The Holy Bible

[18:6] As David was returning after killing Goliath and as the soldiers were coming back home, women from every town in Israel came out to meet King Saul. They were singing joyful songs, dancing, and playing tambourines and lyres.

[18:7] In their celebration the women sang, “Saul has killed thousands, but David tens of thousands.”

[18:8] Saul did not like this, and he became very angry. He said, “For David they claim tens of thousands, but only thousands for me. They will be making him king next!”

[18:9] And so he was jealous and suspicious of David from that day on.

[18:10] The next day an evil spirit from God suddenly took control of Saul, and he raved in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did every day, and Saul was holding a spear.

[18:11] “I'll pin him to the wall,” Saul said to himself, and he threw the spear at him twice; but David dodged each time.

[18:12] Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David but had abandoned him.

[18:13] So Saul sent him away and put him in command of a thousand men. David led his men in battle

[18:14] and was successful in all he did, because the Lord was with him.

[18:15] Saul noticed David's success and became even more afraid of him.

[18:16] But everyone in Israel and Judah loved David because he was such a successful leader.

[18:17] Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as your wife on condition that you serve me as a brave and loyal soldier, and fight the Lord's battles.” (Saul was thinking that in this way the Philistines would kill David, and he would not have to do it himself.)

[18:18] David answered, “Who am I and what is my family that I should become the king's son-in-law?”

[18:19] But when the time came for Merab to be given to David, she was given instead to a man named Adriel from Meholah.

[18:20] Saul's daughter Michal, however, fell in love with David, and when Saul heard of this, he was pleased.

[18:21] He said to himself, “I'll give Michal to David; I will use her to trap him, and he will be killed by the Philistines.” So for the second time Saul said to David, “You will be my son-in-law.”

[18:22] He ordered his officials to speak privately with David and tell him, “The king is pleased with you and all his officials like you; now is a good time for you to marry his daughter.”

[18:23] So they told this to David, and he answered, “It's a great honor to become the king's son-in-law, too great for someone poor and insignificant like me.”

[18:24] The officials told Saul what David had said,

[18:25] and Saul ordered them to tell David: “All the king wants from you as payment for the bride are the foreskins of a hundred dead Philistines, as revenge on his enemies.” (This was how Saul planned to have David killed by the Philistines.)

[18:26] Saul's officials reported to David what Saul had said, and David was delighted with the thought of becoming the king's son-in-law. Before the day set for the wedding,

[18:27] David and his men went and killed two hundred Philistines. He took their foreskins to the king and counted them all out to him, so that he might become his son-in-law. So Saul had to give his daughter Michal in marriage to David.

[18:28] Saul realized clearly that the Lord was with David and also that his daughter Michal loved him.

[18:29] So he became even more afraid of David and was his enemy as long as he lived.

[18:30] The Philistine armies would come and fight, but in every battle David was more successful than any of Saul's other officers. As a result David became very famous.

[19:1] Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officials that he planned to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David,

[19:2] and so he told him, “My father is trying to kill you. Please be careful tomorrow morning; hide in some secret place and stay there.

[19:3] I will go and stand by my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak to him about you. If I find out anything, I will let you know.”

[19:4] Jonathan praised David to Saul and said, “Sir, don't do wrong to your servant David. He has never done you any wrong; on the contrary, everything he has done has been a great help to you.

[19:5] He risked his life when he killed Goliath, and the Lord won a great victory for Israel. When you saw it, you were glad. Why, then, do you now want to do wrong to an innocent man and kill David for no reason at all?”

[19:6] Saul was convinced by what Jonathan said and made a vow in the Lord's name that he would not kill David.

[19:7] So Jonathan called David and told him everything; then he took him to Saul, and David served the king as he had before.

[19:8] War with the Philistines broke out again. David attacked them and defeated them so thoroughly that they fled.

[19:9] One day an evil spirit from the Lord took control of Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was there, playing his harp.

[19:10] Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David dodged, and the spear stuck in the wall. David ran away and escaped.

[19:11] That same night Saul sent some men to watch David's house and kill him the next morning. Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you will be dead.”

