1 Samuel 23
New American Standard Bible
David Saves Keilah
23 Then they informed David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against (A)Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.” 2 So David (B)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and [a]attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and [b]attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 3 But 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?” 4 So David inquired of the Lord once more. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for (C)I am going to hand the Philistines over to you.” 5 Then 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.
6 Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech (D)fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7 When 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.” 8 So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to (E)Abiathar the priest, “(F)Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then 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. 11 Will 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.” 12 Then David said, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” And the Lord said, “(G)They will hand you over.” 13 Then David and his men, (H)about six hundred, rose up and departed from Keilah, and they went (I)wherever they could go. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up [c]the pursuit. 14 David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of (J)Ziph. And Saul searched for him every day, but (K)God did not hand him over to him.
Saul Pursues David
15 Now David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph, at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, set out and went to David at Horesh, and [d](L)encouraged him in God. 17 He said to him, “(M)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 (N)Saul my father knows that as well.” 18 So (O)the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; and David stayed at Horesh, while Jonathan went to his house.
19 Then (P)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not keeping himself hidden with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on (Q)the hill of Hachilah, which is south of [e]Jeshimon? 20 Now then, O king, come down, [f]since you fully desire to [g]do so; and (R)our part shall be to hand him over to the king.” 21 Saul said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, (S)since you have had compassion on me. 22 Go now, be more persistent, and investigate and see his place where [h]he is hiding, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 So 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.”
24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of (T)Maon, in the Arabah to the south of [i]Jeshimon. 25 When 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. 26 Saul 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 (U)were surrounding David and his men to apprehend them. 27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have launched an attack against the land!” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines; therefore they called that place [j]the Rock of Division. 29 [k]And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of (V)Engedi.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 23:2 Lit strike
- 1 Samuel 23:2 Lit strike
- 1 Samuel 23:13 Lit going out
- 1 Samuel 23:16 Lit strengthened his hand
- 1 Samuel 23:19 Or the desert
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Lit according to all your soul’s desire
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Lit come down
- 1 Samuel 23:22 Lit his foot is
- 1 Samuel 23:24 Or the desert
- 1 Samuel 23:28 Heb Sela-hammahlekoth; meaning uncertain, possibly Rock of Smoothness (i.e., “Slippery Rock”)
- 1 Samuel 23:29 Ch 24:1 in Heb
1 Samuel 23
Christian Standard Bible
Deliverance at Keilah
23 It was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah(A) and raiding the threshing floors.”
2 So David inquired of the Lord:(B) “Should I launch an attack against these Philistines?”
The Lord answered David, “Launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we’re afraid here in Judah; how much more if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
4 Once again, David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, “Go at once to Keilah, for I will hand the Philistines over to you.”(C) 5 Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, drove their livestock away, and inflicted heavy losses on them. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, and he brought an ephod with him.
7 When it was reported to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with barred gates.” 8 Then Saul summoned all the troops to go to war at Keilah and besiege David and his men.
9 When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar,(D) “Bring the ephod.”(E)
10 Then David said, “Lord God of Israel, your servant has reliable information that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the town because of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please tell your servant.”
The Lord answered, “He will come down.”
12 Then David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?”
“They will,”(F) the Lord responded.
13 So David and his men, numbering about six hundred,(G) left Keilah at once and moved from place to place.(H) When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he called off the expedition. 14 David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph.(I) Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.(J)
A Renewed Covenant
15 David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life. 16 Then Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith[a] in God,(K) 17 saying, “Don’t be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel,(L) and I’ll be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows it is true.”(M) 18 Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord’s presence.(N) Afterward, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
David’s Narrow Escape
19 Some Ziphites(O) came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t it true that David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon? 20 So now, whenever the king wants to come down, let him come down. As for us, we will be glad to hand him over to the king.”(P)
21 “May you be blessed by the Lord,” replied Saul, “for you have shown concern for me.(Q) 22 Go and check again. Investigate[b] where he goes[c] and who has seen him there; they tell me he is extremely cunning. 23 Investigate[d] all the places where he hides. Then come back to me with accurate information, and I’ll go with you. If it turns out he really is in the region, I’ll search for him among all the clans[e] of Judah.” 24 So they went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
Now David and his men were in the wilderness near Maon(R) in the Arabah south of Jeshimon, 25 and Saul and his men went to look for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David there.
26 Saul went along one side of the mountain and David and his men went along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away from Saul, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.(S) 27 Then a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, because the Philistines have raided the land!” 28 So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to engage the Philistines. Therefore, that place was named the Rock of Separation. 29 From there David went up and stayed in the strongholds of En-gedi.(T)
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