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
International Standard Version
David Delivers Keilah
23 Someone[a] told David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting at Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.”
2 David inquired of the Lord: “Shall I go and strike down these Philistines?”
The Lord told David, “Go strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”
3 David’s men told him, “Look, we’re afraid here in Judah. How much then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine army?”
4 David inquired of the Lord again, and the Lord answered him: “Get up, go down to Keilah. I’ll give the Philistines into your control.”[b] 5 David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He carried off their livestock and defeated them decisively,[c] and so David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 Now when Ahimelech’s son Abiathar had fled to David in Keilah, the ephod[d] had come down with him.
7 It was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, and Saul said, “The Lord has delivered[e] him into my hand because he has shut himself in by going into a town with double gates and bars.” 8 Saul summoned for battle all his forces[f] to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
9 David knew that Saul was devising evil plans against him, and so he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”
10 David said, “Lord God of Israel. Your servant has definitely heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah to destroy the town because of me. 11 Will the people of Keilah hand me over to him?[g] Will Saul come down just as your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant.”
The Lord said, “He will come down.”
12 Then David said, “Will the people of Keilah hand me over to Saul?”[h]
The Lord said, “They’ll hand you over.” 13 David and his men, about 600 strong, got up and left Keilah. They moved around wherever they could go. Saul was advised that David had escaped from Keilah, so he stopped the campaign.[i]
Jonathan Visits David
14 David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and he lived in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not let David[j] slip into Saul’s[k] control. 15 David was afraid because[l] Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 Saul’s son Jonathan got up and went to David at Horesh, and he encouraged him to trust[m] in God. 17 Jonathan told him, “Don’t be afraid. My father Saul won’t find you, and you will be king over Israel. I’ll be your second-in-command. My father Saul also knows this.” 18 The two of them made a covenant[n] in the Lord’s presence. David remained at Horesh while Jonathan went home.
The People of Ziph Betray David
19 People from Ziph came up to Saul at Gibeah and informed him, “David is hiding with us in the strongholds in Horesh and on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon, isn’t he? 20 Now, your majesty, whenever you want to come down,[o] come down, and our part will be to hand him over to the king.”
21 Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you have been gracious to me. 22 Go and again make sure, find out and investigate where he is[p] and who has seen him there, for people tell me that he’s very clever. 23 Investigate and find out all the hiding places there where he hides, and return to me with reliable information. Then I’ll go down with you, and if he’s in the land, I’ll search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 The people from Ziph got up and left Saul, while David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.
25 When Saul and his men went to search for David,[q] some people[r] told David, and he went down to the Rock of Escape[s] and remained in the wilderness of Maon. Saul heard this and he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.
27 Then a messenger came to Saul with this news: “Come quickly, because the Philistines have made a raid on the land!” 28 So Saul turned around from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines. Therefore, they call that place the Rock of Escape. 29 [t]David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En-gedi.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 23:1 Lit. They
- 1 Samuel 23:4 Lit. hand
- 1 Samuel 23:5 Lit. struck them down with a great slaughter
- 1 Samuel 23:6 The ephod was a type of vest normally worn by the priests.
- 1 Samuel 23:7 So with LXX
- 1 Samuel 23:8 Lit. all the people
- 1 Samuel 23:11 Lit. into his hand
- 1 Samuel 23:12 Lit. into Saul’s hand
- 1 Samuel 23:13 Lit. stopped going out
- 1 Samuel 23:14 Lit. him
- 1 Samuel 23:14 Lit. his
- 1 Samuel 23:15 Or David saw that
- 1 Samuel 23:16 Lit. he strengthened his hand
- 1 Samuel 23:18 Or agreement
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Lit. according to your desire to come down
- 1 Samuel 23:22 Lit. his place where his foot is
- 1 Samuel 23:25 The Heb. lacks for David
- 1 Samuel 23:25 Lit. David, they
- 1 Samuel 23:25 The Heb. lacks of Escape; cf. v.28
- 1 Samuel 23:29 This v. is 24:1 in MT
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