^55 (A)Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,

David and the Wife of Nabal

² Now there was a man ^(A)in Maon whose business was in ^(B)Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

²⁵ When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down ^[a]to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon.

^24 (A)Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

¹⁰ Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in ^[a]Carmel, for he loved the soil.

⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; ^(A)then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,

David Spares Saul a Second Time

26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ^(A)“Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” ² Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having ^(B)three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.

⁷ Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, ^(A)nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel.

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.