18 By the time David had finished speaking to Sha’ul, Y’honatan found himself inwardly drawn by David’s character, so that Y’honatan loved him as he did himself. ² That day, Sha’ul took David into his service and would not let him go home to his father’s house any more. ³ Y’honatan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as he did himself. ⁴ Y’honatan removed the cloak he was wearing and gave it to David, his armor too, including his sword, bow and belt. ⁵ David would go out, and no matter where Sha’ul sent him, he was successful. Sha’ul put him in charge of the fighting men; all the people thought it good, and so did Sha’ul’s servants.

⁶ As David and the others were returning from the slaughter of the P’lishti, the women came out of all the cities of Isra’el to meet King Sha’ul, singing and dancing joyfully with tambourines and three-stringed instruments. ⁷ In their merrymaking the women sang,

⁸ Sha’ul became very angry, because this song displeased him. He said, “They give David credit for tens of thousands, but me they give credit for only thousands. Now all he lacks is the kingdom!” ⁹ From that day on, Sha’ul viewed David with suspicion.

¹⁰ The following day an evil spirit from God came powerfully over Sha’ul, so that he fell into a frenzy in the house. David was there, playing his lyre as on other occasions. This time Sha’ul had his spear in his hand; ¹¹ and he threw the spear, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David dodged out of the way twice. ¹² Sha’ul became afraid of David, because Adonai was with him and had left Sha’ul. ¹³ Therefore Sha’ul put him at a distance from himself by making him commander over a thousand; his goings and comings became public knowledge. ¹⁴ David had great success in all his ways; Adonai was with him. ¹⁵ When Sha’ul saw how very successful he was, he became afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Isra’el and Y’hudah loved David, because they knew about all his campaigns.

¹⁷ Sha’ul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merav. I will give her to you as your wife; only continue displaying your courage for me, and fight Adonai’s battles.” Sha’ul was thinking, “I don’t dare touch him, so let the P’lishtim do away with him.” ¹⁸ David’s response to Sha’ul was, “Who am I, that I should become the king’s son-in-law? I don’t have any kind of a life, and my father’s family has no rank in Isra’el.” ¹⁹ However, when it was time for Merav Sha’ul’s daughter to be given to David, she was given to Adri’el the Mecholati as his wife. ²⁰ But Mikhal Sha’ul’s daughter fell in love with David. They told Sha’ul, and it pleased him. ²¹ Sha’ul said, “I’ll give her to him, so that she can entrap him, and the P’lishtim can do away with him.” So Sha’ul said to David, “Today you will become my son-in-law through the second [daughter].” ²² Sha’ul ordered his servants to speak privately with David and say, “Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you; so become the king’s son-in-law.” ²³ Sha’ul’s servants said this to David; but David replied, “Do you think being the king’s son-in-law is something to be treated so casually, given that I’m a poor man without social standing?” ²⁴ Sha’ul’s servants reported back to him how David had responded. ²⁵ Sha’ul said, “Here’s what you are to say to David: ‘The king doesn’t want any dowry; he wants a hundred foreskins of the P’lishtim, so that he can have vengeance on the king’s enemies.” For Sha’ul was hoping to have David killed by the P’lishtim. ²⁶ When his servants said these words to David, it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. Even before the time [for him to be married], ²⁷ David got up and set out, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the P’lishtim. He brought their foreskins and gave all of them to the king in order to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Sha’ul gave him Mikhal his daughter as his wife.

²⁸ Sha’ul saw and understood that Adonai was with David and that Mikhal Sha’ul’s daughter loved him. ²⁹ This only made Sha’ul the more afraid of David, so that Sha’ul became David’s enemy for the rest of his life.

³⁰ The leaders of the P’lishtim would attack; but whenever they attacked, David was more successful than any of Sha’ul’s servants; so that David acquired a great reputation.

19 Sha’ul told Y’honatan his son and all his servants that they should have David killed. But because Y’honatan was very fond of David, ² he told him, “My father Sha’ul is out to have you killed. Therefore you must be very cautious tomorrow morning. Find a well-concealed place to hide in. ³ I will go out and stand next to my father in the countryside where you’re hiding. I will talk with my father about you; and if I learn anything, I’ll tell you.”

⁴ Y’honatan spoke well of David to Sha’ul his father and said to him, “The king shouldn’t sin against his servant David, because he hasn’t sinned against you. On the contrary, his work for you has been very good indeed. ⁵ He put his life in his hands to attack the P’lishtim, and Adonai accomplished a great victory for all Isra’el. You yourself saw it, and you were happy about it. So why do you want to sin against innocent blood by killing David without any reason?” ⁶ Sha’ul heeded Y’honatan’s advice and swore, “As Adonai lives, he will not be put to death.” ⁷ Y’honatan called David and told him all these things. Then Y’honatan brought David to Sha’ul to be in attendance on the king, as before.

⁸ War broke out again, and David went and fought the P’lishtim. He defeated them with a great slaughter, and they fled before him. ⁹ Then an evil spirit from Adonai came upon Sha’ul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. David was playing his lyre, ¹⁰ when Sha’ul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. But he dodged it and moved out of Sha’ul’s way, so that the spear stuck in the wall. David fled, so that night he escaped.

