1 Samuel 20-31

New Century Version

Jonathan Helps David

20 Then David ran away from Naioth in Ramah. He went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How did I sin against your father? Why is he trying to kill me?”

² Jonathan answered, “No! You won’t die! See, my father doesn’t do anything great or small without first telling me. Why would he keep this from me? It’s not true!”

³ But David took an oath, saying, “Your father knows very well that you like me. He says to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it, or he will tell David.’ As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I am only a step away from death!”

⁴ Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do anything you want me to do.”

⁵ So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father notices I am gone, tell him, ‘David begged me to let him go to his hometown of Bethlehem. Every year at this time his family group offers a sacrifice.’ ⁷ If your father says, ‘Fine,’ I am safe. But if he becomes angry, you will know that he wants to hurt me. ⁸ Jonathan, be loyal to me, your servant. You have made an agreement with me before the Lord. If I am guilty, you may kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”

⁹ Jonathan answered, “No, never! If I learn that my father plans to hurt you, I will warn you!”

¹⁰ David asked, “Who will let me know if your father answers you unkindly?”

¹¹ Then Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So the two of them went out into the field.

¹² Jonathan said to David, “I promise this before the Lord, the God of Israel: At this same time the day after tomorrow, I will find out how my father feels. If he feels good toward you, I will send word to you and let you know. ¹³ But if my father plans to hurt you, I will let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord punish me terribly if I don’t do this. And may the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ But show me the kindness of the Lord as long as I live so that I may not die. ¹⁵ You must never stop showing your kindness to my family, even when the Lord has destroyed all your enemies from the earth.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan made an agreement with David. He said, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies responsible.” ¹⁷ And Jonathan asked David to repeat his promise of love for him, because he loved David as much as he loved himself.

¹⁸ Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. Your seat will be empty, so my father will miss you. ¹⁹ On the third day go to the place where you hid when this trouble began. Wait by the rock Ezel. ²⁰ On the third day I will shoot three arrows to the side of the rock as if I am shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will send a boy to find the arrows. If I say to him, ‘The arrows are near you; bring them here,’ you may come out of hiding. You are safe. As the Lord lives, there is no danger. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ you must go, because the Lord is sending you away. ²³ Remember what we talked about. The Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the field. When the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat. ²⁵ He sat where he always sat, near the wall. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. ²⁶ That day Saul said nothing. He thought, “Maybe something has happened to David so that he is unclean.” ²⁷ But the next day was the second day of the month, and David’s place was still empty. So Saul said to Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the feast yesterday or today?”

²⁸ Jonathan answered, “David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has ordered me to be there. Now if I am your friend, please let me go to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Then Saul became very angry with Jonathan. He said, “You son of a wicked, worthless woman! I know you are on the side of David son of Jesse! You bring shame on yourself and on your mother who gave birth to you. ³¹ As long as Jesse’s son lives, you will never be king or have a kingdom. Now send for David and bring him to me. He must die!”

³² Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be killed? What wrong has he done?” ³³ Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, trying to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father really wanted to kill David. ³⁴ Jonathan was very angry and left the table. That second day of the month he refused to eat. He was ashamed of his father and upset over David.

³⁵ The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. He had a young boy with him. ³⁶ Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” When he ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ The boy ran to the place where Jonathan’s arrow fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrow is beyond you!” ³⁸ Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and brought it back to his master. ³⁹ (The boy knew nothing about what this meant; only Jonathan and David knew.) ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, “Go back to town.”

⁴¹ When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the rock. He bowed facedown on the ground before Jonathan three times. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the most.

⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. We have promised by the Lord that we will be friends. We said, ‘The Lord will be a witness between you and me, and between our descendants always.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to town.

David Goes to See Ahimelech

21 David went to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech shook with fear when he saw David, and he asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

² David answered him, “The king gave me a special order. He told me, ‘No one must know what I am sending you to do or what I told you to do.’ I told my men where to meet me. ³ Now, what food do you have with you? Give me five loaves of bread or anything you find.”

⁴ The priest said to David, “I don’t have any plain bread here, but I do have some holy bread.^[a] You may eat it if your men have kept themselves from women.”

