Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

²Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines.

³The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.

⁴Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.

⁵And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze.

⁶He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze saber slung between his shoulders.

⁷The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-carrier walked in front of him.

⁸He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me.

⁹If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”

¹⁰Then the Philistine said, “I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.”

¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.

¹²Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, the man whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.

¹³The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah.

¹⁴So David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul,

¹⁵but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem.

¹⁶And the Philistine came forward morning and evening, and took his stand for forty days.

¹⁷Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers.

¹⁸Bring also these ten slices of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the well-being of your brothers and bring back confirmation from them.

¹⁹For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines.”

²⁰So David got up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper, and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the entrenchment encircling the camp while the army was going out in battle formation, shouting the war cry.

²¹Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle formation, army against army.

²²Then David left the baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line. And he entered and greeted his brothers.

²³As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard him.

²⁴When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very fearful.

²⁵And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will make the man who kills him wealthy with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”

²⁶Then David said to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and rids Israel of the disgrace? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷The people answered him in agreement with this statement, saying, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸Now Eliab his oldest brother heard him when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why is it that you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.”

²⁹But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a question?”

³⁰Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people replied with the same words as before.

³¹When the words that David spoke were heard, they informed Saul, and he sent for him.

³²And David said to Saul, “May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”

³³But Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.”

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock,

³⁵I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it.

³⁶Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”

³⁷And David said, “The LORD who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

³⁸Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor.

³⁹And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.” And David took them off.

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.

⁴²When the Philistine looked and saw David, he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and reddish, with a handsome appearance.

⁴³So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals.”

⁴⁵But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

⁴⁷and that this entire assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will hand you over to us!”

⁴⁸Then it happened, when the Philistine came closer to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David’s hand.

⁵¹Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

⁵²Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and they pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistine dead lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.

⁵³Then the sons of Israel returned from their close pursuit of the Philistines, and plundered their camps.

⁵⁴And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

⁵⁵Now when Saul had seen David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶And the king said, “You then, ask whose son the youth is.”

⁵⁷So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand.

⁵⁸Then Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

¹Now it came about, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that Jonathan committed himself to David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

²And Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.

³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

⁴Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his military gear, including his sword, his bow, and his belt.

⁵And David went into battle wherever Saul sent him, and always achieved success; so Saul put him in charge of the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶Now it happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with other musical instruments.

⁷The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.”

⁸Then Saul became very angry, for this lyric displeased him; and he said, “They have given David credit for ten thousands, but to me they have given credit for only thousands! Now what more can he have but the kingdom?”

⁹And Saul eyed David with suspicion from that day on.

¹⁰Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand.

¹¹Then Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence, twice.

¹²Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had left Saul.

¹³So Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

¹⁴David was successful in all his ways, for the LORD was with him.

¹⁵When Saul saw that he was very successful, he was afraid of him.

¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he would go out to battle and return before them.

¹⁷Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the LORD’S battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who is my family, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?”

¹⁹So it came about at the time that Merab, Saul’s daughter, was to be given to David, that she was given instead to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

²⁰Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they informed Saul, the thing was pleasing to him.

²¹For Saul thought, “I will give her to him so that she may become a trap for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time you may become my son-in-law, today.”

²²Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in secret, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

²³So Saul’s servants spoke these words to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am only a poor man and insignificant?”

²⁴Then Saul’s servants reported to him, saying, “These are the words David spoke.”

²⁵Saul then said, “This is what you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul plotted to have David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶When his servants told David these words, it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the time had expired,

²⁷David set out and went, he and his men, and fatally struck two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they presented all two hundred of them to the king, so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.

²⁸When Saul saw and realized that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him,

²⁹then Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰Then the commanders of the Philistines went to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David was more successful than all the servants of Saul. So his name was held in high esteem.

¹Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.

²So Jonathan informed David, saying, “My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself.

³And as for me, I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak with my father about you; and whatever I find out, I will tell you.”

⁴Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “May the king not sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very beneficial to you.

⁵For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”

⁶Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the LORD lives, David shall not be put to death.”

⁷Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

⁸When there was war again, David went out and fought the Philistines and defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled from him.

⁹Now there was an evil spirit from the LORD on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.

¹⁰And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, informed him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death!”

¹²So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped.

¹³And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothing.

¹⁴When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

¹⁵Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, so that I may put him to death.”

¹⁶When the messengers entered, behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head.

¹⁷So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’ ”

¹⁸So David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel at Ramah; and he informed him of everything that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

¹⁹But it was reported to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

²⁰Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied.

