Category: 1 Samuel

[22:1] David fled from the city of Gath and went to a cave near the town of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of the family heard that he was there, they joined him.

[22:2] People who were oppressed or in debt or dissatisfied went to him, about four hundred men in all, and he became their leader.

[22:3] David went on from there to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I find out what God is going to do for me.”

[22:4] So David left his parents with the king of Moab, and they stayed there as long as David was hiding out in the cave.

[22:5] Then the prophet Gad came to David and said, “Don't stay here; go at once to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

[22:6] One day Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under a tamarisk tree on a hill, with his spear in his hand, and all his officers were standing around him. He was told that David and his men had been located,

[22:7] and he said to his officers, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Do you think that David will give fields and vineyards to all of you, and make you officers in his army?

[22:8] Is that why you are plotting against me? Not one of you told me that my own son had made an alliance with David. No one is concerned about me or tells me that David, one of my own men, is right now looking for a chance to kill me, and that my son has encouraged him!”

[22:9] Doeg was standing there with Saul's officers, and he said, “I saw David when he went to Ahimelech son of Ahitub in Nob.

[22:10] Ahimelech asked the Lord what David should do, and then he gave David some food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

[22:11] So King Saul sent for the priest Ahimelech and all his relatives, who were also priests in Nob, and they came to him.

[22:12] Saul said to Ahimelech, “Listen, Ahimelech!” “At your service, sir,” he answered.

[22:13] Saul asked him, “Why are you and David plotting against me? Why did you give him some food and a sword, and consult God for him? Now he has turned against me and is waiting for a chance to kill me!”

[22:14] Ahimelech answered, “David is the most faithful officer you have! He is your own son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and highly respected by everyone in the royal court.

[22:15] Yes, I consulted God for him, and it wasn't the first time. As for plotting against you, Your Majesty must not accuse me or anyone else in my family. I don't know anything about this matter!”

[22:16] The king said, “Ahimelech, you and all your relatives must die.”

[22:17] Then he said to the guards standing near him, “Kill the Lord's priests! They conspired with David and did not tell me that he had run away, even though they knew it all along.” But the guards refused to lift a hand to kill the Lord's priests.

[22:18] So Saul said to Doeg, “You kill them!”—and Doeg killed them all. On that day he killed eighty-five priests who were qualified to carry the ephod.

[22:19] Saul also had all the other inhabitants of Nob, the city of priests, put to death: men and women, children and babies, cattle, donkeys, and sheep—they were all killed.

[22:20] But Abiathar, one of Ahimelech's sons, escaped, and went and joined David.

[22:21] He told him how Saul had slaughtered the priests of the Lord.

[22:22] David said to him, “When I saw Doeg there that day, I knew that he would be sure to tell Saul. So I am responsible for the death of all your relatives.

[22:23] Stay with me and don't be afraid. Saul wants to kill both you and me, but you will be safe with me.”

[23:1] David heard that the Philistines were attacking the town of Keilah and were stealing the newly harvested grain.

[23:2] So he asked the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines?” “Yes,” the Lord answered. “Attack them and save Keilah.”

[23:3] But David's men said to him, “We have enough to be afraid of here in Judah; it will be much worse if we go to Keilah and attack the Philistine forces!”

[23:4] So David consulted the Lord again, and the Lord said to him, “Go and attack Keilah, because I will give you victory over the Philistines.”

[23:5] So David and his men went to Keilah and attacked the Philistines; they killed many of them and took their livestock. And so it was that David saved the town.

[23:6] When Abiathar son of Ahimelech escaped and joined David in Keilah, he took the ephod with him.

[23:7] Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has put him in my power. David has trapped himself by going into a walled town with fortified gates.”

[23:8] So Saul called his troops to war, to march against Keilah and besiege David and his men.

[23:9] When David heard that Saul was planning to attack him, he said to the priest Abiathar, “Bring the ephod here.”

[23:10] Then David said, “Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah and destroy it on account of me, your servant.

[23:11] Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to Saul? Will Saul really come, as I have heard? Lord, God of Israel, I beg you to answer me!” The Lord answered, “Saul will come.”

[23:12] “And will the citizens of Keilah hand my men and me over to Saul?” David asked again. “They will,” the Lord answered.