⁵ David answered, “No women have been near us for days. My men always keep themselves holy, even when we do ordinary work. And this is especially true when the work is holy.”

⁶ So the priest gave David the holy bread from the presence of God because there was no other. Each day the holy bread was replaced with hot bread.

⁷ One of Saul’s servants happened to be there that day. He had been held there before the Lord. He was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸ David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword here? The king’s business was very important, so I left without my sword or any other weapon.”

⁹ The priest answered, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, the one you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the holy vest. If you want it, you may take it. There’s no other sword here but that one.”

David said, “There is no other sword like it. Give it to me.”

David Goes to Gath

¹⁰ That day David ran away from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the servants of Achish said to him, “This is David, the king of the Israelites. He’s the man they dance and sing about, saying:

¹² David paid attention to these words and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he pretended to be crazy in front of Achish and his servants. While he was with them, he acted like a madman and clawed on the doors of the gate and let spit run down his beard.

¹⁴ Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He’s crazy! Why do you bring him to me? ¹⁵ I have enough madmen. I don’t need you to bring him here to act like this in front of me! Don’t let him in my house!”

David at Adullam and Mizpah

22 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and other relatives heard that he was there, they went to see him. ² Everyone who was in trouble, or who owed money, or who was unsatisfied gathered around David, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

³ From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and spoke to the king of Moab. He said, “Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God is going to do for me.” ⁴ So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was hiding in the stronghold.

⁵ But the prophet Gad said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Saul Destroys Ahimelech’s Family

⁶ Saul heard that David and his men had been seen. Saul was sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, and all his officers were standing around him. He had a spear in his hand. ⁷ Saul said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Do you think the son of Jesse will give all of you fields and vineyards? Will David make you commanders over thousands of men or hundreds of men? ⁸ You have all made plans against me! No one tells me when my son makes an agreement with the son of Jesse! No one cares about me! No one tells me when my son has encouraged my servant to ambush me this very day!”

⁹ Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s officers, said, “I saw the son of Jesse. He came to see Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. ¹⁰ Ahimelech prayed to the Lord for David and gave him food and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all of Ahimelech’s relatives who were priests at Nob. And they all came to the king. ¹² Saul said to Ahimelech, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”

Ahimelech answered, “Yes, master.”

¹³ Saul said, “Why are you and Jesse’s son against me? You gave him bread and a sword! You prayed to God for him. David has turned against me and is waiting to attack me even now!”

¹⁴ Ahimelech answered, “You have no other servant who is as loyal as David, your own son-in-law and captain of your bodyguards. Everyone in your house respects him. ¹⁵ That was not the first time I prayed to God for David. Don’t blame me or any of my relatives. I, your servant, know nothing about what is going on.”

¹⁶ But the king said, “Ahimelech, you and all your relatives must die!” ¹⁷ Then he told the guards at his side, “Go and kill the priests of the Lord, because they are on David’s side. They knew he was running away, but they didn’t tell me.”

But the king’s officers refused to kill the priests of the Lord.

¹⁸ Then the king ordered Doeg, “Go and kill the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite went and killed the priests. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen holy vest. ¹⁹ He also killed the people of Nob, the city of the priests. With the sword he killed men, women, children, babies, cattle, donkeys, and sheep.

²⁰ But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech, who was the son of Ahitub, escaped. He ran away and joined David. ²¹ He told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. ²² Then David told him, “Doeg the Edomite was there at Nob that day. I knew he would surely tell Saul. So I am responsible for the death of all your father’s family. ²³ Stay with me. Don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you also wants to kill me. You will be safe with me.”

David Saves the People of Keilah

23 Someone told David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and stealing grain from the threshing floors.”

² David asked the Lord, “Should I go and fight these Philistines?”

The Lord answered him, “Go. Attack them, and save Keilah.”

³ But David’s men said to him, “We’re afraid here in Judah. We will be more afraid if we go to Keilah where the Philistine army is.”

