¶ And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David: for he hath not sinned against thee, but his works have been to thee very good.

For he [a]did (A)put his life in danger, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and thou rejoicedst: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, and slay David without a cause?

Then Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan, and Saul [b]swore, As the Lord liveth, he shall not die.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 19:5 Hebrew, he put his soul in his hand.
  2. 1 Samuel 19:6 Whatsoever he pretended outwardly, yet his heart was full of malice.

Jonathan spoke(A) well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong(B) to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life(C) in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory(D) for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent(E) man like David by killing him for no reason?”

Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”

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