1 Samuel 23
23
David in the Wilderness
1Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Kei´lah, and they rob the threshingfloors. 2Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Kei´lah. 3And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Kei´lah against the armies of the Philistines? 4Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Kei´lah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 5So David and his men went to Kei´lah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Kei´lah.
6And it came to pass, when Abi´athar the son of Ahim´elech fled to David to Kei´lah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7And it was told Saul that David was come to Kei´lah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. 8And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Kei´lah, to besiege David and his men. 9And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abi´athar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. 10Then said David, O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Kei´lah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11Will the men of Kei´lah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, He will come down. 12Then said David, Will the men of Kei´lah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. 13Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Kei´lah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Kei´lah; and he forbare to go forth. 14And David abode in the wilderness in strongholds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
15And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 18#1 Sam 18.3. And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
19 #
Ps 54 Title. Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gib´e-ah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachi´lah, which is on the south of Jeshi´mon? 20Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand. 21And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have compassion on me. 22Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilely. 23See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
24And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Ma´on, in the plain on the south of Jeshi´mon. 25Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Ma´on. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Ma´on. 26And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. 27But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. 28Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Se´la–hammah´lekoth.#23.28 That is, The rock of divisions. 29And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strongholds at En–ge´di.
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1 Samuel 23: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 23
23
David Rescues the Town of Keilah
1One day some people told David, “The Philistines keep attacking the town of Keilah and stealing grain from the threshing place.”
2David asked the Lord, “Should I attack these Philistines?”
“Yes,” the Lord answered. “Attack them and rescue Keilah.”
3But David's men said, “Look, even here in Judah we're afraid of the Philistines. We will be terrified if we try to fight them at Keilah!”#23.3 Keilah: Keilah was probably not controlled by Israelites at this time.
4David asked the Lord about it again. “Leave at once,” the Lord answered. “I will give you victory over the Philistines at Keilah.”
5David and his men went there and fiercely attacked the Philistines. They killed many of them, then led away their cattle, and rescued the people of Keilah.
6-8Meanwhile, Saul heard that David was in Keilah. “God has let me catch David,” Saul said. “David is trapped inside a walled town where the gates can be locked.” Saul decided to go there and surround the town, in order to trap David and his men. He sent messengers who told the towns and villages, “Send men to serve in Saul's army!”
By this time, Abiathar had joined David in Keilah and had brought along everything he needed to get answers from God.
9David heard about Saul's plan to capture him, and he told Abiathar, “Let's ask God what we should do.”
10David prayed, “Lord God of Israel, I was told that Saul is planning to come here. What should I do? Suppose he threatens to destroy the town because of me. 11Would the leaders of Keilah turn me over to Saul? Or is he really coming? Please tell me, Lord.”
“Yes, he will come,” the Lord answered.
12David asked, “Would the leaders of Keilah hand me and my soldiers over to Saul?”
“Yes, they would,” the Lord answered.
13David and his 600 men got out of there fast and started moving from place to place. Saul heard that David had left Keilah, and he decided not to go after him.
Jonathan Says David Will Be King
14David stayed in hideouts in the hill country of Ziph Desert. Saul kept searching, but God never let Saul catch him.
15One time, David was at Horesh in Ziph Desert. He was afraid because#23.15 He … because: Or “He saw that.” Saul had come to the area to kill him. 16But Jonathan went to see David, and God helped him encourage David. 17“Don't be afraid,” Jonathan said. “My father Saul will never get his hands on you. In fact, you're going to be the next king of Israel, and I'll be your highest official. Even my father knows it's true.”
18 #
1 S 18.3. They both promised the Lord that they would always be loyal to each other. Then Jonathan went home, but David stayed at Horesh.
David Escapes from Saul
19 #
Ps 54 Title. Some people from the town of Ziph went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Your Majesty, David has a hideout not far from us! It's near Horesh, somewhere on Mount Hachilah south of Jeshimon.#23.19 Jeshimon: A place in the desert near the southern border of Judah. 20If you come, we will help you catch him.”
21Saul told them:
You've done me a big favor, and I pray that the Lord will bless you. 22Now please do just a little more for me. Find out exactly where David is, as well as where he goes, and who has seen him there. I've been told that he's very tricky. 23Find out where all his hiding places are and come back when you're sure. Then I'll go with you. If he is still in the area, or anywhere among the clans of Judah, I'll find him.
24The people from Ziph went back ahead of Saul, and they found out that David and his men were still south of Jeshimon in the Maon Desert. 25Saul and his army set out to find David. But David heard that Saul was coming, and he went to a place called The Rock, one of his hideouts in Maon Desert.
Saul found out where David was and started closing in on him. 26Saul was going around a hill on one side, and David and his men were on the other side, trying to get away. Saul and his soldiers were just about to capture David and his men, 27when a messenger came to Saul and said, “Come quickly! The Philistines are attacking Israel and taking everything.”
28Saul stopped going after David and went back to fight the Philistines. That's why the place is called “Escape Rock.”
29David left and went to live in the hideouts at En-Gedi.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.