⁴ David again asked the Lord, and the Lord answered, “Go down to Keilah. I will help you defeat the Philistines.” ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines and took their cattle. David killed many Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. ⁶ (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the holy vest with him when he came to David at Keilah.)

Saul Chases David

⁷ Someone told Saul that David was now at Keilah. Saul said, “God has handed David over to me! He has trapped himself, because he has entered a town with gates and bars.” ⁸ Saul called all his army together for battle, and they prepared to go down to Keilah to attack David and his men.

⁹ David learned Saul was making evil plans against him. So he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the holy vest.” ¹⁰ David prayed, “Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul plans to come to Keilah to destroy the town because of me. ¹¹ Will the leaders of Keilah hand me over to Saul? Will Saul come down to Keilah, as I heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell me, your servant!”

The Lord answered, “Saul will come down.”

¹² Again David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?”

The Lord answered, “They will.”

¹³ So David and his six hundred men left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul found out that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

¹⁴ David stayed in the desert hideouts and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Every day Saul looked for David, but the Lord did not surrender David to him.

¹⁵ While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul was coming to kill him. ¹⁶ But Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and strengthened his faith in God. ¹⁷ Jonathan told him, “Don’t be afraid, because my father won’t touch you. You will be king of Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” ¹⁸ The two of them made an agreement before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David stayed at Horesh.

¹⁹ The people from Ziph went to Saul at Gibeah and told him, “David is hiding in our land. He’s at the hideouts of Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon. ²⁰ Now, our king, come down anytime you want. It’s our duty to hand David over to you.”

²¹ Saul answered, “The Lord bless you for helping me. ²² Go and learn more about him. Find out where he is staying and who has seen him there. I have heard that he is clever. ²³ Find all the hiding places he uses, and come back and tell me everything. Then I’ll go with you. If David is in the area, I will track him down among all the families in Judah.”

²⁴ So they went back to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon^[b] in the desert area south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Saul and his men went to look for David, but David heard about it and went down to a rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard that, he followed David into the Desert of Maon.

²⁶ Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side. They were hurrying to get away from Saul, because Saul and his men were closing in on them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are attacking our land!” ²⁸ So Saul stopped chasing David and went to challenge the Philistines. That is why people call this place Rock of Parting. ²⁹ David also left the Desert of Maon and stayed in the hideouts of En Gedi.

David Shames Saul

24 After Saul returned from chasing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” ² So he took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and began looking for David and his men near the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

³ Saul came to the sheep pens beside the road. A cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were hiding far back in the cave. ⁴ The men said to David, “Today is the day the Lord spoke of when he said, ‘I will give your enemy over to you. Do anything you want with him.’”

Then David crept up to Saul and quietly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁵ Later David felt guilty because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord’s appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord’s appointed king!” ⁷ David used these words to stop his men; he did not let them attack Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went his way.

⁸ When David came out of the cave, he shouted to Saul, “My master and king!” Saul looked back, and David bowed facedown on the ground. ⁹ He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David wants to harm you’? ¹⁰ You have seen something with your own eyes today. The Lord put you in my power in the cave. They said I should kill you, but I was merciful. I said, ‘I won’t harm my master, because he is the Lord’s appointed king.’ ¹¹ My father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe, but I didn’t kill you. Now understand and know I am not planning any evil against you. I did nothing wrong to you, but you are hunting me to kill me. ¹² May the Lord judge between us, and may he punish you for the wrong you have done to me! But I am not against you. ¹³ There is an old saying: ‘Evil things come from evil people.’ But I am not against you. ¹⁴ Whom is the king of Israel coming out against? Whom are you chasing? It’s as if you are chasing a dead dog or a flea. ¹⁵ May the Lord be our judge and decide between you and me. May he support me and show that I am right. May he save me from you!”

¹⁶ When David finished saying these words, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he cried loudly. ¹⁷ He said, “You are a better man than I am. You have been good to me, but I have done wrong to you. ¹⁸ You told me what good things you did. The Lord handed me over to you, but you did not kill me. ¹⁹ People don’t normally let an enemy get away like this, do they? May the Lord reward you because you were good to me today. ²⁰ I know you will surely be king, and you will rule the kingdom of Israel. ²¹ Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill my descendants and that you won’t wipe out my name from my father’s family.”

