- David returns to Jonathan in desperation: "there is but a step between me and death" (vv. 1–3).
- Jonathan still believes Saul would not move against David without telling him first.
- David corrects him: Saul is concealing his murderous intent precisely because he knows Jonathan loves David.
- David appeals to the covenant of the LORD already between them (v. 8), asking Jonathan to slay him himself rather than hand him to Saul.
- Jonathan devises a test to reveal his father's intent.
- Jonathan seals the plan with a covenant oath before the LORD.
- At the feast, Saul's silence on the first day turns into rage on the second.
- Saul at first assumes David is ceremonially unclean, which is a charitable reading of his absence.
- On the second day Saul interrogates Jonathan, and Jonathan gives the agreed-upon excuse, angering Saul.
- Jonathan asks what David has done to deserve death, and Saul responds by hurling his spear at Jonathan.
- Jonathan sends the signal.
- Jonathan's final word to David invokes the LORD's covenant (v. 42).
- Jonathan is the rightful heir who surrenders the kingdom to the LORD's anointed.
- He strips himself of his royal regalia in chapter 18, and here he strips himself of his father, his table, and his future.
- His love for David is covenantal, ordered by what he sees the LORD doing.
- The LORD's anointed advances not through conquest or scheming but through the willing sacrifice of those who recognize him.