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David Defeats the Philistines at Keilah

23 Now they told David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting in Keilah and they are raiding the threshing floors.” So David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And Yahweh said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save[a] Keilah.” But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more[b] if we go to Keilah to the battle lines of the Philistines?” So David again inquired of Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him and said, “Get up, go down to Keilah, for I am giving the Philistines into your hand.” So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines. They drove off their livestock and dealt them a heavy blow.[c] So David saved[d] the inhabitants of Keilah.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 23:2 Or “deliver” or “rescue”
  2. 1 Samuel 23:3 Literally “also for”
  3. 1 Samuel 23:5 Literally “he struck them with a great smiting”
  4. 1 Samuel 23:5 Or “delivered” or “rescued”

David Protects the Town of Keilah

23 One day news came to David that the Philistines were at Keilah stealing grain from the threshing floors. David asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?”

“Yes, go and save Keilah,” the Lord told him.

But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”

So David asked the Lord again, and again the Lord replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”

So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah.

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