1 Kings — Chapter 20

And Dauid fayd to lonathas : Behold the calends ate to norow , and I after the manner am wontto fit befide the King to eate : difiniffe me therfore that] may be hid inthe field vntil rhe evening of the third day. 6. 1fthy father looking inquire forme , thou fhalt an- {wer him : Dauid detired me , that he might goe quickely into Beth- lehem his citte : becaufe there be folemmne victimes to al of his tribe, 7, If he fhal fay : Wel; peace fhal be to thy feruant : but if he be anerie, know that his malice is complete. 8. Doe mercie therefore toward thy feruant : becaufe thou haft caufed me thy feruant to enter the league of our Lord wich thee. but if there be any iniquittein me,doe thou kil me, and bring me notin to thy father. ,. And Ionathas fayd : Be this farre trom thee , for neither can it be, that I fhould not tel thee , if thal certaincly know that my fathers malice is complete againftthee, 10, And Dauid avfwered Ionathas: Who thal bring me word > if thy fa- ther anfwer thee perhaps any thing fharply of me? 1. And Jonathas fayd to Dauid : Come, let vs goe forth abroad into the ficld :and when they were both gone forth into the field , 11. Ionathas {aid to Dauid. Lord God of Ifrael ,if 1 fhal fearch out my tathers meaning, to morow orthe day after , andfome good thing be vpon Dauid , and 1 fend not immediately vntothee , and make thee know thereof, 13. thefe things doe our Lord to Jonathas , and thefe things adde he, But if my fathers nialice fhal perfeuer againft thee, J wil reueale thyneeare , and wil dif. miffe thee , thatthou mayft goe in peace, and our Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father, 14. Andif1 line, thouthalt doe me the mercie of our Lord, butifI die ,15. chou fhal not take away thy mer- cie from my houfe for euer , when our Lord tial haue rooted Gut the enemies ot Dauid , euerie one out of the land : rake he away lonathas from his houfe, and our Lord require it of the hands of Dauids ene- mies. .6. lonathas therefore made a league with the houfe of Dauid: & our Lord required it of the hads of Dauids enemies.17.And Jonathas added to fwearevnto Dauid , becaufe he loued him, tor as his owne foule, fo he loucd him, 18. And Tonathas fayd to him: To morow are the calendes , and thou fhalt be asked for: 19. for thy fitting wil be inquired of til after to morow. Thou fhalt therefore goc downc in haft, and inalr come to the place, where thou mutt be hid in che day , when it is lawrul to worke, and thou shalt fit befide the ftone whichis camed Ez], 20, And I wil {hoot three arrowes nere it, and wil fhoot as it were exercizing my fclf ata marke, 21.1 wilfend alfo a boy faying to him : Goe, and tetch me the arrowes. 22. If I ihal fay tothe boy: Loe, the arrowes are on this fide thee , take them ¥p:come thou to me, Saul, Dauid. lonathas, OF KINGS, 551) me, becaufe there is peace to thee, and there is no euil, our Lord liveth. But if I fhal fpeake thus to the boy : Loe the arrowes are beyond thee:. Goein peace, becaufe our Lord hath dimifled thee. 2>.And concerning the word which I and thou haue {poken, our Lord be between thee and me foreuer. 24. Dauid therefore was hidde in the felde , and the ca- lends came, and the King fate downe to cate bread, 25. And when the King was fet vpon his chaire (according to the cuftome ) which was bende the wal , lonathas atofe , and Abner fate atthe tide of Saul, and Dauids place appeared voide. 26, And Saul faid nothing that day, tor he thought it bad chaneed perhaps vnto him,that he was not cleanc, nor purihed. 2 7.And when the fecoud day was come after the caiendes, againe Dauids place appeared emptie. And Saul faid to Ionathas his. fonne : Why came not the fonne ot Ifai neither yefterday nor to day to eatc? 28. lonathas anfwered Saul : He detired me iniiautly , that he might goc into Bethlehem, 29, and he faid: Let me goe , becaufe there is a folenine facrifice tn the citie , one of my brethren hati fent forme: now therefore if I hauc found grace in thy ught, I wil goe quickly, & fee my brethren. For this caufe he came not to the Kings table. 3c. But Saul being wrath againft Jonathas, faid to him : Thou fonne of a wo- man which other owne accord rauiietha ma, am 1 ignorant that thou loueft the fone of Ifai vnto thyne owne contufion , & to the confufion of thyne ignominious mother? 31, For al the dayes , that the fonne of [fai inal liue vpoa the carth,thou thalt not be eftabliihed, nor thy King- dom. Therefore now prefently feud , and bring him to me: becaufe he isthe fonne of death, 32. And Jonathas anfwering Saul his tather , faid: Why fhal he dye : what hath he done? 33, And Sau! caught a fpeare to i trike him. And lonathas vnderftood that it was determined of his fa- ther ,that he would kil Dauid. 24. lonathas therctore rofe from the table in anger of furie, and did not eate bread the fecond day of theca- lends. For he was ftrucken heaure vpon Dauid , becaufe his father had confounded him, 35. And when the morning appeared , Jonathas came into the field according to the appoi:itment with Dauid , and a litle boy. with him, 36.and faid to his boy ; Goe,& fetch me the arrowes,which I fhoot. And when the boy had runne , he fiot an other arrow beyond the boy.37. The boy therefore came tothe place of the arrowe , which Tonathas had fhot : and lonathas cried behind the back of the boy, and faid : Loe the arrowe is there further beyond thee. 38, And Iona- thas. cried againe behind the back of the boy , faying : Make haft fpec- dily , fand not. And lonathas hisboy gathered vp his arrowes , and brought them tohis mafter : 39. and he was altogether ignorant, what was done: for only Jonathas and Dauid knew the matter. 40. lonathas theretore gaue his armourtothe boy, and faidto him : Goe, and cary them into the citie. 41. And when the boy was gone, Dauid rofe out of the place, which did bend ro the South, andtaliing flat on the ground, adored thrife : & kiffing one an other , they wept together , but Dauid Cece more, ! ses (a) DiftinGion {of common & holie bread. Alfo an exam- ple of difpen- fation incafe lot neccilitics 552 FIRST BOOK Dauid. lonathas, more. 42. lonathas therefore {aid to Dauid : Goe in peace : whatfocuer we haue fworne both of vs in the name of our Lord, faying : Our Lord be between me and thee , and between my feed and thy feed for euer.