Mar 2 - 1 Samuel 19-21
1 Samuel
1Now Saul spoke to his son Jonathan, and to all his servants, so that they would kill David. But Jonathan, the son of Saul, loved David very much2And Jonathan revealed it to David, saying: "Saul, my father, is seeking to kill you. Because of this, I ask you, take care for yourself in the morning. And you should conceal yourself and remain in hiding3Then I, going out, will be standing beside my father in the field, where you will be. And I will speak about you to my father. And whatever I see, I will report to you.4Then Jonathan spoke good things about David to his father Saul. And he said to him: "You should not sin, O king, against your servant David. For he has not sinned against you, and his works toward you are very good5And he took his life in his own hand, and struck down the Philistine. And the Lord wrought a great salvation for all of Israel. You saw it, and you rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by killing David, who is without guilt?6And when Saul had heard this, being pleased by the voice of Jonathan, he swore, "As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.7And so Jonathan called David, and he revealed to him all of these words. And Jonathan led in David to Saul, and he was before him, just as he had been yesterday and the day before8Then the war was stirred up again. And David went out and fought against the Philistines. And he struck them down with a great slaughter. And they fled from his face9And the evil spirit from the Lord came to Saul, who was sitting in his house and holding a lance. And David was playing music with his hand10And Saul attempted to fix David to the wall with the lance. But David turned aside from the face of Saul. And the lance failed to wound him, and it became fixed in the wall. And David fled, and so he was saved that night11Therefore, Saul sent his guards to David’s house, so that they might watch for him, and so that he might be killed in the morning. And after Michal, his wife, had reported this to David, saying, "Unless you save yourself this night, tomorrow you will die,12she lowered him down through a window. Then he fled and went away, and he was saved13Then Michal took a statue, and placed it on the bed. And she placed the pelt of a goat for the hair at its head. And she covered it with clothes14And Saul sent attendants to seize David. And it was answered that he was sick15And again, Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him to me on the bed, so that he may be killed.16And when the messengers had arrived, they found a likeness on the bed, with a goat pelt at its head17And Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me in this way, and released my enemy, so that he may flee?" And Michal responded to Saul, "Because he said to me, ‘Release me, otherwise I will kill you.’ 18Now David was saved by fleeing, and he went to Samuel in Ramah. And he reported to him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went away and stayed at Naioth19Then it was reported to Saul by some, saying, "Behold, David is at Naioth, in Ramah.20Therefore, Saul sent officers to seize David. And when they had seen a company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel presiding over them, the Spirit of the Lord also came to them, and they also began to prophesy21And when this was reported to Saul, he sent other messengers. But they also prophesied. And again, Saul sent messengers a third time. And they also prophesied. And Saul, being exceedingly angry22also went to Ramah himself. And he went as far as the great cistern, which is in Socoh. And he inquired and said, "In which place are Samuel and David?" And it was told to him, "Behold, they are at Naioth, in Ramah.23And he went to Naioth, in Ramah, and the Spirit of the Lord came to him also. And he continued on, walking and prophesying, until he arrived at Naioth, in Ramah24And he also took off his garments, and he prophesied with the others before Samuel. And he fell down naked, throughout that day and night. From this, too, is derived the proverb, "Could Saul also be among the prophets?
1Then David fled from Naioth, which is in Ramah, and he went and said before Jonathan: "What have I done? What is my iniquity, or what is my sin, against your father, so that he would seek my life?2And he said to him: "May this not be! You shall not die. For my father will not do anything, great or small, without first revealing it to me. Therefore, has my father concealed this word solely from me? By no means shall this be!3And he swore again to David. And David said: "Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight, and so he will say, ‘Let Jonathan not know this, lest he be saddened.’ So truly, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is only one step (if I may say it) separating me from death.4And Jonathan said to David, "Whatever your soul will tell me, I will do for you.5Then David said to Jonathan: "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am accustomed to sit in a seat beside the king to eat. Therefore, permit me that I may be hidden in the field, until the evening of the third day6If your father, looking around, will seek me, you shall respond to him: ‘David asked me if he may hurry to Bethlehem, his own city. For there are solemn sacrifices in that place for all of his tribe together.7If he will say, ‘It is well,’ then your servant will have peace. But if he will be angry, know that his malice has reached its height8Therefore, show mercy to your servant. For you have brought me, your servant, into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is any iniquity in me, you may kill me, and you shall not lead me in to your father.9And Jonathan said: "May this be far from you. For certainly, if I ever realized that any wickedness was determined by my father against you, I would not be able to do anything other than report it to you.10And David responded to Jonathan, "Who will repeat it to me, if your father may perhaps answer you harshly about me?11And Jonathan said to David, "Come, and let us go out into the field." And when they both had gone out into the field12Jonathan said before David: "O Lord, God of Israel, if I will discover a decision by my father, tomorrow, or the day after, and if there will be anything good concerning David, and yet I do not immediately send to you and make it known to you13may the Lord do these things to Jonathan, and may he add these other things. But if my father will have persevered in malice against you, I will reveal it to your ear, and I will send you away, so that you may go in peace, and so that the Lord may be with you, just as he was with my father14And if I live, you shall show the mercy of the Lord to me. Yet truly, if I die15you shall not take away your mercy from my house, even forever, when the Lord will have rooted out the enemies of David, each and every one of them, from the earth. May he take Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it from the hands of the enemies of David.16Therefore, Jonathan formed