1Samuel:17-25
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Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle ,
and were gathered together at Shochoh ,
which belongeth to Judah ,
and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah ,
in Ephesdammim .
*
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together ,
and pitched by the valley of Elah ,
and set the battle in array against the Philistines .
*
And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side ,
and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side :
and there was a valley between them .
*
And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines ,
named Goliath ,
of Gath ,
whose height was six cubits and a span .
*
And he had an helmet of brass upon his head ,
and he was armed with a coat of mail ;
and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass .
*
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs ,
and a target of brass between his shoulders .
*
And the staff of his spear was like a weaver '
s beam ;
and his spear '
s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron :
and one bearing a shield went before him .
*
And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel ,
and said unto them ,
Why are ye come out to set your battle in array ?
am not I a Philistine ,
and ye servants to Saul ?
choose you a man for you ,
and let him come down to me .
*
If he be able to fight with me ,
and to kill me ,
then will we be your servants :
but if I prevail against him ,
and kill him ,
then shall ye be our servants ,
and serve us .
*
And the Philistine said ,
I defy the armies of Israel this day ;
give me a man ,
that we may fight together .
*
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine ,
they were dismayed ,
and greatly afraid .
*
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah ,
whose name was Jesse ;
and he had eight sons :
and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul .
*
And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle :
and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn ,
and next unto him Abinadab ,
and the third Shammah .
*
And David was the youngest :
and the three eldest followed Saul .
*
But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father '
s sheep at Bethlehem .
*
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening ,
and presented himself forty days .
*
And Jesse said unto David his son ,
Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn ,
and these ten loaves ,
and run to the camp to thy brethren ;
*
And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand ,
and look how thy brethren fare ,
and take their pledge .
*
Now Saul ,
and they ,
and all the men of Israel ,
were in the valley of Elah ,
fighting with the Philistines .
*
And David rose up early in the morning ,
and left the sheep with a keeper ,
and took ,
and went ,
as Jesse had commanded him ;
and he came to the trench ,
as the host was going forth to the fight ,
and shouted for the battle .
*
For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array ,
army against army .
*
And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage ,
and ran into the army ,
and came and saluted his brethren .
*
And as he talked with them ,
behold ,
there came up the champion ,
the Philistine of Gath ,
Goliath by name ,
out of the armies of the Philistines ,
and spake according to the same words :
and David heard them .
*
And all the men of Israel ,
when they saw the man ,
fled from him ,
and were sore afraid .
*
And the men of Israel said ,
Have ye seen this man that is come up ?
surely to defy Israel is he come up :
and it shall be ,
that the man who killeth him ,
the king will enrich him with great riches ,
and will give him his daughter ,
and make his father '
s house free in Israel .
*
And David spake to the men that stood by him ,
saying ,
What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine ,
and taketh away the reproach from Israel ?
for who is this uncircumcised Philistine ,
that he should defy the armies of the living God ?
*
And the people answered him after this manner ,
saying ,
So shall it be done to the man that killeth him .
*
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men ;
and Eliab '
s anger was kindled against David ,
and he said ,
Why camest thou down hither ?
and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness ?
I know thy pride ,
and the naughtiness of thine heart ;
for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle .
*
And David said ,
What have I now done ?
Is there not a cause ?
*
And he turned from him toward another ,
and spake after the same manner :
and the people answered him again after the former manner .
*
And when the words were heard which David spake ,
they rehearsed them before Saul :
and he sent for him .
*
And David said to Saul ,
Let no man '
s heart fail because of him ;
thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine .
*
And Saul said to David ,
Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him :
for thou art but a youth ,
and he a man of war from his youth .
*
And David said unto Saul ,
Thy servant kept his father '
s sheep ,
and there came a lion ,
and a bear ,
and took a lamb out of the flock :
*
And I went out after him ,
and smote him ,
and delivered it out of his mouth :
and when he arose against me ,
I caught him by his beard ,
and smote him ,
and slew him .
*
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear :
and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them ,
seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God .
*
David said moreover ,
The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion ,
and out of the paw of the bear ,
he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine .
And Saul said unto David ,
Go ,
and the LORD be with thee .
