1 Samuel 20:18-39

18Then Jonathan said to him, “1Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty. 19When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel. 20And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. 21Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the Lord lives. 22But if I 2say to the youth, ‘3Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, because the Lord has sent you away. 234As for the 5agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, 6the Lord is between you and me forever.”

24So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25Now the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side; but 7David’s place was empty. 26Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, “It must have been an 8accident; 9he is not clean, undoubtedly he is not clean.” 27But it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty again; so Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28And Jonathan answered Saul, “10David earnestly requested leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me slip away so that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

30Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31For, 11as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now then, send men and bring him to me, for 12he is 13doomed to die!” 32But Jonathan replied to his father Saul and said to him, “14Why must he be put to death? What has he done?” 33Then 15Saul hurled his spear at him to strike and kill him; 16so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. 34Then Jonathan got up from the table in the heat of anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, because he was worried about David since his father had insulted him.

35Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out to the field at the time agreed upon with David, and a little boy was with him. 36He said to his boy, “17Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot 18an arrow past him. 37When the boy reached the location of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “19Is the arrow not beyond you?” 38Then Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his master. 39But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter.