ed his {402} own soul. Then Jonathan
said to him, "To-morrow is the feast of the new moon: and thou shalt
be missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed
three days, thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where
thou didst hide thyself before. And I will shoot three arrows, as
though I shot at a mark. And, behold, I will send the lad, saying,
'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the lad, 'Behold, the arrows are on
this side of thee: take them,' then come; for there is peace to thee
and no hurt, as the Lord liveth. But if I say thus to the boy,
'Behold, the arrows are beyond thee': go thy way; for the Lord hath
sent thee away. And as touching the matter which thou and I have
spoken of, behold, the Lord is between thee and me for ever."

So David hid himself in the field: and when the feast of the new moon
was come, the king sat down to eat. And the king sat upon his seat, as
at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up,
and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty.
Nevertheless Saul spoke not anything that day: for he thought,
"Something hath befallen him." And it came to pass on the morrow after
the new moon, which was the second day, that David's place was empty:
and Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Wherefore cometh not the son of
Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to-day?"

And Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go
to Beth-lehem: and he said, 'Let me go, I pray thee; for our family
hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to
be there: and now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get
away, I pray thee, and see my brethren.' Therefore he is not come unto
the king's table."

{403}{404}

[Illustration]
RUINS OF THE FORTRESS OF MASSADA, WILDERNESS OF JUDAEA

This is another picture of a portion of the "Wilderness of Judaea."
It is easy to see how David, who was thoroughly familiar with the
country, could hide himself and his men safely from pursuit during
the time in which he was an outlaw and a fugitive from the king.

This fortress was the scene of a terrible siege and massacre in 70
A. D., after the fall of Jerusalem. About a thousand men, women, and
children fled to this place. The Romans followed and in spite of
almost insurmountable difficulties besieged the place. Driven to the
last extremity, the defenders killed the women and children and then
themselves. O