²² So David made the promise to Saul. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went up to their hideout.

Nabal Insults David

25 Now Samuel died, and all the Israelites met and had a time of sadness for him. Then they buried him at his home in Ramah.

David moved to the Desert of Maon.^{[c] 2} A man in Maon who had land at Carmel was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was cutting the wool off his sheep at Carmel. ³ His name was Nabal, and he was a descendant of Caleb. His wife was named Abigail. She was wise and beautiful, but Nabal was cruel and mean.

⁴ While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was cutting the wool from his sheep. ⁵ So he sent ten young men and told them, “Go to Nabal at Carmel, and greet him for me. ⁶ Say to Nabal, ‘May you and your family and all who belong to you have good health! ⁷ I have heard that you are cutting the wool from your sheep. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harm them. All the time your shepherds were at Carmel, we stole nothing from them. ⁸ Ask your servants, and they will tell you. We come at a happy time, so be kind to my young men. Please give anything you can find for them and for your son David.’”

⁹ When David’s men arrived, they gave the message to Nabal, but Nabal insulted them. ¹⁰ He answered them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many slaves are running away from their masters today! ¹¹ I have bread and water, and I have meat that I killed for my servants who cut the wool. But I won’t give it to men I don’t know.”

¹² David’s men went back and told him all Nabal had said. ¹³ Then David said to them, “Put on your swords!” So they put on their swords, and David put on his also. About four hundred men went with David, but two hundred men stayed with the supplies.

¹⁴ One of Nabal’s servants said to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but Nabal insulted them. ¹⁵ These men were very good to us. They did not harm us. They stole nothing from us during all the time we were out in the field with them. ¹⁶ Night and day they protected us. They were like a wall around us while we were with them caring for the sheep. ¹⁷ Now think about it, and decide what you can do. Terrible trouble is coming to our master and all his family. Nabal is such a wicked man that no one can even talk to him.”

¹⁸ Abigail hurried. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two leather bags full of wine, five cooked sheep, a bushel of cooked grain, a hundred cakes of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs and put all these on donkeys. ¹⁹ Then she told her servants, “Go on. I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband.

²⁰ Abigail rode her donkey and came down toward the mountain hideout. There she met David and his men coming down toward her.

²¹ David had just said, “It’s been useless! I watched over Nabal’s property in the desert. I made sure none of his sheep was missing. I did good to him, but he has paid me back with evil. ²² May God punish my enemies even more. I will not leave one of Nabal’s men alive until morning.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed facedown on the ground before him. ²⁴ She fell at David’s feet and said, “My master, let the blame be on me! Please let me talk to you. Listen to what I say. ²⁵ My master, don’t pay attention to this worthless man Nabal. He is like his name. His name means ‘fool,’ and he is truly a fool. But I, your servant, didn’t see the men you sent. ²⁶ The Lord has kept you from killing and punishing anyone. As surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, may your enemies become like Nabal! ²⁷ I have brought a gift to you for the men who follow you. ²⁸ Please forgive my wrong. The Lord will certainly let your family have many kings, because you fight his battles. As long as you live, may you do nothing bad. ²⁹ Someone might chase you to kill you, but the Lord your God will keep you alive. He will throw away your enemies’ lives as he would throw a stone from a sling. ³⁰ The Lord will keep all his promises of good things for you. He will make you leader over Israel. ³¹ Then you won’t feel guilty or troubled because you killed innocent people and punished them. Please remember me when the Lord brings you success.”

³² David answered Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me. ³³ May you be blessed for your wisdom. You have kept me from killing or punishing people today. ³⁴ As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, he has kept me from hurting you. If you hadn’t come quickly to meet me, not one of Nabal’s men would have lived until morning.”

³⁵ Then David accepted Abigail’s gifts. He told her, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words, and I will do what you have asked.”

