1 Samuel
23
- When David was told, "Look, the Philistines
are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,"
- he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall
I go and attack these Philistines?" The LORD answered him, "Go,
attack the Philistines and save Keilah."
- But David's men said to him, "Here in
Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine
forces !"
- Once again David inquired of the LORD, and
the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the
Philistines into your hand."
- So David and his men went to Keilah, fought
the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses
on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.
- (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought
the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
- Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah,
and he said, "God has handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned
himself by entering a town with gates and bars."
- And Saul called up all his forces for battle,
to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
- When David learned that Saul was plotting
against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod."
- David said, "O LORD, God of Israel,
your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy
the town on account of me.
- Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me
to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel,
tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will."
- Again David asked, "Will the citizens
of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?" And the LORD said, "They
will."
- So David and his men, about six hundred in
number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told
that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
- David stayed in the desert strongholds and
in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but
God did not give David into his hands.
- While David was at Horesh in the Desert of
Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life.
- And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at
Horesh and helped him find strength in God.
- "Don't be afraid," he said. "My
father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and
I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this."
- The two of them made a covenant before the
LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.
- The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and
said, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on
the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon ?
- Now, O king, come down whenever it pleases
you to do so, and we will be responsible for handing him over to the king."
- Saul replied, "The LORD bless you for
your concern for me.
- Go and make further preparation. Find out
where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very
crafty.
- Find out about all the hiding places he uses
and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if
he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah."
- So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of
Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south
of Jeshimon.
- Saul and his men began the search, and when
David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert
of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit
of David.
- Saul was going along one side of the mountain,
and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul.
As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them,
- a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come
quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land."
- Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David
and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.
- And David went up from there and lived in
the strongholds of En Gedi.
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