⁷Someone told Saul that David was now at Keilah. Saul said, “God has handed David over to me! He has trapped himself, because he has entered a town with gates and bars.” ⁸Saul called all his army together for battle, and they prepared to go down to Keilah to attack David and his men.

⁹David learned Saul was making evil plans against him. So he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the holy vest.” ¹⁰David prayed, “Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul plans to come to Keilah to destroy the town because of me. ¹¹Will the leaders of Keilah hand me over to Saul? Will Saul come down to Keilah, as I heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell me, your servant!”

The Lord answered, “Saul will come down.”

¹²Again David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?”

The Lord answered, “They will.”

¹³So David and his six hundred men left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul found out that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

¹⁴David stayed in the desert hideouts and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Every day Saul looked for David, but the Lord did not surrender David to him.

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