18 And it cometh to pass, when he finisheth to speak unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan hath been bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loveth him as his own soul.

² And Saul taketh him on that day, and hath not permitted him to turn back to the house of his father.

³ And Jonathan maketh -- also David -- a covenant, because he loveth him as his own soul,

⁴ and Jonathan strippeth himself of the upper robe which [is] upon him, and giveth it to David, and his long robe, even unto his sword, and unto his bow, and unto his girdle.

⁵ And David goeth out whithersoever Saul doth send him; he acted wisely, and Saul setteth him over the men of war, and it is good in the eyes of all the people, and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.

⁶ And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, in David's returning from smiting the Philistine, that the women come out from all the cities of Israel to sing -- also the dancers -- to meet Saul the king, with tabrets, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments;

⁷ and the women answer -- those playing, and say, `Saul hath smitten among his thousands, And David among his myriads.'

⁸ And it is displeasing to Saul exceedingly, and this thing is evil in his eyes, and he saith, `They have given to David myriads, and to me they have given the thousands, and more to him [is] only the kingdom;'

⁹ and Saul is eyeing David from that day and thenceforth.

¹⁰ And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the spirit of sadness [from] God prospereth over Saul, and he prophesieth in the midst of the house, and David is playing with his hand, as day by day, and the javelin [is] in the hand of Saul,

¹¹ and Saul casteth the javelin, and saith, `I smite through David, even through the wall;' and David turneth round out of his presence twice.

¹² And Saul is afraid of the presence of David, for Jehovah hath been with him, and from Saul He hath turned aside;

¹³ and Saul turneth him aside from him, and appointeth him to himself head of a thousand, and he goeth out an cometh in, before the people.

¹⁴ And David is in all his ways acting wisely, and Jehovah [is] with him,

¹⁵ and Saul seeth that he is acting very wisely, and is afraid of him,

¹⁶ and all Israel and Judah love David when he is going out and coming in before them.

¹⁷ And Saul saith unto David, `Lo, my elder daughter Merab -- her I give to thee for a wife; only, be to me for a son of valour, and fight the battles of Jehovah;' and Saul said, `Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.'

¹⁸ And David saith unto Saul, `Who [am] I? and what my life -- the family of my father in Israel -- that I am son-in-law to the king?'

¹⁹ And it cometh to pass, at the time of the giving of Merab daughter of Saul to David, that she hath been given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

²⁰ And Michal daughter of Saul loveth David, and they declare to Saul, and the thing is right in his eyes,

²¹ and Saul saith, `I give her to him, and she is to him for a snare, and the hand of the Philistines is on him;' and Saul saith unto David, `By the second -- thou dost become my son-in-law to-day.'

²² And Saul commandeth his servants, `Speak unto David gently, saying, Lo, the king hath delighted in thee, and all his servants have loved thee, and now, be son-in-law to the king.'

²³ And the servants of Saul speak in the ears of David these words, and David saith, `Is it a light thing in your eyes to be son-in-law to the king -- and I a poor man, and lightly esteemed?'

²⁴ And the servants of Saul declare to him, saying, `According to these words hath David spoken.'

²⁵ And Saul saith, `Thus do ye say to David, There is no delight to the king in dowry, but in a hundred foreskins of the Philistines -- to be avenged on the enemies of the king;' and Saul thought to cause David to fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶ And his servants declare to David these words, and the thing is right in the eyes of David, to be son-in-law to the king; and the days have not been full,

²⁷ and David riseth and goeth, he and his men, and smiteth among the Philistines two hundred men, and David bringeth in their foreskins, and they set them before the king, to be son-in-law to the king; and Saul giveth to him Michal his daughter for a wife.

²⁸ And Saul seeth and knoweth that Jehovah [is] with David, and Michal daughter of Saul hath loved him,

²⁹ and Saul addeth to be afraid of the presence of David yet; and Saul is an enemy with David all the days.

³⁰ And the princes of the Philistines come out, and it cometh to pass from the time of their coming out, David hath acted more wisely than any of the servants of Saul, and his name is very precious.

19 And Saul speaketh unto Jonathan his son, and unto all his servants, to put David to death,

² and Jonathan son of Saul delighted exceedingly in David, and Jonathan declareth to David, saying, `Saul my father is seeking to put thee to death, and, now, take heed, I pray thee, in the morning, and thou hast abode in a secret place, and been hidden,

³ and I -- I go out, and have stood by the side of my father in the field where thou [art], and I speak of thee unto my father, and have seen what [is coming], and have declared to thee.'

⁴ And Jonathan speaketh good of David unto Saul his father, and saith unto him, `Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works for thee [are] very good;

⁵ yea, he putteth his life in his hand, and smiteth the Philistine, and Jehovah worketh a great salvation for all Israel; thou hast seen, and dost rejoice, and why dost thou sin against innocent blood, to put David to death for nought?'

⁶ And Saul hearkeneth to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul sweareth, `Jehovah liveth -- he doth not die.'