²¹When Saul was informed of this, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, yet they prophesied.

²²Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”

²³So he proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

²⁴He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?”

²He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

³Yet David vowed again, saying, “Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.’ But indeed as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is just a step between me and death.”

⁴Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”

⁵So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am obligated to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.

⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly requested leave of me to run to Bethlehem, his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’

⁷If he says, ‘That is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, be aware that he has decided on evil.

⁸So deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if I am guilty of wrongdoing, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?”

⁹Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I in fact learn that my father has decided to inflict harm on you, would I not inform you?”

¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will inform me if your father answers you harshly?”

¹¹Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹²Then Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward you, shall I not then send word to you and inform you?

¹³If it pleases my father to do you harm, may the LORD do so to me and more so, if I fail to inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And may the LORD be with you as He has been with my father.

¹⁴And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the LORD, so that I do not die?

¹⁵And you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty.

¹⁹When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel.

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

²¹Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the LORD lives.

²²But if I say to the youth, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, because the LORD has sent you away.

²³As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”

²⁴So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.

²⁵Now the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side; but David’s place was empty.

²⁶Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, “It must have been an accident; he is not clean, undoubtedly he is not clean.”

²⁷But it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty again; so Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

²⁸And Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly requested leave of me to go to Bethlehem.

²⁹He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me slip away so that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

³¹For, as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now then, send men and bring him to me, for he is doomed to die!”

³²But Jonathan replied to his father Saul and said to him, “Why must he be put to death? What has he done?”

³³Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike and kill him; so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death.

³⁴Then Jonathan got up from the table in the heat of anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, because he was worried about David since his father had insulted him.

³⁵Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out to the field at the time agreed upon with David, and a little boy was with him.

³⁶He said to his boy, “Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot an arrow past him.

³⁷When the boy reached the location of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is the arrow not beyond you?”

³⁸Then Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his master.

³⁹But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter.

⁴⁰Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.”

⁴¹When the boy was gone, David got up from the south side, then he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, until David wept immeasurably.

⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in safety, since we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” So David set out and went on his way, while Jonathan went into the city.

¹Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?”

²David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’

³Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”

⁴The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread, if only the young men have kept themselves from women.”

⁵David answered the priest and said to him, “Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will their bodies be consecrated today?”

⁶So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.

⁷Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there no spear or sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.”

⁹Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

¹⁰Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to Achish king of Gath.

¹¹But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

¹²David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath.

¹³So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.

¹⁴Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me?

¹⁵Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

¹So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard about it, they went down there to him.

²Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.

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

⁴Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

⁵But Gad the prophet said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him.

⁷Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?

⁸For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who informs me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who cares about me or informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.”

⁹Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

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

¹¹Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king.

¹²Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he replied, “Here I am, my lord.”

¹³Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

¹⁴Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s own son-in-law, who is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house?

¹⁵Did I just begin to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair.”

¹⁶But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!”

¹⁷And the king said to the guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the LORD to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not inform me.” But the servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to attack the priests of the LORD.

¹⁸Then the king said to Doeg, “You, turn around and attack the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.

¹⁹He also struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; he also struck oxen, donkeys, and sheep with the edge of the sword.

²⁰But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to David.

²¹Abiathar informed David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

²²Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I myself have turned against every person in your father’s household.

²³Stay with me; do not be afraid, even though he who is seeking my life is seeking your life. For you are safe with me.”

¹Then they informed David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.”

²So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

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

⁴So David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I am going to hand the Philistines over to you.”

⁵Then David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; and he drove away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷When it was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.”

⁸So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”

¹⁰Then David said, “LORD God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account.

¹¹Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? LORD God of Israel, please, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

¹²Then David said, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will hand you over.”

¹³Then David and his men, about six hundred, rose up and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit.

¹⁴David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand him over to him.

¹⁵Now David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph, at Horesh.

¹⁶And Jonathan, Saul’s son, set out and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.

¹⁷He said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be second in command to you; and Saul my father knows that as well.”

¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh, while Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not keeping himself hidden with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon?

²⁰Now then, O king, come down, since you fully desire to do so; and our part shall be to hand him over to the king.”

²¹Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD, since you have had compassion on me.

²²Go now, be more persistent, and investigate and see his place where he is hiding, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.

²³So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he keeps himself hidden, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

²⁴So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.

²⁵When Saul and his men went to seek him, they informed David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

²⁶Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to apprehend them.

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

²⁸So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Division.

