David Saves Keilah

23 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah^(A) and are looting the threshing floors,”^{(B) 2} he inquired^(C) of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

³ But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”

⁴ Once again David inquired^(D) of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines^(E) into your hand.^(F)” ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. ⁶ (Now Abiathar^(G) son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod^(H) down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

Saul Pursues David

⁷ Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands,^(I) for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”^{(J) 8} And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar^(K) the priest, “Bring the ephod.^(L)” ¹⁰ David said, “Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. ¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will.”

¹² Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender^(M) me and my men to Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will.”

¹³ So David and his men,^(N) about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness^(O) strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph.^(P) Day after day Saul searched^(Q) for him, but God did not^(R) give David into his hands.

¹⁵ While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that^[a] Saul had come out to take his life.^{(S) 16} And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength^(T) in God. ¹⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king^(U) over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” ¹⁸ The two of them made a covenant^(V) before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

¹⁹ The Ziphites^(W) went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us^(X) in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah,^(Y) south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving^(Z) him into your hands.”

²¹ Saul replied, “The Lord bless^(AA) you for your concern^(AB) for me. ²² Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. ²³ Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track^(AC) him down among all the clans of Judah.”

²⁴ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon,^(AD) in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.^{(AE) 25} Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

²⁶ Saul^(AF) was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, ²⁷ a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” ²⁸ Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.^{[b] 29} And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds^(AG) of En Gedi.^[c](AH)

Psalm 31^[a](A)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The Lord Rejects Saul as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint^(A) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. ² This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites^(B) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally^(C) destroy^[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. ⁵ Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. ⁶ Then he said to the Kenites,^(D) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul attacked the Amalekites^(E) all the way from Havilah to Shur,^(F) near the eastern border of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag^(G) king of the Amalekites alive,^(H) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army spared^(I) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves^[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret^(J) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned^(K) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”^(L) Samuel was angry,^(M) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

¹² Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.^(N) There he has set up a monument^(O) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

¹³ When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

¹⁶ “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Although you were once small^(P) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder^(Q) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

²⁰ “But I did obey^(R) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. ²¹ The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel replied:

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.^(V) I violated^(W) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid^(X) of the men and so I gave in to them. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive^(Y) my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected^(Z) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”

²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,^(AA) and it tore.^{(AB) 28} Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn^(AC) the kingdom^(AD) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.^{(AE) 29} He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie^(AF) or change^(AG) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

³⁰ Saul replied, “I have sinned.^(AH) But please honor^(AI) me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to him in chains.^[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

³³ But Samuel said,

And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel left for Ramah,^(AK) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah^(AL) of Saul. ³⁵ Until the day Samuel^(AM) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned^(AN) for him. And the Lord regretted^(AO) that he had made Saul king over Israel.