16. Jonathan and David made an agreement that even David's descendants would have to keep. Then Jonathan said, “I pray that the Lord will take revenge on your descendants if they break our promise.”
17. Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself, so he asked David to promise once more that he would be a loyal friend.
18. After this Jonathan said:Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, and people will wonder where you are, because your place will be empty.
19. By the day after tomorrow, everyone will think you've been gone a long time. Then go to the place where you hid before and stay beside Going-Away Rock.
20. I'll shoot three arrows at a target off to the side of the rock,
21. and send my servant to find the arrows.You'll know if it's safe to come out by what I tell him. If it is safe, I swear by the living Lord that I'll say, “The arrows are on this side of you! Pick them up!”
22. But if it isn't safe, I'll say to the boy, “The arrows are further away!” This will mean that the Lord wants you to leave, and you must go.
23. But he will always watch us to make sure that we keep the promise we made to each other.
24. So David hid there in the field.During the New Moon Festival, Saul sat down to eat
25. by the wall, just as he always did. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner sat next to him. But David's place was empty.
26. Saul didn't say anything that day, because he was thinking, “Something must have happened to make David unfit to be at the Festival. Yes, something must have happened.”
27. The day after the New Moon Festival, when David's place was still empty, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn't that son of Jesse come to eat with us? He wasn't here yesterday, and he still isn't here today!”