²⁹And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

¹Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, it was reported to him, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”

²Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats.

³And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave.

⁴Then David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to hand your enemy over to you, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” Then David got up and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.

⁵But it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.

⁶So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the LORD that I would do this thing to my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to reach out with my hand against him, since he is the LORD’S anointed.”

⁷And David rebuked his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul got up, left the cave, and went on his way.

⁸Afterward, however, David got up and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.

⁹And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David is seeking to harm you’?

¹⁰Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had handed you over to me today in the cave, and someone said to kill you, but I spared you; and I said, ‘I will not reach out with my hand against my lord, because he is the LORD’S anointed.’

¹¹So, my father, look! Indeed, look at the edge of your robe in my hand! For by the fact that I cut off the edge of your robe but did not kill you, know and understand that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life, to take it.

¹²May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you for me; but my hand shall not be against you.

¹³As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.

¹⁴After whom has the king of Israel gone out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea?

¹⁵May the LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and save me from your hand.”

¹⁶When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul raised his voice and wept.

¹⁷And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt maliciously with you.

¹⁸You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD handed me over to you and yet you did not kill me.

¹⁹Though if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day.

²⁰Now, behold, I know that you will certainly be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

²¹So now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not eliminate my name from my father’s household.”

²²And David swore an oath to Saul. Then Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

¹Then Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

²Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

³(now the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite),

⁴that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

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

⁶and this is what you shall say: ‘Have a long life, peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!

⁷Now then, I have heard that you have shearers. Now, your shepherds have been with us; we have not harmed them, nor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days they were in Carmel.

⁸Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”

⁹When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal in accordance with all these words in David’s name; then they waited.

¹⁰But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.

¹¹Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?”

¹²So David’s young men made their way back and returned; and they came and informed him in accordance with all these words.

¹³Then David said to his men, “Each of you strap on his sword.” So each man strapped on his sword. And David also strapped on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David, while two hundred stayed with the baggage.

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

¹⁵Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did anything go missing as long as we went with them, while we were in the fields.

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

¹⁷Now then, be aware and consider what you should do, because harm is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

¹⁸Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine, and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys.

¹⁹Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

²⁰And it happened as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them.

²¹Now David had said, “It is certainly for nothing that I have guarded everything that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing has gone missing of all that belonged to him! For he has returned me evil for good.

²²May God do so to the enemies of David, and more so, if by morning I leave alive as much as one male of any who belong to him.”

²³When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face in front of David and bowed herself to the ground.

²⁴She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your slave speak to you, and listen to the words of your slave.

²⁵Please do not let my lord pay attention to this worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and stupidity is with him; but I your slave did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

²⁶“Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, since the LORD has restrained you from shedding blood, and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now then, may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be like Nabal.

²⁷And now let this gift which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who accompany my lord.

²⁸Please forgive the offense of your slave; for the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

²⁹Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies He will sling out as from the hollow of a sling.

³⁰And when the LORD does for my lord in accordance with all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel,

³¹this will not become an obstacle to you, or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord’s having avenged himself. When the LORD deals well with my lord, then remember your slave.”

³²Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,

³³and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.

³⁴Nevertheless, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, there certainly would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male.”

³⁵So David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to you and granted your request.”

³⁶Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was having a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was cheerful within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.

³⁷But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became like a stone.

³⁸About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

³⁹When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of the shame inflicted on me by the hand of Nabal, and has kept back His servant from evil. The LORD has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

⁴⁰When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.”

⁴¹And she got up and bowed with her face to the ground, and said, “Behold, your slave is a servant to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”

⁴²Then Abigail got up quickly, and rode on a donkey, with her five female attendants who accompanied her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴³David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.

⁴⁴But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

¹Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not keeping himself hidden on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon?”

²So Saul set out and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, taking with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³And Saul camped on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul had come after him into the wilderness,

⁴David sent out spies, and he learned that Saul was definitely coming.

⁵David then set out and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.

⁶Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him.

⁸Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you; now then, please let me pin him with the spear to the ground with one thrust, and I will not do it to him a second time.”

⁹But David said to Abishai, “Do not kill him, for who can reach out with his hand against the LORD’S anointed and remain innocent?”

¹⁰David also said, “As the LORD lives, the LORD certainly will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down in battle and perish.

¹¹The LORD forbid that I would reach out with my hand against the LORD’S anointed! But now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let’s go.”

¹²So David took the spear and the jug of water that were at Saul’s head, and they left; and no one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone awaken, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

¹³Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them.

