New King James Version (NKJV)

Saul Persecutes David

1 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should killDavid; but Jonathan, Saul’s son,delighted greatly in David.

2 So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secretplaceand hide.

3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where youare,and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tellyou.”

4 Thus Jonathanspoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Let not the kingsin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his workshavebeenvery good toward you.

5 For he took hislife in his hands andkilled the Philistine, andtheLordbrought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You sawitand rejoiced.Why then will yousin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”

6 So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “AstheLordlives, he shall not be killed.”

7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presenceas in times past.

8 And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines,and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him.

9 Nowthe distressing spirit from theLordcame upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playingmusicwithhishand.

10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.

11 Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”

12 So Michallet David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped.

13 And Michal took an image and laiditin the bed, put a cover of goats’hairfor his head, and covereditwith clothes.

14 So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “Heissick.”

15 Then Saul sent the messengersbackto see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.”

16 And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats’hairfor his head.

17 Then Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?”

# And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go!Why should I kill you?’ ”

18 So David fled and escaped, and went toSamuel atRamah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

19 Now it was told Saul, saying, “Take note, Davidisat Naioth in Ramah!”

20 ThenSaul sent messengers to take David.And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standingasleader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they alsoprophesied.

21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well thatisat Sechu. So he asked, and said, “WhereareSamuel and David?”

Andsomeonesaid, “Indeedtheyareat Naioth in Ramah.”

23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Thenthe Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay downnaked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say,“IsSaul also among the prophets?”

Jonathan’s Loyalty to David

1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? Whatismy iniquity, and whatismy sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

2 So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? Itisnotso!”

3 Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ Buttruly,astheLordlives andasyour soul lives,thereisbut a step between me and death.”

4 So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you yourself desire, I will doitfor you.”

5 And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrowistheNew Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I mayhide in the field until the thirddayat evening.

6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly askedpermissionof me that he might run overto Bethlehem, his city, forthereisa yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

7 If he says thus: ‘Itiswell,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure thatevil is determined by him.

8 Therefore you shalldeal kindly with your servant, foryou have brought your servant into a covenant of theLordwith you. Nevertheless,if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

9 But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?”

10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or whatifyour father answers you roughly?”

11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field.

12 Then Jonathan said to David: “TheLordGod of Israeliswitness!When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow,orthe thirdday,and indeedthereisgood toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you,

13 maytheLorddo so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my fathertodoyou evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. AndtheLordbe with you as He hasbeen with my father.

14 And you shall not only show me the kindness of theLordwhile I still live, that I may not die;

15 butyou shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when theLordhas cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan madeacovenantwith the house of David,saying,“Let theLordrequireitat the hand of David’s enemies.”

17 Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him;for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to David,“Tomorrowisthe New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

19 Andwhenyou have stayed three days, go down quickly and come tothe place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel.

20 Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target;

21 and there I will send a lad,saying,‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrowsareon this side of you; get them and come’—then,as theLordlives,thereissafety for you and no harm.

22 But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrowsarebeyond you’—go your way, for theLordhas sent you away.

23 And as forthe matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed theLordbebetween you and me forever.”

24 Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast.

25 Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.

26 Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; heisunclean, surely heisunclean.”

27 And it happened the next day, the seconddayof the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?”

28 So Jonathananswered Saul, “David earnestly askedpermissionof metogoto Bethlehem.

29 And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded metobethere.And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebelliouswoman!Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him,“Why should he be killed? What has he done?”

33 Then Saulcast a spear at him to kill him,by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

35 And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little ladwaswith him.

36 Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

37 When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Isnot the arrow beyond you?”

38 And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay!” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master.

39 But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter.

40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carrythemto the city.”

41 As soon as the lad had gone, David arose fromaplacetoward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so.

42 Then Jonathan said to David,“Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of theLord, saying, ‘May theLordbe between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

David and the Holy Bread

1 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. AndAhimelech wasafraid when he met David, and said to him, “Whyareyou alone, and no one is with you?”

2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directedmyyoung men to such and such a place.

3 Now therefore, what have you on hand? Givemefiveloavesofbread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

4 And the priest answered David and said, “Thereisno common bread on hand; but there isholy bread,if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.”

5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, womenhavebeenkept from us about three days since I came out. And thevessels of the young men are holy, andthebreadisin effect common, even though it was consecratedin the vessel this day.”

6 So the priestgave him holybread;for there was no bread there but the showbreadwhich had been taken from before theLord, in order to put hot breadinitsplaceon the day when it was taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saulwasthere that day, detained before theLord. And his namewasDoeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen whobelongedto Saul.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”

9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed inthe Valley of Elah,there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, takeit.Forthereisno other except that one here.”

And David said, “Thereisnone like it; give it to me.”

David Flees to Gath

10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 Andthe servants of Achish said to him, “Isthis not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:

# ‘Saul has slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands’?”

12 Now Davidtook these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13 Sohe changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?

15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought thisfellowto play the madman in my presence? Shall thisfellowcome into my house?”

