1 Samuel 19

¹ Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants about killing David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, greatly delighted in David.

² Jonathan told David, "My father Saul is seeking to kill you. Now then, be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a hidden place and conceal yourself.

³ I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak about you to my father. Whatever I see, I will tell you."

⁴ Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been very good for you.

⁵ He risked his life and struck down the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?"

⁶ Saul listened to Jonathan's voice and swore, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death."

⁷ Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

⁸ War broke out again, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with a great blow, and they fled before him.

⁹ A harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre.

¹⁰ Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence, and Saul drove the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹ Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."

¹² So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled and escaped.

¹³ Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed. She put a quilt of goat's hair at its head and covered it with a garment.

¹⁴ When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."

¹⁵ Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on the bed so that I may kill him."

¹⁶ When the messengers came in, there was the household idol on the bed with the quilt of goat's hair at its head.

¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go so that he has escaped?" Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go. Why should I kill you?'"

¹⁸ David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah. He told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

¹⁹ It was told to Saul, "David is in Naioth at Ramah."

²⁰ Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied.

²¹ When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Saul sent messengers a third time, and they also prophesied.

²² Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the great cistern that is at Secu and asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" Someone said, "They are in Naioth at Ramah."

²³ He went there, to Naioth at Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on prophesying until he came to Naioth at Ramah.

²⁴ He also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"