1 Samuel 20

⁹if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

¹²For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God,

³Here I am. Bear witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”

⁹and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?

¹¹See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

⁸For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

¹⁵Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the Lord had revealed to Samuel,

⁷“Why does my lord say these things?” they asked. “Your servants could not possibly do such a thing.

²⁹Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from Him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God, which stands before His tabernacle.”

⁴⁵But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

⁵The Lord God has opened My ears, and I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back.

¹³Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.

¹David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

²⁶Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, since the Lord has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.

⁶And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

²⁶“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord.

²and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

¹⁰And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

²so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.

¹¹At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished,

³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.

³The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

⁵⁹At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.

⁵⁸“Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.

¹²“Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.

⁵Instead, you must seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.

²“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The Lord answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

³Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”

⁴²Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

¹⁷Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”

⁷In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.

²³The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

⁹“Never!” Jonathan replied. “If I ever found out that my father had evil intentions against you, would I not tell you?”

⁴This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

³²“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”

¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies accountable.”

¹⁷And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

²²“The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today.

²so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.

⁴²And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.

³⁸Then Jonathan cried out, “Hurry! Make haste! Do not delay!” So the boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master.

³⁰Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?

³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”

²³The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.

³⁰“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

¹³And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders

¹⁷Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”

¹⁴Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

³As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be searched.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

²You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar.

³You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

⁴Does He not see my ways and count my every step?

²²“The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! The Lord, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today.

⁵The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.

¹¹Now, my son, may the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as He said you would.

⁵No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

¹⁶in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

³⁷David added, “The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”

³So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I can show the kindness of God?” Ziba answered, “There is still Jonathan’s son, who is lame in both feet.”

¹Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,

²and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.

⁷Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

¹Then David asked, “Is there anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”

²And there was a servant of the house of Saul named Ziba. They summoned him to David, and the king inquired, “Are you Ziba?” “I am your servant,” he replied.

²¹So now, swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s house.”

²²May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one male belonging to Nabal survive until morning.”

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

⁷They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed, and having stabbed and killed him, they beheaded him, took his head, and traveled all night by way of the Arabah.

⁸They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life. Today the Lord has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”

⁸But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

¹⁸On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—

²The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

²⁴A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

¹After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

²⁶I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

⁶If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known,

⁵So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I am supposed to dine with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the third evening from now.

²⁵He sat in his usual place by the wall, opposite Jonathan and beside Abner, but David’s place was empty.

²so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.

⁵So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I am supposed to dine with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the third evening from now.

²and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”

²Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”

¹⁴Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”

¹⁶And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.

³⁷When the boy reached the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called to him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?”

⁴²And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.

¹⁴And as long as I live, treat me with the Lord’s loving devotion, that I may not die,

¹⁵and do not ever cut off your loving devotion from my household—not even when the Lord cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

¹¹“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹²When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?

¹Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.

¹⁶To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?

¹⁷For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you.

³To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the Lord than sacrifice.

¹⁷Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

²⁰Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

⁵Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.

²⁴These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

²⁷All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

²⁰But if anyone who is unclean eats meat from the peace offering that belongs to the Lord, that person must be cut off from his people.

²¹If one touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, detestable thing, and then eats any of the meat of the peace offering that belongs to the Lord, that person must be cut off from his people.”

⁴⁰Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.

⁵“In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

¹⁵But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.”

⁵⁵“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

¹⁰But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.

¹Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

²The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds?

⁸Is that why all of you have conspired against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made a covenant with the son of Jesse. Not one of you has shown concern for me or revealed to me that my son has stirred up my own servant to lie in wait against me, as is the case today.”

¹¹and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

⁶If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David urgently requested my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because there is an annual sacrifice for his whole clan.’

²⁸Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”

²⁴Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

¹⁹My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

²⁹A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

¹²A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

³A stone is heavy and sand is a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

⁸Therefore show kindness to your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the Lord. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?”

⁶Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”

¹⁶This thing you have done is not good. As surely as the Lord lives, all of you deserve to die, since you did not protect your lord, the Lord’s anointed. Now look around. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”

¹¹Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”

¹²So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped.

²⁸For all the house of my grandfather deserves death from my lord the king, yet you have set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right, then, do I have to keep appealing to the king?”

¹¹May the groans of the captives reach You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.

²³“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

⁵He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

²²A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”

³⁶Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?

⁸Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed.

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

¹⁰Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him and the spear struck the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”

⁷If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he is enraged, you will know he has evil intentions.

¹¹and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

¹⁰Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him and the spear struck the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

⁵Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

²⁰Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

¹⁹When you have stayed three days, hurry down to the place you hid on the day this trouble began, and remain beside the stone Ezel.

⁵So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.

²⁰I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I were aiming at a target.

²¹Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them,’ then come, because as surely as the Lord lives, it is safe for you, and there is no danger.

²²But if I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, for the Lord has sent you away.

³¹On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.

³²Remember Lot’s wife!

⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.

⁵Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.

⁷How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. Selah

¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁷Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.

¹⁴So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

¹⁵Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house.

¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

³⁹So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned home.

⁶And when Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he fell facedown in reverence. Then David said, “Mephibosheth!” “I am your servant,” he replied.

¹Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

²⁶I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

¹⁷“Go in peace,” Eli replied, “and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have asked of Him.”

¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.

²²But if I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, for the Lord has sent you away.

²³And as for the matter you and I have discussed, the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”

²⁶may the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’

⁵⁰And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

³⁶The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”