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1 Samuel 22:6-23
New English Translation

Saul Executes the Priests

6 But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him.[a] Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him. 7 Saul said to his servants, “Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse’s son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you[b] commanders and officers?[c] 8 For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me[d] when my own son makes an agreement with the son of Jesse. Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!”

9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, “I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 10 He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father’s house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. 12 Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave[e] him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes[f] me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!”

14 Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house. 15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse[g] his servant or any of my father’s house, for your servant is not aware of all this—not in whole or in part!”[h]

16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!” 17 Then the king said to the messengers[i] who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided[j] with David. They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm[k] the priests of the Lord.

18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five[l] men who wore the linen ephod. 19 As for Nob, the city of the priests, Doeg struck down men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep—all with the sword.

20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. 21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty[m] of all the deaths in your father’s house. 23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid. Whoever[n] seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 22:6 tn Heb “and Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were known.”
  2. 1 Samuel 22:7 tc The MT has “to all of you.” If this reading is correct, we have here an example of a prepositional phrase functioning as the equivalent of a dative of advantage, which is not impossible from a grammatical point of view. However, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have “and.” A conjunction rather than a preposition should probably be read on the front of this phrase.
  3. 1 Samuel 22:7 tn Heb “officers of a thousand and officers of a hundred.”
  4. 1 Samuel 22:8 tn Heb “uncovers my ear.”
  5. 1 Samuel 22:13 tn Heb “by giving.”
  6. 1 Samuel 22:13 tn Heb “rises up against.”
  7. 1 Samuel 22:15 tn Heb “set a matter against.”
  8. 1 Samuel 22:15 tn Heb “small or great.”
  9. 1 Samuel 22:17 tn Heb “runners.”
  10. 1 Samuel 22:17 tn Heb “their hand is.”
  11. 1 Samuel 22:17 tn Heb “to extend their hand to harm.”
  12. 1 Samuel 22:18 tc The number is confused in the Greek ms tradition. The LXX, with the exception of the Lucianic recension, has the number 305. The Lucianic recension, along with a couple of Old Latin mss, has the number 350.
  13. 1 Samuel 22:22 tc The translation follows the LXX, which reads “I am guilty,” rather than the MT, which has “I have turned.”
  14. 1 Samuel 22:23 tn Or “the one who.” This may refer specifically to Saul, in which case David acknowledges that Abiathar’s life is endangered because of his allegiance to David. The translation assumes that the statement is more generalized, meaning that any enemy of Abiathar is an enemy of David. In other words, David promises that he will protect Abiathar with his very own life.
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1 Samuel 21
1 Samuel 23
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Psalm 52
New English Translation

Psalm 52[a]

For the music director, a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.”[c]

