¹³ David said to his men^(A), “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went^(B) up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.^(C)

¹³ So David and his men,^(A) 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.

Listening and Doing

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters,^(A) take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak^(B) and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger^(C) does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

¹⁹ Do not take revenge,^(A) my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[a](B) says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted^(A) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. ²² But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

²³ David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. ²⁴ Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.^(B)”