1 Samuel 21-25

I Samuel 21

¹Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was full of fear at meeting David, and said to him, Why are you by yourself, having no man with you?

²And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has given me orders and has said to me, Say nothing to anyone about the business on which I am sending you and the orders I have given you: and a certain place has been fixed to which the young men are to go.

³So now, if you have here five cakes of bread, give them into my hand, or whatever you have.

⁴And the priest, answering David, said, I have no common bread here but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.

⁵And David in answer said to the priest, Certainly women have been kept from us; and as has been done before when I have gone out the arms of the young men were made holy, even though it was a common journey; how much more today will their arms be made holy.

⁶So the priest gave him the holy bread: there was no other, only the holy bread which had been taken from before the Lord, so that new bread might be put in its place on the day when it was taken away.

⁷Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, kept back before the Lord; his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the strongest of Saul's runners.

⁸And David said to Ahimelech, Have you no sword or spear with you here? for I have come without my sword and other arms, because the king's business had to be done quickly.

⁹And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod: take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me.

¹⁰Then David got up and went in flight that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish, the king of Gath.

¹¹And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? did they not make songs about him in their dances, saying, Saul has put to death thousands, and David tens of thousands?

¹²And David took these words to heart, fearing Achish, the king of Gath.

¹³So changing his behaviour before them, he made it seem as if he was off his head, hammering on the doors of the town, and letting the water from his mouth go down his chin.

¹⁴Then Achish said to his servants, Look! the man is clearly off his head; why have you let him come before me?

¹⁵Are there not enough unbalanced men about me, that you have let this person come and do such tricks before me? is such a man to come into my house?

I Samuel 22

¹So David went away from there and took cover in a strong place at Adullam; and his brothers and all his father's people, hearing of it, went down to him there.

²And everyone who was in trouble, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, came together to him, and he became captain over them: about four hundred men were joined to him.

³And from there David went to Mizpeh in the land of Moab: and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and mother come and make their living-place with you till it is clear to me what God will do for me.

⁴And he took them to the king of Moab and they went on living with him while David was in his safe place.

⁵And the prophet Gad said to David, Do not go on living in this place but go into the land of Judah. Then David went away and came to the woodland of Hereth.

⁶And news was given to Saul that David had been seen, and the men who were with him: now Saul was in Gibeah, seated under the tree in the high place, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were in their places before him.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants who were there about him, Give ear now, you Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give to every one of you fields and vine-gardens, will he make you all captains of hundreds and captains of thousands;

⁸That all of you have made designs against me, and not one of you gave me word when my son made an agreement with the son of Jesse, and not one of you has pity for me or has made my eyes open to the fact that my servant has been moved by my son against me, as at this day?

⁹Then Doeg, the Edomite, who was by the side of the servants of Saul, in answer said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub.

¹⁰And he got directions from the Lord for him, and gave him food, and put in his hand the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

¹¹Then the king sent for Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and for all the men of his father's family who were priests in Nob: and they all came to the king.

¹²And Saul said, Give ear now, O son of Ahitub. And answering he said, Here I am, my lord.

¹³And Saul said to him, Why have you made designs against me with the son of Jesse, giving him food and a sword and getting directions from the Lord for him, and helping him to take up arms against me, and to be on the watch to make a secret attack on me as he is doing now?

¹⁴Then Ahimelech answering said to the king, Who among all your servants is so true to you as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is a captain of your armed men, and has a place of honour in your house?

¹⁵Is this the first time I have got directions from God for him? Far be the thought! let the king make no such statement against his servant or my father's family, for your servant has no knowledge, great or small, of this thing.

¹⁶And the king said, You will certainly be put to death, Ahimelech, you and all your father's family.

¹⁷Then the king said to the runners who were waiting near him, Put the priests of the Lord to death; because they are on David's side, and having knowledge of his flight, did not give me word of it. But the king's servants would not put out their hands to make an attack on the Lord's priests.

¹⁸Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod.

¹⁹And Nob, the town of the priests, he put to the sword, all the men and women, children and babies at the breast, and oxen and asses and sheep.

²⁰And Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, got away and went in flight after David;

²¹And gave him the news of how Saul had put to death the Lord's priests.

²²And David said to Abiathar, I was certain that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would take the news to Saul: I am responsible for the lives of all your father's family.

²³Keep here with me and have no fear; for he who has designs on my life has designs on yours: but with me you will be safe.

