1 Samuel 26–28

David Again Spares Saul

26The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah opposite Jeshimon?” ²Then Saul got up and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, and three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³Now Saul was on the hill of Hakilah, which is opposite Jeshimon by the road, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness after him, ⁴David sent spies, and he learned that Saul had come for certain.^{a 5}Then David got up and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul was lying down, as well as^b Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. (Now Saul was lying in the encampment, and the army was encamping around him.)

⁶David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah the brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul, in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷So David and Abishai came to the army by night, and there was^c Saul lying asleep in the encampment with^d his spear thrust into the ground near his head, and Abner and the army were lying all around him. ⁸Then Abishai said to David, “God has handed over your enemy into your hand today! So then, please let me pin him to the ground with the spear^e one time,^f and I will not strike him twice.”^{g 9}But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy^h him! For who has stretched out his hand against Yahweh’s anointed one and remained blameless?” ¹⁰And David said, “As Yahweh lives,ⁱ certainly^j Yahweh will strike him, or his day will come and he will die, or he will go down in the battle and perish.^{k 11}Yahweh forbid me^l from stretching out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed one! So then, please take the spear that is near his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” ¹²So David took the spear and the jar of water from near Saul’s head, and they went away. No one saw, no one knew, and no one awakened,^m for all of them were sleeping because a deep sleep of Yahweh had fallen upon them.

¹³Then David went to the other side and stood on the top of the hill at a distance; the distance was great between them. ¹⁴David called out to the army and to Abner the son of Ner, “Will you not answer, Abner?” And Abner answered and said, “Who are you that you call to the king?” ¹⁵So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why did you not keep watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroyⁿ your lord the king. ¹⁶This thing that you have done is not good. As Yahweh lives,^o surely you people deserve to die^p since you have not kept watch over your lord, over Yahweh’s anointed one! So then, see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was near his head!” ¹⁷Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” ¹⁸Then he said, “Why is my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? And what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if it is mortals,^q may they be accursed before^r Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods!’ ²⁰And so then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from^s the presence of Yahweh, for the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Then Saul said, “I have sinned! Come back, David my son, for I will not harm you again, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Look, I have acted like a fool and have made a terrible mistake.”^{t 22}David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear; let one of the young men^u come over and take it. ²³Yahweh repays to each one his righteousness and his faithfulness, for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed. ²⁴Look, as your life was precious in my eyes this day, may my life be great in the eyes of Yahweh, and may he rescue me from all trouble.” ²⁵Then Saul said to David, “Blessed are you, my son David; you will not only do many things, but also will always succeed!”^v Then David went on his way and Saul returned to his place.

David Returns to Achish

27Then David thought to himself,^a “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me but that I must certainly escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will desist from searching for me further in all of the territories of Israel, and so I will escape from his hand.” ²So David got up and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, the king of Gath. ³David settled with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his household.^b David took along his two wives Ahinoam from Jezreel^c and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁴And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.^d

⁵Then David said to Achish, “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then let them give me a place in one of the country towns^e that I can live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city^f with you?” ⁶So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.) ⁷The number of days that David lived in the countryside of the Philistines was one year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land for a long time in the direction of^g Shur and as far as^h the land of Egypt. ⁹So David struck the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive; he took the sheep,ⁱ the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰And Achish said, “Against whom have you raided today?” David said, “Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites.” ¹¹And David did not leave alive a man or a woman to bring them back to Gath, thinking,^j “So that they will not report about us, saying, ‘David did thus and so.’ ” Thus was his practice all the days that he lived in the countryside of the Philistines. ¹²And Achish trusted David, saying, “He has made himself utterly hated^k among his people in Israel, and he will be my servant forever.”

28Now^a in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “Certainly you realize that you must go out with me in the army, you and your men.” ²David said to Achish, “Very well, you will know what your servant can do.” Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard^b for life.”

Saul Inquires of the Medium at Endor

³(Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had expelled the mediums^c and the soothsayers from the land.) ⁴Then the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem, so Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. ⁵When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim^d or by the prophets. ⁷So Saul said to his servants, “Search for me a woman who is a medium^e so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants said to him, “Look there is a woman who is a medium in Endor.” ⁸So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went with two of his men.^f And they came to the woman by night and he said, “Please consult a spirit for me through the ritual pit,^g and bring up for me the one whom I tell you.” ⁹But the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums^h and the soothsayers from the land! Why are you setting a trap for my life to kill me?” ¹⁰Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, “As Yahweh lives,ⁱ you will not be punished^j for this thing.” ¹¹So the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, “Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!” ¹³The king said to her, “Do not be afraid! What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god^k coming up from the ground!” ¹⁴Then he said to her, “What is his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.”^l Then Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he knelt with his face to the ground and bowed down.

¹⁵Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul said, “I am in distress!^m For the Philistines are about to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not by the prophetsⁿ or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do.” ¹⁶Then Samuel said, “Why do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷Yahweh has done to you just as he spoke by my hand! Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸Because you did not obey^o Yahweh and did not carry out the fierce anger of his wrath^p against Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today. ¹⁹And Yahweh will also give Israel with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and Yahweh will also give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.” ²⁰Then Saul immediately fell prostrate^q to the ground, and he was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; there was no more strength in him, for he had not eaten food all day and all night. ²¹Then the woman came to Saul and realized that he was absolutely^r terrified, so she said to him, “Look, your female servant has obeyed you,^s and I have risked my life.^t I…