1 Samuel 19:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Jonathan told David, "Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

NIV: and warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there.

NASB: So Jonathan informed David, saying, 'My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself.

CSB: so he told him: "My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning and hide in a secret place and stay there.

NLT: told him what his father was planning. 'Tomorrow morning,' he warned him, 'you must find a hiding place out in the fields.

KJV: But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:

NKJV: So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide.

First Samuel 19:1–7 records how Jonathan convinced Saul that David isn't a threat. The king's fear of and anger toward David had been growing since they returned from the battle with Goliath (1 Samuel 18). When Saul orders his servants to kill David, Jonathan reminds him of David's loyalty. The King agrees he has no legal reason to kill David, and David returns to his service. The truce doesn't last long. Saul again tries to kill David with a spear and then sends assassins to David's house. David's wife, Saul's daughter, helps David escape (1 Samuel 19:8–17).

In 1 Samuel 19, the war between Saul and David grows stronger. Saul orders his servants to kill David. Jonathan confronts him about this injustice, and the king swears not to put David to death. But when a harmful spirit from the Lord comes upon Saul, Saul tries to kill David with a spear. With Michal's help, David escapes Samuel in Ramah and the company of prophets. Three groups of Saul's servants and then Saul himself come to arrest David, but they're all overcome by God's Spirit and begin prophesying uncontrollably.

When David killed Goliath, Saul brought him in as an army commander. The more battles David won, the more the people loved him. Saul increasingly saw his warrior as a threat (1 Samuel 16:14—18:30). David finally understands he can't reconcile his relationship with the king. He flees with the help of Saul's daughter and son, who are David's wife and best friend (1 Samuel 19—20). Stil loyal to King Saul and Israel, David builds his own army. He will continue to fight Israel's enemies, and run from Saul, until Saul's death.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.