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¹ Then Saul spake to Ionathan his sonne, and to all his seruantes, that they shoulde kill Dauid: but Ionathan Sauls sonne had a great fauour to Dauid.² And Ionathan told Dauid, saying, Saul my father goeth about to slay thee: nowe therefore, I pray thee, take heede vnto thy selfe vnto the morning, & abide in a secret place, & hide thy selfe.³ And I will go out, and stand by my father in the fielde where thou art, and will commune with my father of thee, & I will see what he sayth, and will tell thee.⁴ And Ionathan spake good of Dauid vnto Saul his father, & said vnto him, Let not the King sinne against his seruat, against Dauid: for he hath not sinned against thee, but his works haue bene to thee very good.⁵ For he did put his life in daunger, and slew the Philistim, and the Lord wrought a great saluation for al Israel: thou sawest it, and thou reioycedst: wherefore then wilt thou sinne against innocent blood, and slay Dauid without a cause?⁶ Then Saul hearkened vnto the voyce of Ionathan, and Saul sware, As the Lorde liueth, he shall not dye.⁷ So Ionathan called Dauid, and Ionathan shewed him all those words, & Ionathan brought Dauid to Saul, and hee was in his presence as in times past.

⁸ Againe the warre began, & Dauid went out & fought with the Philistims, and slew them with a great slaughter, and they fled from him.⁹ And the euill spirit of the Lord was vpon Saul, as hee sate in his house hauing his speare in his hand, and Dauid played with his hand.¹⁰ And Saul intended to smite Dauid to the wall with the speare: but hee turned aside out of Sauls presence, & he smote the speare against the wall: but Dauid fled, & escaped the same night.

¹¹ Saul also sent messengers vnto Dauids house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal Dauids wife told it him, saying, If thou saue not thy selfe this night, to morowe thou shalt be slayne.¹² So Michal let Dauid downe through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.¹³ Then Michal tooke an image, & layde it in the bed, & put a pillow stuffed with goates heare vnder the head of it, & couered it with a cloth.¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take Dauid, she sayd, He is sicke.¹⁵ And Saul sent the messengers againe to see Dauid, saying, Bring him to me in the bed, that I may slay him.¹⁶ And when the messengers were come in, behold, an image was in the bed, with a pillow of goates heare vnder the head of it.¹⁷ And Saul said vnto Michal, Why hast thou mocked me so, & sent away mine enemie, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said vnto me, Let me go, or els I will kill thee.

¹⁸ So Dauid 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.¹⁹ But one tolde Saul, saying, Beholde, Dauid is at Naioth in Ramah.²⁰ And Saul sent messengers to take Dauid: & when they sawe a company of Prophets prophecying, and Samuel standing as appoynted ouer them, the Spirit of God fell vpon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophecied.²¹ And when it was tolde Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophecied likewise: againe Saul sent the third messengers, and they prophecied also.²² Then went he himselfe to Ramah, & came to a great well that is in Sechu, and he asked, and sayd, Where are Samuel and Dauid? & one sayd, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.²³ And he went thither, euen to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came vpon him also, and he went prophecying vntill hee came to Naioth in Ramah.²⁴ And he stript off his clothes, and he prophesied also before Samuel, and fell downe naked all that day and all that night: therefore they say, Is Saul also among the Prophets?