David’s Four Hundred Men

1 David therefore departed from there andescapedto the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heardit,they went down there to him.

2 And everyonewhowasin distress, everyone whowasin debt, and everyonewhowasdiscontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were aboutfour hundred men with him.

3 Then David went from there to Mizpah ofMoab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.”

4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

5 Now the prophetGad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Saul Murders the Priests

6 When Saul heard that David and the men whowerewith him had been discovered—now Saul was staying inGibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him—

7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jessegive every one of you fields and vineyards,andmake you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?

8 All of you have conspired against me, andthereisno one who reveals to me thatmy son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; andthereisnot one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, asitisthis day.”

9 Then answeredDoeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, toAhimelech the son ofAhitub.

10 And he inquired of theLordfor him,gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests whowerein Nob. And they all came to the king.

12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”

He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”

14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servantsisasfaithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house?

15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant,orto any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and allyour father’s house!”

17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of theLord, because their hand alsoiswith David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the kingwould not lift their hands to strike the priests of theLord.

18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, andkilled on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.

19 Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

20 Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar,escaped and fled after David.

21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed theLord’s priests.

22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomitewasthere, that he would surely tell Saul. I have causedthedeathof all the persons of your father’s house.

23 Stay with me; do not fear.For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me youshallbesafe.”

David Saves the City of Keilah

1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting againstKeilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore Davidinquired of theLord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

And theLordsaid to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

4 Then David inquired of theLordonce again.

And theLordanswered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

5 And David and his men went to Keilah andfought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelechfled to David at Keilah,thathe went downwithan ephod in his hand.

7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.”

8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him,he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”

10 Then David said, “OLordGod of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilahto destroy the city for my sake.

11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? OLordGod of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And theLordsaid, “He will come down.”

12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And theLordsaid, “They will deliveryou.”

13 So David and his men,about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

David in Wilderness Strongholds

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained inthe mountains in the Wilderness ofZiph. Saulsought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And Davidwasin the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.

16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

17 And he said to him,“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you.Even my father Saul knows that.”

18 So the two of themmade a covenant before theLord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

19 Then the Ziphitescame up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, whichison the south of Jeshimon?

20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; andour partshallbeto deliver him into the king’s hand.”

21 And Saul said, “Blessedareyou of theLord, for you have compassion on me.

22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is,andwho has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty.

23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his menwerein the Wildernessof Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

25 When Saul and his men went to seekhim,they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heardthat,he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon.

26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain.So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his menwere encircling David and his men to take them.

27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!”

28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape.

29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds atEn Gedi.

David Spares Saul

1 Now it happened,when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! Davidisin the Wilderness of En Gedi.”

2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, andwent to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where therewasa cave; andSaul went in toattend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)

4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which theLordsaid to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Now it happened afterward thatDavid’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.

6 And he said to his men,“TheLordforbid that I should do this thing to my master, theLord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing heisthe anointed of theLord.”

7 So Davidrestrained his servants withthesewords, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went onhisway.

8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down.

9 And David said to Saul:“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’?

10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that theLorddelivered you today into my hand in the cave, andsomeoneurgedmeto kill you. Butmyeyespared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for heistheLord’s anointed.’

11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see thatthereisneither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet youhunt my life to take it.

12 Let theLordjudge between you and me, and let theLordavenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

13 As the proverb of the ancients says,‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue?A dead dog?A flea?

15 Therefore let theLordbe judge, and judge between you and me, andsee andplead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said,“Isthis your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

17 Then he said to David: “Youaremore righteous than I; foryou have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.

18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for whentheLorddelivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.

19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may theLordreward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

20 And nowI know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

21 Therefore swear now to me by theLordthat you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”

22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up tothe stronghold.

Death of Samuel

1 ThenSamuel died; and the Israelites gathered together andlamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went downto the Wilderness of Paran.

David and the Wife of Nabal

2 Nowtherewasa manin Maon whose businesswasinCarmel, and the manwasvery rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 The name of the manwasNabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. Andshewasa woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the manwasharsh and evil inhisdoings. HewasofthehouseofCaleb.

4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal wasshearing his sheep,

5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.

6 And thus you shall say to him who livesinprosperity:‘Peacebeto you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!

7 Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them,nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel.

8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore letmyyoung men find favor in your eyes, for we come ona feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”

9 So when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.

10 Then Nabal answered David’s servants, and said,“WhoisDavid, and whoisthe son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master.

11 Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and giveitto men when I do not know where theyarefrom?”

12 So David’s young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words.

13 Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundredstayed with the supplies.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them.

15 But the menwerevery good to us, andwe were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields.

16 They werea wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep.

17 Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, forharm is determined against our master and against all his household. For heissuchascoundrel thatonecannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail made haste andtook two hundredloavesof bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roastedgrain,one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loadedthemon donkeys.

19 And she said to her servants,“Go on before me; see, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 So it was,asshe rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them.

21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that thisfellowhas in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all thatbelongsto him. And he hasrepaid me evil for good.