Nabal’s Death

³⁶ When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was in the house, eating like a king. He was very drunk and in a good mood. So she told him nothing until the next morning. ³⁷ In the morning when he was not drunk, his wife told him everything. His heart stopped, and he became like stone. ³⁸ About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord! Nabal insulted me, but the Lord has supported me! He has kept me from doing wrong. The Lord has punished Nabal for his wrong.”

Then David sent a message to Abigail, asking her to be his wife. ⁴⁰ His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David sent us to take you so you can become his wife.”

⁴¹ Abigail bowed facedown on the ground and said, “I am your servant. I’m ready to serve you and to wash the feet of my master’s servants.” ⁴² Abigail quickly got on a donkey and went with David’s messengers, with her five maids following her. And she became David’s wife.

⁴³ David also had married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So they were both David’s wives. ⁴⁴ Saul’s daughter Michal was also David’s wife, but Saul had given her to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

David Shames Saul Again

26 The people of Ziph went to Saul at Gibeah and said to him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah opposite Jeshimon.”

² So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to look for David there. ³ Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah opposite Jeshimon, but David stayed in the desert. When he heard Saul had followed him, ⁴ he sent out spies and learned for certain that Saul had come to Hakilah.

⁵ Then David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, were sleeping. Saul was sleeping in the middle of the camp with all the army around him.

⁶ David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into Saul’s camp with me?”

Abishai answered, “I’ll go with you.”

⁷ So that night David and Abishai went into Saul’s camp. Saul was asleep in the middle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the army were sleeping around Saul. ⁸ Abishai said to David, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you. Let me pin Saul to the ground with my spear. I’ll only have to do it once. I won’t need to hit him twice.”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill Saul! No one can harm the Lord’s appointed king and still be innocent! ¹⁰ As surely as the Lord lives, the Lord himself will punish Saul. Maybe Saul will die naturally, or maybe he will go into battle and be killed. ¹¹ But may the Lord keep me from harming his appointed king! Take the spear and water jug that are near Saul’s head. Then let’s go.”

¹² So David took the spear and water jug that were near Saul’s head, and they left. No one saw them or knew about it or woke up, because the Lord had put them sound asleep.

¹³ David crossed over to the other side of the hill and stood on top of the mountain far from Saul’s camp. They were a long way away from each other. ¹⁴ David shouted to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Won’t you answer me, Abner?”

Abner answered, “Who is calling for the king? Who are you?”

¹⁵ David said, “You’re the greatest man in Israel. Isn’t that true? Why didn’t you guard your master the king? Someone came into your camp to kill your master the king! ¹⁶ You have not done well. As surely as the Lord lives, you and your men should die. You haven’t guarded your master, the Lord’s appointed king. Look! Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were near his head?”

¹⁷ Saul knew David’s voice. He said, “Is that your voice, David my son?”

David answered, “Yes, it is, my master and king.” ¹⁸ David also said, “Why are you chasing me, my master? What wrong have I done? What evil am I guilty of? ¹⁹ My master and king, listen to me. If the Lord made you angry with me, let him accept an offering. But if people did it, may the Lord curse them! They have made me leave the land the Lord gave me. They have told me, ‘Go and serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Now don’t let me die far away from the Lord’s presence. The king of Israel has come out looking for a flea! You’re just hunting a bird in the mountains!”

²¹ Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Today you respected my life, so I will not try to hurt you. I have been very stupid and foolish.”

²² David answered, “Here is your spear. Let one of your young men come here and get it. ²³ The Lord rewards us for the things we do right and for our loyalty to him. The Lord handed you over to me today, but I wouldn’t harm the Lord’s appointed king. ²⁴ As I respected your life today, may the Lord also respect my life and save me from all trouble.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “You are blessed, my son David. You will do great things and succeed.”

So David went on his way, and Saul went back home.

David Lives with the Philistines

27 But David thought to himself, “Saul will catch me someday. The best thing I can do is escape to the land of the Philistines. Then he will give up looking for me in Israel, and I can get away from him.”

