Dafite unosumikilisiwa ndi Saulo
1 Saulo wakabudza nkololo uwe Jonatani ne balanda babe bose ngekwe kubulaya Dafite. Koga Jonatani wakabe ne ludo gukulu kwazo muna Dafite. 2 Jonatani kadwa Dafite kati, “Tate bangu Saulo banogwisa zila ye kukubulaya, tjimuka mangwanana uzwitjengete, utizhe unobgwata. 3 Ndowobhudila kuzhe, anoma na tate pa shango pa unowobe ulipo, alebeleka na tate nge kuko, ngono ndowokubudza tjandinowobe ndabona.” 4 Jonatani wakaleba bubuya ngekwa Dafite na tate babe Saulo, ebadwa eti, “Mambo ngabasithame tjibi ngekwe nlanda wabo Dafite, ngobe iye akuna tjaakamutjinya nditjo, nenge zwaakathama, zwaakabe ne mbuzilo wulu kwazo mu muli. 5 Wakalonga butjilo gugwe mu mbatsha paakabulaya Nfilisitiya, ngono Yahwe bakazhisila Iziraela yose kukunda kukulu kwazo. Makakubona, mukashatha, ngono ini mungathama tjibi nge kutebula malopa asina nlandu nge kubulaya Dafite asina nlandu kene?” 6 Saulo katola dama la Jonatani, katuna kati, “Ndolebesa, na Yahwe banotjila, Dafite aatowobulawa.” 7 Ndizo Jonatani kadana Dafite kanlondela zose zwalebgwa. Kantola kan'yisa kuna Saulo, ngono Dafite kabgwiliziwa mu nshingo uwe wa kale.
8 Ngwa ikamuka kakale, ngono Dafite kabhuda kanogwa ne Bafilisitiya. Kagwa nabo nge masimba kababulaya kwazo, bakadwa panli bakatizha.
9 Ngono meya mibi inodwa kuna Yahwe ikadelukila muna Saulo, aligele mu ng'umba iye akabhata thumo nge luboko, kukati Dafite elidza harepa, 10 Saulo kagwiso kothomelela Dafite mu guma nge thumo, koga kalidzeta, kuti thumo linobhaya mu guma. Dafite katizha, kanyeluka mu busiku igogu.
11 Saulo wakatumila balume ku ng'umba ya Dafite kuilinda, kuti bambulaye mangwanana. Koga nkadzi wa Dafite Mikhali kanluma zebe kati, “Ha usingake ukatizha busiku igogu kuzwitjidza, mangwana unowobulawa.” 12 Mikhali kathukisa Dafite nge fesitere, katizha kapudzumuka lufu. 13 Mikhali katola ifano tje ndzimu wakabezhiwa katjikushika pa bulawo, katjisazamidza nsazamilo we bukuse gwe mbudzi, katjifukidza nge ngubo. 14 Kwakati Saulo atuma bathu kunobhata Dafite, Mikhali kabadwa kati, “Unogwala.” 15 Ndizo Saulo kabgwiliza bathu kuti banobona Dafite, kabadwa kati, “Munsenge nge bulawo gugwe muzhise ku ndili, ndimbulaye.” 16 Kwakati balume bengina mukati, bakawana tjifano tje ndzimu wakabezhiwa tjili lele pa bulawo, ne nsazamilo we bukuse gwe mbudzi pa misholo yatjo. 17 Saulo kadwa Mikali kati, “Hwutini wanditjebela kwakajali, waletjedza tjita tjangu tjiyenda, kuti ndizo apudzumuke kene?”
Mikali kashandula Saulo eti, Wakandidwa kati, “Undiletje ndiyende, ndisidwe ndikubulaya.”
