1 Samuel 23:19-29
New American Standard Bible
19 Then (A)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not keeping himself hidden with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on (B)the hill of Hachilah, which is south of [a]Jeshimon? 20 Now then, O king, come down, [b]since you fully desire to [c]do so; and (C)our part shall be to hand him over to the king.” 21 Saul said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, (D)since you have had compassion on me. 22 Go now, be more persistent, and investigate and see his place where [d]he is hiding, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he keeps himself hidden, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of (E)Maon, in the Arabah to the south of [e]Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they informed David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard about 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, while Saul and his men (F)were surrounding David and his men to apprehend them. 27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have launched an attack against the land!” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines; therefore they called that place [f]the Rock of Division. 29 [g]And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of (G)Engedi.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 23:19 Or the desert
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Lit according to all your soul’s desire
- 1 Samuel 23:20 Lit come down
- 1 Samuel 23:22 Lit his foot is
- 1 Samuel 23:24 Or the desert
- 1 Samuel 23:28 Heb Sela-hammahlekoth; meaning uncertain, possibly Rock of Smoothness (i.e., “Slippery Rock”)
- 1 Samuel 23:29 Ch 24:1 in Heb
1 Samuel 23:19-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “David is hiding among us in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon.(A) 20 Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so, and our part will be to surrender him into the king’s hand.”(B) 21 Saul said, “May you be blessed by the Lord for showing me compassion!(C) 22 Go and make sure once more; find out exactly where he is and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 Look around and learn all the hiding places where he lurks and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you, and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.(D) 25 Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into 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. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.(E) 27 Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” 28 So Saul stopped pursuing David and went against the Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.[a] 29 [b]David then went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.(F)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.