Study Desk

But at the time Saul's daughter Merab was to be given to David, she was given instead to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.

And Saul's servants spoke these words to David privately. But David said, "Is it insignificant in your sight to become the son-in-law of the king, as I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?"

Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants about killing David, but Saul's son Jonathan liked David very much.

So Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall, and David fled and escaped that same night.

Then Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard him and to kill him in the morning, but Michal his wife told David, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, then tomorrow you will be killed!"

And Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, "He is ill."

Then David took an oath again and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.' But as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, surely there is merely a step between me and death!"

If he says ‘Good,' it will mean peace for your servant; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided to do me harm.

So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is guilt in me, then kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?"

But if I say this to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,' go, for Yahweh has sent you away.

The king sat at his seat as before, the seat by the wall, and Jonathan got up, and Abner sat beside Saul, but David's place was empty.

But Saul said nothing on that day, for he thought, "Something happened to him. He is not ceremonially clean; surely he is not clean."

But Jonathan answered his father Saul and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"

But the boy did not know anything about this; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

The boy left, and then David got up from the south side, and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept the most.

The priest answered David and said, "There is no ordinary bread here at hand; there is only holy bread, but only if the young men have kept themselves from women."

The servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Is it not for this one that they sang in the dances, saying, ‘Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?'"

But Doeg the Edomite, who was stationed among the servants of Saul, answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

But Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants is as faithful as David? He is the son-in-law of the king who moves quickly to safeguard you and is honored in your house.

So the king said to the runners who were stationed around him, "Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because they also support David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not disclose it to me." But the servants of the king were not willing to raise their hand to attack the priests of Yahweh.