A   And Dauid fled from Naioth in Ramath and went and sayde before Ionathas: What haue I done? wherin am I faultie? what is the synne that I haue committed before thy father that he seketh my lyfe? And Ionathas answered hym: God fordyd, thou shalt not dye. For se my father wyll do nothyng ether great or small, but that he wyll shew it me. For why shoulde my father hyde thys thynge from me? there shalbe no suche

Dauid thinge. And Dauid sware agayne and sayde: thy father knoweth þt; I haue founde ^note grace in thyne eyes and therfore he thinketh, Ionathas shall not know it, leste he be sorye. For in very dede, euen as truly as the Lorde lyueth and as truely as thy soule lyueth, there is but a steppe betwene me and death. Then sayde Ionathas vnto Dauid, whatsoeuer thy soule desyreth that I wyl do vnto the. And Dauid sayde vnto Ionathas: Beholde, to morow is the ^note fyrst daye of the moneth, ∧ I shoulde syt wyth the kynge at meate. But let me go that I may hyde my selfe in the feldes vnto thys daye thre dayes at euen. B   Yf thy father mysse me, then saye: Dauid asked leaue of me, that he myght go to Bethlehem to hys owne cytye, for there is holden a yearely feast for all his kinne. And yf thy father saye thus: it is well done, then thy seruaunt shall haue peace. But and yf he be angrye: then be sure that wickednesse is vtterly concluded of him. And then thou shalt ^note shewe mercye vnto thy seruaunt, for thou hast made wyth me thy seruaunte a bonde in the Lorde. Notwythstandinge yf there be in me any trespace, then sley me thy selfe, for what nedeth the to bring me to thy father.

And Ionathas answered: God kepe that from the, that I should knowe, that wickednesse were concluded of my father, to come vpon the: and should not tel it the. Then said Dauid, who shal tel me, yf thy father answer cruelly? Then sayde Ionathas to Dauid, come and let vs go out into the feldes. And they went out both of them into the feldes.

C   And Ionathas saide vnto Dauid: O Lord god of Israel, wh&ebar; I haue groped my fathers mynde, one tyme or other wythin thys thre dayes, that it stand well wyth Dauid, and I then sende not vnto the and shew it the, the Lorde do so, and so vnto Ionathas. And in lyke maner, yf euyl to the warde please my father, I wyll shew the and sende the awaye, that thou mayest go in peace. And the Lorde be wyth the as he hath bene wyth my father. And thou shalt performe vnto me the mercy of the Lord, not onely whyle I lyue but euen when I am dead, plucke not thy mercy away from my ^note house foreuer: No not when the Lorde hath destroyed the enemies of Dauid euery one from the face of the earth.

And so Ionathas made a bonde wyth the house of Dauid, desyrynge that the Lorde shoulde seke out of the handes of Dauids enemyes theyr wyckednesse. And with other wordes Ionathas adiured Dauid, because he loued hym. For as hys owne soule he loued hym.

D   Then sayd Ionathas to Dauid: to morow shalbe the fyrst daye of the mone. And thou shalt be myssed, because the place shall appere emptye. But thys day thre dayes come in any wyse vnto the place where thou shalt hyde thy selfe, when it is worckedaye: euen by the stone Esell. And I wyll shote thre arowes by the one syde thereof, B   as though I shot at a marke, and wyll sende after a ladde, and bid hym go seke the arowes. Yf I saye vnto the lad, se the arowes are on thys side the, brynge them: then come thou, for it is peace and nothyng to do, as sure as the Lorde lyueth. But and yf I saye thus vnto the young felow, beholde, the Arowes are beyounde the, then go, for the Lord hath sent the awaye. And of this whyche thou and I haue spok&ebar;: beholde, the Lord is witnesse betwene the and me for euer. And so Dauid hyd him selfe in the feld. And when the new mone was come, the kynge sat downe at meate, for to eate. And the kyng sat him doune after the old maner, C   in his seate by þe; wall. And Ionathas arose, ∧ Abner sate by Sauls syde, and Dauids place was emptye. Neuerthelesse yet Saul sayd nothyng at all þt; day. For he thought some thynge had chaunced hym that he is not cleane. But on the morow whyche was the second daye of the mone when Dauids place appered emptye, Saul sayde vnto Ionathas hys sonne: wherfore cometh not the sonne of Isai to meate, nether yesterdaye nor to day. And Ionathas answered vnto Saul. Dauid asked lycence of me to go to Bethlehem sayinge: let me go, I praye the, for oure kynrede holde an offerynge in the cytye, and my brother hath sent for me. Nowe therfore yf I haue found fauour in thyne eyes let me go, and se my brother. And therefore he cometh not vnto the table of the Kynge. Then was Saul angry with Ionathas and sayde vnto hym: O frowarde and rebellyous, thyukest thou I knowe not howe thou hast chosen the sonne of Isai vnto thine owne rebuke, D   and vnto the rebuke ∧ shame of thy mother. For as longe as the sonne of Isai lyueth vpon the earth, thou shalt not be stabylyshed, nor yet thy kyngdome, wherfore now sende and fet him vnto me, ^note for he is the child of the death.

But Ionathas answered Saul hys father and sayde to hym: wherefore should he dye? what hath he done? Then Saul cast a speare at hym to hyt hym, wherby Ionathas wyst well, that it was vtterlye determyned of hys father, to sley Dauid. And so Ionathas arose from the table in a great anger and dyd eate no meate the second daye of the moneth, for he was sory for Dauid, because his father had done hym shame. On the next mornynge Ionathas went out into the felde, at the tyme appointed with Dauid, and a litle lad with him. And he sayd vnto the boye: runne and fynde out myne arowes whyche I shote. And as the boye ran, G   he shote an arow beyonde hym. And when the lad was come to the place whether Ionathas had shot the arow, Ionathas cryed after hym and sayde, the arow is bey&obar;d the. And he cryed after the lad: haste, make spede and stande not styll. And Ionathas lad gathered vp þe; arow and came to his master. But the lad wist nothyng of the matter: Only Ionathas and Dauid wist it. Then Ionathas gaue hys wepons vnto the lad and sayd

Dauid vnto hym: go and carye them to the towne. And as sone as the lad was gone, Dauid arose out of a place that was to ward the south and fell on hys face to the grounde ∧ bowed hym selfe thre tymes. And they kyssed ether other and wepte together, but Dauid more abundantly. And Ionathas sayde to Dauid: go in peace, whyche ^note we haue sworne both of vs in the name of the Lord sayinge: the Lorde be betwene the and me, and betwene thy sede and myne for euer. And he rose and departed. And Ionathas went into the towne.

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