[19:12] She let him down from a window, and he ran away and escaped.

[19:13] Then she took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a pillow made of goats' hair at its head, and put a cover over it.

[19:14] When Saul's men came to get David, Michal told them that he was sick.

[19:15] But Saul sent them back to see David for themselves. He ordered them, “Carry him here in his bed, and I will kill him.”

[19:16] They went inside and found the household idol in the bed and the goats' hair pillow at its head.

[19:17] Saul asked Michal, “Why have you tricked me like this and let my enemy escape?” She answered, “He said he would kill me if I didn't help him escape.”

[19:18] David escaped and went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.

[19:19] Saul was told that David was in Naioth in Ramah,

[19:20] so he sent some men to arrest him. They saw the group of prophets dancing and shouting, with Samuel as their leader. Then the spirit of God took control of Saul's men, and they also began to dance and shout.

[19:21] When Saul heard of this, he sent more messengers, and they also began to dance and shout. He sent messengers the third time, and the same thing happened to them.

[19:22] Then he himself started out to Ramah. When he came to the large well in Secu, he asked where Samuel and David were and was told that they were at Naioth.

[19:23] As he was going there, the spirit of God took control of him also, and he danced and shouted all the way to Naioth.

[19:24] He took off his clothes and danced and shouted in Samuel's presence, and lay naked all that day and all that night. (This is how the saying originated, “Has even Saul become a prophet?”)

[20:1] Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and went to Jonathan. “What have I done?” he asked. “What crime have I committed? What wrong have I done to your father to make him want to kill me?”

[20:2] Jonathan answered, “God forbid that you should die! My father tells me everything he does, important or not, and he would not hide this from me. It just isn't so!”

[20:3] But David answered, “Your father knows very well how much you like me, and he has decided not to let you know what he plans to do, because you would be deeply hurt. I swear to you by the living Lord that I am only a step away from death!”

[20:4] Jonathan said, “I'll do anything you want.”

[20:5] “Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival,” David replied, “and I am supposed to eat with the king. But if it's all right with you, I will go and hide in the fields until the evening of the day after tomorrow.

[20:6] If your father notices that I am not at the table, tell him that I begged your permission to hurry home to Bethlehem, since it's the time for the annual sacrifice there for my whole family.

[20:7] If he says, ‘All right,’ I will be safe; but if he becomes angry, you will know that he is determined to harm me.

[20:8] Please do me this favor, and keep the sacred promise you made to me. But if I'm guilty, kill me yourself! Why take me to your father to be killed?”

[20:9] “Don't even think such a thing!” Jonathan answered. “If I knew for sure that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?”

[20:10] David then asked, “Who will let me know if your father answers you angrily?”

[20:11] “Let's go out to the fields,” Jonathan answered. So they went,

[20:12] and Jonathan said to David, “May the Lord God of Israel be our witness! At this time tomorrow and on the following day I will question my father. If his attitude toward you is good, I will send you word.

[20:13] If he intends to harm you, may the Lord strike me dead if I don't let you know about it and get you safely away. May the Lord be with you as he was with my father!

[20:14] And if I remain alive, please keep your sacred promise and be loyal to me; but if I die,

[20:15] show the same kind of loyalty to my family forever. And when the Lord has completely destroyed all your enemies,

[20:16] may our promise to each other still be unbroken. If it is broken, the Lord will punish you.”

[20:17] Once again Jonathan made David promise to love him, for Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.

[20:18] Then Jonathan said to him, “Since tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, your absence will be noticed if you aren't at the meal.

[20:19] The day after tomorrow your absence will be noticed even more; so go to the place where you hid yourself the other time, and hide behind the pile of stones there.

[20:20] I will then shoot three arrows at it, as though it were a target.

[20:21] Then I will tell my servant to go and find them. And if I tell him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,’ that means that you are safe and can come out. I swear by the living Lord that you will be in no danger.

[20:22] But if I tell him, ‘The arrows are on the other side of you,’ then leave, because the Lord is sending you away.

[20:23] As for the promise we have made to each other, the Lord will make sure that we will keep it forever.”