I Samuel 23

¹And they sent word to David, saying, The Philistines are fighting against Keilah and taking the grain from the grain-floors.

²So David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go and make an attack on these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, Go and make an attack on the Philistines so that Keilah may be kept from falling into their hands.

³And David's men said to him, Even here in Judah we are full of fear: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?

⁴Then David put the question to the Lord again, and the Lord answering said, Up! go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into your hands.

⁵So David and his men went to Keilah, and had a fight with the Philistines, and took away their cattle, and put them to the sword with great destruction. So David was the saviour of the people of Keilah.

⁶Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, went in flight to David, he came down to Keilah with the ephod in his hand.

⁷And news was given to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, Now God has given him into my hands; for by going into a walled town with locked doors, he has let himself be shut in.

⁸And Saul sent for all the people to come to the fight, and go down to Keilah to make an attack on David and his men.

⁹And it was clear to David that Saul had evil designs against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Come here with the ephod.

¹⁰Then David said, O Lord, the God of Israel, news has been given to your servant that it is Saul's purpose to come to Keilah and send destruction on the town because of me.

¹¹And now, is it true, as they have said to me, that Saul is coming? O Lord, the God of Israel, give ear to your servant, and say if these things are so. And the Lord said, He is coming down.

¹²Then David said, Will the men of Keilah give me and my men up to Saul? and the Lord said, They will give you up.

¹³Then David and his men, about six hundred of them, went out of Keilah, and got away wherever they were able to go. And Saul, hearing that David had got away from Keilah, did not go there.

¹⁴And David kept in the waste land, in safe places, waiting in the hill-country in the waste land of Ziph. And Saul was searching for him every day, but God did not give him up into his hands.

¹⁵And David was full of fear, in the knowledge that Saul had come out to take his life; and David was in the waste land of Ziph, in Horesh.

¹⁶And Saul's son Jonathan went to David in Horesh, and made his hands strong in God;

¹⁷And said to him, Have no fear, for Saul my father will not get you into his power; and you will be king of Israel, and I will be by your side, and my father Saul is certain of this.

¹⁸And the two of them made an agreement before the Lord: and David went on living in Horesh, and Jonathan went back to his house.

¹⁹Then the Ziphites came up to Gibeah to see Saul, and said, Is not David living secretly among us in the strong places in Horesh, in the hill of Hachilah to the south of the waste land?

²⁰So now, O king, have your soul's desire and come down, and we, for our part, will give him up into the king's hands.

²¹And Saul said, The Lord's blessing will be yours, for you have had pity on me.

²²Go now, and take more steps, and see where he is living: for they say that he is expert in deceit.

²³So take care to get knowledge of all the secret places where he is taking cover, and be certain to come back to me, and I will go with you: and without doubt, if he is anywhere in the land, I will get him, among all the families of Judah.

²⁴And they went back and came to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the waste land of Maon, in the dry land south of the waste land.

²⁵And Saul and his men went in search of him. And David had word of it, so he came down to the rock in the waste land of Maon. And Saul, hearing of this, went after David into the waste land of Maon.

²⁶And Saul and his men went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men went on the other: and David's purpose was to get away as quickly as possible, for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men were making a circle round David and his men in order to take them.

²⁷But a man came to Saul saying, Be quick and come; for the Philistines have made an attack on the land.

²⁸So turning back from going after David, Saul went against the Philistines: so that place was named Sela-hammah-lekoth.

²⁹And from there, David went up and took cover in the safe place of En-gedi.

I Samuel 24

¹Now when Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, news was given him that David was in the waste land of En-gedi.

²Then Saul took three thousand of the best men out of all Israel, and went in search of David and his men on the rocks of the mountain goats.

³And on the way he came to a place where sheep were kept, where there was a hollow in the rock; and Saul went in for a private purpose. Now David and his men were in the deepest part of the hollow.

⁴And David's men said to him, Now is the time when the Lord says to you, I will give up your hater into your hands to do with him whatever seems good to you. Then David, getting up, took the skirt of Saul's robe in his hand, cutting off the end of it without his knowledge.

⁵And later, David was full of regret for cutting off Saul's skirt.

⁶And David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him.

⁷So with these words David kept his servants back, and did not let them make an attack on Saul. And Saul got up and went on his way.

⁸And after that David came out of the hollow rock, and crying after Saul said, My lord the king. And when Saul gave a look back, David went down on his face and gave him honour.

