1Then Saul instructed his son Jonathan and all his officials to kill David. But Jonathan really liked David,

2so he warned him, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning—find a place to hide and stay hidden.

3I'll go out with my father and stand in the field near to where you are hiding. I'll talk to him about you and see what I can find out, then I'll let you know.”

4Then Jonathan spoke positively about David to his father Saul, and told him, “The king should not do anything bad to his servant David because he's not done anything bad to you—he has always served you well.

5He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about great salvation for the whole of Israel. You saw it and you were delighted, so why would you sin and spill innocent blood by killing David without having any reason?”

6Saul accepted what Jonathan had to say, and promised with an oath: “I swear on the life of the Lord, he won't be put to death.”

7Later Jonathan called David and told him all that had been said. Then he took him to Saul, and David worked for Saul as he had before.

8War broke out once again, and David went to fight the Philistines. He attacked them so forcefully that they ran away in defeat.

9A while later an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. As David played the lyre,

10Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. David managed to dodge the spear which embedded itself in the wall. Then David escaped and ran away into the night.

11Saul sent some messengers to David's house to keep watch and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed.”

12Michal lowered David down from a window, and he ran off, managing to escape.

13Then she took a home idol ⁶⁴and laid it in the bed, put a goat hair wig on its head, and covered it with bedclothes.

14When Saul sent the messengers to arrest David, Michal told them, “He's sick.”

15Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him to me in the bed so I can kill him.”

16But when the messengers went into the bedroom, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair wig on its head.

17“Why did you trick me like this—helping my enemy get away so he could escape?” Saul asked Michal. “He told me, ‘Get out of my way! I don't want to have to kill you!’” Michal replied.

18This is how David got away and escaped. He went to Samuel at Ramah and explained to him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in Naioth.

19When Saul got to hear that David was at Naioth in Ramah,

20he sent messengers to arrest him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading out, the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers and they started prophesying too.

21Saul was told what had happened, so he sent more messengers, and they started prophesying as well.

22For the third time Saul sent messengers, and they also started prophesying.

23In the end Saul went himself to Ramah and arrived at the large cistern at Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he asked. “At Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him. So Saul went on to Naioth at Ramah, but the Spirit of God even came on him, and he was prophesying as he walked along until he arrived in Naioth.

24Then Saul also took off his clothes and he too prophesied in Samuel's presence. Then he fell down and lay there naked all that day and all that night. That's why it is said, “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”