1 Samuel - The Old Testament

¹ Saul let his son Jonathan and all his servants know of his intention to kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, held David in great affection;

² and Jonathan warned David, 'My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you, so be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding, stay out of sight.

³ I shall go out and keep my father company in the countryside where you will be, and shall talk to my father about you; I shall see what the situation is and then tell you.'

⁴ Jonathan spoke highly of David to Saul his father and said, 'The king should not harm his servant David; far from harming you, what he has done has been greatly to your advantage.

⁵ He took his life in his hands, he killed the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw for yourself. How pleased you were! Why then sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?'

⁶ Saul was impressed by Jonathan's words. Saul swore, 'As Yahweh lives, I will not kill him.'

⁷ Jonathan called David and told him all this. Jonathan then brought him to Saul, and David remained in attendance as before.

⁸ War broke out again and David sallied out to fight the Philistines; he inflicted a great defeat on them and they fled before him.

⁹ An evil spirit from Yahweh came over Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand; David was playing the harp.

¹⁰ Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but he avoided Saul's thrust and the spear stuck in the wall. David fled and made good his escape. That same night

¹¹ Saul sent agents to watch David's house, intending to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, 'If you do not escape tonight, you will be a dead man tomorrow!'

¹² Michal then let David down through the window, and he made off, took to flight and so escaped.

¹³ Michal then took a domestic image, laid it on the bed, put a tress of goats' hair at the head of the bed and put a cover over it.

¹⁴ When Saul sent the agents to arrest David, she said, 'He is ill.'

¹⁵ Saul sent the agents back to see David, with the words, 'Bring him to me on his bed, for me to kill him!'

¹⁶ So in the agents went, and there in bed was the image, with the tress of goats' hair on its head!

¹⁷ Saul then said to Michal, 'Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, and so make his escape?' Michal replied to Saul, 'He said, "Let me go, or I shall kill you!" '

¹⁸ David, having fled and made his escape, went to Samuel at Ramah and told him exactly how Saul had treated him; he and Samuel went and lived in the huts.

¹⁹ Word was brought to Saul, 'David is in the huts at Ramah.'

²⁰ Saul accordingly sent agents to capture David; when they saw the community of prophets prophesying, and Samuel there as their leader, the spirit of God came over Saul's agents, and they too fell into frenzy.

²¹ When Saul was told of this, he sent other agents, and they too fell into frenzy; Saul then sent a third group of agents, and they fell into frenzy too.

²² He then went to Ramah himself and, arriving at the large storage-well at Seku, asked, 'Where are Samuel and David?' And someone said, 'Why, they are in the huts at Ramah!'

²³ Making his way from there to the huts at Ramah, the spirit of God came over him too, and he went along in a frenzy until he arrived at the huts at Ramah.

²⁴ He too stripped off his clothes and he too fell into a frenzy in Samuel's presence, then collapsed naked on the ground for the rest of that day and all night. Hence the saying: Is Saul one of the prophets too?