23David was told, “The Philistines are fighting against the town of Keilah. They are stealing grain from the threshing floors.” ²So he asked the Lord for advice. He said, “Should I go and attack those Philistines?”

The Lord answered him, “Go and attack them. Save Keilah.”

³But David’s men said to him, “We’re afraid here in Judah. Suppose we go to Keilah and fight against the Philistine army. Then we’ll be even more afraid.”

⁴Once again David asked the Lord what he should do.

The Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah. I am going to hand the Philistines over to you.”

⁵So David and his men went to Keilah. They fought against the Philistines and carried off their livestock. David wounded and killed large numbers of Philistines. And he saved the people of Keilah.

⁶Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, had brought the linen apron down with him from Nob. He did it when he ran away to David at Keilah.

Saul Chases David

⁷Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. He said, “God has handed him over to me. David has trapped himself by entering a town that has gates and heavy metal bars.” ⁸So Saul brought together all of his soldiers to go to battle. He ordered them to go down to Keilah. He told them to surround David and his men. He told them to get ready to attack them.

⁹David learned that Saul was planning to attack him. So he said to the priest Abiathar, “Bring the linen apron.” ¹⁰Then David said, “Lord, you are the God of Israel. I know for sure that Saul plans to come to Keilah. He plans to destroy the town because of me. ¹¹Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down here, as I’ve heard he would? Lord, you are the God of Israel. Please answer me.”

The Lord said, “He will come down.”

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

And the Lord said, “They will.”

¹³So David and his men left Keilah. The total number of them was about 600. They kept moving from place to place. Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah. So he didn’t go there.

¹⁴Sometimes David stayed in places of safety in the desert. At other times he stayed in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul looked for him. But God didn’t hand David over to him.

¹⁵David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph. There he learned that Saul had come out to kill him.

¹⁶Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh. He told David that God would make him strong. ¹⁷“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul won’t lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel. And I will be next in command. Even my father Saul knows this.”

¹⁸The two of them made a covenant in the sight of the Lord. Then Jonathan went home. But David remained at Horesh.

¹⁹The people of Ziph went up to Saul at Gibeah. They said, “David is hiding among us. He’s hiding in places of safety at Horesh. Horesh is south of Jeshimon on the hill of Hakilah. ²⁰King Saul, come down when it pleases you to come. It will be our duty to hand David over to you.”

²¹Saul replied, “May the Lord bless you because you were concerned about me. ²²Make sure you are right. Go and check things out again. Find out where David usually goes. Find out who has seen him there. People tell me he’s very tricky. ²³Find out about all of the hiding places he uses. Come back to me with all of the facts. I’ll go with you. Suppose he’s in the area. Then I’ll track him down among all of the family groups of Judah.”

²⁴So they started out. They went to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the Desert of Maon. Maon is south of Jeshimon in the Arabah Valley. ²⁵Saul and his men started out to look for David. David was told about it. So he went down to a rock in the Desert of Maon to hide. Saul heard he was there. So he went into the Desert of Maon to chase David.

²⁶Saul was going along one side of the mountain. David and his men were on the other side. They were hurrying to get away from Saul. Saul and his army were closing in on David and his men. They were about to capture them. ²⁷Just then a messenger came to Saul. He said, “Come quickly! The Philistines are attacking the land.”

²⁸So Saul stopped chasing David. He went to fight against the Philistines. That’s why they call that place Sela Hammahlekoth.

²⁹David left that place. He went and lived in places of safety near En Gedi.

David Spares Saul’s Life

24Saul returned from chasing the Philistines. Then he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” ²So Saul took 3,000 of the best soldiers from the whole nation of Israel. He started out to look for David and his men. He planned to look near the Rocky Cliffs of the Wild Goats.

³He came to some sheep pens along the way. A cave was there. Saul went in to go to the toilet. David and his men were far back in the cave.

⁴David’s men said, “This is the day the Lord told you about. He said to you, ‘I will hand your enemy over to you. Then you can deal with him as you want to.’ ”

So David came up close to Saul without being seen. He cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵Later, David felt sorry that he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing a thing like that to my master again. He is the Lord’s anointed king. So I promise that I will never lift my hand to strike him down. The Lord has anointed him.”

⁷David said that to warn his men. He didn’t allow them to attack Saul. So Saul left the cave and went on his way.

⁸Then David went out of the cave. He called out to Saul, “King Saul! My master!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down. He lay down flat with his face toward the ground.

⁹He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is trying to harm you’? ¹⁰This very day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord handed you over to me in the cave. Some of my men begged me to kill you. But I spared you. I said, ‘I will never lift my hand to strike my master down. He is the Lord’s anointed king.’

¹¹“Look, my father! Look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe. But I didn’t kill you. I want you to know and understand that I’m not guilty of doing anything wrong. I haven’t turned against you. I haven’t done anything to harm you. But you are hunting me down. You want to kill me.

¹²“May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord pay you back because of the wrong things you have done to me. But I won’t lay a hand on you. ¹³People say, ‘Evil acts come from those who do evil.’ So I won’t lay a hand on you.

¹⁴“King Saul, who are you trying to catch? Who do you think you are chasing? I’m nothing but a dead dog or a flea! ¹⁵May the Lord be our judge. May he decide between us. May he consider my case and stand up for me. May he show that I’m not guilty of doing anything wrong. May he save me from your powerful hand.”

¹⁶When David finished speaking, Saul asked him a question. He said, “My son David, is that your voice?” And Saul sobbed out loud. ¹⁷“You are a better person than I am,” he said. “You have treated me well. But I’ve treated you badly. ¹⁸You have just now told me about the good things you did to me. The Lord handed me over to you. But you didn’t kill me. ¹⁹Suppose a man finds his enemy. He doesn’t let him get away without harming him. May the Lord reward you with many good things. May he do it because of the way you treated me today. ²⁰I know for sure that you will be king. I know that the kingdom of Israel will be made secure under your control. ²¹Now take an oath in the name of the Lord. Promise me that you won’t cut off my children from my family. Also promise me that you won’t wipe out my name from my family line.”

²²So David took an oath and made that promise to Saul. Then Saul returned home. But David and his men went up to his usual place of safety.

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