1 Samuel 20:27-29

Common English Bible

²⁷ But on the next day, the second of the new moon, David’s seat was still empty. Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t Jesse’s son come to the table,^[a] either yesterday or today?”

²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, “David begged my permission to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Please let me go because we have a family sacrifice there in town, and my brother has ordered me to be present. Please do me a favor and let me slip away so I can see my family.’ That’s why David hasn’t been at the king’s table.”