¹⁴And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?”

¹⁵So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to kill the king your lord!

¹⁶This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, all of you undoubtedly must die, because you did not guard your lord, the LORD’S anointed. And now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head!”

¹⁷Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.”

¹⁸He also said, “Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

¹⁹Now then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the LORD has incited you against me, may He accept an offering; but if it is people, cursed are they before the LORD, because they have driven me out today so that I would have no share in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

²⁰Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again since my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have made a very great mistake.”

²²David replied, “Behold, the spear of the king! Now have one of the young men come over and take it.

²³And the LORD will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD handed you over to me today, but I refused to reach out with my hand against the LORD’S anointed.

²⁴Therefore behold, just as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the LORD, and may He rescue me from all distress.”

²⁵Then Saul said to David, “Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and assuredly prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

¹Then David said to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to safely escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”

²So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³And David lived with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his own household—David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.

⁴Now it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, have them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

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

⁷The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

⁸Now David and his men went up and attacked the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt.

⁹David attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.

¹⁰Now Achish said, “Where did you carry out an attack today?” And David said, “Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites.”

¹¹And David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘This is what David has done, and this has been his practice all the time that he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’ ”

¹²So Achish believed David, saying, “He has undoubtedly made himself repulsive among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

¹Now it came about in those days that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know for certain that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.”

²David said to Achish, “Very well, you will learn what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Then I will assuredly make you my bodyguard for life!”

³Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

⁴So the Philistines assembled and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in Gilboa.

⁵When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

⁶So Saul inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him, either in dreams, or by the Urim, or by the prophets.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.”

⁸Then Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Consult the spirit for me, please, and bring up for me the one whom I shall name for you.”

⁹But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, that he has eliminated the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then setting a trap for my life, to bring about my death?”

¹⁰So Saul swore an oath to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

¹¹Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

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

¹³But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being coming up from the earth.”

¹⁴He said to her, “How does he appear?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

¹⁵And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.”

¹⁶Samuel said, “But why ask me, since the LORD has abandoned you and has become your enemy?

¹⁷And the LORD has done just as He spoke through me; for the LORD has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.

¹⁸Just as you did not obey the LORD and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the LORD has done this thing to you this day.

¹⁹Furthermore, the LORD will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the LORD will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”

²⁰Then Saul immediately fell full length to the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words; there was no strength in him either, because he had eaten no food all day and all night.

²¹The woman came to Saul and saw that he was utterly horrified, and she said to him, “Behold, your servant has obeyed you, and I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me.

²²So now you too, please listen to the voice of your servant, and let me serve you a piece of bread, and eat it, so that you will have strength when you go on your way.”

²³But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; then she took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it.

²⁵She then served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left that night.

¹Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel.

²And the governors of the Philistines were proceeding on, leading hundreds and thousands, and David and his men were proceeding in the back with Achish.

³Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found nothing at all suspicious in him since the day he deserted to me to this day?”

⁴But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, so that he will return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For how could this man find favor with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men?

⁵Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

⁶Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the LORD lives, you have indeed been honest, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the governors.

⁷Now then, return and go in peace, so that you will not do anything wrong in the sight of the governors of the Philistines.”

⁸However, David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant since the day that I came before you, to this day, that I cannot go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

⁹But Achish replied to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us into the battle.’

¹⁰Now then, rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have risen early in the morning and have light, leave.”

¹¹So David got up early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

¹Then it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

²and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way.

³When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

⁴Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep.

⁵Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

⁶Also, David was in great distress because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David felt strengthened in the LORD his God.

⁷Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

⁸And David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue everyone.”

⁹So David left, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed.

¹⁰But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

¹¹Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink.

¹²They also gave him a slice of fig cake and two cakes of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

¹³Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago.

¹⁴We carried out an attack on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”

¹⁵Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

¹⁶Now when he had brought him down, behold, they were dispersed over all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

¹⁷And David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

¹⁸So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives.

¹⁹And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back.

²⁰So David had captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s plunder.”

²¹When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David and had been left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them.

²²Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, “Since they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, so that they may lead them away and leave.”

²³But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us.

²⁴And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.”

²⁵So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

²⁶Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a gift for you from the spoils of the enemies of the LORD:

²⁷to those who were in Bethel, to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, to those who were in Jattir,

²⁸to those who were in Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in Eshtemoa,

²⁹to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,

³⁰to those who were in Hormah, to those who were in Bor-ashan, to those who were in Athach,

³¹to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men walked.”