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told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan delighted greatly in David, 2 and he warned him, “My father Saul is looking for an opportunity to kill you. So be on your guard tomorrow morning; and go and hide in a secret place and stay there. 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are talk to my father about you. When I find out the situation, I’ll let you know.”
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. Indeed, what he has accomplished has benefited you greatly. 5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You yourself saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”
6 Saul listened to Jonathan’s advice and he swore an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”
7 Then Jonathan spoke to David and told him all this. He brought David to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.
8 When war broke out again, David went out and fought against the Philistines. He struck them with such a powerful defeat that they fled before him. 9 But an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but David eluded Saul as he drove the spear into the wall. That night David fled and escaped.
11 Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, and she placed some goats’ hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
14 When Saul sent the men to seize David, Michal said, “He is sick.”
15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David for themselves and said, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 16 When the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, some goats’ hair on its head.
17 Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and now he has escaped!”
She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’ ”
18 So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. 19 Word came to Saul, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 So Saul sent men to seize David, but when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men and they also prophesied. 21 When this was reported to Saul, he sent more men, but they also prophesied. Then Saul sent men again a third time and they also prophesied. 22 Finally Saul himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “They are over at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him.
23 So he went to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying until he came along to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He also stripped off his robes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”