Jonathan told his father Saul some good things about David. He said to him, "Please don't do anything to harm David. He hasn't done anything to harm you. And what he's done has helped you a lot.
He put his own life in danger when he killed Goliath. The Lord used him to win a great battle for the whole nation of Israel. When you saw it, you were glad. So why would you do anything to harm a man like David? He isn't guilty of doing anything to harm you. Why would you want to kill him without any reason?"
Saul paid attention to Jonathan. He took an oath and made a promise. He said, "You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that David will not be put to death."
But an evil spirit that was sent by the Lord came on Saul. It happened as he was sitting in his house and holding his spear. While David was playing the harp,
Saul sent some men to watch David's house. He told them to kill David the next morning. But David's wife Michal warned him. She said, "You must run for your life tonight. If you don't, tomorrow you will be killed."
Then Michal got a statue of a god. She laid it on David's bed. She covered it with clothes. And she put some goat hair at the place where David's head would have been.
Saul said to Michal, "Why did you trick me like this? Why did you help my enemy escape?" Michal told him, "He said to me, 'Help me get away. If you don't, I'll kill you.' "
After David had run away and escaped, he went to Samuel at Ramah. He told him everything Saul had done to him. Then David and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.
So Saul sent some men to capture him. When they got there, they saw a group of prophets who were prophesying. Samuel was standing there as their leader. Then the Spirit of God came on Saul's men. So they also began to prophesy.
Finally, Saul decided to go to Ramah himself. He went to the large well at Secu. He asked some people, "Where are Samuel and David?" "Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said.
There he took off his royal robes. Then he prophesied in front of Samuel. He lay there without his robes on all that day and night. That's why people say, "Is Saul also one of the prophets?"