Then Jonathan adjured David again in his love for him, for he loved him with his deepest feelings. ¹⁸And Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon. You will be missed, because your seat will be unoccupied. ¹⁹And when you have spent three days over there, come down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the previous occasion of intrigue, and remain at the stone of Ezel, ²⁰and I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I were practising shooting at a target. ²¹And look, I will send a lad, and say, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are short of you; take them’, then come, for you have peace, and there is no issue, as the Lord lives. ²²But if I say this to the youth: ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’, then go, for the Lord will have sent you away. ²³And as for the matter which we have spoken about, you and I, look, the Lord is between you and me age-abidingly.” ²⁴So David hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the king sat at the meal to dine. ²⁵And the king sat in his seat as on previous occasions, on a seat at a wall, and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat at Saul's side, and David's place was unoccupied. ²⁶But Saul did not say anything untoward on that day, for he said, “It is some incident – he is unclean – it is that he is not clean.” ²⁷And it came to pass on the next day of the month – the second – that David's place was unoccupied, and Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why did the son of Jesse not come either yesterday or today to the meal?” ²⁸Then Jonathan replied to Saul, “David made a point of asking me for leave to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹And he said, ‘Please let me go, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and the one who commanded me to attend is my brother. So now, if I have found grace in your eyes, let me slip away, please, and I will see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king's table.” ³⁰And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman, am I not aware that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse is alive on the ground, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send men and bring him to me, for he is destined for death.” ³²Then Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³Then Saul threw his spear at him so as to strike him. So Jonathan knew that it had been determined on the part of his father to kill David. ³⁴And Jonathan got up from the table in furious anger, and he did not eat any food on the second day of the month, for he grieved for David, for his father had put him to shame. ³⁵And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, to the place agreed with David, and a little lad was with him. ³⁶And he said to his servant-lad, “Run and find me the arrows which I shoot.” So the lad ran, and he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷And the lad came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, and Jonathan called to the lad and said, “Isn't the arrow further on from you?” ³⁸And Jonathan called to the lad, “Quick, hurry, don't stand around.” So Jonathan's servant-lad picked up the arrow and came back to his master. ³⁹And the lad wasn't aware of anything, but Jonathan and David knew the purpose. ⁴⁰Then Jonathan gave his equipment to his servant-lad and said to him, “Go and take it to the city.” ⁴¹The lad departed, and David came up from the southern side, and he fell face down to the ground, and he bowed three times, and they kissed each other, and they wept with one another, with David doing it profusely. ^42aThen Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, inasmuch as we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my seed and your seed age-abidingly.’ ” ^42bAnd he got up and departed, and Jonathan went to the city.