[23:13] So David and his men—about six hundred in all—left Keilah at once and kept on the move. When Saul heard that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up his plan.

[23:14] David stayed in hiding in the hill country, in the wilderness near Ziph. Saul was always trying to find him, but God did not turn David over to him.

[23:15] David saw that Saul was out to kill him. David was at Horesh, in the wilderness near Ziph.

[23:16] Jonathan went to him there and encouraged him with assurances of God's protection,

[23:17] saying to him, “Don't be afraid. My father Saul won't be able to harm you. He knows very well that you are the one who will be the king of Israel and that I will be next in rank to you.”

[23:18] The two of them made a sacred promise of friendship to each other. David stayed at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

[23:19] Some people from Ziph went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “David is hiding out in our territory at Horesh on Mount Hachilah, in the southern part of the Judean wilderness.

[23:20] We know, Your Majesty, how much you want to capture him; so come to our territory, and we will make sure that you catch him.”

[23:21] Saul answered, “May the Lord bless you for being so kind to me!

[23:22] Go and make sure once more; find out for certain where he is and who has seen him there. I hear that he is very cunning.

[23:23] Find out exactly the places where he hides, and be sure to bring back a report to me right away. Then I will go with you, and if he is still in the region, I will hunt him down, even if I have to search the whole land of Judah.”

[23:24] So they left and returned to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in a desolate valley in the southern part of the Judean wilderness.

[23:25] Saul and his men set out to look for David, but he heard about it and went to a rocky hill in the wilderness of Maon and stayed there. When Saul heard about this, he went after David.

[23:26] Saul and his men were on one side of the hill, separated from David and his men, who were on the other side. They were hurrying to get away from Saul and his men, who were closing in on them and were about to capture them.

[23:27] Just then a messenger arrived and said to Saul, “Come back at once! The Philistines are invading the country!”

[23:28] So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to fight the Philistines. That is why that place is called Separation Hill.

[23:29] David left and went to the region of Engedi, where he stayed in hiding.

[24:1] When Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David was in the wilderness near Engedi.

[24:2] Saul took three thousand of the best soldiers in Israel and went looking for David and his men east of Wild Goat Rocks.

[24:3] He came to a cave close to some sheep pens by the road and went in to relieve himself. It happened to be the very cave in which David and his men were hiding far back in the cave.

[24:4] They said to him, “This is your chance! The Lord has told you that he would put your enemy in your power and you could do to him whatever you wanted to.” David crept over and cut off a piece of Saul's robe without Saul's knowing it.

[24:5] But then David's conscience began to hurt,

[24:6] and he said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing any harm to my master, whom the Lord chose as king! I must not harm him in the least, because he is the king chosen by the Lord!”

[24:7] So David convinced his men that they should not attack Saul. Saul got up, left the cave, and started away.

[24:8] Then David went out after him and called to him, “Your Majesty!” Saul turned around, and David bowed down to the ground in respect

[24:9] and said, “Why do you listen to people who say that I am trying to harm you?

[24:10] You can see for yourself that just now in the cave the Lord put you in my power. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I felt sorry for you and said that I would not harm you in the least, because you are the one whom the Lord chose to be king.

[24:11] Look, my father, look at the piece of your robe I am holding! I could have killed you, but instead I only cut this off. This should convince you that I have no thought of rebelling against you or of harming you. You are hunting me down to kill me, even though I have not done you any wrong.

[24:12] May the Lord judge which one of us is wrong! May he punish you for your action against me, for I will not harm you in the least.

[24:13] You know the old saying, ‘Evil is done only by evil people.’ And so I will not harm you.

[24:14] Look at what the king of Israel is trying to kill! Look at what he is chasing! A dead dog, a flea!

[24:15] The Lord will judge, and he will decide which one of us is wrong. May he look into the matter, defend me, and save me from you.”

[24:16] When David had finished speaking, Saul said, “Is that really you, David my son?” And he started crying.

[24:17] Then he said to David, “You are right, and I am wrong. You have been so good to me, while I have done such wrong to you!

[24:18] Today you have shown how good you are to me, because you did not kill me, even though the Lord put me in your power.

[24:19] How often does someone catch an enemy and then let him get away unharmed? The Lord bless you for what you have done to me today!

