Then David, who had been thinking what was wisest to do, told Jonathan
of the plan which must be carried out in order to find out Saul's
intentions with regard to him. There was to be a great festival on the
following day, to which Saul had invited David, just as if he and David
were on the best of terms, and David told Jonathan that instead of
going to the feast, he would hide in a field near by, while Jonathan
must go to the feast and see how his absence affected Saul, and also
draw him on in every way, to show his feelings for David. Then, as soon
as Jonathan had found out his father's feeling towards David, he was to
go to the field where David was hiding and shoot three arrows as if
shooting at a mark, and send a boy to pick them up. If he should shoot
on this side of David's hiding-place, it would mean that David could
come out in peace and safety, but if the arrows were shot beyond the
place where David was, it would be a sign that he must again flee, for
his life would be in danger if he remained.
And so David hid himself in the field and Jonathan went to the feast,
as they had planned that he should do, and at first Saul did not notice
David's absence, then presently, he asked Jonathan where David was, and
Jonathan answered as David had told him to, that David had gone to
Bethlehem to attend a family festival there. Then Saul was very angry
at both David and Jonathan, and exclaimed:
"Thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion. Surely as
long as he liveth, thou shalt not be established in the kingdom.
Wherefore, now send for him that he may die."
Although Jonathan was perfectly conscious of his father's bribe of the
kingdom should he bring David to be killed, and of the cleverness of
Saul's appeal to his desire for power, he had no thought for himself,
but only anger that his father could be so hard at heart. But he
controlled his temper and merely said:
"Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done?"
At this Saul's fury knew no bounds; that he, King of Israel should lose
not only his sovereignty, but the loyalty of his own son, because of
this lad of Bethlehem, was more than he could bear. With the rage of a
frenzied animal, Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to kill him, but as
David had done, Jonathan dodged the deadly weapon, and left the feast,
refusing to sit any longer at the table with a father who was so cruel
and capricious.
And as soon as possible, Jonathan hastened to David's hiding-place,
taking with him his bow and arrows, and a lad to fetch his arrows for
him.
And he said to the lad:
"Run, find out the arrows which I shoot!----" and as the lad ran, he
shot an arrow beyond him.
And when the lad found the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried
after him:
"Is not that the arrow behind thee? Make speed--haste--stay not."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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