a covenant with the house of David. And the Lord required it from the hands of the enemies of David17And Jonathan continued to swear to David, because he loved him. For he loved him like his own soul18And Jonathan said to him: "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be sought19For your seat will be empty until the day after tomorrow. Therefore, you shall descend quickly, and you shall go to the place where you are to be hidden, on a day when it is lawful to work, and you shall remain beside the stone that is called Ezel20And I will shoot three arrows near it, and I will cast them as if I were practicing for myself toward a mark21Also, I will send a boy, saying to him, ‘Go and bring the arrows to me.22If I will say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are before you, take them up,’ you shall approach before me, because there is peace for you, and there is nothing evil, as the Lord lives. But if I will have spoken to the boy in this way, ‘Behold, the arrows are away from you,’ then you shall go away in peace, for the Lord has released you23Now about the word that you and I have spoken, may the Lord be between you and me, even forever.24Therefore, David was hidden in the field. And the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread25And when the king had sat down on his chair, (according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat beside Saul, and David’s place appeared empty26And Saul did not say anything on that day. For he was thinking that perhaps something happened to him, so that he was not clean, or not purified27And when the second day after the new moon had begun to dawn, David’s place again appeared empty. And Saul said to Jonathan, his son, "Why has the son of Jesse not arrived to eat, neither yesterday, nor today?28And Jonathan responded to Saul, "He petitioned me earnestly that he might go to Bethlehem29and he said: ‘Permit me. For there is a solemn sacrifice in the city. One of my brothers has summoned me. Now therefore, if I have found favor in your eyes, I will go quickly, and I will see my brothers.’ For this reason, he has not come to the table of the king.30Then Saul, becoming angry against Jonathan, said to him: "You son of a woman wantonly seizing a man! Could I be ignorant that you love the son of Jesse, to your own shame, and to the shame of your disgraceful mother31For all the days that the son of Jesse moves upon earth, neither you, nor your kingdom, will be secure. And so, send and bring him to me, here and now. For he is a son of death.32Then Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said: "Why should he die? What has he done?33And Saul picked up a lance, so that he might strike him. And Jonathan understood that it had been decided by his father that David be put to death34Therefore, Jonathan rose up from the table in a rage of anger. And he did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was saddened over David, because his father had confounded him35And when the morning had begun to dawn, Jonathan went into the field according to the agreement with David, and a young boy was with him36And he said to his boy, "Go, and bring to me the arrows that I shoot." And when the boy had run, he shot another arrow away from the boy37And so, the boy went to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot. And Jonathan cried out, from behind the back of boy, and said: "Behold, the arrow is there, farther away from you.38And Jonathan cried out again, from behind the back of the boy, saying, "Go quickly! Do not stand still!" Then Jonathan’s boy collected the arrows, and he brought them to his lord39And he did not understand at all what was happening. For only Jonathan and David knew the matter40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy, and he said to him, "Go, and carry them into the city.41And when the boy had gone away, David rose up from his place, which turned toward the south, and falling prone on the ground, he reverenced three times. And kissing one another, they wept together, but David more so42Then Jonathan said to David: "Go in peace. And let us both keep all that we have ever sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, even forever.’" And David rose up and went away. But Jonathan entered into the city.
1Then David went into Nob, to the priest Ahimelech. And Ahimelech was astonished that David had arrived. And he said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one is with you?2And David said to the priest Ahimelech: "The king has instructed to me a word, and he said: ‘Let no one know the matter about which you have been sent by me, and what type of instructions I have given to you. For I have also summoned servants to one and another place.3Now therefore, if you have anything at hand, even five loaves of bread, or whatever you may find, give it to me.4And the priest, responding to David, said to him: "I have no common bread at hand, but only holy bread. Are the young men clean, especially from women?5And David responded to the priest, and said to him: "Indeed, as concerns being with women, we have abstained since yesterday and the day before, when we departed, and so the vessels of the young men have been holy. And although, this journey has been defiled, it will also be sanctified today as concerns the vessels.6Therefore, the priest gave to him sanctified bread. For there was no bread there, but only the bread of the Presence, which had been taken away from before the face of the Lord, so that fresh loaves might be set up7Now a certain man among the servants of Saul was there on that day, inside the tabernacle of the Lord. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the most powerful among the shepherds of Saul8Then David said to Ahimelech: "Do you have, here at hand, a spear or a sword? For I did not take my own sword, or my own weapons with me. For the word of the king was urgent.9And the priest said: "Behold, here is the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Terebinth. It is wrapped up in a cloak behind the ephod. If you wish to take this, take it. For there is nothing else here except this." And David said, "There is nothing else like this, so give it to me.10And so, David rose up, and he fled on that day from the face of Saul. And he went to Achish, the king of Gath11And the servants of Achish, when they had seen David, said to him: "Is this not David, the king of the land? Were they not singing about him, while dancing, saying, ‘Saul has struck down a thousand, and David ten thousand?’ 12Then David took these words to his heart, and he became exceedingly afraid before the face of Achish, the king of Gath13And he altered his mouth before them, and he slipped down between their hands. And he stumbled against the doors of the gate. And his spit flowed down his beard14And Achish said to his servants: "You saw that the man is insane. Why did you bring him to me15Or do we have need of those who are mad, so that you would bring in this one, to behave madly in my presence? How did this man get into my house?