[24:20] Now I am sure that you will be king of Israel and that the kingdom will continue under your rule.

[24:21] But promise me in the Lord's name that you will spare my descendants, so that my name and my family's name will not be completely forgotten.”

[24:22] David promised that he would. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went back to their hiding place.

[25:1] After this, David went to the wilderness of Paran. Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel,

[25:4] and David, who was in the wilderness, heard about it,

[25:5] so he sent ten young men with orders to go to Carmel, find Nabal, and give him his greetings.

[25:6] He instructed them to say to Nabal: “David sends you greetings, my friend, with his best wishes for you, your family, and all that is yours.

[25:7] He heard that you were shearing your sheep, and he wants you to know that your shepherds have been with us and we did not harm them. Nothing that belonged to them was stolen all the time they were at Carmel.

[25:8] Just ask them, and they will tell you. We have come on a feast day, and David asks you to receive us kindly. Please give what you can to us your servants and to your dear friend David.”

[25:9] David's men delivered this message to Nabal in David's name. Then they waited there,

[25:10] and Nabal finally answered, “David? Who is he? I've never heard of him! The country is full of runaway slaves nowadays!

[25:11] I'm not going to take my bread and water, and the animals I have butchered for my sheepshearers, and give them to people who come from I don't know where!”

[25:12] David's men went back to him and told him what Nabal had said.

[25:13] “Buckle on your swords!” he ordered, and they all did. David also buckled on his sword and left with about four hundred of his men, leaving two hundred behind with the supplies.

[25:14] One of Nabal's servants said to Nabal's wife Abigail, “Have you heard? David sent some messengers from the wilderness with greetings for our master, but he insulted them.

[25:15] Yet they were very good to us; they never bothered us, and all the time we were with them in the fields, nothing that belonged to us was stolen.

[25:16] They protected us day and night the whole time we were with them looking after our flocks.

[25:17] Please think this over and decide what to do. This could be disastrous for our master and all his family. He is so mean that he won't listen to anybody!”

[25:18] Abigail quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two leather bags full of wine, five roasted sheep, two bushels of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dried figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

[25:19] Then she said to the servants, “You go on ahead and I will follow you.” But she said nothing to her husband.

[25:20] She was riding her donkey around a bend on a hillside when suddenly she met David and his men coming toward her.

[25:21] David had been thinking, “Why did I ever protect that fellow's property out here in the wilderness? Not a thing that belonged to him was stolen, and this is how he pays me back for the help I gave him!

[25:22] May God strike me dead if I don't kill every last one of those men before morning!”

[25:23] When Abigail saw David, she quickly dismounted and threw herself on the ground

[25:24] at David's feet, and said to him, “Please, sir, listen to me! Let me take the blame.

[25:25] Please, don't pay any attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing! He is exactly what his name means—a fool! I wasn't there when your servants arrived, sir.

[25:26] It is the Lord who has kept you from taking revenge and killing your enemies. And now I swear to you by the living Lord that your enemies and all who want to harm you will be punished like Nabal.

[25:27] Please, sir, accept this present I have brought you, and give it to your men.

[25:28] Please forgive me, sir, for any wrong I have done. The Lord will make you king, and your descendants also, because you are fighting his battles; and you will not do anything evil as long as you live.

[25:29] If anyone should attack you and try to kill you, the Lord your God will keep you safe, as someone guards a precious treasure. As for your enemies, however, he will throw them away, as someone hurls stones with a sling.

[25:30] And when the Lord has done all the good things he has promised you and has made you king of Israel,

[25:31] then you will not have to feel regret or remorse, sir, for having killed without cause or for having taken your own revenge. And when the Lord has blessed you, sir, please do not forget me.”

[25:32] David said to her, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me!

[25:33] Thank God for your good sense and for what you have done today in keeping me from the crime of murder and from taking my own revenge.

[25:34] The Lord has kept me from harming you. But I swear by the living God of Israel that if you had not hurried to meet me, all of Nabal's men would have been dead by morning!”

[25:35] Then David accepted what she had brought him and said to her, “Go back home and don't worry. I will do what you want.”

[25:36] Abigail went back to Nabal, who was at home having a feast fit for a king. He was drunk and in a good mood, so she did not tell him anything until the next morning.

