16. if Jonathan’s name is also eliminated, then the Lord will seek retribution from David!"
17. So Jonathan again made a pledge to David because he loved David as much as himself.
18. "Tomorrow is the festival of the new moon," Jonathan told David. "You will be missed because your seat will be empty.
19. The day after tomorrow, go all the way to the spot where you hid on the day of the incident, and stay close to that mound.
20. On the third day I will shoot an arrow to the side of the mound as if aiming at a target.
21. Then I’ll send the servant boy, saying, ‘Go retrieve the arrow.’ If I yell to the boy, ‘Hey! The arrow is on this side of you. Get it!’ then you can come out because it will be safe for you. There won’t be any trouble—I make a pledge on the Lord’s life.
22. But if I yell to the young man, ‘Hey! The arrow is past you,’ then run for it, because the Lord has sent you away.
23. Either way, the Lord is witness between us forever regarding the promise we made to each other."
24. So David hid himself in the field.When the new moon came, the king sat at the feast to eat.
25. He took his customary seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite him while Abner sat beside Saul. David’s seat was empty.
26. Saul didn’t say anything that day because he thought, Perhaps David became unclean somehow. That must be it.
27. But on the next day, the second of the new moon, David’s seat was still empty. Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn’t Jesse’s son come to the table, either yesterday or today?"
28. Jonathan answered Saul, "David begged my permission to go to Bethlehem.
29. He said, ‘Please let me go because we have a family sacrifice there in town, and my brother has ordered me to be present. Please do me a favor and let me slip away so I can see my family.’ That’s why David hasn’t been at the king’s table."
30. At that, Saul got angry at Jonathan. "You son of a stubborn, rebellious woman!" he said. "Do you think I don’t know how you’ve allied yourself with Jesse’s son? Shame on you and on the mother who birthed you!