1 Samuel 23:7-24:22
International Children’s Bible
Saul Chases David
7 Someone told Saul that David was now at Keilah. Saul said, “God has given David to me! He has trapped himself because he has entered a town with gates and bars.” 8 Saul called all his army together for battle. They prepared to go down to Keilah to attack David and his men.
9 David learned Saul was making evil plans against him. So he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the holy vest.” 10 David prayed, “Lord, God of Israel, I have heard about Saul’s plans. He is coming to Keilah to destroy the town because of me. 11 Will the people of Keilah give me to Saul? Will Saul come to Keilah, as I heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell me, your servant!”
The Lord answered, “Saul will come down.”
12 Again David asked, “Will the people of Keilah give me and my men to Saul?”
The Lord answered, “They will.”
13 So David and his men left Keilah. There were about 600 men who went with him. And they kept moving from place to place. When Saul found that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
14 David stayed in the protected places in the desert. He also stayed in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Every day Saul looked for David. But the Lord did not let him take David.
15 David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph. He was afraid because Saul was coming to kill him. 16 But Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh. He helped David have stronger faith in God. 17 Jonathan told him, “Don’t be afraid. My father won’t touch you. You will become king of Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18 The two of them made an agreement before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home. But David stayed at Horesh.
19 The people from Ziph went to Saul at Gibeah. They told him, “David is hiding in our land. He’s at the protected places of Horesh. They are on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon. 20 Now, our king, come down anytime you want. It’s our duty to give David to you.”
21 Saul answered, “The Lord bless you for helping me. 22 Go and learn more about him. Find out where he is staying. Find out who has seen him there. I have heard that he is clever. 23 Find all the hiding places he uses. And come back and tell me everything. Then I’ll go with you. If David is in the area, I will find him. I will track him down among all the families in Judah.”
24 So they went back to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the Desert of Maon.[a] This was in the desert area south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men went to look for David. But people warned David that Saul was looking for him. David then went down to a rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. Saul heard that David had gone there. So he went after him into the Desert of Maon.
26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain. David and his men were on the other side. They were hurrying to get away from Saul. Saul and his soldiers were closing in on David and his men. 27 But a messenger came to Saul. He said, “Come quickly! The Philistines are attacking our land!” 28 So Saul stopped chasing David and went to fight the Philistines. That is why people call this place Rock of Parting. 29 David left the Desert of Maon and lived in the protected places of En Gedi.
David Shames Saul
24 Now Saul had chased the Philistines away. Then he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So he chose 3,000 men from all Israel. He took these men and began looking for David and his men. They looked near the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3 Saul came to the sheep pens beside the road. A cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were hiding far back in the cave. 4 The men said to David, “Today is the day the Lord talked about! The Lord told you, ‘I will give your enemy to you. You can do anything you want with him.’”
Then David crawled near Saul. He cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. But Saul did not notice him. 5 Later David felt guilty because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord’s appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord’s appointed king!” 7 David used these words to stop his men. He did not let them attack Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went his way.
8 When David came out of the cave, he shouted to Saul, “My master and king!” Saul looked back, and David bowed facedown on the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David plans to harm you’? 10 You have seen something with your own eyes today. You have seen how the Lord put you in my power in the cave. But I refused to kill you. I was merciful to you. I said, ‘I won’t harm my master, because he is the Lord’s appointed king.’ 11 My father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe, but I didn’t kill you. Now understand and know I am not planning any evil against you. I did nothing wrong to you, but you are hunting me to kill me. 12 May the Lord judge between us. And may he punish you for the wrong you have done to me! But I won’t fight you. 13 There is an old saying: ‘Evil things come from evil people.’ So I won’t hurt you. 14 Whom is the king of Israel coming out against? Whom are you chasing? You’re not chasing someone who will hurt you! It’s as if you are chasing a dead dog or a flea. 15 May the Lord be our judge and decide between you and me. May the Lord support me and show that I am right. May he save me from you!”
16 David finished saying these words. Then Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he cried loudly. 17 He said, “You are right, and I am wrong. You have been good to me. But I have done wrong to you. 18 You told me what good things you did. The Lord brought me to you, but you did not kill me. 19 If a man finds his enemy, he won’t send him away with goodness, will he? May the Lord reward you because you were good to me today. 20 I know you will surely be king. You will rule the kingdom of Israel. 21 Now make a promise to me. Promise in the name of the Lord that you will not kill my descendants. Promise me that you won’t wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
22 So David made the promise to Saul. Then Saul went back home. David and his men went up to the protected place.
Footnotes
- 23:24 Maon Some early Greek copies say “Maon.” The Hebrew copies say “Paran.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
