1 Samuel 20
Smith's Literal Translation Par ▾ 

Jonathan Helps David

1And David will flee from Naioth in Ramah, and he will come and say before Jonathan, What did I? and what mine iniquity? and what my sin before thy father that he seeks my soul? 2And he will say to him, Far be it; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will not do a word great or a word small, and not disclose mine ear: and wherefore will my father hide from me this word? this is not. 3And David will yet swear and say, Knowing, thy father knew that I found grace in thine eyes; and he will say, Jonathan shall not know this, lest he shall be grieved: but yet Jehovah lives and thy soul lives, for but a step between me and between death. 4And Jonathan will say to David, What thy soul will say, and I will do for thee. 5And David will say to Jonathan, Behold, the new moon to-morrow, and I sitting, shall sit down with the king to eat: and thou sentest me away and I was hid in the field till the evening of the third. 6If reviewing, thy father shall review me, and thou saidst, Asking, David asked of me to run to the House of Bread, his city; for a sacrifice of days there to all the family. 7If thus he shall say, Good; peace to thy servant; and if kindling, it shall kindle to him, know that evil was finished with him. 8And do thou mercy with thy servant; for into a covenant of Jehovah thou didst bring thy servant with thee: and if there is iniquity in me, do thou kill me; and wherefore wilt thou bring me even to thy father? 9And Jonathan will say, Far be it to thee: that if knowing, I shall know that evil was finished with my father to come upon thee, shall I not announce it to thee?

Jonathan and David Renew Their Covenant

10And David will say to Jonathan, Who shall announce to me? or what if thy father shall answer thee harshly?

11And Jonathan will say to David, Come, and we will go forth to the field. And they two went forth to the field.

12And Jonathan will say to David, Jehovah, God of Israel when I shall search out my father about this time to-morrow, the third day, and behold, good to David, and I shall not then send to thee, and uncover thine ear. 13Thus shall Jehovah do to Jonathan, and thus shall he add; for it shall be good to my father with evil to thee, and I uncovered thine ear and sent thee away, and thou wentest in peace: and Jehovah will be with thee as he was with my father. 14And not only while yet I live and wilt thou not do the mercy of Jehovah with me, and I shall not die. 15And thou shalt not cut off thy mercy from my house, even forever: and not in Jehovah's cutting off the enemies of David a man from the face of the earth. 16And Jonathan will cut out with the house of David, and Jehovah sought out from the hand of David's enemies. 17And Jonathan will add to cause David to swear in his loving him; as loving his soul he loved him.

18And Jonathan will say to him, To-morrow the new moon: and thou wert reviewed, for thy seat will be reviewed. 19And the third day thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide there in the day of the work, and thou shalt sit by the stone of rolling: 20And I will shoot three arrows of the side, to send to me for a mark. 21And behold, I will send the boy: Go find the arrows. If saying, I say to the boy, Behold, the arrows from thee, and behold, take it: and come, for peace to thee, and not a word; Jehovah lives. 22And if saying thus to the young man, Behold, the arrows from thee, and forward; go: for Jehovah sent thee away. 23And the word which we spake, I and thou, behold, Jehovah between me and between thee forever.

24And David will hide in the field: and it will be the new moon, and the king will sit down to the bread to eat. 25And the king will sit upon his seat as from time to time, to a seat of the wall: and Jonathan will rise, and Abner will sit by Saul's side, and David's seat will be reviewed. 26And Saul spake not anything in that day, for he said, It is an accident; he is not clean; for he is not clean. 27And on the morrow, of the month the second, and David's place will be reviewed: and Saul will say to Jonathan his son, Wherefore came not the son of Jesse also yesterday, also this day to the bread? 28And Jonathan will answer to Saul, Asking, David asked of me even for the House of Bread: 29And he will say, Send me away now, for a sacrifice of the family to us in the city; and my brother he commanded me: and now if I found grace in thine eyes, I will slip away now and see my brethren. For this he came not to the table of the king.

Saul Seeks to Kill Jonathan

30And Saul's anger will kindle against Jonathan, and he will say to him, Son of crooked rebelliousness, did I not know that thou choosest to the son of Jesse to thy shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness? 31For all the days which the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, thou shalt not stand, and thy kingdom. And now send and take him to me, for he is the son of death. 32And Jonathan will answer Saul his father and say to him, Wherefore shall he die? What did he? 33And Saul will lift up his spear against him to strike him, and Jonathan will know that it was finished from his father to kill David. 34And Jonathan will rise from the table in the heat of wrath, and he will not eat bread in the day of the month the second, for he was grieved for David because his father reproached him.

35And it will be in the morning, and Jonathan will go forth to the field to the appointment, David and a small boy with him. 36And he will say to the boy, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot The boy ran, and he shot the arrows beyond him. 37And the boy will go even to the place of the arrows which Jonathan shot, and Jonathan will call after the boy and say, Is not the arrow from thee and forward? 38And Jonathan will call after the boy, Be quick, hasten, thou shalt not stand. And Jonathan's boy will take up the arrows and come to his lord. 39And the boy knew not anything: but Jonathan and David knew the word. 40And Jonathan will give his utensils to the boy that is to him, and he will say to him, Go, bring into the city. 41The boy went, and David rose from the south side, and fell upon his face to the earth, and they will worship three times, and they will kiss each his friend, and they will weep, each with his friend, till David magnified. 42And Jonathan will say to David, Go for peace, for we sware, we two, in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah will be between me and between thee, and between my seed and between thy seed, even forever. The original Julia E. Smith Bible records the following as a verse reference for 1 Sam 21:1 And he will rise and go: and Jonathan came to the city.


The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally From The Original Tongues by Julia E. Smith

Section Headings Courtesy Berean Bible

1 Samuel 19
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