⁹And David said to Saul, Why do you give any attention to those who say that it is my desire to do you wrong?

¹⁰Look! you have seen today how the Lord gave you up into my hands even now in the hollow of the rocks: and some would have had me put you to death, but I had pity on you: for I said, Never will my hand be lifted up against my lord, who has been marked with the holy oil.

¹¹And see, my father, see the skirt of your robe in my hand: for the fact that I took off the skirt of your robe and did not put you to death is witness that I have no evil purpose, and I have done you no wrong, though you are waiting for my life to take it.

¹²May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord give me my rights against you, but my hand will never be lifted up against you.

¹³There is an old saying, From the evil-doer comes evil: but my hand will never be lifted up against you.

¹⁴After whom has the king of Israel come out? for whom are you searching? for a dead dog, an insect.

¹⁵So let the Lord be judge, and give a decision between me and you, and see and give support to my cause, and keep me from falling into your hands.

¹⁶Now when David had said these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, David, my son? And Saul was overcome with weeping.

¹⁷And he said to David, You are right and I am wrong: for you have given me back good, but I have given you evil.

¹⁸And you have made clear to me how good you have been to me today: because, when the Lord gave me up into your hands, you did not put me to death.

¹⁹If a man comes across his hater, will he let him get away safe? so may you be rewarded by the Lord for what you have done for me today.

²⁰And now I am certain that you will be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be made strong under your authority.

²¹So give me your oath by the Lord, that you will not put an end to my seed after me or let my name be cut off from my father's family.

²²And David gave Saul his oath. And Saul went back to his house; but David and his men went up to their safe place.

I Samuel 25

¹And death came to Samuel; and all Israel came together, weeping for him, and put his body in its resting-place in his house at Ramah. Then David went down to the waste land of Maon.

²Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a great man and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats: and he was cutting the wool of his sheep in Carmel.

³Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.

⁴And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep.

⁵And David sent ten young men, and said to them, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and say kind words to him in my name;

⁶And say this to my brother, May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have.

⁷I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel.

⁸If your young men are questioned they will say the same thing. So now, let my young men have grace in your eyes, for we are come at a good time; please give anything you may have by you to your servants and to your son David.

⁹And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal, in David's name, and said nothing more.

¹⁰And Nabal gave them his answer and said, Who is David? who is the son of Jesse? there are a number of servants in these days running away from their masters.

¹¹Am I to take my bread and my wine and the meat I have got ready for my wool-cutters and give it to men coming from I have no idea where?

¹²So David's young men, turning away, went back and gave him an account of everything he had said.

¹³And David said to his men, Put on your swords, every one of you. And every man put on his sword; and David did the same; and about four hundred men went up with David, and two hundred kept watch over their goods.

¹⁴But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer.

¹⁵But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields:

¹⁶But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep.

¹⁷So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him.

¹⁸Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses.

¹⁹And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.

²⁰Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them.

²¹Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good.

²²May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living.

²³And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him.

²⁴And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant.

²⁵Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent.

²⁶So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal.

²⁷And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord.

²⁸And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days.

²⁹And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag.

³⁰And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel;

³¹Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant.

³²And David said to Abigail, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, who sent you to me today:

³³A blessing on your good sense and on you, who have kept me today from the crime of blood and from taking into my hands the punishment for my wrongs.

³⁴For truly, by the living Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from doing you evil, if you had not been so quick in coming to me and meeting me, by dawn there would not have been in Nabal's house so much as one male living.

³⁵Then David took from her hands her offering: and he said to her, Go back to your house in peace; see, I have given ear to your voice, and taken your offering with respect.

³⁶And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came.

³⁷And in the morning, when the effect of the wine was gone, Nabal's wife gave him an account of all these things, and all the heart went out of him, and he became like stone.

³⁸And about ten days after, the Lord sent disease on Nabal and death came to him.

³⁹And David, hearing that Nabal was dead, said, May the Lord be praised, who has taken up my cause against Nabal for the shame which he put on me, and has kept back his servant from evil, and has sent on Nabal's head the reward of his evil-doing. And David sent word to Abigail, desiring to take her as his wife.

⁴⁰And when David's servants came to Carmel, to Abigail, they said to her, David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.

⁴¹And she got up, and going down on her face to the earth, said, See, I am ready to be a servant-girl, washing the feet of the servants of my lord.

⁴²Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

⁴³And David had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, to be his wife; these two were his wives.

⁴⁴Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish of Gallim.