Study Desk

Your Majesty, listen to what I have to say. If it is the Lord who has turned you against me, an offering to him will make him change his mind; but if some people have done it, may the Lord 's curse fall on them. For they have driven me out from the Lord 's land to a country where I can only worship foreign gods.

David said to himself, "One of these days Saul will kill me. The best thing for me to do is to escape to Philistia. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel, and I will be safe."

David said to Achish, "If you are my friend, let me have a small town to live in. There is no need, sir, for me to live with you in the capital city."

So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag, and for this reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.

David lived in Philistia for sixteen months.

"Of course," David answered. "I am your servant, and you will see for yourself what I can do." Achish said, "Good! I will make you my permanent bodyguard."

Now Samuel had died, and all the Israelites had mourned for him and had buried him in his hometown of Ramah. Saul had forced all the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel.

So Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his men to see the woman. "Consult the spirits for me and tell me what is going to happen," he said to her. "Call up the spirit of the man I name."

Then Saul made a sacred vow. "By the living Lord I promise that you will not be punished for doing this," he told her.

"Whom shall I call up for you?" the woman asked. "Samuel," he answered.

Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me? Why did you make me come back?" Saul answered, "I am in great trouble! The Philistines are at war with me, and God has abandoned me. He doesn't answer me any more, either by prophets or by dreams. And so I have called you, for you to tell me what I must do."

The Philistine commanders saw them and asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish answered, "This is David, an official of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me for quite some time now. He has done nothing I can find fault with since the day he came over to me."

But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said to him, "Send that fellow back to the town you gave him. Don't let him go into battle with us; he might turn against us during the fighting. What better way is there for him to win back his master's favor than by the death of our men?

some dried figs, and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, his strength returned; he had not had anything to eat or drink for three full days.

At dawn the next day David attacked them and fought until evening. Except for four hundred young men who mounted camels and got away, none of them escaped.

When David returned to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah, with the message, "Here is a present for you from the loot we took from the Lord 's enemies."

Then they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in town, and fasted for seven days.

After Saul's death David came back from his victory over the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag for two days.

They grieved and mourned and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan and for Israel, the people of the Lord , because so many had been killed in battle.

David sang this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan,