1 Samuel 19 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officials that he wanted David dead. But Jonathan really cared about David,

so Jonathan warned David, "My father Saul is trying to kill you. Be careful tomorrow morning — find a hiding place and stay out of sight.

I'll go out and stand with my father in the field where you're hiding. I'll bring you up in conversation with him and see what he says, and I'll let you know."

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said, "The king shouldn't wrong his servant David. He hasn't wronged you — in fact, everything he's done has been incredibly good for you.

He risked his own life when he struck down the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great victory for all of Israel. You saw it yourself and celebrated! So why would you wrong an innocent man by killing David for no reason?"

Saul listened to Jonathan and made a solemn oath: "As Yahweh lives, David will not be put to death."

So Jonathan called David and told him everything. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and David served in Saul's presence just like before.

War broke out again, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He struck them down with such force that they ran from him.

But a destructive spirit from Yahweh came over Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. David was playing music,

and Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear. But David dodged, and the spear stuck in the wall. David escaped and got away that night.

Saul sent agents to David's house to watch it and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, you'll be dead by morning."

So Michal lowered David through a window, and he fled and escaped.

Then Michal took a household idol, laid it on the bed, put a cushion of goat hair at its head, and covered it with a blanket.

When Saul sent agents to arrest David, Michal said, "He's sick."

Saul sent the agents back to see David themselves, telling them, "Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him."

When the agents came in, there was the idol on the bed with the goat-hair cushion at its head.

Saul demanded of Michal, "Why did you trick me like this and let my enemy escape?" Michal told Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go — why should I have to kill you?'"

David fled and escaped, and he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth.

Word reached Saul: "David is at Naioth in Ramah."

So Saul sent agents to seize David. But when they saw the group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading them, the spirit of God came over Saul's agents too, and they also began prophesying.

When Saul was told about this, he sent more agents — and they started prophesying too. So Saul sent agents a third time, and even they began prophesying.

Finally Saul went to Ramah himself. He came to the large cistern at Secu and asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" Someone answered, "At Naioth in Ramah."

As he was on his way to Naioth in Ramah, the spirit of God came over him too, and he walked along prophesying until he arrived at Naioth in Ramah.

He even stripped off his robes and prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay there stripped down all that day and all that night. That's why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"