¹¹ But Sha’ul sent messengers to David’s house to watch for him and kill him in the morning. Mikhal David’s wife told him, “If you don’t save your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be dead.” ¹² So Mikhal let David down through the window; and he left, fled and escaped. ¹³ Mikhal took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a goat’s-hair quilt at its head and covered it with a cloth. ¹⁴ When Sha’ul sent messengers to capture David, she said, “He’s ill.” ¹⁵ Sha’ul sent the messengers to see David with the order, “Bring him up to me, bed and all, so that I can kill him.” ¹⁶ But when the messengers entered, there before them was the household idol in the bed, with the goat’s-hair quilt at its head. ¹⁷ Sha’ul asked Mikhal, “Why did you deceive me this way and let my enemy go and escape?” Mikhal answered Sha’ul, “He threatened me, ‘Let me go, or I’ll kill you.’”

¹⁸ David fled and escaped, then came to Sh’mu’el in Ramah and told him everything Sha’ul had done to him. So he and Sh’mu’el went and stayed in the prophets’ dormitory. ¹⁹ The news reached Sha’ul that David had been seen at the prophets’ dormitory in Ramah. ²⁰ Sha’ul sent messengers to capture David. But when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, with Sh’mu’el standing and leading them, the Spirit of God fell on Sha’ul’s messengers; and they too began prophesying. ²¹ When Sha’ul was told, he sent other messengers; but they too began prophesying. Sha’ul sent messengers a third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the big cistern in Sekhu, he asked, “Where are Sh’mu’el and David?” Someone answered, “They’re at the prophets’ dormitory in Ramah.” ²³ While on his way to the prophets’ dormitory in Ramah, the Spirit of God fell on him too; and he went on, prophesying, until he arrived at the prophets’ dormitory in Ramah. ²⁴ He also stripped off his clothes, prophesied in Sh’mu’el’s presence and lay there naked all that day and all that night. Hence it continues to be an expression, “Is Sha’ul a prophet, too?”

20 David fled from the prophets’ dormitory in Ramah, returned to Y’honatan and said, “What have I done? Where have I gone wrong? What sin have I committed that makes your father want to take my life?” ² Y’honatan replied, “Heaven forbid! You’re not going to die! Look, my father does nothing important or unimportant without telling me first; so why should my father hide this from me? It just won’t happen!” ³ In response David swore, “Your father knows very well that you have made me your friend. This is why he will say, ‘Y’honatan must not know this, or he will be unhappy.’ As truly as Adonai lives, and as truly as you are alive, there is only a step between me and death.” ⁴ Y’honatan said to David, “Anything you want me to do for you, I’ll do.” ⁵ David answered Y’honatan, “Look, tomorrow is Rosh-Hodesh, and I ought to be dining with the king. Instead, let me go and hide myself in the countryside until evening of the third day. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David begged me to let him hurry to Beit-Lechem, his city; because it’s the annual sacrifice there for his whole family.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Very good,’ then your servant will be all right. But if he gets angry, you will know that he has planned something bad. ⁸ Therefore show kindness to your servant, for you bound your servant to yourself by a covenant before Adonai. But if I have done something wrong, kill me yourself! Why turn me over to your father?” ⁹ Y’honatan said, “Heaven forbid! If I ever were to learn that my father had definitely decided to do you harm, wouldn’t I tell you?” ¹⁰ Then David asked Y’honatan, “Who will tell me in the event your father gives you a harsh answer?” ¹¹ Y’honatan said to David, “Come, let’s go out in the countryside.”

They went out, both of them, to the countryside. ¹² Y’honatan said to David, “Adonai, the God of Isra’el [is witness]: after I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, then, if things look good for David, I will send and let you know. ¹³ But if my father intends to do you harm, may Adonai do as much and more to me if I don’t let you know and send you away, so that you can go in peace. And may Adonai be with you, just as he used to be with my father. ¹⁴ However, you are to show me Adonai’s kindness not only while I am alive, so that I do not die; ¹⁵ but also, after Adonai has eliminated every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth, you are to continue showing kindness to my family forever.” ¹⁶ Thus Y’honatan made a covenant with the family of David, adding, “May Adonai seek its fulfillment even through David’s enemies.” 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?” ²⁸ Y’honatan answered Sha’ul, “David begged me to let him go to Beit-Lechem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother demanded that I come. So now, if you look on me favorably, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ That’s why he hasn’t come to the king’s table.” ³⁰ At that Sha’ul flew into a rage at Y’honatan and said, “You crooked rebel! Don’t I know that you’ve made this son of Yishai your best friend? You don’t care that you’re shaming yourself and dishonoring your mother, do you? ³¹ Because as long as the son of Yishai lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be secure. Now send and bring him here to me — he deserves to die.” ³² Y’honatan answered Sha’ul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³ But Sha’ul threw his spear at him, aiming to kill; Y’honatan could no longer doubt that his father was determined to put David to death. ³⁴ Y’honatan got up from the table in a fury, and he ate no food the second day of the month, both because he was upset over David and because his father had put him to shame.

³⁵ The next morning Y’honatan went out into the country at the time he had arranged with David, taking with him a young boy. ³⁶ He told the boy, “Now run and find the arrows I’m about to shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the boy reached the place where the arrow was that Y’honatan had shot, Y’honatan shouted at the boy, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ Y’honatan continued shouting after the boy, “Quick! Hurry! Don’t just stand there!” Y’honatan’s boy gathered the arrows and returned to his master, ³⁹ but the boy didn’t understand anything about the matter — only Y’honatan and David understood. ⁴⁰ Y’honatan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”

⁴¹ As soon as the boy had gone, David got up from a place south of the stone, fell face down on the ground and prostrated himself three times; and they kissed one another and wept each with the other until it became too much for David. ⁴² Y’honatan said to David, “Go in peace; because we have sworn, both of us, in the name of Adonai, that Adonai will be between me and you, and between my descendants and yours, forever.”