1 Samuel 19
New American Standard Bible
David Protected from Saul
19 Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants (A)to put David to death. But (B)Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. 2 So Jonathan informed David, saying, “My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself. 3 And as for me, I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak with my father about you; and (C)whatever I [a]find out, I will tell you.” 4 Then Jonathan (D)spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “(E)May the king not sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very [b]beneficial to you. 5 For (F)he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and (G)the Lord brought about a great [c]victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. (H)Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death [d]for no reason?” 6 Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, David shall not be put to death.” 7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as (I)before.
8 When there was war again, David went out and fought the Philistines and [e]defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled from him. 9 Now there was (J)an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house (K)with his spear in his hand, (L)and David was playing the harp with his hand. 10 (M)And Saul tried to [f]pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
11 Then (N)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, informed him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death!” 12 (O)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped. 13 And Michal took (P)the [g]household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothing. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “(Q)He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on [h]his bed, so that I may put him to death.” 16 When the messengers entered, behold, the [i]household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. 17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! (R)Why should I put you to death?’”
18 So David fled and escaped, and came (S)to Samuel at Ramah; and he informed him of everything that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in (T)Naioth. 19 But it was reported to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then (U)Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw (V)the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and (W)they also prophesied. 21 When Saul was informed of this, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, yet they prophesied. 22 Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he [j]asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he [k]proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but (X)the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and [l]lay down [m](Y)naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “(Z)Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 19:3 Lit see
- 1 Samuel 19:4 Lit good
- 1 Samuel 19:5 Lit deliverance
- 1 Samuel 19:5 Or undeservedly
- 1 Samuel 19:8 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 19:10 Lit strike David and the wall
- 1 Samuel 19:13 Heb teraphim
- 1 Samuel 19:15 Lit the
- 1 Samuel 19:16 Heb teraphim
- 1 Samuel 19:22 Lit asked and said
- 1 Samuel 19:23 Lit went
- 1 Samuel 19:24 Lit fell
- 1 Samuel 19:24 I.e., without outward garments
1 Samuel 19
King James Version
19 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
2 But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:
3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:
5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.
7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.
8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
9 And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
11 Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.
12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.
17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
1 Samuel 19
Living Bible
19 Saul now urged his aides and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his close friendship with David, 2 told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. 3 I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you; then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”
4 The next morning[a] as Jonathan and his father were talking together, he spoke well of David and begged him not to be against David.
“He’s never done anything to harm you,” Jonathan pleaded. “He has always helped you in any way he could. 5 Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill Goliath, and how the Lord brought a great victory to Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you now murder an innocent man? There is no reason for it at all!”
6 Finally Saul agreed and vowed, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.”
7 Afterwards Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he took David to Saul and everything was as it had been before. 8 War broke out shortly after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines and slaughtered many of them, and put to flight their entire army.
9-10 But one day as Saul was sitting at home, listening to David playing the harp, suddenly the tormenting spirit from the Lord attacked him. He had his spear in his hand and hurled it at David in an attempt to kill him. But David dodged out of the way and fled into the night, leaving the spear imbedded in the timber of the wall. 11 Saul sent troops to watch David’s house and kill him when he came out in the morning.
“If you don’t get away tonight,” Michal warned him, “you’ll be dead by morning.”
12 So she helped him get down to the ground through a window. 13 Then she took an idol[b] and put it in his bed, and covered it with blankets, with its head on a pillow of goat’s hair. 14 When the soldiers came to arrest David and take him to Saul,[c] she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed. 15 Saul said to bring him in his bed, then, so that he could kill him. 16 But when they came to carry him out, they discovered that it was only an idol!
17 “Why have you deceived me and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal.
“I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”
18 In that way David got away and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and told him all that Saul had done to him. So Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth. 19 When the report reached Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah, 20 he sent soldiers to capture him; but when they arrived and saw Samuel and the other prophets prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon them and they also began to prophesy. 21 When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other soldiers, but they too prophesied! The same thing happened a third time! 22 Then Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu.
“Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded.
Someone told him they were at Naioth. 23 But on the way to Naioth the Spirit of God came upon Saul, and he too began to prophesy! 24 He tore off his clothes and lay naked all day and all night, prophesying with Samuel’s prophets. Saul’s men were incredulous!
“What!” they exclaimed. “Is Saul a prophet too?”[d]
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 19:4 the next morning, implied.
- 1 Samuel 19:13 an idol, literally, “teraphim.”
- 1 Samuel 19:14 When the soldiers came to arrest David and take him to Saul, implied.
- 1 Samuel 19:24 Is Saul a prophet too? implied; literally, “Hence it is said, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” See 10:10-12.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.