1 Samuel 23

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

² David asked our Father, "Should I go and attack these Philistines?" And our Father answered, "Go, attack the Philistines and rescue Keilah."

³ David's men said, "Look, we're afraid here in Judah—how much more if we go to Keilah against Philistine battle lines!"

⁴ David asked our Father again, and our Father answered: "Get up, go down to Keilah, for I'm giving the Philistines into your hand."

⁵ David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines, drove off their livestock, and struck them a great blow — rescuing Keilah's residents.

⁶ Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah; he arrived with an ephod.

⁷ When Saul heard David was in Keilah, he said, "God has handed David to me; he has trapped himself, entering a town with gates and bars." ⁸ Saul summoned all the people to war: go down to Keilah, besiege David and his men. ⁹ David learned Saul was plotting evil against him and told Abiathar the priest, 'Bring the ephod here.' ¹⁰ David said, "O my Father, the God of Israel, your servant has heard for certain: Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the city because of me."

¹¹ Will Keilah's citizens 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 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 David and his roughly six hundred men left Keilah and wandered from place to place. Told that David had escaped Keilah, Saul stopped pursuing him. ¹⁴ David remained in the wilderness strongholds and the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but our Father did not hand him over. ¹⁵ David was at Horesh in the Ziph wilderness when he saw Saul had come out to kill him. ¹⁶ Jonathan, Saul's son, set out and went to David at Horesh, then strengthened him in our Father. ¹⁷ "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul's hand won't find you. You'll be king over Israel, and I'll be second to you. Even my father Saul knows it." ¹⁸ Both made a covenant before our Father. David stayed at Horesh; Jonathan went home.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Isn't David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on Hachilah's hill south of Jeshimon?" ²⁰ Now, king, come down, do come down, whenever you wish; our task is handing him to the king.

²¹ Saul replied, "May our Father bless you, for you have taken pity on me." ²² Go, prepare further; learn where he sets foot, who has seen him there — I'm told he is very cunning. ²³ Learn all the hiding places where he hides, then bring me solid facts. I'll go with you, and if he's in the land, I'll search him out among all the clans of Judah.

²⁴ They set out for Ziph ahead of Saul. 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. He went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. Saul heard, and pursued David into the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Saul went along one side of the mountain, David and his men along the other, David hurrying to escape Saul while Saul and his men closed in to capture David and his men. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land." ²⁸ So Saul stopped pursuing David and went against the Philistines. That's why they named that place Sela-hammahlekoth. ^a a 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.