*
And Saul armed David with his armour ,
and he put an helmet of brass upon his head ;
also he armed him with a coat of mail .
*
And David girded his sword upon his armour ,
and he assayed to go ;
for he had not proved it .
And David said unto Saul ,
I cannot go with these ;
for I have not proved them .
And David put them off him .
*
And he took his staff in his hand ,
and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook ,
and put them in a shepherd '
s bag which he had ,
even in a scrip ;
and his sling was in his hand :
and he drew near to the Philistine .
*
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David ;
and the man that bare the shield went before him .
*
And when the Philistine looked about ,
and saw David ,
he disdained him :
for he was but a youth ,
and ruddy ,
and of a fair countenance .
*
And the Philistine said unto David ,
Am I a dog ,
that thou comest to me with staves ?
And the Philistine cursed David by his gods .
*
And the Philistine said to David ,
Come to me ,
and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air ,
and to the beasts of the field .
*
Then said David to the Philistine ,
Thou comest to me with a sword ,
and with a spear ,
and with a shield :
but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts ,
the God of the armies of Israel ,
whom thou hast defied .
*
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand ;
and I will smite thee ,
and take thine head from thee ;
and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air ,
and to the wild beasts of the earth ;
that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel .
*
And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear :
for the battle is the LORD '
S ,
and he will give you into our hands .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the Philistine arose ,
and came and drew nigh to meet David ,
that David hasted ,
and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine .
*
And David put his hand in his bag ,
and took thence a stone ,
and slang it ,
and smote the Philistine in his forehead ,
that the stone sunk into his forehead ;
and he fell upon his face to the earth .
*
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone ,
and smote the Philistine ,
and slew him ;
but there was no sword in the hand of David .
*
Therefore David ran ,
and stood upon the Philistine ,
and took his sword ,
and drew it out of the sheath thereof ,
and slew him ,
and cut off his head therewith .
And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead ,
they fled .
*
And the men of Israel and of Judah arose ,
and shouted ,
and pursued the Philistines ,
until thou come to the valley ,
and to the gates of Ekron .
And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim ,
even unto Gath ,
and unto Ekron .
*
And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines ,
and they spoiled their tents .
*
And David took the head of the Philistine ,
and brought it to Jerusalem ;
but he put his armour in his tent .
*
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine ,
he said unto Abner ,
the captain of the host ,
Abner ,
whose son is this youth ?
And Abner said ,
As thy soul liveth ,
O king ,
I cannot tell .
*
And the king said ,
Enquire thou whose son the stripling is .
*
And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine ,
Abner took him ,
and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand .
*
And Saul said to him ,
Whose son art thou ,
thou young man ?
And David answered ,
I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite .
*
And it came to pass ,
when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul ,
that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David ,
and Jonathan loved him as his own soul .
*
And Saul took him that day ,
and would let him go no more home to his father '
s house .
*
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant ,
because he loved him as his own soul .
*
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him ,
and gave it to David ,
and his garments ,
even to his sword ,
and to his bow ,
and to his girdle .
*
And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him ,
and behaved himself wisely :
and Saul set him over the men of war ,
and he was accepted in the sight of all the people ,
and also in the sight of Saul '
s servants .
*
And it came to pass as they came ,
when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine ,
that the women came out of all cities of Israel ,
singing and dancing ,
to meet king Saul ,
with tabrets ,
with joy ,
and with instruments of musick .
*
And the women answered one another as they played ,
and said ,
Saul hath slain his thousands ,
and David his ten thousands .
*
And Saul was very wroth ,
and the saying displeased him ;
and he said ,
They have ascribed unto David ten thousands ,
and to me they have ascribed but thousands :
and what can he have more but the kingdom ?
*
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward .
*
And it came to pass on the morrow ,
that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul ,
and he prophesied in the midst of the house :
and David played with his hand ,
as at other times :
and there was a javelin in Saul '
s hand .
*
And Saul cast the javelin ;
for he said ,
I will smite David even to the wall with it .
And David avoided out of his presence twice .
*
And Saul was afraid of David ,
because the LORD was with him ,
and was departed from Saul .
*
Therefore Saul removed him from him ,
and made him his captain over a thousand ;
and he went out and came in before the people .
*
And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways ;
and the LORD was with him .