52 Why do you boast about your evil plans,[d] O powerful man?
God’s loyal love protects me all day long.[e]
2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans;[f]
it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.[g]
3 You love evil more than good,
lies more than speaking the truth.[h] (Selah)
4 You love to use all the words that destroy,[i]
and the tongue that deceives.
5 Yet[j] God will make you a permanent heap of ruins.[k]
He will scoop you up[l] and remove you from your home;[m]
he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
6 When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe,
and will mock the evildoer, saying:[n]
7 “Look, here is the man who would not make[o] God his protector.
He trusted in his great wealth
and was confident about his plans to destroy others.”[p]
8 But I[q] am like a flourishing[r] olive tree in the house of God;
I continually[s] trust in God’s loyal love.
9 I will continually[t] thank you when[u] you execute judgment;[v]
I will rely on[w] you,[x] for your loyal followers know you are good.[y]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.
  2. Psalm 52:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
  3. Psalm 52:1 tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s head shepherd (1 Sam 21:7), informed Saul of David’s whereabouts (see 1 Sam 21-22).
  4. Psalm 52:1 tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”
  5. Psalm 52:1 tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.
  6. Psalm 52:2 tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”
  7. Psalm 52:2 tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (ʿasah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.
  8. Psalm 52:3 tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”
  9. Psalm 52:4 tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (balaʿ) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.
  10. Psalm 52:5 tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.
  11. Psalm 52:5 tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”
  12. Psalm 52:5 tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.
  13. Psalm 52:5 tn Heb “from [your] tent.”
  14. Psalm 52:6 tn Heb “and the godly will see and will fear and at him will laugh.”
  15. Psalm 52:7 tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action. The evildoer customarily rejected God and trusted in his own abilities. Another option is to take the imperfect as generalizing, “[here is the man who] does not make.”
  16. Psalm 52:7 tn Heb “he was strong in his destruction.” “Destruction” must refer back to the destructive plans mentioned in v. 2. The verb (derived from the root עָזַז, ʿazaz, “be strong”) as it stands is either an imperfect (if so, probably used in a customary sense) or a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive). However the form should probably be emended to וַיָּעָז (vayyaʿaz), a Qal preterite (with vav [ו] consecutive) from עָזַז. Note the preterite form without vav (ו) consecutive in the preceding line (וַיִּבְטַח, vayyivtakh, “and he trusted”). The prefixed vav (ו) was likely omitted by haplography (note the suffixed vav [ו] on the preceding עָשְׁרוֹ, ʿoshro, “his wealth”).
  17. Psalm 52:8 tn The disjunctive construction (vav [ו] + subject) highlights the contrast between the evildoer’s destiny (vv. 5-7) and that of the godly psalmist’s security.
  18. Psalm 52:8 tn Or “luxuriant, green, leafy.”
  19. Psalm 52:8 tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever and ever.”
  20. Psalm 52:9 tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”
  21. Psalm 52:9 tn Or “for.”
  22. Psalm 52:9 tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.
  23. Psalm 52:9 tn Or “wait on.”
  24. Psalm 52:9 tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.
  25. Psalm 52:9 tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”
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Psalm 51
Psalm 53
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Psalm 109
New English Translation

