²⁴ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon,^(A) in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.^{(B) 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^(C) 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,

²⁹ And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds^(A) of En Gedi.^[a](B)