1 Samuel 19 - 20, Hebrews 10, Proverbs 18

David Escapes from Saul

19Then Saul spoke with Jonathan his son and all his servants ^ato put David to death. But ^bJonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. ²So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. So now, please be careful in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³“And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; ^awhat I ¹perceive, I will tell you.” ⁴Then Jonathan ^aspoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “^bDo not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his works have been very good for you. ⁵“For ^ahe took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and ^bYahweh brought about a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and were glad. ^cWhy then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” ⁶And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as ^aformerly.

⁸Then there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great slaughter, so that they fled before him. ⁹Now there was ^aan evil spirit from Yahweh on Saul as he was sitting in his house ^bwith his spear in his hand, ^cand David was playing the harp with his hand. ¹⁰^aAnd Saul tried to ¹pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he ²stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹Then ^aSaul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not make an escape for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” ¹²^aSo Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. ¹³Then Michal took ^athe ¹household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but she said, “^aHe is sick.” ¹⁵So Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on ¹his bed, that I may put him to death.” ¹⁶The messengers came, and behold, the ¹household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! ^aWhy should I put you to death?’”

¹⁸Now David fled and escaped and came ^ato Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in ^bNaioth. ¹⁹And it was told to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰Then ^aSaul sent messengers to take David, but they saw ^bthe company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them. And the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and ^cthey also prophesied. ²¹This was told to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²²Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³So he went there, to Naioth in Ramah; and ^athe Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and ¹lay down ²^,^anaked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “^bIs Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan’s Covenant

20Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and ^asaid before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” ²And he said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without revealing it in my ear. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” ³Yet David ^aswore again, ¹saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly ^bas Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, there is ²hardly a step between me and death.” ⁴Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul says, I will do for you.” ⁵So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^athe new moon, and I ought ^bto sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, ^cthat I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶“If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to ^aBethlehem his city because it is ^bthe yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ ⁷“If he ¹says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will have peace; but if he is very angry, ^aknow that he has decided on evil. ⁸“Therefore show lovingkindness to your servant, for ^ayou have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But ^bif there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” ⁹And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed come to know that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me ¹if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹²Then Jonathan said to David, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have examined my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and reveal it in your ear? ¹³“If it please my father to do you harm, ^amay Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not reveal it in your ear and send you away, that you may go in peace. And ^bmay Yahweh be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴“And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of Yahweh, that I may not die? ¹⁵“^aYou shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶So Jonathan cut a covenant with the house of David, saying, “^aMay Yahweh require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷And Jonathan made David swear again because of his love for him, because ^ahe loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to him, “^aTomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be missing. ¹⁹“When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place ¹where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰“And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I sent them towards a target. ²¹“And behold, I will send the young man, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the young man, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, for there is peace for you and ¹no harm, as Yahweh lives. ²²“But if I ¹say to the youth, ‘^aBehold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for Yahweh has sent you away. ²³“^aAs for the ¹agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^bYahweh is between you and me forever.”

²⁴So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵And the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but ^aDavid’s place was missing. ²⁶Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he said, “It is an accident; ^ahe is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷Now it happened the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was missing; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸Jonathan then answered Saul, “^aDavid earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, ²⁹and he said, ‘Please send me on my way, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

³⁰Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹“For ¹as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send and bring him to me, for ^ahe ²must surely die.” ³²But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “^aWhy should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³Then ^aSaul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; ^bso Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. ³⁴Then Jonathan arose from the table in burning anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

³⁵Now it happened in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a very young man was with him. ³⁶And he said to his young man, “^aRun, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the young man was running, he shot ¹an arrow past him. ³⁷When the young man reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “^aIs not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸And Jonathan called after the young man, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s young man gathered up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹But the young man did not know of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his young man and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” ⁴¹When the young man was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his ¹face to the ground and ^abowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but ^bDavid wept more. ⁴²And Jonathan said to David, “^aGo in peace, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of Yahweh, saying, ‘^bYahweh will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed forever.’” ¹Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10For the Law, since it has only ^aa shadow of ^bthe good things to come and not the very ¹form of things, ²can ^cnever, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, ^dmake perfect those who draw near. ²Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have ^aconsciousness of sins? ³But ^ain ¹those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. ⁴For it is ^aimpossible for the ^bblood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵Therefore, ^awhen He comes into the world, He says, “^bSacrifice and offering You have not desired,But ^ca body You have prepared for Me;

⁶^aIn burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.⁷“^aThen I said, ‘Behold, I have come,In ^bthe scroll of the book it is written of Me,To do Your will, O God.’”

⁸After saying above, “^aSacrifices and offerings and ^bburnt offerings and sacrifices ^cfor sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), ⁹then He ¹said, “^aBehold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰By ¹this will we have been ^asanctified through ^bthe offering of ^cthe body of Jesus Christ ^donce for all.

