The Byble in Englyshe that is to saye, the content of all the holye scrypture, bothe of the olde and newe Testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by the diligent studye of dyuers excellent lerned [men e]xperte in the fore[saide] tongues.

¶ Dauid complayneth vnto Ionathas.

CAPI. XX.

ANd Dauid fledde from Naioth whiche [unspec A] is in Rama, and came, and sayde before Ionathas: what haue I done? wherin am I faultie? what is the synne that I haue cōmytted before thy father, that he seketh my lyfe? He sayde vnto hym: God forbyd, thou shalte not dye. Beholde, my father wyll do nothynge eyther great or small, but that he wyll shewe it me. And howe shulde my father hyde this thynge from me? He wyll not do it. And Dauid sware agayne, and sayde: thy fa∣ther knoweth that I haue founde ☞ grace in thyne eyes, and therfore he saythe: Iona∣thas shall not knowe it, lest he be sorye. And in very dede, euen as truely as the Lorde ly∣ueth, and as truely as thy soule lyueth, there is but a step bytwene me & death. Then sayd Ionathas vnto dauid: what soeuer thy soule desyreth that I wyll do vnto the. And Dauid sayd vnto Ionathas: Beholde, to morowe is the begynnyng ☞ of the moneth, & I shulde syt with the kynge at meate. But let me go, that I maye hyde my selfe in the feldes vnto the thyrde day at euen.

If thy father speake of me, then say: Da∣uid [unspec B] asked leaue of me, that he myght go to Bethleem to his owne citye, for there is hol∣den a yerely feast for all the kynred. And yf he say: it is well done, then thy seruaunt shall haue peace. But and yf he be angrye: then be sure that wyckednesse is vtterly concluded of hym. And then thou shalte shewe mercye vn∣to thy seruaunt, * 1.1 for thou hast made with me thy seruaunt a bonde in the Lorde. Notwith∣standynge, yf there be in me any trespasse, then slee me thy selfe, & brynge me not to thy father. And Ionathas answered: God kepe that from the ❀ (neyther is it possible to come to passe.) For yf I knowe, that wyckednesse were concluded of my father, to come vpon the, thynkest thou that I shulde not tel it the? Then sayde Dauid, who shall tell me, yf thy father answere cruelly? And Ionathas sayd vnto Dauid, come and let vs go out i•• to the felde. And they wente out bothe of them into the felde.

And Ionathas sayde vnto Dauid: The [unspec C] Lorde god of Israel loke on it, when I haue groped my fathers mynde, one tyme or other within this thre dayes, that it stand wel with Dauid: If I then sende not vnto the & shew it the, the Lorde do so and so vnto Ionathas.

But yf my father haue any pleasure to do the euyll, I wyl shewe the also, and sende the awaye that thou mayst go in peace. And the Lorde be with the, as he hath bene with my father. And thou shalt performe vnto me the mercy of the Lorde, not onely whyle I lyue / but euen when I am deade, and plucke not thy mercy awaye from ☞ my house for euer: No not when the Lorde hath destroyed the

enemyes of Dauid, euery one from the face of the earth. And so Ionathas made a bonde with the house of Dauid, desyrynge that the Lorde shulde seke it out by the hand{is} of Da∣uids enemyes (yf it were broken.) And with other word{is} dyd Ionathas sweate vnto Da∣uid, bycause he loued hym. For he loued him, as his owne soule. Then sayde Ionathas to [unspec D] Dauid: to morowe is the fyrste daye of the moone. And thou shalt be myssed, bicause the place where thou wast wonte to syt, shall be emptye. Therfore this daye thre dayes come downe in any wyse vnto the place where thou dyddest hyde thy selfe, ☞ when the busynes was in hande: euen by the stoone Esell. And I wyl shute thre arowes by the one syde ther∣of, as though I shot them at a marke, & wyll sende a lad, and byd hym go seke the arowes. And yf I say vnto the lad: se, the arowes are on this syde the, bryng them: then come thou: for it is peace, & no hurte, as sure as the lorde lyueth. But and yf I say vnto the lad, behold the arowes are beyonde the, then go (in peace) forthe Lorde hath sente the awaye. And as touchynge this whiche thou & I haue spo∣ken: beholde ☞ the Lorde be bytwene the, & me for euer. And so dauid hyd him selfe in the felde. And when the newe moone was come / the kynge sat hym downe to eate meate.

And the kynge sat hym downe after the [unspec E] olde maner, in his seate by the wall. And Io∣nathas arose, & Abner sat by Sauls syde, and Dauids place was emptye. Neuerthelesse Saull sayde nothynge at all that daye. For he thought: some thyng hath chaunced hym, that he is not cleyne. But on the morowe which was the second day of the new moone, it appened, that Dauids place was emptye agayne. And Saull sayde vnto Ionathas his sonne: wherfore cōmeth not the Sonne of Isai to meate, neyther yesterday nor to day? And Ionathas answered vnto Saull: Da∣uid asked lycence of me, to go to Bethleem, for he sayde, Let me go I praye the, for oure kynred doth holde an offerynge in the citye / & my brother hath sent for me. And therfore yf I haue founde fauoure in thyne eyes, let me go, and se my brother. This is the cause that he cōmeth not vnto the kynges table.

Then was Saull angrye with Ionathas, [unspec F] & sayde vnto hym: Thou wycked rebell, do not I knowe, that thou hast chosen the son of Isai vnto thyne owne rebuke, & vnto the re∣buke and shame of thy mother? For as longe as the son of Isai lyueth vpō the earth, thou shalt not be stablyshed, nor yet thy kyngdom, wherfore nowe sende and fet hym vnto me / * 1.2 for he is the chylde of death. And Ionathas answered vnto Saull his father, & sayde to hym: wherfore shulde he dye? What hath he done? And Saul lyfte vp a speare to hyt hym / wherby Ionathas wyst well, that it was vt∣terlye determyned of his father, to sley Da∣uid. And so Ionathas arose from the table in a great anger, & dyd eate no meat the second daye of the moneth, for he was sory for Da∣uid, bycuse his father had done hym shame. On the nexte mornynge, Ionathas went out in to the felde, at the tyme appoynted with Dauid, & a lytle lad with hym. And he sayde vnto his boye: run & seke out myne arowes whiche I shute. And as the boye ran, he shot an arowe beyonde hym. And when the ladde [unspec G] was come to the place whyther Ionathas had shot the arow, Ionathas cryed after the lad, and saydens not the arowe beyonde the? And Ionathas cryed after the lad agayne / make spede, & stande not styll. And Ionathas lad gathered vp the arowes, and came to his mayster. But the lad wyst nothynge of the matter: Only Ionathas and Dauid wyst it.

And Ionathas gaue his wepons vnto the lad that was with hym, & sayd vnto hym: go and carye them to the towne. And as soone as the lad was gone, Dauid arose out of a place that was toward the south, and fell on his face to the grounde, and worshypped thre tymes. And they kyssed eyther other, & wepte togyther so longe, tyll Dauid exceded in we∣pynge. And Ionathas sayd to Dauid: go in peace. And the thyng{is} which we haue sworne both of vs in the name of the lorde, sayenge: the Lorde be bytwene the & me, and bytwene thy seed & myne, let them stand for euer. And he rose and departed. And Ionathas went in¦to the towne.

Notes

• * 1.1

  〈…〉〈…〉
• * 1.2

  i Regū ii. Reg.