Saul Plans to Kill David
19 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan cared very much for David. 2 So he warned David, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Watch out in the morning. Hide in a secret place. 3 I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are hiding. I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll let you know what I find out.”
4 Jonathan talked to Saul his father. He said good things about David. Jonathan said, “You are the king. Don’t do wrong to your servant David. He did nothing wrong to you. What he did has helped you greatly. 5 David risked his life when he killed Goliath the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and you were happy. Why would you do wrong against David? He’s innocent. There’s no reason to kill him!”
6 Saul listened to Jonathan. Then he made this promise: “As surely as the Lord lives, David won’t be put to death.”
7 So Jonathan called to David. He told David everything that had been said. And he brought David to Saul. So David was with Saul as before.
8 When war broke out again, David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them, and they ran away from him.
9 But once again an evil spirit from the Lord entered Saul. He was sitting in his house, and he had his spear in his hand. David was playing the harp. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear. But David moved away from him. So Saul’s spear went into the wall. And David ran away that night.
11 Saul sent men to David’s house. They watched it, wanting to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him. She said, “Tonight you must run away to save your own life. If you don’t, you will be killed tomorrow morning.” 12 Then she let David down out of a window. So he ran away and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed. She covered it with clothes and put goats’ hair at its head.
14 Saul sent messengers to take David prisoner. But Michal said, “He is sick.”
15 The men went and told Saul, but he sent them back to see David. He told them, “Bring him to me on his bed so I can kill him.”
16 But when the messengers entered David’s house, they found it was just an idol on the bed. Its hair was goats’ hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why did you trick me this way? You let my enemy go. He has run away!”
Michal answered Saul, “David told me if I did not help him escape, he would kill me.”
18 After David had escaped from Saul, he went to Samuel at Ramah. He told Samuel everything Saul had done to him. Then David and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Saul heard that David was in Naioth at Ramah. 20 So he sent men to capture him. But they met a group of prophets prophesying. Samuel was leading this group and was standing there. The Spirit of God entered Saul’s men, and they also prophesied.
21 Saul heard the news. So he sent other men, but they also prophesied. Then he sent men a third time, but they also prophesied. 22 Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the well at Secu. He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”
The people answered, “In Naioth at Ramah.”
23 Then Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God also entered him. And he walked on, prophesying until he came to Naioth at Ramah. 24 He took off his robes and prophesied in front of Samuel. He lay that way all day and all night. That is why people ask, “Is even Saul one of the prophets?”