*
Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely ,
he was afraid of him .
*
But all Israel and Judah loved David ,
because he went out and came in before them .
*
And Saul said to David ,
Behold my elder daughter Merab ,
her will I give thee to wife :
only be thou valiant for me ,
and fight the LORD '
S battles .
For Saul said ,
Let not mine hand be upon him ,
but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him .
*
And David said unto Saul ,
Who am I ?
and what is my life ,
or my father '
s family in Israel ,
that I should be son in law to the king ?
*
But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul '
s daughter should have been given to David ,
that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife .
*
And Michal Saul '
s daughter loved David :
and they told Saul ,
and the thing pleased him .
*
And Saul said ,
I will give him her ,
that she may be a snare to him ,
and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him .
Wherefore Saul said to David ,
Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain .
*
And Saul commanded his servants ,
saying ,
Commune with David secretly ,
and say ,
Behold ,
the king hath delight in thee ,
and all his servants love thee :
now therefore be the king '
s son in law .
*
And Saul '
s servants spake those words in the ears of David .
And David said ,
Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king '
s son in law ,
seeing that I am a poor man ,
and lightly esteemed ?
*
And the servants of Saul told him ,
saying ,
On this manner spake David .
*
And Saul said ,
Thus shall ye say to David ,
The king desireth not any dowry ,
but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines ,
to be avenged of the king '
s enemies .
But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines .
*
And when his servants told David these words ,
it pleased David well to be the king '
s son in law :
and the days were not expired .
*
Wherefore David arose and went ,
he and his men ,
and slew of the Philistines two hundred men ;
and David brought their foreskins ,
and they gave them in full tale to the king ,
that he might be the king '
s son in law .
And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife .
*
And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David ,
and that Michal Saul '
s daughter loved him .
*
And Saul was yet the more afraid of David ;
and Saul became David '
s enemy continually .
*
Then the princes of the Philistines went forth :
and it came to pass ,
after they went forth ,
that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul ;
so that his name was much set by .
*
And Saul spake to Jonathan his son ,
and to all his servants ,
that they should kill David .
*
But Jonathan Saul '
s son delighted much in David :
and Jonathan told David ,
saying ,
Saul my father seeketh to kill thee :
now therefore ,
I pray thee ,
take heed to thyself until the morning ,
and abide in a secret place ,
and hide thyself :
*
And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art ,
and I will commune with my father of thee ;
and what I see ,
that I will tell thee .
*
And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father ,
and said unto him ,
Let not the king sin against his servant ,
against David ;
because he hath not sinned against thee ,
and because his works have been to thee-ward very good :
*
For he did put his life in his hand ,
and slew the Philistine ,
and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel :
thou sawest it ,
and didst rejoice :
wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood ,
to slay David without a cause ?
*
And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan :
and Saul sware ,
As the LORD liveth ,
he shall not be slain .
*
And Jonathan called David ,
and Jonathan shewed him all those things .
And Jonathan brought David to Saul ,
and he was in his presence ,
as in times past .
*
And there was war again :
and David went out ,
and fought with the Philistines ,
and slew them with a great slaughter ;
and they fled from him .
*
And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul ,
as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand :
and David played with his hand .
*
And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin ;
but he slipped away out of Saul '
s presence ,
and he smote the javelin into the wall :
and David fled ,
and escaped that night .
*
Saul also sent messengers unto David '
s house ,
to watch him ,
and to slay him in the morning :
and Michal David '
s wife told him ,
saying ,
If thou save not thy life to night ,
to morrow thou shalt be slain .
*
So Michal let David down through a window :
and he went ,
and fled ,
and escaped .
*
And Michal took an image ,
and laid it in the bed ,
and put a pillow of goats '
hair for his bolster ,
and covered it with a cloth .
*
And when Saul sent messengers to take David ,
she said ,
He is sick .
*
And Saul sent the messengers again to see David ,
saying ,
Bring him up to me in the bed ,
that I may slay him .
*
And when the messengers were come in ,
behold ,
there was an image in the bed ,
with a pillow of goats '
hair for his bolster .
*
And Saul said unto Michal ,
Why hast thou deceived me so ,
and sent away mine enemy ,
that he is escaped ?
