1 Samuel 23:14-21

New King James Version

David in Wilderness Strongholds

¹⁴ And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in ^(A)the mountains in the Wilderness of ^(B)Ziph. Saul ^(C)sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. ¹⁵ So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph ^[a]in a forest. ¹⁶ Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and ^[b]strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said to him, ^(D)“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. ^(E)Even my father Saul knows that.” ¹⁸ So the two of them ^(F)made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites ^(G)came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and ^(H)our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

²¹ And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me.