22 May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if Ileaveone male of all whobelongto him by morning light.”

23 Now when Abigail saw David, shedismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.

24 So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord,onmeletthis iniquitybe!And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.

25 Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his nameis,soishe: Nabalishis name, and follyiswith him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

26 Now therefore, my lord,astheLordlives andasyour soul lives, since theLordhasheld you back from coming to bloodshed and fromavenging yourself with your own hand, now then,let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.

27 And nowthis present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

28 Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. FortheLordwill certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lordfights the battles of theLord,and evil is not found in you throughout your days.

29 Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall bebound in the bundle of the living with theLordyour God; and the lives of your enemies He shallsling out,asfromthe pocket of a sling.

30 And it shall come to pass, when theLordhas done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed youruler over Israel,

31 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when theLordhas dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

32 Then David said to Abigail:“BlessedistheLordGod of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!

33 And blessedisyour advice and blessedareyou, because you havekept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.

34 For indeed,astheLordGod of Israel lives, who haskept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surelyby morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!”

35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her,“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice andrespected your person.”

36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was,holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heartwasmerry within him, for hewasvery drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light.

37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he becamelikea stone.

38 Then it happened,afterabout ten days, that theLordstruck Nabal, and he died.

39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said,“BlessedbetheLord, who haspleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and haskept His servant from evil! For theLordhasreturned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.”

And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.”

41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant towash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoamof Jezreel,and so both of them were his wives.

44 But Saul had givenMichal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, whowasfromGallim.

David Spares Saul a Second Time

1 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying,“Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”

2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, havingthree thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.

3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, whichisopposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, andAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him.

6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishaithe son of Zeruiah, brother ofJoab, saying, “Who willgo down with me to Saul in the camp?”

# AndAbishai said, “I will go down with you.”

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him.

8 Then Abishai said to David,“God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will nothavetostrikehim a second time!”

9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him;for who can stretch out his hand against theLord’s anointed, and be guiltless?”

10 David said furthermore, “AstheLordlives,theLordshall strike him, orhis day shall come to die, or he shallgo out to battle and perish.

11 TheLordforbid that I should stretch out my hand against theLord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water thatareby his head, and let us go.”

12 So David took the spear and the jug of waterbySaul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knewitor awoke. For theywereall asleep, becausea deep sleep from theLordhad fallen on them.

13 Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distancebeingbetween them.

14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Whoareyou, calling out to the king?”

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

16 This thing that you have doneisnot good.AstheLordlives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, theLord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spearis,and the jug of water thatwasby his head.”

17 Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said,“Isthat your voice, my son David?”

David said, “Itismy voice, my lord, O king.”

18 And he said,“Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evilisin my hand?

19 Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If theLordhasstirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But ifitisthe children of men,maytheybecursed before theLord,for they have driven me out this day from sharing in theinheritance of theLord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

20 So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of theLord. For the king of Israel has come out to seeka flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said,“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

22 And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it.

23 May theLordrepay every manforhis righteousness and his faithfulness; for theLorddelivered you intomyhand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against theLord’s anointed.

24 And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of theLord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

25 Then Saul said to David, “Mayyoubeblessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also stillprevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David Allied with the Philistines

1 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul.Thereisnothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

2 Then David aroseand went over with the six hundred men whowerewith himto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household,andDavidwith his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.

4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. ThereforeZiklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

7 Now the time that Daviddwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

8 And David and his men went up and raidedthe Geshurites,the Girzites, and theAmalekites. For thosenationswere the inhabitants of the land from of old,as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.

9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.

10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southernareaof Judah, or against the southernareaofthe Jerahmeelites, or against the southernareaofthe Kenites.”

11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bringnewsto Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thuswashis behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

1 Nowit happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

2 So David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.”

And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.”

Saul Consults a Medium

3 NowSamuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him inRamah, in his own city. And Saul had putthe mediums and the spiritists out of the land.

4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped atShunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped atGilboa.

5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he wasafraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

6 And when Saul inquired of theLord,theLorddid not answer him, either bydreams orby Urim or by the prophets.

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

And his servants said to him, “In fact,thereisa woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. Andhe said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he hascut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”

10 And Saul swore to her by theLord, saying, “AstheLordlives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

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

13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”

# And the woman said to Saul, “I sawa spirit ascending out of the earth.”

14 So he said to her, “Whatishis form?”

# And she said, “An old man is coming up, and heiscovered witha mantle.” And Saul perceived that itwasSamuel, and he stooped withhisface to the ground and bowed down.

15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have youdisturbed me by bringing me up?”

# And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, andGod has departed from me anddoes not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

16 Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing theLordhas departed from you and has become your enemy?

17 And theLordhas done for Himselfas He spoke by me. For theLordhas torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.

18 Because you did not obey the voice of theLordnor execute His fierce wrath uponAmalek, therefore theLordhas done this thing to you this day.

19 Moreover theLordwill also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sonswillbewithme. TheLordwill also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I haveput my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me.

22 Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go onyourway.”

23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”

So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed.

24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneadedit,and baked unleavened bread from it.

25 So she broughtitbefore Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.