Psalm 109[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

109 O God whom I praise, do not ignore me.[b]
2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;
they lie to me.[c]
3 They surround me and say hateful things;[d]
they attack me for no reason.
4 They repay my love with accusations,[e]
but I continue to pray.[f]
5 They repay me evil for good,[g]
and hate for love.
6 [h] Appoint an evil man to testify against him.[i]
May an accuser stand[j] at his right side.
7 When he is judged, he will be found[k] guilty.[l]
Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.
8 May his days be few.[m]
May another take his job.[n]
9 May his children[o] be fatherless,
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children[p] roam around begging,
asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home.[q]
11 May the creditor seize[r] all he owns.
May strangers loot his property.[s]
12 May no one show him kindness.[t]
May no one have compassion[u] on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants[v] be cut off.[w]
May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives.[x]
14 May his ancestors’[y] sins be remembered by the Lord.
May his mother’s sin not be forgotten.[z]
15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them,[aa]
and cut off the memory of his children[ab] from the earth.
16 For he never bothered to show kindness;[ac]
he harassed the oppressed and needy,
and killed the disheartened.[ad]
17 He loved to curse[ae] others, so those curses have come upon him.[af]
He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.[ag]
18 He made cursing a way of life,[ah]
so curses poured into his stomach like water
and seeped into his bones like oil.[ai]
19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on,[aj]
or a belt[ak] one wears continually.
20 May the Lord repay my accusers in this way,[al]
those who say evil things about[am] me.[an]
21 O Sovereign Lord,
intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation.[ao]
Because your loyal love is good, deliver me.
22 For I am oppressed and needy,
and my heart beats violently within me.[ap]
23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day;[aq]
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 I am so starved my knees shake;[ar]
I have turned into skin and bones.[as]
25 I am disdained by them.[at]
When they see me, they shake their heads.[au]
26 Help me, O Lord my God.
Because you are faithful to me, deliver me.[av]
27 Then they will realize[aw] this is your work,[ax]
and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
28 They curse, but you will bless.[ay]
When they attack, they will be humiliated,[az]
but your servant will rejoice.
29 My accusers will be covered[ba] with shame,
and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe.
30 I will thank the Lord profusely.[bb]
In the middle of a crowd[bc] I will praise him,
31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to deliver him from those who threaten[bd] his life.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:1 sn Psalm 109. Appealing to God’s justice, the psalmist asks God to vindicate him and to bring severe judgment down upon his enemies.
  2. Psalm 109:1 tn Heb “do not be deaf.”
  3. Psalm 109:2 tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”
  4. Psalm 109:3 tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”
  5. Psalm 109:4 tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”
  6. Psalm 109:4 tn Heb “and I, prayer.”
  7. Psalm 109:5 tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”
  8. Psalm 109:6 sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view—that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist—see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.
  9. Psalm 109:6 tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”
  10. Psalm 109:6 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).
  11. Psalm 109:7 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.
  12. Psalm 109:7 tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).
  13. Psalm 109:8 tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.
  14. Psalm 109:8 tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (pequddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.
  15. Psalm 109:9 tn Or “sons.”
  16. Psalm 109:10 tn Or “sons.”
  17. Psalm 109:10 tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vedareshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yegoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shiʾelu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.
  18. Psalm 109:11 tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).
  19. Psalm 109:11 tn Heb “the product of his labor.”
  20. Psalm 109:12 tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
  21. Psalm 109:12 tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).
  22. Psalm 109:13 tn Or “offspring.”
  23. Psalm 109:13 sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.
  24. Psalm 109:13 tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”
  25. Psalm 109:14 tn Or “fathers’ sins.”
  26. Psalm 109:14 tn Heb “not be wiped out.”sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)
  27. Psalm 109:15 tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”
  28. Psalm 109:15 tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.
  29. Psalm 109:16 tn Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”
  30. Psalm 109:16 tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”
  31. Psalm 109:17 sn A curse in OT times consists of a formal appeal to God to bring judgment down upon another. Curses were sometimes justified (such as the one spoken by the psalmist here in vv. 6-19), but when they were not, the one pronouncing the curse was in danger of bringing the anticipated judgment down upon himself.
  32. Psalm 109:17 tn Heb “and he loved a curse and it came [upon] him.” A reference to the evil man experiencing a curse seems premature here, for the psalmist is asking God to bring judgment on his enemies. For this reason some (cf. NIV, NRSV) prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” as conjunctive and translate the verb as a jussive of prayer (“may it come upon him!”). The prefixed form with vav consecutive in the next line is emended in the same way and translated, “may it be far from him.” However, the psalmist may be indicating that the evil man’s lifestyle has already begun to yield its destructive fruit.
  33. Psalm 109:17 tn Heb “and he did not delight in a blessing and it is far from him.”
  34. Psalm 109:18 tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”
  35. Psalm 109:18 tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the verb from the preterite form וַתָּבֹא (vattavoʾ, “and it came”) to a jussive form וְתָבֹא (vetavoʾ, “and may it come!”).
  36. Psalm 109:19 tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”
  37. Psalm 109:19 tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.
  38. Psalm 109:20 tn Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the Lord.”
  39. Psalm 109:20 tn Or “against.”
  40. Psalm 109:20 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
  41. Psalm 109:21 tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, deal with me for the sake of your name” or “on account of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation. The Psalmist’s appeal is for God to act consistently with, and therefore maintain, his reputation (as a deliverer of the righteous and one who punishes evildoers). Note that “for your name’s sake” is paralleled by “because your loyal love is good.” The point is that the Psalmist is making an appeal not based on his own personal whim or vendetta but is calling for judicial penalties (or the fulfillment of prior prophetic indictment).
  42. Psalm 109:22 tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a Polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbi yakhil beqirbbi, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).
  43. Psalm 109:23 tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.
  44. Psalm 109:24 tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”
  45. Psalm 109:24 tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”
  46. Psalm 109:25 tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”
  47. Psalm 109:25 sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.
  48. Psalm 109:26 tn Heb “deliver me according to your faithfulness.”
  49. Psalm 109:27 tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
  50. Psalm 109:27 tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”
  51. Psalm 109:28 tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).
  52. Psalm 109:28 tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.
  53. Psalm 109:29 tn Heb “clothed.” Another option is to translate the prefixed verbal forms in this line and the next as jussives (“may my accusers be covered with shame”).
  54. Psalm 109:30 tn Heb “I will thank the Lord very much with my mouth.”
  55. Psalm 109:30 tn Heb “many.”
  56. Psalm 109:31 tn Heb “judge.”
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Psalm 108
Psalm 110
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1 Samuel 23
New English Translation

David Delivers the City of Keilah

23 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.” 2 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah. What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them.[a] David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

David Eludes Saul Again

6 Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod.[b] 7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered[c] him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.”[d] 8 So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men.[e]

9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him,[f] he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning[g] to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. 11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant.”