² So David and his six hundred men left Israel and went to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ David, his men, and their families made their home in Gath with Achish. David had his two wives with him—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. ⁴ When Saul heard that David had run away to Gath, he stopped looking for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If you are pleased with me, give me a place in one of the country towns where I can live. I don’t need to live in the royal city with you.”

⁶ That day Achish gave David the town of Ziklag, and Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. ⁷ David lived in the Philistine land a year and four months.

⁸ David and his men raided the people of Geshur, Girzi, and Amalek. (These people had lived for a long time in the land that reached to Shur and Egypt.) ⁹ When David fought them, he killed all the men and women and took their sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

¹⁰ Achish would ask David, “Where did you go raiding today?” And David would tell him that he had gone to the southern part of Judah, or Jerahmeel, or to the land of the Kenites. ¹¹ David never brought a man or woman alive to Gath. He thought, “If we bring people alive, they may tell Achish, ‘This is what David really did.’” David did this all the time he lived in the Philistine land. ¹² So Achish trusted David and said to himself, “David’s own people, the Israelites, now hate him very much. He will serve me forever.”

Saul and the Medium of Endor

28 Later, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You understand that you and your men must join my army.”

² David answered, “You will see for yourself what I, your servant, can do!”

Achish said, “Fine, I’ll make you my permanent bodyguard.”

³ Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah.

And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land.

⁴ The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. ⁵ When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid, and his heart pounded with fear. ⁶ He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, Urim, or prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium so I may go and ask her what will happen.”

His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.”

⁸ Then Saul put on other clothes to disguise himself, and at night he and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Bring up the person I name.”

⁹ But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land. You are trying to trap me and get me killed.”

¹⁰ Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the Lord. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for this.”

¹¹ The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up?”

He answered, “Bring up Samuel.”

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!”

¹³ The king said to the woman, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”

¹⁴ Saul asked, “What does he look like?”

The woman answered, “An old man wearing a coat is coming up.”

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown on the ground.

¹⁵ Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

Saul said, “I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has left me. He won’t answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That’s why I called for you. Tell me what to do.”

¹⁶ Samuel said, “The Lord has left you and has become your enemy. So why do you call on me? ¹⁷ He has done what he said he would do—the things he said through me. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors, David. ¹⁸ You did not obey the Lord; you did not show the Amalekites how angry he was with them. That’s why he has done this to you today. ¹⁹ The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

²⁰ Saul quickly fell flat on the ground and was afraid of what Samuel had said. He was also very weak because he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

²¹ Then the woman came to Saul and saw that he was really frightened. She said, “Look, I, your servant, have obeyed you. I have risked my life and done what you told me to do. ²² Now please listen to me. Let me give you some food so you may eat and have enough strength to go on your way.”

²³ But Saul refused, saying, “I won’t eat.”

His servants joined the woman in asking him to eat, and he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

²⁴ At the house the woman had a fat calf, which she quickly killed. She took some flour and mixed dough with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast. ²⁵ She put the food before them, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.

David Goes Back to Ziklag

29 The Philistines gathered all their soldiers at Aphek. Israel camped by the spring at Jezreel. ² The Philistine kings were marching with their groups of a hundred and a thousand men. David and his men were marching behind Achish. ³ The Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

Achish told them, “This is David. He served Saul king of Israel, but he has been with me for over a year now. I have found nothing wrong in David since the time he left Saul.”

⁴ But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send David back to the city you gave him. He cannot go with us into battle. If he does, we’ll have an enemy in our own camp. He could please his king by killing our own men. ⁵ David is the one the Israelites dance and sing about, saying:

⁶ So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are loyal. I would be pleased to have you serve in my army. Since the day you came to me, I have found no wrong in you. But the other kings don’t trust you. ⁷ Go back in peace. Don’t do anything to displease the Philistine kings.”

⁸ David asked, “What wrong have I done? What evil have you found in me from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go fight your enemies, my lord and king?”

⁹ Achish answered, “I know you are as good as an angel from God. But the Philistine commanders have said, ‘David must not go with us into battle.’ ¹⁰ Early in the morning you and your master’s servants should leave. Get up as soon as it is light and go.”