⁷ And Jonathan calleth for David, and Jonathan declareth to him all these words, and Jonathan bringeth in David unto Saul, and he is before him as heretofore.

⁸ And there addeth to be war, and David goeth out and fighteth against the Philistines, and smiteth among them -- a great smiting, and they flee from his face.

⁹ And a spirit of sadness [from] Jehovah is unto Saul, and he is sitting in his house, and his javelin in his hand, and David is playing with the hand,

¹⁰ and Saul seeketh to smite with the javelin through David, and through the wall, and he freeth himself from the presence of Saul, and he smiteth the javelin through the wall; and David hath fled and escapeth during that night.

¹¹ And Saul sendeth messengers unto the house of David to watch him, and to put him to death in the morning; and Michal his wife declareth to David, saying, `If thou art not delivering thy life to-night -- tomorrow thou art put to death.'

¹² And Michal causeth David to go down through the window, and he goeth on, and fleeth, and escapeth;

¹³ and Michal taketh the teraphim, and layeth on the bed, and the mattress of goats' [hair] she hath put [for] his pillows, and covereth with a garment.

¹⁴ And Saul sendeth messengers to take David, and she saith, `He [is] sick.'

¹⁵ And Saul sendeth the messengers to see David, saying, `Bring him up in the bed unto me,' -- to put him to death.

¹⁶ And the messengers come in, and lo, the teraphim [are] on the bed, and the mattress of goats' [hair], [for] his pillows.

¹⁷ And Saul saith unto Michal, `Why thus hast thou deceived me -- that thou dost send away mine enemy, and he is escaped?' and Michal saith unto Saul, `He said unto me, Send me away: why do I put thee to death?'

¹⁸ And David hath fled, and is escaped, and cometh in unto Samuel to Ramath, and declareth to him all that Saul hath done to him, and he goeth, he and Samuel, and they dwell in Naioth.

¹⁹ And it is declared to Saul, saying, `Lo, David [is] in Naioth in Ramah.'

²⁰ And Saul sendeth messengers to take David, and they see the assembly of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing, set over them, and the Spirit of God is on Saul's messengers, and they prophesy -- they also.

²¹ And they declare [it] to Saul, and he sendeth other messengers, and they prophesy -- they also; and Saul addeth and sendeth messengers a third time, and they prophesy -- they also.

²² And he goeth -- he also -- to Ramath, and cometh in unto the great well which [is] in Sechu, and asketh, and saith, `Where [are] Samuel and David?' and [one] saith, `Lo, in Naioth in Ramah.'

²³ And he goeth thither -- unto Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God is upon him -- him also; and he goeth, going on, and he prophesyeth till his coming in to Naioth in Ramah,

²⁴ and he strippeth off -- he also -- his garments, and prophesieth -- he also -- before Samuel, and falleth down naked all that day and all the night; therefore they say, `Is Saul also among the prophets?'

20 And 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?'

² And 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.'

³ And 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.'

⁴ And Jonathan saith to David, `What doth thy soul say? -- and I do it for thee.'

⁵ And 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;

⁶ if 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.

⁷ If 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;

⁸ and 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?'

⁹ And 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.'

¹⁰ And David saith unto Jonathan, `Who doth declare to me? or what [if] thy father doth answer thee sharply?'

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

¹² And 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 --

¹³ thus 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;

¹⁴ and not only while I am alive dost thou do with me the kindness of Jehovah, and I die not,

¹⁵ but 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.'

¹⁶ And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought [it] from the hand of the enemies of David;

¹⁷ and Jonathan addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him.

¹⁸ And Jonathan saith to him, `To-morrow [is] new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after;

¹⁹ and 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;

²¹ and 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.

²² And if thus I say to the young man, Lo, the arrows [are] beyond thee, -- go, for Jehovah hath sent thee away;

²³ as to the thing which we have spoken, I and thou, lo, Jehovah [is] between me and thee -- unto the age.'

²⁴ And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat,

²⁵ and 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.

²⁶ And Saul hath not spoken anything on that day, for he said, `It [is] an accident; he is not clean -- surely not clean.'

²⁷ And 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?'

²⁸ And Jonathan answereth Saul, `David hath been earnestly asked of me unto Beth-Lehem,

²⁹ and 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.'

³⁰ And 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?

³¹ for 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.'

³² And Jonathan answereth Saul his father, and saith unto him, `Why is he put to death? what hath he done?'

³³ And 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.

³⁴ And 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.

³⁵ And 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.

³⁶ And 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.

³⁷ And 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?'

³⁸ and Jonathan calleth after the youth, `Speed, haste, stand not;' and Jonathan's youth gathereth the arrows, and cometh unto his lord.

³⁹ And the youth hath not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word.

⁴⁰ And Jonathan giveth his weapons unto the youth whom he hath, and saith to him, `Go, carry into the city.'

⁴¹ The 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;

⁴² and 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.