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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>1 Samuel 20 Amplified Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_samuel/20.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_samuel/20-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">AMP</a> > 1 Samuel 20</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="../menu.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_samuel/19.htm" title="1 Samuel 19">◄</a> 1 Samuel 20 <a href="../1_samuel/21.htm" title="1 Samuel 21">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">Amplified Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nas/esv/1_samuel/20.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Verses"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><p class="hdg">David and Jonathan’s Covenant</p><p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>David fled from Naioth in Ramah and he came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[a]</a></span>guilt? What is my sin before (against) your father, that he is seeking my life?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Jonathan said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[b]</a></span>important or insignificant without telling me. So why would he hide this thing from me? It is not so!” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>But David vowed again, saying “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be worried.’ But truly as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon [observance], and I should sit at the table to eat [the sacrificial meal] with the king; but let me go, so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked <i>permission</i> from me to go to Bethlehem, his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the entire family.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>If he says, ‘All right,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, then be certain that he has decided on evil. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Therefore show kindness to your servant, because you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is iniquity (guilt) in me, kill me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father [to be killed]?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Jonathan said, “Far be it from [happening to] you! In fact, if I indeed learn that my father has decided to harm you, would I not tell you about it?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field [to talk].” So they went out to the field. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Then Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, <i>is my witness!</i> When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he has a good <i>feeling</i> toward <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[c]</a></span>you, shall I not then send <i>word</i> to you and make it known to you? <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>But if it pleases my father <i>to do</i> you harm, may the LORD do so to Jonathan, and more if I do not let you know about it and send you away, so that you may go in <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[d]</a></span>safety. And <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[e]</a></span>may the LORD be with you as He has been with my father. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness <i>and</i> faithfulness of the LORD, <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[f]</a></span>so that I will not die? <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>You shall never cut off your lovingkindness <i>and</i> faithfulness from my house, not even when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>So Jonathan made a <i>covenant</i> with the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[g]</a></span>house of David. [<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[h]</a></span>He added,] “May <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[i]</a></span>the LORD require it at the hands of David’s enemies. [that is, hold them accountable for any harm they inflict on David].” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, for Jonathan loved him as himself. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon [festival], and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[j]</a></span>on that eventful day [when my father tried to kill you], and shall stay by the stone Ezel. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a target. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>And I will send a boy, <i>saying,</i> ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come [back to my father’s table]; for it is <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[k]</a></span>safe for you and there is <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[l]</a></span>no danger, as the LORD lives. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever [making sure that we each keep our word].” <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>So David hid in the field; and when the New Moon [festival] came, the king sat down to eat food. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>The king sat on his seat as on previous occasions, on his seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up, and Abner [his commander] sat down by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “It is an incident [of some kind] and <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[m]</a></span>he is not [ceremonially] clean--surely he is unclean.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>But on the next day, the second <i>day</i> of the new moon, David’s place was empty [again]; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked me for permission <i>to go</i> to Bethlehem. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>He said, ‘Please let me go because our family is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away so that I may see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.” <p class="hdg">Saul Is Angry with Jonathan</p><p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[n]</a></span>wayward, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse [over me] to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you [as heir to the throne] nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send [someone] and bring him to me, for he <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[o]</a></span>must die.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why must he be put to death? What has he done?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down, so Jonathan knew [without any doubt] that his father had decided to put David to death. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>Then Jonathan stood up from the table in the heat of anger, and ate no food on that second day of the new moon (month), for he grieved <i>and</i> worried about David because his father had dishonored him. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the meeting with David, and a young boy was with him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>And he said to his boy, “Run, please find the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow past him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>When the boy came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called to him, “Is the arrow not beyond you?” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>And Jonathan called out after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came back to his master. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, take them to the city.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side [beside the mound of stones] and fell on his face to the ground [in submission and respect], and bowed three times. Then they kissed one another and wept together, but David <i>wept</i> more. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_samuel/20-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span>Jonathan told David, “Go <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[p]</a></span>in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and yours forever.’” <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[q]</a></span>Then he stood and left, while Jonathan went into the city.<A name="fn"></a></p><br /><br /><span class="footnotesbot">[a]</span> <span class="fnverse">1</span> Or <i>iniquity</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[b]</span> <span class="fnverse">2</span> Lit <i>great or small</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[c]</span> <span class="fnverse">12</span> Lit <i>David</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[d]</span> <span class="fnverse">13</span> Lit <i>shalom</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[e]</span> <span class="fnverse">13</span> With this statement Jonathan acknowledges that David has been anointed king.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[f]</span> <span class="fnverse">14</span> To secure his throne a new king would usually kill anyone who was a potential rival for the throne. Jonathan is asking assurance that he will not be assassinated after David becomes king.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[g]</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> This covenant was binding not only on David and Jonathan, but also on their descendants.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[h]</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> This may have been the additional vow mentioned in v 17.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[i]</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> Jonathan was aligning himself with David against all of David’s enemies, including Saul.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[j]</span> <span class="fnverse">19</span> Lit <i>on the day of the doing</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[k]</span> <span class="fnverse">21</span> Lit <i>shalom</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[l]</span> <span class="fnverse">21</span> Lit <i>nothing</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[m]</span> <span class="fnverse">26</span> Saul assumed that David had come into contact with a source of ritual pollution, such as a corpse, and was for that reason temporarily disqualified from participating in the New Moon Festival.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[n]</span> <span class="fnverse">30</span> The vulgar language of this Hebrew idiom demeaned Jonathan, not his mother, and Saul implied that she was ashamed of giving birth to him.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[o]</span> <span class="fnverse">31</span> Lit <i>is a son of death</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[p]</span> <span class="fnverse">42</span> Lit <i>in shalom.</i><br><span class="footnotesbot">[q]</span> <span class="fnverse">42</span> In Hebrew, this is v 1 of the next chapter making the versification different throughout ch 21.<br></div><br /><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015<br>by The Lockman Foundation<br>All rights reserved <a href="http://www.lockman.org">www.lockman.org</a><br><br><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br>                                                                                                                                <span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../1_samuel/19.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="1 Samuel 19"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="1 Samuel 19" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../1_samuel/21.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="1 Samuel 21"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="1 Samuel 21" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>