1 Samuel 20:27-29

Good News Translation

²⁷ On the following day, the day after the New Moon Festival, David's place was still empty, and Saul asked Jonathan, “Why didn't David come to the meal either yesterday or today?”

²⁸ Jonathan answered, “He begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ ‘Please let me go,’ he said, ‘because our family is celebrating the sacrificial feast in town, and my brother ordered me to be there. So then, if you are my friend, let me go and see my relatives.’ That is why he isn't in his place at your table.”