1And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. 2But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: 3And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
4¶ And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: 5For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? 6And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. 7And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.19.7 in times…: Heb. yesterday, third day
8¶ And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.19.8 him: Heb. his face 9And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
11Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.
12¶ So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 13And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.19.13 image: Heb. teraphim 14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 15And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 16And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster. 17And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
18¶ So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 19And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 20And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 22Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. 23And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?19.24 lay: Heb. fell
David undslipper Saul
1Saul talte nu med sine folk og med sin søn Jonatan om at få David skaffet af vejen. Men Jonatan holdt meget af David, 2og derfor røbede han sin fars planer. „Min far er ude på at finde en anledning til at slå dig ihjel,” sagde han. „I morgen tidlig skal du derfor skjule dig et sted ude på marken. 3Så vil jeg bede min far om at gå en tur med mig, og jeg vil bringe dig på tale i nærheden af det sted, hvor du ligger skjult. Bagefter skal jeg nok fortælle dig, hvad jeg har fundet ud af.”
4Så talte Jonatan med sin far og lagde et godt ord ind for David. „Han har jo aldrig gjort dig noget ondt,” sagde han. „Tværtimod har han altid forsøgt at hjælpe dig. 5Har du glemt, hvordan han satte livet på spil for at slå Goliat ihjel, og hvordan Herren ved den lejlighed gav Israel en stor sejr? Du så det selv og glædede dig over det. Hvad får dig nu til at ændre mening, så du pønser på at slå en uskyldig mand ihjel? Det er der absolut ingen mening i.”
6Til sidst lod Saul sig overtale, og han svor: „Så sandt Herren lever, skal David ikke blive dræbt.”
7Så kaldte Jonatan på David og fortalte ham det hele. Derefter førte han ham til Saul, som tog ham i sin tjeneste som før. 8Krigen fortsatte, og David og hans mænd rykkede ud mod filistrene og dræbte så mange af dem, at resten af filisterhæren flygtede i panik.
9-10En dag, da Saul sad derhjemme med sit spyd i hånden, kom den onde ånd fra Herren igen over ham. David tog sin lyre og spillede for ham. Men pludselig kastede Saul sit spyd imod ham for at spidde ham til væggen. David sprang til side, og spyddet borede sig ind i væggen. Så flygtede han ud af huset og slap bort i mørket. 11Straks sendte Saul nogle af sine folk hen for at holde Davids hus bevogtet, så han kunne komme og dræbe ham den følgende morgen.
„Hvis du ikke flygter øjeblikkelig,” advarede Mikal sin mand, „er du dødsens i morgen.” 12Derefter hjalp hun David ud gennem et vindue, så han undslap. 13Så lagde hun husguden i hans seng, dækkede den med et tæppe og lagde noget gedehår i hovedenden. 14Da Sauls mænd næste morgen trængte ind i huset for at hente David, sagde Mikal: „Han er syg.” 15Den besked overbragte de til Saul, men det var han ikke tilfreds med. „Så bær ham hen til mig på sengen, så jeg kan gøre det af med ham,” befalede han. 16Men da de trængte ind i Davids soveværelse, opdagede de, at det var husguden, der lå i sengen med noget gedehår over hovedet.
17Så skældte Saul sin datter Mikal ud. „Hvorfor har du bedraget mig og ladet min fjende undslippe?” „Jeg blev tvunget til det,” forklarede hun. „Han truede med at slå mig ihjel, hvis jeg ikke gjorde, som han sagde.”
18Det lykkedes altså David at flygte. Han tog til Rama for at opsøge Samuel, og han fortalte ham om alt, hvad Saul havde gjort imod ham. Samuel tog ham med sig til Najot, hvor han kunne bo en tid. 19Da Saul fik at vide, at David opholdt sig i Najot tæt ved Rama, 20sendte han folk ud for at fange ham. Da de kom til stedet, hvor Samuel og de andre profeter stod og profeterede, kom Guds Ånd over dem—og de begyndte også at profetere! 21Da Saul hørte om det, sendte han andre folk af sted, men de begyndte også at profetere. For tredje gang sendte Saul en gruppe folk af sted, men de endte også med at profetere! 22Så tog Saul selv af sted til Rama. Da han kom til den store brønd ved Seku, spurgte han efter David og Samuel. „De er i Najot,” fik han at vide.
23På vejen derhen kom Guds Ånd over Saul, og han profeterede hele vejen til Najot! 24Derefter flåede han tøjet af sig, og hele dagen og den følgende nat lå han på gulvet og profeterede foran Samuel. Derfor siger man: „Er Saul nu også blandt profeterne?”
