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¹ Saul spake to Ionatha his sonne, and to all his seruauntes, that they should kill Dauid.² But Ionatha Sauls sonne had a great fauour to Dauid, & Ionathan tolde Dauid, saying, Saul my father goeth about to slay thee: Nowe therfore I pray thee take heede to thy selfe vntyll the mornyng, and abyde in some secrete place, and hyde thy selfe:³ And I wyll go out, and stande by my father in the fielde where thou art, and wyll commune with my father of thee, and whatsoeuer I see, I wyll tell thee.⁴ And Ionathan spake good of Dauid vnto Saul his father, and sayde vnto him: Let not the king sinne against his seruaunt, against Dauid: for he hath not sinned against thee, and his workes haue ben to theewarde very good.⁵ For he dyd put his life in his hande, and slue the Philistine, and the Lorde brought to passe a great health for all Israel: Thou sawest it, and thou reioycedst: Wherfore then wilt thou sinne against innocent blood, and slay Dauid without a cause?⁶ And Saul hearkened vnto the voyce of Ionathan, and Saul sware, as the Lorde lyueth he shall not dye.⁷ And Ionathan called Dauid, & Ionathan shewed hym all those wordes: & Ionathan brought Dauid to Saul, & he was in his presence as in tymes past.

⁸ And the warre began againe, and Dauid went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slue them with a great slaughter, and they fled from hym.⁹ And the euyl spirite of the Lorde was vpon Saul as he sate in his house, hauing a iauelin in his hand: And Dauid played with his hand.¹⁰ And Saul entended to smyte Dauid to the wall with the iauelyn: But he ryd him selfe out of Sauls presence, as he smote the speare into the walle: And Dauid fled & was saued the same night.

¹¹ Saul also sent messengers vnto Dauids house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: And Michol Dauids wyfe tolde it him, saying: If thou saue not thy selfe this night, to morowe thou shalt be slayne.¹² And so Michol let Dauid downe through a windowe: and he went and fled, and was saued.¹³ And Michol toke an image, and layde it in the bed, & put a pillowe stuffed with goates heere vnder the head of it, and couered it with a cloth.¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to fetche Dauid, she said, he is sicke.¹⁵ And Saul sent the messengers againe to see Dauid, saying: Bring him to me bed and all, that I may slay him.¹⁶ And when the messengers were come in, behold there lay an image in the bed, with a pillowe of goates heere vnder the head of it.¹⁷ And Saul sayde vnto Michol: Why hast thou mocked me so, and sent away mine enemie, that he is escaped? Michol aunswered Saul: For he sayd vnto me, let me go, or els I will kill thee.

¹⁸ And so Dauid fled, and escaped, & came to Samuel to Rama, and tolde him all that Saul had done to him: And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.¹⁹ And one tolde Saul, saying: Beholde, Dauid is at Naioth in Rama.²⁰ And Saul sent messengers to fet Dauid: And when they sawe a company of prophetes prophecying, & Samuel standing as appoynted ouer them, the spirite of God fell vpon the messengers of Saul, and they prophecied to.²¹ And when it was tolde Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophecied lykewyse. And Saul sent messengers yet againe the third time, and they prophecied also.²² Then went he him selfe to Rama, and came to a great well that is in Sechu, and he asked and sayde: Where are Samuel & Dauid? And one sayd: Beholde, they be at Naioth in Rama.²³ And he went thyther euen to Naioth in Rama, and the spirite of God came vpon him also, and he went prophecying vntill he came to Naioth in Rama.²⁴ And he stript of his clothes & prophecied before Samuel in lyke maner, and fell naked al that day and all that night: And therof it is that they say, Is Saul also among the prophetes?