1 Samuel 20 And Dauid fled from Naioth which is in Rama, came, & sayde before Ionathas. What haue I done? wherin am I faultie? what is the synne that I haue committed before thy father, that he seketh my lyfe?

Great⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ And Dauid fled from Naioth which is in Rama, came, & sayde before Ionathas. What haue I done? wherin am I faultie? what is the synne that I haue committed before thy father, that he seketh my lyfe? ² He sayde vnto him: God forbyd, thou shalt not dye. Beholde, my father will do nothynge ether great or small, but that he will shewe it me. And howe shulde my father hyde thys thynge from me? He wyll not do it. ³ And Dauid sware againe, and sayde, thy father knoweth that I haue founde grace in thyne eyes, and therfore he sayeth: Ionathas shall not knowe it, leste he be sorye. And in very dede, euen as truly as the Lorde lyueth, and as truly as thy soule lyueth, there is but a steppe betwene me and deeth. ⁴ Then sayde Ionathas vnto Dauid: whatsoeuer thy soule desyreth that I wyll do vnto the. ⁵ And Dauid sayde vnto Ionathas: Beholde to morowe is the begynnynge of the moneth, and I shulde sytt wt the kynge at meate. But let me go, that I maye hyde my selfe in the feldes vnto the thyrde daye at euen. ⁶ If thy father speake of me, then saye, Dauid asked leaue of me, that he myght go to Bethlehem to his awne cytie, for there is holden a yerely feast for all the kynred. ⁷ And yf he saye: it is well done, then thy seruaunt shall haue peace. But and yf he be angrye, then be sure that wyckednesse is vtterlye concluded of hym. ⁸ And then thou shalt shewe mercye vnto thy seruaunt for thou hast made wyth me thy seruaunt a bonde in the Lorde. Notwithstandynge, yf there be in me any trespace, then sleye me thy selfe, and brynge me not to thy father. ⁹ And Ionathas answered, God kepe that from the. For yf I knowe, that wyckednesse were concluded of my father, to come vpon the, thynkest thou that I shulde not tell it the? ¹⁰ Then sayde Dauid, who shall tell me, yf thy father answere cruelly? ¹¹ And Ionathas sayd vnto Dauid, come and lett vs go out into the felde. And they went out both of them into the felde. ¹² And Ionathas sayde vnto Dauid? The Lorde God of Israel loke on it, when I haue groped my fathers mynde, one tyme or other within this thre dayes, that it stande well with Dauid. If I then sende not vnto the & shewe it the, ¹³ the Lord do so and so vnto Ionathas. But yf my father haue any pleasure to do the euell, I wyll shewe the also, and sende the awaye that thou mayst go in peace. And the Lorde be wyth the, as he hath bene with my father. ¹⁴ And thou shalt performe vnto me the mercy of the Lorde, not onely whyle I lyue but euen when I am deed, ¹⁵ and plucke not thy mercy awaye from my house for euer: No not when the Lorde hath destroyed the enemyes of Dauid, euery one from the face of the erth. ¹⁶ And so Ionathas made a bonde with the house of Dauid, desyringe that the Lord shulde seke it out by the handes of Dauids enemyes (yf it were broken.) ¹⁷ And wt other wordes dyd Ionathas sweare vnto Dauid, because he loued him. For he loued him, as his awne soule. ¹⁸ Then sayde Ionathas to Dauid: to morowe is the first daye of the mone. And thou shalt be missed, because the place where thou wast wont to sytt, shall be emptye. ¹⁹ Therfore this daye thre dayes come downe in any wyse vnto the place where thou dyddest hyde thy selfe, whan the busynes was in hande: euen by the stone Esell. ²⁰ And I wyll shote thre arowes by the one syde therof, as though I shott them at a marke, ²¹ & will sende a lad, and byd hym go seke the arowes. And yf I saye vnto the lad: se, the arowes are on thys syde the brynge them: then come thou: for it is peace, & no hurte, as sure as the Lorde lyueth. ²² But and yf I saye vnto the lad, beholde, the arowes are be yonde the, then go for the Lord hath sent the awaye. ²³ And as touchynge this which thou and I haue spoken: beholde the Lorde be betwene the & me for euer. ²⁴ And so Dauid hyd him selfe in the felde. And when the newe mone was come, the kynge sat him downe to eate meate. ²⁵ And the kynge sat him downe after the olde maner, in hys seate by the wall. And Ionathas arose and Abner sate by Sauls syde, & Dauids place was emptye. ²⁶ Neuerthelesse, Saul sayde nothinge at all that daye. For he thought: some thynge hath chaunced him that he is not cleane. ²⁷ But on the morowe which was the seconde daye of the newe mone, it happened that Dauids place was emptye agayne. And Saul sayde vnto Ionathas his sonne. Wherfore commeth not the sonne of Isai to meate, nether yesterdaye nor to daye? ²⁸ And Ionathas answered vnto Saul. Dauid asked lycence of me, to go to Bethlehem, ²⁹ for he sayde: let me go I praye the for oure kynred dothe holde an offerynge in the cytie, and my brother hath sent for me. And therfore yf I haue founde fauoure in thyne eyes, lett me go, and se my brethren. This is the cause, that he commeth not vnto the kynges table. ³⁰ Then was Saul angrye with Ionathas, & sayde vnto him: Thou wycked rebell, do not I knowe, that thou hast chosen the sonne of Isai vnto thyne awne rebuke, & vnto the rebuke & shame of thy mother? ³¹ For as longe as the sonne of Isai lyueth vpon the erth, thou shalt not be stablished, nor yet thy kingdome, wherfore now sende and sett him vnto me, for he is the chylde of deeth. ³² And Ionathas answered vnto Saul his father, and sayde to him. Wherfore shulde he dye? what hath he done? ³³ And Saul lyfte vp a speare to hyt him, wherby Ionathas wyst well, that it was vtterlye determined of his father; to sleye Dauid. ³⁴ And so Ionathas arose from the table in a greate anger, & dyd eate no meat the seconde daye of the moneth, for he was sory for Dauid, because hys father had done him shame. ³⁵ On the nexte morning, Ionathas went out into the felde, at the tyme apoynted with Dauid, & a lytle ladd with him. ³⁶ And he sayde vnto his boye: runne & seke out myne arowes whych I shote. And as the boye ran he shot an arowe beyonde him. ³⁷ And when the lad was come to the place whether Ionathas had shot the arowe, Ionathas cryed after the lad, and sayde: Is not the arowe beyonde the? ³⁸ And Ionathas cried after the lad agayne: make spede, and stande not styll. And Ionathas lad geathered vp the arowes, & came to his master. ³⁹ But the lad wist nothinge of the matter. Onely Ionathas and Dauid wist it. ⁴⁰ And Ionathas gaue his weapons vnto the lad that was wyth him, & sayde vnto him: go & carye them to the towne. ⁴¹ And as sone as the lad was gone, Dauid arose out of a place that was towarde the south, and fell on hys face to the grounde, and worshypped thre tymes. And they kissed ether other, & wept together so longe, tyll Dauid exceaded in weping. ⁴² And Ionathas sayde to Dauid: go in peace. And the thynges which we haue sworne both of vs in the name of the Lorde, sayinge: the Lorde be betwene the & me, & betwene thy sede & myne, let them stonde for euer. And he arose, & departed. And Ionathas went into the towne.