¹¹ So David and his men got up early in the morning and went back to the country of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

David’s War with the Amalekites

30 On the third day, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, he found that the Amalekites had raided southern Judah and Ziklag, attacking Ziklag and burning it. ² They captured the women and everyone, young and old, but they had not killed anyone. They had only taken them away.

³ When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found the town had been burned and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken as prisoners. ⁴ Then David and his army cried loudly until they were too weak to cry anymore. ⁵ David’s two wives had also been taken—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal from Carmel. ⁶ The men in the army were threatening to kill David with stones, which greatly upset David. Each man was sad and angry because his sons and daughters had been captured, but David found strength in the Lord his God. ⁷ David said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the holy vest.”

⁸ Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase the people who took our families? Will I catch them?”

The Lord answered, “Chase them. You will catch them, and you will succeed in saving your families.”

⁹ David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some of the men stayed. ¹⁰ David and four hundred men kept up the chase. The other two hundred men stayed behind because they were too tired to cross the ravine.

¹¹ They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave the Egyptian some water to drink and some food to eat. ¹² And they gave him a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. Then he felt better, because he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and nights.

¹³ David asked him, “Who is your master? Where do you come from?”

He answered, “I’m an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. Three days ago my master left me, because I was sick. ¹⁴ We had raided the southern area of the Kerethites, the land of Judah, and the southern area of Caleb. We burned Ziklag, as well.”

¹⁵ David asked him, “Can you lead me to the people who took our families?”

He answered, “Yes, if you promise me before God that you won’t kill me or give me back to my master. Then I will take you to them.”

¹⁶ So the Egyptian led David to the Amalekites. They were lying around on the ground, eating and drinking and celebrating with the things they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. ¹⁷ David fought them from sunset until the evening of the next day. None of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode off on their camels. ¹⁸ David got his two wives back and everything the Amalekites had taken. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing. David brought back everyone, young and old, sons and daughters. He recovered the valuable things and everything the Amalekites had taken. ²⁰ David took all the sheep and cattle, and his men made these animals go in front, saying, “They are David’s prize.”

²¹ Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too tired to follow him, who had stayed at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. When he came near, David greeted the men at the ravine.

²² But the evil men and troublemakers among those who followed David said, “Since these two hundred men didn’t go with us, we shouldn’t give them any of the things we recovered. Just let each man take his wife and children and go.”

²³ David answered, “No, my brothers. Don’t do that after what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and given us the enemy who attacked us. ²⁴ Who will listen to what you say? The share will be the same for the one who stayed with the supplies as for the one who went into battle. All will share alike.” ²⁵ David made this an order and rule for Israel, which continues even today.

²⁶ When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the things he had taken from the Amalekites to his friends, the leaders of Judah. He said, “Here is a present for you from the things we took from the Lord’s enemies.”

²⁷ David also sent some things to the leaders in Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir, ²⁸ Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, ²⁹ Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites, ³⁰ Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, ³¹ Hebron, and to the people in all the other places where he and his men had been.

The Death of Saul

31 The Philistines fought against Israel, and the Israelites ran away from them. Many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines fought hard against Saul and his sons, killing his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul. The archers shot him, and he was badly wounded. ⁴ He said to the officer who carried his armor, “Pull out your sword and kill me. Then those uncircumcised men won’t make fun of me and kill me.” But Saul’s officer refused, because he was afraid. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. ⁵ When the officer saw that Saul was dead, he threw himself on his own sword, and he died with Saul. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, and the officer who carried his armor died together that day.

⁷ When the Israelites who lived across the Jezreel Valley and those who lived across the Jordan River saw how the Israelite army had run away, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived there.

⁸ The next day when the Philistines came to take all the valuable things from the dead soldiers, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul’s head and took off his armor. Then they sent messengers through all the land of the Philistines to tell the news in the temple of their idols and to their people. ¹⁰ They put Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ When the people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² the brave men of Jabesh marched all night and came to Beth Shan. They removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and brought them to Jabesh. There they burned the bodies. ¹³ They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Then the people of Jabesh fasted for seven days.