¹¹And every priest stands daily ministering and ^aoffering time after time the same sacrifices, which ^bcan never take away sins; ¹²but He, having offered one sacrifice ^afor ¹sins ^bfor all time, ^csat down at the right hand of God, ¹³waiting from that time ^auntil His enemies are put as a footstool for His feet. ¹⁴For by one offering He has ^aperfected ^bfor all time those who are being sanctified. ¹⁵And ^athe Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

¹⁶“^aThis is the covenant that I will make with themAfter those days, says the ¹Lord:I will put My laws upon their heart,And on their mind I will write them,” He then says,¹⁷“^aAnd their sins and their lawless deedsI will remember no more.”

¹⁸Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

A New and Living Way

¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we ^ahave confidence to ^benter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by ^aa new and living way which He inaugurated for us through ^bthe veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹and since we have ^aa great priest ^bover the house of God, ²²let us ^adraw near with a ¹sincere heart in ^bfull assurance of faith, having our hearts ^csprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies ^dwashed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast the ^aconfession of our ^bhope without wavering, for ^cHe who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how ^ato stimulate one another to love and ^bgood deeds, ²⁵not forsaking our own ^aassembling together, as is the habit of some, but ^bencouraging one another, and all the more as you see ^cthe day drawing near.

Warning Against Willful Sin

²⁶For if we go on ^asinning willfully after receiving ^bthe knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷but a terrifying expectation of ^ajudgment and ^bthe fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. ²⁸^aAnyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses. ²⁹^aHow much worse punishment do you think he will deserve ^bwho has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as defiled ^cthe blood of the covenant ^dby which he was sanctified, and has ^einsulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know Him who said, “^aVengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “^bThe ¹Lord will judge His people.” ³¹It is a ^aterrifying thing to fall into the hands of the ^bliving God.

³²But remember ^athe former days, ¹when, after being ^benlightened, you endured a great ^cconflict of sufferings, ³³partly by being ^amade a public spectacle through reproaches and afflictions, and partly by becoming ^bsharers with those who were so treated. ³⁴For you also ^ashowed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted with ^bjoy the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves ^ca better and lasting possession. ³⁵Therefore, do not throw away that ^aconfidence of yours, which has a great ^breward. ³⁶For you have need of ^aendurance, so that when you have ^bdone the will of God, you may ^creceive the promise.

³⁷^aFor yet in a very little while,^bHe who is coming will come, and will not delay.³⁸^aBut My righteous one shall live by faith,And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

³⁹But ¹we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the ²preserving of the soul.

18He who separates himself seeks his own desire,He ^abreaks out in dispute against all sound wisdom.²A fool does not delight in discernment,But only ^ain revealing his own heart.³When a wicked man comes, despising also comes,And with disgrace comes reproach.⁴The words of a man’s mouth are ^adeep waters;¹The fountain of wisdom is a flowing brook.⁵To ^ashow partiality to the wicked is not good,Nor to ^bthrust aside the righteous in judgment.⁶A fool’s lips come with strife,And his mouth calls for ^abeatings.⁷A ^afool’s mouth is his ruin,And his lips are the snare of his soul.⁸The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,And they go down into the ¹innermost parts of the stomach.⁹He also who is ^aslack in his work^bIs brother to him who destroys.¹⁰The ^aname of Yahweh is a ^bstrong tower;The righteous runs into it and is ^cset securely on high.¹¹A ^arich man’s wealth is his strong city,And like a high wall in his own delusion.¹²^aBefore destruction the heart of man is haughty,But ^bhumility goes before glory.¹³He who ^aresponds with a word before he hears,It is folly and shame to him.¹⁴The ^aspirit of a man can endure his sickness,But as for a ^bbroken spirit, who can bear it?¹⁵The ^aheart of the understanding acquires knowledge,And the ^bear of the wise seeks knowledge.¹⁶A man’s ^agift makes room for himAnd leads him into the presence of great men.¹⁷The first ¹to plead his case seems right,Until ²another comes and examines him.¹⁸The cast ^alot puts an end to contentionsAnd ¹decides between the mighty ones.¹⁹A brother offended is harder to win over than a strong city,And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.²⁰From the ¹^,^afruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;^bWith the produce of his lips he will be satisfied.²¹^aDeath and life are in the ¹power of the tongue,And those who love it will eat its ^bfruit.²²He who finds a ^awife finds a good thingAnd ^bobtains favor from Yahweh.²³The ^apoor man speaks supplications,But the ^brich man ^canswers with strong words.²⁴A man of too many friends comes to ¹ruin,But there is ^aa ²friend who sticks closer than a brother.