David Again Spares Saul

26 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “^(A)Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before ^[a]Jeshimon?” ² So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him ^(B)three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³ Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before ^[b]Jeshimon, ^(C)beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When ^(D)he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, ⁴ David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming. ⁵ David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and ^(E)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech ^(F)the Hittite and to ^(G)Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, “Who ^(H)will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear ^[c]to the ground with one stroke, and I will not ^[d]strike him the second time.” ⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for ^(I)who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?” ¹⁰ David also said, “As the Lord lives, ^(J)surely the Lord will strike him, or ^(K)his day will come that he dies, or ^(L)he will go down into battle and perish. ^11 (M)The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ^(N)a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³ Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them. ¹⁴ David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?” ¹⁵ So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you ^[e](O)must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.”

¹⁷ Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “^(P)Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” ¹⁸ He also said, “^(Q)Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If ^(R)the Lord has stirred you up against me, ^(S)let Him ^[f]accept an offering; but ^(T)if it is ^[g]men, cursed are they before the Lord, for ^(U)they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for ^(V)a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, “^(W)I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.” ²² David replied, “Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it. ^23 (X)The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but ^(Y)I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ Now behold, as your life was ^(Z)highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He ^(AA)deliver me from all distress.” ²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “^(AB)Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail.” So ^(AC)David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David Flees to the Philistines

27 Then David said ^[a]to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. ^(A)There is nothing better for me than ^[b]to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” ² So David arose and crossed over, he and ^(B)the six hundred men who were with him, to ^(C)Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, ^(D)each with his household, even David with ^(E)his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s ^[c]widow. ⁴ Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore ^(F)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was ^(G)a year and four months.

David’s Supporters in Ziklag

12 ^(A)Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. ² They were equipped with bows, ^(B)using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow; ^(C)they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin. ³ The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite, ⁴ and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty. ^[a]Then Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, ^5 [b]Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the Korahites, ⁷ and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and raided ^(A)the Geshurites and the Girzites and ^(B)the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to ^(C)Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹ David ^[a]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he ^(D)took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ Now Achish said, “Where have you ^(E)made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the ^[b]Negev of Judah and against the ^[c]Negev of ^(F)the Jerahmeelites and against the ^[d]Negev of ^(G)the Kenites.” ¹¹ David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so has been his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” ¹² So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

Saul and the Spirit Medium

28 Now it came about in those days that ^(A)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” ² David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you ^[a]my bodyguard ^(B)for life.”

³ Now ^(C)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^(D)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^(E)were mediums and spiritists. ⁴ So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped ^(F)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in ^(G)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (H)When Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(I)the Lord did not answer him, either by ^(J)dreams or by ^(K)Urim or by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(L)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(M)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(N)disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(O)Conjure up for me, please, and ^(P)bring up for me whom I shall ^[b]name to you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(Q)what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ Saul vowed to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[c]divine being coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(R)he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(S)he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(T)God has departed from me and ^(U)no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? ¹⁷ The Lord has done ^[d]accordingly ^(V)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ As ^(W)you did not ^[e]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow ^(X)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”

²⁰ Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no ^[f]food all day and all night. ²¹ The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified, and said to him, “Behold, your maidservant has ^[g]obeyed you, and ^(Y)I have ^[h]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. ²² So now also, please listen to the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.” ²³ But he refused and said, “^(Z)I will not eat.” ^(AA)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to ^[i]them. So he arose from the ground and sat on ^(AB)the bed. ²⁴ The woman had a ^(AC)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; and she ^(AD)took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.

The Philistines Mistrust David

29 Now ^(AE)the Philistines gathered together all their armies to ^(AF)Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in ^(AG)Jezreel. ² And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and ^(AH)David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. ³ Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, ^(AI)who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and ^(AJ)I have found no fault in him from the day he ^[j]deserted to me to this day?” ⁴ But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man go back, that he may return ^(AK)to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, ^(AL)or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of ^[k]these men? ⁵ Is this not David, ^(AM)of whom they sing in the dances, saying,

⁶ Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and ^(AN)your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; ^(AO)for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. ⁷ Now therefore return and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” ⁸ David said to Achish, “^(AP)But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹ But Achish replied to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, ^(AQ)like an angel of God; nevertheless ^(AR)the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ ¹⁰ Now then arise early in the morning ^(AS)with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, depart.” ¹¹ So David arose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

^19 (A)From Manasseh also some defected to David when he was about to go to battle with the Philistines against Saul. But they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines after consultation sent him away, saying, “At the cost of our heads he may defect to his master Saul.”

Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God.

For the choir director; according to ^[a]Jonath elem rehokim. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David, ^[c]when the Philistines seized him in Gath.