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Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David, but Jonathan liked David very much.

But once again an evil spirit from the Lord rushed upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. David was playing the harp.

Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David jumped out of the way. So Saul's spear went into the wall, and David ran away that night.

Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, saying, "Tonight you must run for your life. If you don't, you will be dead in the morning."

Saul sent messengers to take David prisoner, but Michal said, "He is sick."

So he sent messengers to capture him. But they met a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there leading them. So the Spirit of God entered Saul's men, and they also prophesied.

When Saul heard the news, he sent more messengers, but they also prophesied. Then he sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied.

But David took an oath, saying, "Your father knows very well that you like me. He says to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it, or he will tell David.' As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I am only a step away from death!"

So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the third evening.

If your father says, ‘Fine,' I am safe. But if he becomes angry, you will know that he wants to hurt me.

But if my father plans to hurt you, I will let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord punish me terribly if I don't do this. And may the Lord be with you as he has been with my father.

But show me the kindness of the Lord as long as I live so that I may not die.

But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,' you must go, because the Lord is sending you away.

He sat where he always sat, near the wall. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.

But the next day was the second day of the month, and David's place was still empty. So Saul said to Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the feast yesterday or today?"

The boy ran to the place where Jonathan's arrow fell, but Jonathan called, "The arrow is beyond you!"

When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the rock. He bowed facedown on the ground before Jonathan three times. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the most.

The priest said to David, "I don't have any plain bread here, but I do have some holy bread. You may eat it if your men have kept themselves from women."

The priest answered, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, the one you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the holy vest. If you want it, you may take it. There's no other sword here but that one." David said, "There is no other sword like it. Give it to me."

But the servants of Achish said to him, "This is David, the king of the Israelites. He's the man they dance and sing about, saying: ‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies, but David has killed tens of thousands.'"