Study Desk

Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul's son Jonathan liked David very much.

So Jonathan spoke on David's behalf to his father Saul. He said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial for you.

He risked his life when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?"

Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre.

Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him."

He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, "Is Saul also among the prophets?")

If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go to his city Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.'

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.

So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal.

The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David's place was vacant.

But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David's place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has Jesse's son not come to the meal yesterday or today?"

Jonathan responded to his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"

Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David.

Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David.

He said to his servant, "Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot." As the servant ran, Jonathan shot the arrow beyond him.

Jonathan called out to the servant, "Hurry! Go faster! Don't delay!" Jonathan's servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master.

Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, "Go, take these things back to the city."

When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David.

(One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord . His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's shepherds.)

The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, ‘Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands'?"