¹³ “Get your swords!” was David’s reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment.

David Hides in the Wilderness

¹³ So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all.

Listening and Doing

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger^[a] does not produce the righteousness^[b] God desires.

¹⁹ Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

²⁰ Instead,

²¹ Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

²¹ Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully. ²² But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.”

²³ But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. ²⁴ Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.”

⁹ So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. ¹⁰ But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men.