18 Kwakati Dafite atizha apudzumuka, kayenda kuna Samuele ku Rama, kaswika kambudza zose zwaakathamwa ndi Saulo. Ndizo iye na Samuele bakayenda ku Naioti bakanogalako. 19 Saulo kalumwa zebe kuyi, “Dafite uku Naioti ku Rama.” 20 Ndizo Saulo katuma bathu kunotola Dafite. Kwakati bebona goko le balebesambeli lili mu kulebesambeli na Samuele alimile ali iye nsholo wabo, meya ye Ndzimu ikabhata batumwa ba Saulo, naibo bo bakabe mu meya bakalebesambeli. 21 Kwakati Saulo ebudziwa ngekwe kuthu ikoku, katuma bathu bamwe, naibo bakalebesambelibo. Saulo katuma bathu kakale gwe butatu, na ibo bakalebesambeli bo. 22 Ndizo Saulo kazwiyendigwa ku Rama. Kaswika pa tshime gulu limu Seku, kabhuzwa kati, “Bangayi Samuele na Dafite kene?” Ngono mmwe kan'dabila kati, “Baku Naioti ku Rama.” 23 Kayenda ko, wakati akalinga Naioti mu Rama, meya ye Ndzimu ikadelukila munli. Kwakati akabhata eyenda, kalebesambeli, kudzina enoswika ku Naioti mu Rama. 24 Kazwiambula zwiambalo, na iyebo kalebesambeli mbeli kwa Samuele. Kakandalala ali mbujo sikati ilelo lose ne busiku igugo gose. Ndipo pakatangisa ndebeleko inoti, “Apa Saulo na iyebo upakati kwe balebesambeli?”
David Is Persecuted by Saul
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officials that he planned to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David, 2 and so he told him, “My father is trying to kill you. Please be careful tomorrow morning; hide in some secret place and stay there. 3 I will go and stand by my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak to him about you. If I find out anything, I will let you know.”
4 Jonathan praised David to Saul and said, “Sir, don't do wrong to your servant David. He has never done you any wrong; on the contrary, everything he has done has been a great help to you. 5 He risked his life when he killed Goliath, and the Lord won a great victory for Israel. When you saw it, you were glad. Why, then, do you now want to do wrong to an innocent man and kill David for no reason at all?”
6 Saul was convinced by what Jonathan said and made a vow in the Lord's name that he would not kill David. 7 So Jonathan called David and told him everything; then he took him to Saul, and David served the king as he had before.
8 War with the Philistines broke out again. David attacked them and defeated them so thoroughly that they fled.
9 One day an evil spirit from the Lord took control of Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was there, playing his harp. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David dodged, and the spear stuck in the wall. David ran away and escaped.
11 That same night Saul sent some men to watch David's house and kill him the next morning. Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you will be dead.” 12 She let him down from a window, and he ran away and escaped. 13 Then she took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a pillow made of goats' hair at its head, and put a cover over it. 14 When Saul's men came to get David, Michal told them that he was sick. 15 But Saul sent them back to see David for themselves. He ordered them, “Carry him here in his bed, and I will kill him.” 16 They went inside and found the household idol in the bed and the goats' hair pillow at its head. 17 Saul asked Michal, “Why have you tricked me like this and let my enemy escape?”
She answered, “He said he would kill me if I didn't help him escape.”
18 David escaped and went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Saul was told that David was in Naioth in Ramah, 20 so he sent some men to arrest him. They saw the group of prophets dancing and shouting, with Samuel as their leader. Then the spirit of God took control of Saul's men, and they also began to dance and shout. 21 When Saul heard of this, he sent more messengers, and they also began to dance and shout. He sent messengers the third time, and the same thing happened to them. 22 Then he himself started out to Ramah. When he came to the large well in Secu, he asked where Samuel and David were and was told that they were at Naioth. 23 As he was going there, the spirit of God took control of him also, and he danced and shouted all the way to Naioth. 24 He took off his clothes and danced and shouted in Samuel's presence, and lay naked all that day and all that night. (This is how the saying originated, “Has even Saul become a prophet?”)