شاول يطارد داود
1 وأخبَرَ شاوُلُ يوناثانَ ابنَهُ وجميعَ حاشيتِهِ أنَّهُ عزَمَ على قَتلِ داوُدَ. وكانَ يوناثانُ يُحِبُّ داوُدَ كثيرا، 2 فقالَ لَه: «أبـي يُريدُ قتلَكَ فَكنْ حَذِرا مُنذُ صباحِ الغَدِ وأقمْ في مكانٍ خفيٍّ. 3 وأنا أخرُجُ معَ أبـي وأقِفُ في الحقلِ الّذي تكونُ فيهِ، وأُكلِّمُهُ في شأنِكَ وأرى ما يكونُ وأخبرُكَ».
4 وامتدَحَ يوناثانُ داوُدَ أمامَ أبـيهِ شاوُلَ وقالَ: «لا يخطأِ الملكُ في عبدِهِ داوُدَ، فهوَ لم يُسِـئْ إليكَ، وأعمالُهُ كانَت لِخَيركَ. 5 خاطَرَ بِنفْسِهِ وقتَلَ الفلِسطيَّ، فأحرَزَ الرّبُّ نصرا عظيما لجميعِ بَني إِسرائيلَ. وأنتَ شاهَدتَ ذلِكَ وفرِحتَ، فلماذا تخطأُ للّه بسفكِ دمٍ بريءٍ وتقتُلُ داوُدَ بغيرِ سبَبٍ؟» 6 فسمِـعَ شاوُلُ لكلامِ يوناثانَ وحلَفَ: «حيٌ هوَ الرّبُّ لا أقتُلُ داوُدَ». 7 فدعا يوناثانُ داوُدَ وأخبرَهُ بهذا كُلِّهِ وأدخلَهُ على شاوُلَ، فأخذَ يَخدمُهُ كما في السَّابقِ.
8 وعادتِ الحربُ، فخرَجَ داوُدُ وحارَبَ الفلِسطيِّينَ وأنزلَ بِهم هزيمةً عظيمةً فهربوا مِنْ وجهِهِ. 9 واعترى شاوُلَ روحٌ شرِّيرٌ مِنْ عِندِ الرّبِّ، وكانَ جالسا في بَيتِهِ، والرّمحُ في يدِهِ، وداوُدُ يَضربُ بالعودِ. 10 فحاولَ شاوُلُ أنْ يضربَ داوُدَ بالرُّمحِ ويُلصِقَهُ بالحائطِ، فتنحَّى داوُدُ، فغرزَ الرُّمحُ في الحائطِ وهربَ داوُدُ ونجا بحياتِهِ تلكَ اللَّيلةَ.
11 فأرسلَ شاوُلُ رُسلا إلى بَيتِ داوُدَ يتَرصَّدونَهُ ليقتلوهُ صباحا. فقالَت لَه ميكالُ زوجتُهُ: «إنْ كُنتَ لا تهرُبُ هذِهِ اللَّيلةَ قُتِلْتَ في الغَدِ». 12 وأنزلَتهُ مِنْ طاقَةٍ فهرَبَ ناجيا بنفْسِهِ. 13 ثُمَّ أخذَت تِمثالا، ووضَعتهُ على السَّريرِ، ووضعَت تَحتَ رأسِهِ مخدَّةً مِنْ شَعرِ المعَزِ وغطَّتهُ بِلحافٍ. 14 وأرسَلَ شاوُلُ رُسلا يَقبِضونَ على داوُدَ فقالَت لهُم ميكالُ: «هوَ مريضٌ». 15 فأعادَ شاوُلُ الرُّسلَ ليَروا داوُدَ بأنفُسِهِم، وقالَ لهُم: «احمِلوهُ إليَّ وهوَ في فِراشِهِ لأقتلَهُ». 16 فعادَ رسلُ شاوُلَ فرأوا التمثالَ على السَّريرِ، والمخدَّةَ تحتَ رأسِهِ.
