CHAPTER 19
Then Saul
ordered
his son
Jonathan
and all
his servants
to kill
David.
But Jonathan
delighted
greatly
in David,
so he
warned
David,
saying,
“My father
Saul
intends
to kill you.
Be on your guard
in the morning;
find
a secret place
and hide there.
I will
go out
and stand
beside
my father
in the field
where
you are,
so I
can ask
about you.
And if I find out
anything,
I will tell
you.”
Then Jonathan
spoke
well
of David
to
his father
Saul
and said
to him,
“The king
should not
sin
against his servant
David;
he has not
sinned
against you.
In fact,
his actions
have been highly
beneficial
to you.
He took
his life
in his hands
when he struck down
the Philistine,
and the LORD
worked
a great
salvation
for all
Israel.
You saw
it and rejoiced,
so why
would you sin
against innocent
blood
by killing
David
for no reason?"
Saul
listened
to the voice
of Jonathan
and swore an oath:
“As surely as the LORD
lives,
David will not
be put to death.”
So Jonathan
summoned
David
and told
him
all
these
things.
Then Jonathan
brought
David
to
Saul
to serve
him
as he had before.
When war
broke out
again,
David
went out
and fought
the Philistines
and struck
them
with such a mighty
blow
that they fled
before him.
But as Saul
was sitting
in his house
with his spear
in his hand,
a spirit
of distress
from the LORD
came
upon
him.
While David
was playing the harp,
Saul
tried
to pin
him
to the wall
with his spear.
But the spear
struck
the wall
and David
eluded
him,
ran away,
and escaped
that
night.
Then Saul
sent
messengers
to
David’s
house
to watch him
and kill him
in the morning.
But David's wife
Michal
warned
him,
“If
you do not
run
for your life
tonight,
tomorrow
you
will be dead!"
Then Michal
took
a household idol
and laid it
in
the bed,
placed
some goat hair
on its head,
and covered
it with a garment.
But Saul
sent
the messengers back
to see
David
and told them,
“Bring
him
up to me
in his bed,
so I can kill him.”
And when the messengers
entered,
there was
the idol
in
the bed
with the quilt
of goats' hair
on its head.
And Saul
said
to Michal,
“Why
did you deceive
me like this?
You have sent my enemy
away,
and he has escaped!”
Michal
replied,
“He
said
to me,
‘Help me get away,
or
I will kill you!’”
So David
ran away
and escaped.
And he went
to
Samuel
at Ramah
and told
him
all
that
Saul
had done
to him.
Then he
and Samuel
went
to Naioth
and stayed
there.
he
sent
messengers
to capture
him.
But when they saw
the group
of prophets
prophesying,
with Samuel
leading them,
the Spirit
of God
came
upon
them,
and Saul’s
messengers
also
began to prophesy.
When this was reported
to Saul,
he sent
more
messengers,
but they
began to prophesy
as well.
So Saul
tried again
and sent
messengers
a third time,
and even
they
began to prophesy.
Finally, Saul himself
left for
Ramah
and came
to
the large
cistern
at Secu,
where he asked,
“Where
are Samuel
and David?”
“At Naioth
in Ramah,”
he was told.
So Saul went
to
Naioth
in Ramah.
But the Spirit
of God
came
upon
even
Saul,
and he walked along
prophesying
until
he came to
Naioth
in Ramah.
Then Saul
stripped off
his robes
and also
prophesied
before
Samuel.
And he collapsed
and lay naked
all
that
day
and
night.
That is why
it is said,
“Is Saul
also
among the prophets?”