[25:37] Then, after he had sobered up, she told him everything. He suffered a stroke and was completely paralyzed.

[25:38] Some ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

[25:39] When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praise the Lord! He has taken revenge on Nabal for insulting me and has kept me his servant from doing wrong. The Lord has punished Nabal for his evil.” Then David sent a proposal of marriage to Abigail.

[25:40] His servants went to her at Carmel and said to her, “David sent us to take you to him to be his wife.”

[25:41] Abigail bowed down to the ground and said, “I am his servant, ready to wash the feet of his servants.”

[25:42] She rose quickly and mounted her donkey. Accompanied by her five maids, she went with David's servants and became his wife.

[25:43] David had married Ahinoam from Jezreel, and now Abigail also became his wife.

[25:44] Meanwhile, Saul had given his daughter Michal, who had been David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from the town of Gallim.

[26:1] Some men from Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah and told him that David was hiding on Mount Hachilah at the edge of the Judean wilderness.

[26:2] Saul went at once with three thousand of the best soldiers in Israel to the wilderness of Ziph to look for David,

[26:3] and camped by the road on Mount Hachilah. David was still in the wilderness, and when he learned that Saul had come to look for him,

[26:4] he sent spies and found out that Saul was indeed there.

[26:5] He went at once and located the exact place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, slept. Saul slept inside the camp, and his men camped around him.

[26:6] Then David asked Ahimelech the Hittite, and Abishai the brother of Joab (their mother was Zeruiah), “Which of you two will go to Saul's camp with me?” “I will,” Abishai answered.

[26:7] So that night David and Abishai entered Saul's camp and found Saul sleeping in the center of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the troops were sleeping around him.

[26:8] Abishai said to David, “God has put your enemy in your power tonight. Now let me plunge his own spear through him and pin him to the ground with just one blow—I won't have to strike twice!”

[26:9] But David said, “You must not harm him! The Lord will certainly punish whoever harms his chosen king.

[26:10] By the living Lord,” David continued, “I know that the Lord himself will kill Saul, either when his time comes to die a natural death or when he dies in battle.

[26:11] The Lord forbid that I should try to harm the one whom the Lord has made king! Let's take his spear and his water jar, and go.”

[26:12] So David took the spear and the water jar from right beside Saul's head, and he and Abishai left. No one saw it or knew what had happened or even woke up—they were all sound asleep, because the Lord had sent a heavy sleep on them all.

[26:13] Then David crossed over to the other side of the valley to the top of the hill, a safe distance away,

[26:14] and shouted to Saul's troops and to Abner, “Abner! Can you hear me?” “Who is that shouting and waking up the king?” Abner asked.

[26:15] David answered, “Abner, aren't you the greatest man in Israel? So why aren't you protecting your master, the king? Just now someone entered the camp to kill your master.

[26:16] You failed in your duty, Abner! I swear by the living Lord that all of you deserve to die, because you have not protected your master, whom the Lord made king. Look! Where is the king's spear? Where is the water jar that was right by his head?”

[26:17] Saul recognized David's voice and asked, “David, is that you, my son?” “Yes, Your Majesty,” David answered.

[26:18] And he added, “Why, sir, are you still pursuing me, your servant? What have I done? What crime have I committed?

[26:19] Your Majesty, listen to what I have to say. If it is the Lord who has turned you against me, an offering to him will make him change his mind; but if some people have done it, may the Lord's curse fall on them. For they have driven me out from the Lord's land to a country where I can only worship foreign gods.

[26:20] Don't let me be killed on foreign soil, away from the Lord. Why should the king of Israel come to kill a flea like me? Why should he hunt me down like a wild bird?”

[26:21] Saul answered, “I have done wrong. Come back, David, my son! I will never harm you again, because you have spared my life tonight. I have been a fool! I have done a terrible thing!”

[26:22] David replied, “Here is your spear, Your Majesty. Let one of your men come over and get it.

[26:23] The Lord rewards those who are faithful and righteous. Today he put you in my power, but I did not harm you, whom the Lord made king.

[26:24] Just as I have spared your life today, may the Lord do the same to me and free me from all troubles!”

[26:25] Saul said to David, “God bless you, my son! You will succeed in everything you do!” So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

[28:3] Now Samuel had died, and all the Israelites had mourned for him and had buried him in his hometown of Ramah. Saul had forced all the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel.

