1 Samuel 23:1–29

David Saves the City of Keilah

23Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against ^eKeilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” ²Therefore David ^finquired 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 ^finquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, ^gfor 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.

^6hWhen 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, ⁱ“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, ^j“They will surrender you.” ¹³Then David and his men, ^kwho were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went ^lwherever 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 ^mof the wilderness of ⁿZiph. 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. ^oSaul my father also knows this.” ^18pAnd the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

^19qThen 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 ^rJeshimon? ²⁰Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, ^sand our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” ²¹And Saul said, ^t“May you be blessed by the Lord, ^ufor 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 ^vin the wilderness of Maon, ^win the Arabah to the south of ^rJeshimon. 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.^{1 292} And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of ^xEngedi.