1 Samuel 20 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

David ran from Naioth in Ramah and went to Jonathan. "What have I done?" he said. "What wrong have I committed? How have I failed your father that he wants me dead?"

"No way!" Jonathan said. "You are not going to die. Look — my father doesn't do anything, big or small, without telling me about it. Why would he hide this from me? It's not happening."

But David swore an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that you care about me, and he's thinking, 'Jonathan must not find out about this or he'll be devastated.' But I swear — as Yahweh lives and as you live — there is just one step between me and death."

Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it for you."

David said to Jonathan, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I'm supposed to sit down and eat with the king. But let me go, and I'll hide in the field until the evening of the third day."

"If your father misses me at all, tell him, 'David begged me to let him run home to Bethlehem, because his whole family is having their annual sacrifice there.'"

"If he says, 'Fine,' then I'm safe. But if he loses his temper, you'll know he's made up his mind to hurt me."

"Show me loyal love — because you brought me into a covenant with you before Yahweh. If I've done anything wrong, kill me yourself. Why hand me over to your father?"

"Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had any idea my father was planning to hurt you, wouldn't I tell you?"

David asked Jonathan, "Who's going to tell me if your father gives you a harsh answer?"

"Come on," Jonathan said, "let's go out to the field." So the two of them went out into the field.

Jonathan said to David, "I swear by Yahweh, the God of Israel — by this time tomorrow or the day after, I will find out how my father feels. If things look good for you, I'll send word and let you know."

"But if my father intends to harm you, may Yahweh punish me — and then some — if I don't let you know and send you away safely. May Yahweh be with you the way he used to be with my father."

"And if I'm still alive, show me Yahweh's loyal love so that I don't die."

"And never cut off your loyal love from my family — not even when Yahweh has wiped out every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May Yahweh call David's enemies to account."

And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, because he loved him as much as he loved himself.

Then Jonathan told him, "Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You'll be missed, because your seat will be empty."

"On the third day, go quickly to the place where you hid before, and wait by the stone marker Ezel."

"I'll shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I were shooting at a target."

"Then I'll send a boy out, saying, 'Go find the arrows.' If I specifically tell the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you — grab them,' then come back, because things are fine for you and there's no danger. I swear by Yahweh."

"But if I tell the boy, 'Look, the arrows are past you,' then go, because Yahweh is sending you away."

"And as for the promise you and I made to each other — Yahweh stands as witness between you and me forever."

So David hid in the field. When the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat.

The king sat in his usual seat by the wall. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.

Saul didn't say anything that day, because he thought, "Something must have happened to him. He must be ritually unclean — yeah, that's it, he's unclean."

But the next day, the second day of the month, David's place was still empty. So Saul asked Jonathan his son, "Why hasn't Jesse's son come to the meal, either yesterday or today?"

Jonathan answered Saul, "David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem."

"He said, 'Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I've found favor with you, please let me slip away to see my brothers.' That's why he hasn't come to the king's table."

Then Saul's anger exploded at Jonathan. "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman!" he said. "Do you think I don't know that you've sided with Jesse's son — to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?"

"As long as Jesse's son is alive on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be secure. Now send someone to bring him to me — he's a dead man!"

Jonathan answered his father Saul, "Why should he be killed? What has he done?"

But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down. Then Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

Jonathan got up from the table in a burning rage. He didn't eat anything the second day of the festival, because he was grieving over David and because his father had humiliated him.

In the morning, Jonathan went out to the field at the time he and David had arranged, and he had a young boy with him.

He told the boy, "Run and find the arrows I'm about to shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow past him.

When the boy reached the place where Jonathan's arrow had landed, Jonathan called out after him, "Isn't the arrow past you?"

Then Jonathan shouted after the boy, "Hurry! Quick! Don't stop!" The boy picked up the arrow and came back to his master.

The boy had no idea what was going on. Only Jonathan and David understood the arrangement.

Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, "Go, take these back to the city."

After the boy had gone, David got up from beside the stone marker on the south side, fell facedown on the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and wept together — David most of all.

Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace. The two of us have sworn in Yahweh's name, saying, 'Yahweh stands between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the city.