17 فقالَ شاولُ لِميكالَ: «لماذا خَدعتِني وأطلَقتِ عَدوِّي حتّى نجا؟» فأجابت: «لأنَّهُ قالَ لي: «أطلقيني وإلاَّ قَتلتُكِ». 18 وهرَبَ داوُدُ ونجا. وجاءَ إلى صَموئيلَ في الرَّامةِ وأخبرَهُ بكلِّ ما فعَلَ بهِ شاوُلُ. ثُمَّ ذهبا معا وأقاما بِنايوتَ. 19 فقيلَ لشاوُلَ: «ها داوُدُ في نايوتَ في الرَّامةِ». 20 فأرسلَ رُسلا ليَقبضوا علَيهِ، فرأوا جماعةَ الأنبـياءِ وهُم يَتنبَّأونَ وصَموئيلُ رئيسٌ علَيهِم، فحلَّ روحُ الرّبِّ على رُسلِ شاوُلَ فتنبَّأوا هُم أيضا. 21 ولمَّا علِمَ شاوُلُ بالأمرِ أرسلَ آخرينَ فتنبَّأوا هُم أيضا. وعادَ للمرَّةِ الثَّالثةِ فأرسلَ سِواهُم فتَنبَّأوا هُم أيضا. 22 فذهبَ بِنفْسهِ إلى الرَّامةِ وعندَ البئرِ العظيمةِ الّتي في سيخو سألَ عَنْ صَموئيلَ وداوُدَ. فقيلَ لَه: «هُنا في نايوتَ في الرَّامةِ». 23 وفيما هوَ ذاهِبٌ إلى هُناكَ حلَّ علَيهِ روحُ اللهِ، فأخذَ يتنبَّأُ طُولَ الطَّريقِ إلى نايوتَ. 24 ونزَعَ هوَ أيضا ثيابَهُ وتنبَّأَ أمامَ صَموئيلَ، وانطرَحَ عُريانا كُلَّ ذلِكَ النَّهارِ وليلَهُ. لِذلِكَ يُقالُ: «أشاوُلُ أيضا مِنَ الأنبـياءِ؟»
David Is Persecuted by Saul
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officials that he planned to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David, 2 and so he told him, “My father is trying to kill you. Please be careful tomorrow morning; hide in some secret place and stay there. 3 I will go and stand by my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak to him about you. If I find out anything, I will let you know.”
4 Jonathan praised David to Saul and said, “Sir, don't do wrong to your servant David. He has never done you any wrong; on the contrary, everything he has done has been a great help to you. 5 He risked his life when he killed Goliath, and the Lord won a great victory for Israel. When you saw it, you were glad. Why, then, do you now want to do wrong to an innocent man and kill David for no reason at all?”
6 Saul was convinced by what Jonathan said and made a vow in the Lord's name that he would not kill David. 7 So Jonathan called David and told him everything; then he took him to Saul, and David served the king as he had before.
8 War with the Philistines broke out again. David attacked them and defeated them so thoroughly that they fled.
9 One day an evil spirit from the Lord took control of Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was there, playing his harp. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David dodged, and the spear stuck in the wall. David ran away and escaped.
11 That same night Saul sent some men to watch David's house and kill him the next morning. Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you will be dead.” 12 She let him down from a window, and he ran away and escaped. 13 Then she took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a pillow made of goats' hair at its head, and put a cover over it. 14 When Saul's men came to get David, Michal told them that he was sick. 15 But Saul sent them back to see David for themselves. He ordered them, “Carry him here in his bed, and I will kill him.” 16 They went inside and found the household idol in the bed and the goats' hair pillow at its head. 17 Saul asked Michal, “Why have you tricked me like this and let my enemy escape?”
She answered, “He said he would kill me if I didn't help him escape.”
18 David escaped and went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Saul was told that David was in Naioth in Ramah, 20 so he sent some men to arrest him. They saw the group of prophets dancing and shouting, with Samuel as their leader. Then the spirit of God took control of Saul's men, and they also began to dance and shout. 21 When Saul heard of this, he sent more messengers, and they also began to dance and shout. He sent messengers the third time, and the same thing happened to them. 22 Then he himself started out to Ramah. When he came to the large well in Secu, he asked where Samuel and David were and was told that they were at Naioth. 23 As he was going there, the spirit of God took control of him also, and he danced and shouted all the way to Naioth. 24 He took off his clothes and danced and shouted in Samuel's presence, and lay naked all that day and all that night. (This is how the saying originated, “Has even Saul become a prophet?”)