Then the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

13 So David and his men, who numbered about 600, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another.[h] When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. 14 David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time,[i] but God did not deliver David[j] into his hands. 15 David realized[k] that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the wilderness of Ziph.

16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him[l] through God. 17 He said to him, “Don’t be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this.” 18 When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.

19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20 Now at your own discretion,[m] O king, come down. Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.”

21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely[n] where he is[o] and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. 23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information.[p] Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him[q] among all the thousands of Judah.”

24 So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the rift valley[r] to the south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men went to look for him.[s] But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in 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, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to capture them. 27 But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”

28 So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth.[t] 29 (24:1)[u] Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:5 tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”
  2. 1 Samuel 23:6 tn Heb “an ephod went down in his hand.”
  3. 1 Samuel 23:7 tn The MT reading (“God has alienated him into my hand”) in v. 7 is a difficult and uncommon idiom. The use of this verb in Jer 19:4 is somewhat parallel, but not entirely so. Many scholars have therefore suspected a textual problem here, emending the word נִכַּר (nikkar, “alienated”) to סִכַּר (sikkar, “he has shut up [i.e., delivered]”). This is the idea reflected in the translations of the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate, although it is not entirely clear whether they are reading something different from the MT or are simply paraphrasing what for them too may have been a difficult text. The LXX has “God has sold him into my hands,” apparently reading מָכַר (makar, “sold”) for MT’s נִכַּר. The present translation is a rather free interpretation.
  4. 1 Samuel 23:7 tn Heb “with two gates and a bar.” Since in English “bar” could be understood as a saloon, it has been translated as an attributive: “two barred gates.”
  5. 1 Samuel 23:8 tn Heb “So Saul mustered all his army for battle to go down to Keilah to besiege against David and his men.”
  6. 1 Samuel 23:9 tn Heb “Saul was planning the evil against him.”
  7. 1 Samuel 23:10 tn Heb “seeking.”
  8. 1 Samuel 23:13 tn Heb “they went where they went.”
  9. 1 Samuel 23:14 tn Heb “all the days.”
  10. 1 Samuel 23:14 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. 1 Samuel 23:15 tn Heb “saw.”
  12. 1 Samuel 23:16 tn Heb “strengthened his hand.”
  13. 1 Samuel 23:20 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul to come down.”
  14. 1 Samuel 23:22 tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
  15. 1 Samuel 23:22 tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”
  16. 1 Samuel 23:23 tn Heb “established.”
  17. 1 Samuel 23:23 tn Heb “I will search him out.”
  18. 1 Samuel 23:24 sn This section of the rift valley is along the western part of the Dead Sea.
  19. 1 Samuel 23:25 tn Heb “to search.”
  20. 1 Samuel 23:28 sn The name הַמַּחְלְקוֹת סֶלַע (selaʿ hammakhleqot) probably means “Rock of Divisions” in Hebrew, in the sense that Saul and David parted company there (cf. NAB “Gorge of Divisions”; TEV “Separation Hill”). This etymology assumes that the word derives from the Hebrew root II חָלַק (khalaq, “to divide”; HALOT 322 s.v. II חלק). However, there is another root I חלק, which means “to be smooth or slippery” (HALOT 322 s.v. I חלק). If the word is taken from this root, the expression would mean “Slippery Rock.”
  21. 1 Samuel 23:29 sn Beginning with 23:29, the verse numbers through 24:22 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 23:29 ET = 24:1 HT, 24:1 ET = 24:2 HT, 24:2 ET = 24:3 HT, etc., through 24:22 ET = 24:23 HT. With 25:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
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