[28:4] The Philistine troops assembled and camped near the town of Shunem; Saul gathered the Israelites and camped at Mount Gilboa.

[28:5] When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was terrified,

[28:6] and so he asked the Lord what to do. But the Lord did not answer him at all, either by dreams or by the use of Urim and Thummim or by prophets.

[28:7] Then Saul ordered his officials, “Find me a woman who is a medium, and I will go and consult her.” “There is one in Endor,” they answered.

[28:8] So Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his men to see the woman. “Consult the spirits for me and tell me what is going to happen,” he said to her. “Call up the spirit of the man I name.”

[28:9] The woman answered, “Surely you know what King Saul has done, how he forced the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel. Why, then, are you trying to trap me and get me killed?”

[28:10] Then Saul made a sacred vow. “By the living Lord I promise that you will not be punished for doing this,” he told her.

[28:11] “Whom shall I call up for you?” the woman asked. “Samuel,” he answered.

[28:12] When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul, “Why have you tricked me? You are King Saul!”

[28:13] “Don't be afraid!” the king said to her. “What do you see?” “I see a spirit coming up from the earth,” she answered.

[28:14] “What does it look like?” he asked. “It's an old man coming up,” she answered. “He is wearing a cloak.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed to the ground in respect.

[28:15] Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me? Why did you make me come back?” Saul answered, “I am in great trouble! The Philistines are at war with me, and God has abandoned me. He doesn't answer me any more, either by prophets or by dreams. And so I have called you, for you to tell me what I must do.”

[28:16] Samuel said, “Why do you call me when the Lord has abandoned you and become your enemy?

[28:17] The Lord has done to you what he told you through me: he has taken the kingdom away from you and given it to David instead.

[28:18] You disobeyed the Lord's command and did not completely destroy the Amalekites and all they had. That is why the Lord is doing this to you now.

[28:19] He will give you and Israel over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will join me, and the Lord will also give the army of Israel over to the Philistines.”

[28:20] At once Saul fell down and lay stretched out on the ground, terrified by what Samuel had said. He was weak, because he had not eaten anything all day and all night.

[28:21] The woman went over to him and saw that he was terrified, so she said to him, “Please, sir, I risked my life by doing what you asked.

[28:22] Now please do what I ask. Let me fix you some food. You must eat so that you will be strong enough to travel.”

[28:23] Saul refused and said he would not eat anything. But his officers also urged him to eat. He finally gave in, got up from the ground, and sat on the bed.

[28:24] The woman quickly killed a calf which she had been fattening. Then she took some flour, prepared it, and baked some bread without yeast.

[28:25] She set the food before Saul and his officers, and they ate it. And they left that same night.

[29:1] The Philistines brought all their troops together at Aphek, while the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel Valley.

[29:2] The five Philistine kings marched out with their units of a hundred and of a thousand men; David and his men marched in the rear with King Achish.

[29:3] The Philistine commanders saw them and asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” Achish answered, “This is David, an official of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me for quite some time now. He has done nothing I can find fault with since the day he came over to me.”

[29:4] But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said to him, “Send that fellow back to the town you gave him. Don't let him go into battle with us; he might turn against us during the fighting. What better way is there for him to win back his master's favor than by the death of our men?

[29:5] After all, this is David, the one about whom the women sang, as they danced, ‘Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands.’”

[29:6] Achish called David and said to him, “I swear by the living God of Israel that you have been loyal to me; and I would be pleased to have you go with me and fight in this battle. I have not found any fault in you from the day you came over to me. But the other kings don't approve of you.

[29:7] So go back home in peace, and don't do anything that would displease them.”

[29:8] David answered, “What have I done wrong, sir? If, as you say, you haven't found any fault in me since the day I started serving you, why shouldn't I go with you, my master and king, and fight your enemies?”

[29:9] “I agree,” Achish replied. “I consider you as loyal as an angel of God. But the other kings have said that you can't go with us into battle.

[29:10] So then, David, tomorrow morning all of you who left Saul and came over to me will have to get up early and leave as soon as it's light.”

[29:11] So David and his men started out early the following morning to go back to Philistia, and the Philistines went on to Jezreel.