1 Samuel 20:5-23

Living Bible

⁵ And David replied, “Tomorrow is the beginning of the celebration of the new moon. Always before, I’ve been with your father for this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. ⁶ If your father asks where I am, tell him that I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family reunion. ⁷ If he says, ‘Fine!’ then I’ll know that all is well. But if he is angry, then I’ll know that he is planning to kill me. ⁸ Do this for me as my sworn brother. Or else kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father, but don’t betray me to him!”

⁹ “Of course not!” Jonathan exclaimed. “Look, wouldn’t I say so if I knew that my father was planning to kill you?”

¹⁰ Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”

¹¹ “Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together.

¹² Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord God of Israel that about this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father about you and let you know at once how he feels about you. ¹³ If he is angry and wants you killed, then may the Lord kill me if I don’t tell you, so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. ¹⁴ And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime, ¹⁵ but also to my children after the Lord has destroyed all of your enemies.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise. ¹⁷ But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Yes, they will miss you tomorrow when your place at the table is empty. ¹⁹ By the day after tomorrow, everyone will be asking about you, so be at the hideout where you were before, over by the stone pile. ²⁰ I will come out and shoot three arrows in front of the pile as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I’ll send a lad to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know that all is well and that there is no trouble. ²² But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately. ²³ And may the Lord make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”^[a]