1 Samuel 23

23 ¹ They reported to David, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and looting the threshing floors."

² So David inquired of our Father: "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And our Father answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines, and rescue Keilah."

³ But David's men said to him, "Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine battle lines!"

⁴ Once more David inquired of our Father, and our Father answered him: "Get up, go down to Keilah, for I am giving the Philistines into your hand."

⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He drove off their livestock and struck them a heavy blow, and so he rescued the people living in Keilah.

⁶ Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.

Saul Sets Out to Hunt David

⁷ When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, he said, "God has handed him over to me, for David has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars." ⁸ So Saul summoned all his troops for battle, to march down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. ⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting harm against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here." ¹⁰ Then David prayed, "O my Father, the God of Israel, your servant has heard for certain that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account." ¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O my Father, the God of Israel, please tell your servant." And our Father said, "He will come down."

¹² Then David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?" And our Father said, "They will hand you over."

¹³ So David and his men, about six hundred of them, set out and left Keilah, moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. ¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but our Father did not give him into his hand. ¹⁵ David was at Horesh in the wilderness of Ziph when he saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. ¹⁶ Then Jonathan, Saul's son, set out and went to David at Horesh, and he helped him find strength in our Father. ¹⁷ "Don't be afraid," he said, "for the hand of my father Saul will never find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." ¹⁸ The two of them made a covenant before our Father. Then David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, south of Jeshimon?" ²⁰ Now, O king, come down whenever your heart desires, and it will be our part to hand him over to the king.

²¹ Saul replied, "May our Father bless you, for you have taken pity on me." ²² Go and make further preparation; find out and learn the place he frequents and who has seen him there, for I am told he is very crafty. ²³ Find out about all the hiding places where he conceals himself, and come back to me with reliable information. Then I will go with you, and if he is in the region, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.

²⁴ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Saul and his men set out to search, and David was told of it. So he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard this, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land." ²⁸ So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth. ¹ 1 v28 Sela-hammahlekoth means "the rock of parting" — the place where Saul and David were divided from each other when the Philistine raid forced Saul to break off the chase. ²⁹ And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.