1 Samuel 26–28

Chapter 26

David Again Spares Saul

¹Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “^aIs not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before ¹Jeshimon?”

²So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him ^athree thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before ¹Jeshimon, ^abeside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When ^bhe saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness,

⁴David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming.

⁵David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and ^aAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.

⁶Then David said to Ahimelech ^athe Hittite and to ^bAbishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, “Who ^cwill 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 people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him.

⁸Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear ¹to the ground with one stroke, and I will not ²strike him the second time.”

⁹But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for ^awho can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?”

¹⁰David also said, “As the Lord lives, ^asurely the Lord will strike him, or ^bhis day will come that he dies, or ^che will go down into battle and perish.

¹¹“^aThe Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

¹²So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ^aa sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them.

¹⁴David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?”

¹⁵So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord.

¹⁶“This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you ^1amust surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.”

¹⁷Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “^aIs this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.”

¹⁸He also said, “^aWhy then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

¹⁹“Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If ^athe Lord has stirred you up against me, ^blet Him ¹accept an offering; but ^cif it is ²men, cursed are they before the Lord, for ^dthey have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

²⁰“Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for ^aa single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Then Saul said, “^aI have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.”

²²David replied, “Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it.

²³“^aThe Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but ^bI refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.

²⁴“Now behold, as your life was ^ahighly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He ^bdeliver me from all distress.”

²⁵Then Saul said to David, “^aBlessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail.” So ^bDavid went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Chapter 27

David Flees to the Philistines

¹Then David said ¹to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. ^aThere is nothing better for me than ²to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”

²So David arose and crossed over, he and ^athe six hundred men who were with him, to ^bAchish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, ^aeach with his household, even David with ^bhis two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s ¹widow.

⁴Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

⁶So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore ^aZiklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

⁷The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was ^aa year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and raided ^athe Geshurites and the Girzites and ^bthe Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to ^cShur even as far as the land of Egypt.

⁹David ¹attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he ^atook away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.

¹⁰Now Achish said, “Where have you ^amade a raid today?” And David said, “Against the ¹Negev of Judah and against the Negev of ^bthe Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of ^cthe Kenites.”

¹¹David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so has been his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’ ”

¹²So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

Chapter 28

Saul and the Spirit Medium

¹Now it came about in those days that ^athe Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.”

²David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you ¹my bodyguard ^afor life.”

³Now ^aSamuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^bin Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^cwere mediums and spiritists.

⁴So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped ^ain Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in ^bGilboa.

⁵When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

^6aWhen Saul inquired of the Lord, ^bthe Lord did not answer him, either by ^cdreams or by ^dUrim or by prophets.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^athere is a woman who is a medium at ^bEn-dor.”

⁸Then Saul ^adisguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^bConjure up for me, please, and ^cbring up for me whom I shall ¹name to you.”

⁹But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^awhat Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?”

¹⁰Saul vowed to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

¹¹Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.”

¹³The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ¹divine being coming up out of the earth.”

¹⁴He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^ahe is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^bhe bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

¹⁵Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^aGod has departed from me and ^bno longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.”

¹⁶Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary?

¹⁷“The Lord has done ¹accordingly ^aas He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.

¹⁸“As ^ayou did not ¹obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

¹⁹“Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow ^ayou and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”

²⁰Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no ¹food all day and all night.

²¹The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified, and said to him,…