³ Then ^(A)Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward ^[a]you, shall I not then send word to you and ^[b]inform you? ¹³ If it pleases my father to do you harm, ^(A)may the Lord do so to ^[c]me and more so, if I fail to ^[d]inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And ^(B)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the Lord, so that I do not die? ¹⁵ And ^(C)you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “^(D)May the Lord demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because ^(E)he loved him as he loved his own life.

⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, “^(A)Go ^[a]in safety, since we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘^(B)The Lord will be between me and you, and between my ^[b]descendants and your ^[c]descendants forever.’” ^[d]So David set out and went on his way, while Jonathan went into the city.

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 Then David said, “Is there ^[a]anyone still left of the house of Saul, ^(A)so that I could show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

⁷ But the king spared ^(A)Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, ^(B)because of the oath of the Lord which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.