Study Desk

And as soon as the lad had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times; and they kissed one another, and wept with one another, until David recovered himself.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Do'eg the E'domite, the chief of Saul's herdsmen.

And the servants of A'chish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

So he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and made marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.

Then said A'chish to his servants, "Lo, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me?

David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.

Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gib'e-ah, under the tamarisk tree on the height, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.

And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, "Hear now, you Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds,

Then the king sent to summon Ahim'elech the priest, the son of Ahi'tub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob; and all of them came to the king.

Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father; for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little."

And David and his men went to Kei'lah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and made a great slaughter among them. So David delivered the inhabitants of Kei'lah.

When Abi'athar the son of Ahim'elech fled to David to Kei'lah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.

And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Kei'lah, to besiege David and his men.

Will the men of Kei'lah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as thy servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant." And the LORD said, "He will come down."

Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Kei'lah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Kei'lah, he gave up the expedition.

And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

And David was afraid because Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose, and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God.

Go, make yet more sure; know and see the place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for it is told me that he is very cunning.

And they arose, and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Ma'on, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshi'mon.