Year of the Bible
1 Samuel 19
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Commentary on the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 19:
King Saul continues his efforts to kill his perceived enemy, David. His own children have deep relationships with David: Jonathan as David’s friend and Michal as David’s wife. The Prince and Princess work to protect David from their father’s machinations, enabling David to escape and meet the prophet Samuel. When the King sends messengers to capture David, the messengers cannot fulfill their task for they become like prophets! Eventually King Saul goes after David himself, and he, too, is overcome by God and prophecies rather than harm David.
The First Book of Samuel, Chapter 19:
Jonathan Intercedes for David
1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2 And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you; therefore take heed to yourself in the morning, stay in a secret place and hide yourself; 3 and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; and if I learn anything I will tell you.” 4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David; because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; 5 for he took his life in his hand and he slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
Michal Helps David Escape from Saul
8 And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and made a great slaughter among them, so that they fled before him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped.
11 That night Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through the window; and he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you? ’”
David Joins Samuel in Ramah
18 Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt at Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu; and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 And he went from there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel, and lay naked all that day and all that night. Hence it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
At the end of this chapter, Saul, overcome by the power of God, stripped off his clothes and lay prostrate before the Lord all day and all night, a symbol of his true physical and spiritual vulnerability in God's presence. How might The Lord be revealing to me the utter transparency of my own false securities built up by fear or pride? How might he be showing me that he alone suffices?
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.
1 Saúl habló a Jonatán, su hijo, y a
todos sus servidores sobre la intención
de matar a David. Pero Jonatán,
hijo de Saúl, tenía mucho afecto a David
2 y le previno:
–Saúl, mi padre, te busca para matarte;
por tanto, mañana ten cuidado.
Retírate y escóndete. 3 Yo saldré y permaneceré
junto a mi padre en la zona
en que tú estás. Le hablaré de ti y todo
lo que vea te lo comunicaré.
4 Contó, pues, Jonatán muchas cosas
buenas de David a su padre Saúl, diciéndole:
–No haga daño el rey a su siervo
David, que él nada malo ha hecho; al
contrario, sus obras te han sido favorables.
5 Ha puesto su vida en peligro, ha
matado al filisteo y el Señor ha concedido
una gran victoria a todo Israel. Tú
mismo te alegraste al verlo, ¿por qué
ahora vas a hacerte reo de sangre inocente,
matando a David que no tiene la
culpa?
6 Saúl atendió las palabras de Jonatán
y juró:
–¡Por vida del Señor, no morirá!
7 Llamó enseguida Jonatán a David
y le comunicó todas estas palabras; luego
lo llevó ante Saúl y David siguió a su
servicio como antes.
8 Se reanudó otra vez la guerra y David
salió a luchar contra los filisteos. Les
causó una gran derrota y huyeron ante
él. 9 Pero el mal espíritu, que venía del
Señor, se apoderó otra vez de Saúl que
estaba sentado en su casa con la lanza
en la mano mientras David tocaba.
10 Saúl intentó clavar a David en la pared
con su lanza, pero David la esquivó, la
lanza se clavó en la pared, y él salió huyendo
y se puso a salvo aquella noche.
11 Saúl envió a unos hombres a casa
de David para vigilarlo y matarlo a la
mañana siguiente. Mical, su mujer, se lo
advirtió:
–Si no te pones a salvo esta noche,
mañana morirás.
12 Mical pudo bajar a David por la
ventana y así él salió huyendo y se puso
a salvo. 13 Luego Mical tomó uno de los
terafim, lo puso sobre la cama, puso una
piel de cabra a la cabecera y cubrió todo
con ropas. 14 Cuando envió Saúl a los
mensajeros para apoderarse de David,
Mical les dijo:
–Está enfermo.
15 Saúl envió de nuevo hombres para
buscar a David, diciéndoles:
–Traédmelo en la cama, que lo mataremos.
16 Llegaron los enviados y encontraron
uno de los terafim sobre la cama y la
piel de cabra a la cabecera.
17 Dijo entonces Saúl a Mical:
–¿Por qué me has engañado así y
has dejado irse a mi enemigo?
Mical le respondió:
–Él me dijo: «Déjame marchar; si
no, te mataré».
18 David, pues, huyó y se puso a salvo.
Llegó a Ramá, donde estaba Samuel,
y le contó todo lo que Saúl le había hecho.
Después Samuel y él se fueron a habitar
en Nayot. 19 Pero algunos le comunicaron
a Saúl:
–David está en Nayot, en Ramá.
20 Saúl envió a unos hombres para apoderarse
de David, pero cuando vieron a la
comunidad de profetas en trance y entre
ellos a Samuel, el espíritu de Dios invadió
a los emisarios y también ellos comenzaron
a profetizar. 21 Se lo comunicaron a
Saúl, y éste envió a otros que también comenzaron
a profetizar. Volvió a enviar
emisarios por tercera vez y también éstos
se pusieron a profetizar. 22 Entonces él
mismo se fue a Ramá y al llegar a la cisterna
mayor que hay en Secú preguntó:
–¿Dónde están Samuel y David?
Le dijeron:
–Están en Nayot, en Ramá.
23 Se dirigió a Nayot, en Ramá, pero
también a él le invadió el espíritu de
Dios y fue profetizando hasta llegar
a Nayot en Ramá. 24 Allí se despojó de
sus vestiduras y estuvo profetizando en
presencia de Samuel; luego cayó a tierra
desnudo y pasó así todo aquel día y
toda la noche. Por eso se dice: «¿También
Saúl anda entre los profetas?».
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).