David Rescues Keilah

23 Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering (robbing) the threshing floors [of the grain].” ² So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” ³ But David’s men said to him, “Listen, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the battle lines of the Philistines?” ⁴ Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will hand over the Philistines to you.” ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; he drove away their cattle and struck them with a great slaughter. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶ When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷ Now when Saul was informed that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city that has double gates and bars.” ⁸ So Saul summoned all the people (soldiers) for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. ⁹ But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” ¹⁰ Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul intends to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O Lord, God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David asked, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” The Lord said, “They will surrender you.” ¹³ Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and left Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. ¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness in strongholds, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him.

Saul Pursues David

¹⁵ Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph [in the woods] at Horesh. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went [into the woods] to David at Horesh, and ^[a]encouraged him in God. ¹⁷ He said to him, “Do not be afraid; the hand of my father Saul will not find you. You will be king over Israel and I will be second in command to you; my father Saul knows this too.” ¹⁸ So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; and David stayed [in the woods] at Horesh and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of ^[b]Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now then, O king, come down [to Ziph] in accordance with all your heart’s desire to do so [and capture him]; and our part shall be to hand him over to the king.” ²¹ Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you have had compassion on me. ²² Go now, be very persistent and investigate, and see where his ^[c]haunt is and who has seen him there; for I am told he is very cunning. ²³ So look, and take note of all the places where he hides and come back to me with the established facts, then I will go with you. If he is [anywhere] in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

²⁴ So they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Then Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed [there] in the Wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard 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, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to capture them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, because the Philistines have attacked the land.” ²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. ^29 [d]David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

Christian Order

11 Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

² I praise and appreciate you because you remember me in everything and you firmly hold to the ^[a]traditions [the substance of my instructions], just as I have passed them on to you. ³ But I want you to understand that Christ is the head (authority over) of every man, and man is the head of woman, and God is the head of Christ. ⁴ Every man who prays or ^[b]prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head [and the One who is his head]. ⁵ And every woman who prays or prophesies when she has her ^[c]head uncovered disgraces her head; for she is one and the same as the ^[d]woman whose head is shaved [in disgrace]. ⁶ If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and ^[e]if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head. ⁷ A man ought not have his head covered [during worship], since he is the image and [reflected] glory of God; but the woman is [the expression of] man’s glory.^{(A) 8} For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;^{(B) 9} for indeed man was not created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man.^{(C) 10} Therefore the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, ^[f]for the sake of the angels [so as not to offend them]. ¹¹ Nevertheless, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. ¹² For as the woman originates from the man, so also man is born through the woman; and all things [whether male or female] originate from God [as their Creator]. ^13 [g]Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a woman to offer prayer to God [publicly] with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Does not common sense itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, ¹⁵ but if a woman has long hair, it is her ornament and glory? For her long hair is given to her as a covering. ¹⁶ Now if anyone is inclined to be contentious [about this], we have no other practice [in worship than this], nor do the churches of God [in general].

¹⁷ But in giving this next instruction, I do not praise you, because when you meet together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For, in the first place, when you meet together in church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and in part I believe it, ¹⁹ for [doubtless] there have to be factions among you, so that those who are of approved character may be clearly recognized among you. ²⁰ So when you meet together, it is not to eat the ^[h]Lord’s Supper, ²¹ for when you eat, each one hurries to get his own supper first [not waiting for others or the poor]. So one goes hungry while another gets drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those [impoverished believers] who have nothing? What will I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? In this I will not praise you!

The Lord’s Supper

^23 [i]For I received from the Lord Himself that [instruction] which I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” ²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again].

²⁷ So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But a person must [prayerfully] examine himself [and his relationship to Christ], and only when he has done so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks [without solemn reverence and heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifice of Christ], eats and drinks a judgment on himself if he does not ^[j]recognize the body [of Christ]. ³⁰ That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason why many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [in death]. ³¹ But if we evaluated and judged ourselves honestly [recognizing our shortcomings and correcting our behavior], we would not be judged. ³² But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined [by undergoing His correction] so that we will not be condemned [to eternal punishment] along with the world.

³³ So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat [the Lord’s Supper], wait for one another [and see to it that no one is left out]. ³⁴ If anyone is too hungry [to wait], let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment [on yourselves]. About the remaining matters [of which I was informed], I will take care of them when I come.