1 Samuel 20:1-18

Context

Jonathan Seeks to Protect David

20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked,¹ “What have I done? What is my offense?² How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

20:2 Jonathan³ said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing⁴ large or small without making me aware of it.⁵ Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

20:3 Taking an oath, David again⁶ said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact⁷ that I have found favor with you, and he has thought,⁸ ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!” 20:4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.”⁹

20:5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal.¹⁰ You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go¹¹ to his city Bethlehem,¹² for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’¹³ then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me.¹⁴ 20:8 You must be loyal¹⁵ to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name.¹⁶ If I am guilty,¹⁷ you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”

20:9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” 20:10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 20:11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”

When the two of them had gone out into the field, 20:12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness.¹⁸ I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?¹⁹ 20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know²⁰ and send word to you so you can go safely on your way.²¹ May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 20:14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! 20:15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 20:16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant²² with the house of David.²³ 20:17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.²⁴ 20:18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty.

[20:1] ¹tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”

[20:1] ²tn Heb “What is my guilt?”

[20:2] ³tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2] ⁴tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).

[20:2] ⁵tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

[20:3] ⁶tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”

[20:3] ⁷tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:3] ⁸tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.

[20:4] ⁹tn Heb “whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”

[20:5] ¹⁰tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:6] ¹¹tn Heb “to run.”

[20:6] ¹²map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[20:7] ¹³tn Heb “good.”

[20:7] ¹⁴tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”

[20:8] ¹⁵tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.”

[20:8] ¹⁶tn Heb “for into a covenant of the Lord you have brought your servant with you.”

[20:8] ¹⁷tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”

[20:12] ¹⁸tc The Hebrew text has simply “the Lord God of Israel.” On the basis of the Syriac version, many reconstruct the text to read “[is] my witness,” which may have fallen out of the text by homoioarcton (an error which is entirely possible if עֵד, ’ed, “witness,” immediately followed ַָדוִד, “David,” in the original text).

[20:12] ¹⁹tn Heb “and uncover your ear.”

[20:13] ²⁰tn Heb “uncover your ear.”

[20:13] ²¹tn Heb “in peace.”

[20:16] ²²tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.

[20:16] ²³tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the Lord will seek from the hand of the enemies of David.” The translation assumes that the main clauses of the verse have been accidentally transposed in the course of transmission. The first part of the verse (as it stands in MT) belongs with v. 17, while the second part of the verse actually continues v. 15.

[20:17] ²⁴tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”