1 Samuel 23:14-29

New King James Version

David in Wilderness Strongholds

¹⁴ And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in ^(A)the mountains in the Wilderness of ^(B)Ziph. Saul ^(C)sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. ¹⁵ So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph ^[a]in a forest. ¹⁶ Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and ^[b]strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said to him, ^(D)“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. ^(E)Even my father Saul knows that.” ¹⁸ So the two of them ^(F)made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites ^(G)came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and ^(H)our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

²¹ And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. ²² Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. ²³ See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the ^[c]clans of Judah.”

²⁴ So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness ^(I)of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down ^[d]to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. ^(J)So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men ^(K)were encircling David and his men to take them.

^27 (L)But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” ²⁸ Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place ^[e]the Rock of Escape. ²⁹ Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at ^(M)En Gedi.