1 Samuel 23
23
David Saves the City of Keilah
1Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against #Josh. 15:44Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” 2Therefore David #See ch. 22:10inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4Then David #[See ver. 2 above] inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, #ver. 14; Josh. 24:11; Judg. 7:7; 20:28for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 # ch. 22:20 When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. 7Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, #ch. 30:7; [Num. 27:21]“Bring the ephod here.” 10Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, #ver. 20“They will surrender you.” 13Then David and his men, #ch. 25:13; 27:2; [ch. 22:2; 30:9, 10] who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went #[2 Sam. 15:20]wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country #See Ps. 63 of the wilderness of #Josh. 15:24Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
Saul Pursues David
15David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. #ch. 24:20; [ch. 20:31]Saul my father also knows this.” 18#ch. 18:3; 20:8, 16, 42; [2 Sam. 21:7]And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
19 # ch. 26:1; See Ps. 54 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of #Num. 21:20Jeshimon? 20Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, #ver. 12and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21And Saul said, #See Ruth 2:20 “May you be blessed by the Lord, #[ch. 22:8]for you have had compassion on me. 22Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
Now David and his men were #ch. 25:2; Josh. 15:55 in the wilderness of Maon, #See Deut. 1:1 in the Arabah to the south of #[See ver. 19 above]Jeshimon. 25And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” 28So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.#23:28 Or Rock of Divisions 29#23:29 Ch 24:1 in Hebrew And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of #Josh. 15:62; 2 Chr. 20:2; Song 1:14; Ezek. 47:10Engedi.
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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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