[20:24] So David hid in the fields. At the New Moon Festival, King Saul came to the meal

[20:25] and sat in his usual place by the wall. Abner sat next to him, and Jonathan sat across the table from him. David's place was empty,

[20:26] but Saul said nothing that day, because he thought, “Something has happened to him, and he is not ritually pure.”

[20:27] On the following day, the day after the New Moon Festival, David's place was still empty, and Saul asked Jonathan, “Why didn't David come to the meal either yesterday or today?”

[20:28] Jonathan answered, “He begged me to let him go to Bethlehem.

[20:29] ‘Please let me go,’ he said, ‘because our family is celebrating the sacrificial feast in town, and my brother ordered me to be there. So then, if you are my friend, let me go and see my relatives.’ That is why he isn't in his place at your table.”

[20:30] Saul became furious with Jonathan and said to him, “How rebellious and faithless your mother was! Now I know you are taking sides with David and are disgracing yourself and that mother of yours!

[20:31] Don't you realize that as long as David is alive, you will never be king of this country? Now go and bring him here—he must die!”

[20:32] “Why should he die?” Jonathan replied. “What has he done?”

[20:33] At that, Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him, and Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David.

[20:34] Jonathan got up from the table in a rage and ate nothing that day—the second day of the New Moon Festival. He was deeply distressed about David, because Saul had insulted him.

[20:35] The following morning Jonathan went to the fields to meet David, as they had agreed. He took a young boy with him

[20:36] and said to him, “Run and find the arrows I'm going to shoot.” The boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.

[20:37] When the boy reached the place where the arrow had fallen, Jonathan shouted to him, “The arrow is farther on!

[20:38] Don't just stand there! Hurry up!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master,

[20:39] not knowing what it all meant; only Jonathan and David knew.

[20:40] Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him to take them back to town.

[20:41] After the boy had left, David got up from behind the pile of stones, fell on his knees and bowed with his face to the ground three times. Both he and Jonathan were crying as they kissed each other; David's grief was even greater than Jonathan's.

[20:42] Then Jonathan said to David, “God be with you. The Lord will make sure that you and I, and your descendants and mine, will forever keep the sacred promise we have made to each other.” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

[21:1] David went to the priest Ahimelech in Nob. Ahimelech came out trembling to meet him and asked, “Why did you come here all by yourself?”

[21:2] “I am here on the king's business,” David answered. “He told me not to let anyone know what he sent me to do. As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

[21:3] Now, then, what supplies do you have? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”

[21:4] The priest said, “I don't have any ordinary bread, only sacred bread; you can have it if your men haven't had sexual relations recently.”

[21:5] “Of course they haven't,” answered David. “My men always keep themselves ritually pure even when we go out on an ordinary mission; how much more this time when we are on a special mission!”

[21:6] So the priest gave David the sacred bread, because the only bread he had was the loaves offered to God, which had been removed from the sacred table and replaced by fresh bread. (

[21:7] Saul's chief herdsman, Doeg, who was from Edom, happened to be there that day, because he had to fulfill a religious obligation.)

[21:8] David said to Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or a sword you can give me? The king's orders made me leave in such a hurry that I didn't have time to get my sword or any other weapon.”

[21:9] Ahimelech answered, “I have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in Elah Valley; it is behind the ephod, wrapped in a cloth. If you want it, take it—it's the only weapon here.” “Give it to me,” David said. “There is not a better sword anywhere!”

[21:10] So David left, fleeing from Saul, and went to King Achish of Gath.

[21:11] The king's officials said to Achish, “Isn't this David, the king of his country? This is the man about whom the women sang, as they danced, ‘Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands.’”

[21:12] Their words made a deep impression on David, and he became very much afraid of King Achish.

[21:13] So whenever David was around them, he pretended to be insane and acted like a madman when they tried to restrain him; he would scribble on the city gates and let spit drool down his beard.

[21:14] So Achish said to his officials, “Look! The man is crazy! Why did you bring him to me?

[21:15] Don't I have enough madmen already? Why bring another one to bother me with his crazy actions right here in my own house?”

[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.