And Michal answered Saul ,
He said unto me ,
Let me go ;
why should I kill thee ?
*
So David fled ,
and escaped ,
and came to Samuel to Ramah ,
and told him all that Saul had done to him .
And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth .
*
And it was told Saul ,
saying ,
Behold ,
David is at Naioth in Ramah .
*
And Saul sent messengers to take David :
and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying ,
and Samuel standing as appointed over them ,
the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul ,
and they also prophesied .
*
And when it was told Saul ,
he sent other messengers ,
and they prophesied likewise .
And Saul sent messengers again the third time ,
and they prophesied also .
*
Then went he also to Ramah ,
and came to a great well that is in Sechu :
and he asked and said ,
Where are Samuel and David ?
And one said ,
Behold ,
they be at Naioth in Ramah .
*
And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah :
and the Spirit of God was upon him also ,
and he went on ,
and prophesied ,
until he came to Naioth in Ramah .
*
And he stripped off his clothes also ,
and prophesied before Samuel in like manner ,
and lay down naked all that day and all that night .
Wherefore they say ,
Is Saul also among the prophets ?
*
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah ,
and came and said before Jonathan ,
What have I done ?
what is mine iniquity ?
and what is my sin before thy father ,
that he seeketh my life ?
*
And he said unto him ,
God forbid ;
thou shalt not die :
behold ,
my father will do nothing either great or small ,
but that he will shew it me :
and why should my father hide this thing from me ?
it is not so .
*
And David sware moreover ,
and said ,
Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes ;
and he saith ,
Let not Jonathan know this ,
lest he be grieved :
but truly as the LORD liveth ,
and as thy soul liveth ,
there is but a step between me and death .
*
Then said Jonathan unto David ,
Whatsoever thy soul desireth ,
I will even do it for thee .
*
And David said unto Jonathan ,
Behold ,
to morrow is the new moon ,
and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat :
but let me go ,
that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even .
*
If thy father at all miss me ,
then say ,
David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city :
for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family .
*
If he say thus ,
It is well ;
thy servant shall have peace :
but if he be very wroth ,
then be sure that evil is determined by him .
*
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant ;
for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee :
notwithstanding ,
if there be in me iniquity ,
slay me thyself ;
for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father ?
*
And Jonathan said ,
Far be it from thee :
for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee ,
then would not I tell it thee ?
*
Then said David to Jonathan ,
Who shall tell me ?
or what if thy father answer thee roughly ?
*
And Jonathan said unto David ,
Come ,
and let us go out into the field .
And they went out both of them into the field .
*
And Jonathan said unto David ,
O LORD God of Israel ,
when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time ,
or the third day ,
and ,
behold ,
if there be good toward David ,
and I then send not unto thee ,
and shew it thee ;
*
The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan :
but if it please my father to do thee evil ,
then I will shew it thee ,
and send thee away ,
that thou mayest go in peace :
and the LORD be with thee ,
as he hath been with my father .
*
And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD ,
that I die not :
*
But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever :
no ,
not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth .
*
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David ,
saying ,
Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David '
s enemies .
*
And Jonathan caused David to swear again ,
because he loved him :
for he loved him as he loved his own soul .
*
Then Jonathan said to David ,
To morrow is the new moon :
and thou shalt be missed ,
because thy seat will be empty .
*
And when thou hast stayed three days ,
then thou shalt go down quickly ,
and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand ,
and shalt remain by the stone Ezel .
*
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof ,
as though I shot at a mark .
*
And ,
behold ,
I will send a lad ,
saying ,
Go ,
find out the arrows .
If I expressly say unto the lad ,
Behold ,
the arrows are on this side of thee ,
take them ;
then come thou :
for there is peace to thee ,
and no hurt ;
as the LORD liveth .
*
But if I say thus unto the young man ,
Behold ,
the arrows are beyond thee ;
go thy way :
for the LORD hath sent thee away .
*
And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of ,
behold ,
the LORD be between thee and me for ever .
*
So David hid himself in the field :
and when the new moon was come ,
the king sat him down to eat meat .
*
And the king sat upon his seat ,
as at other times ,
even upon a seat by the wall :
and Jonathan arose ,
and Abner sat by Saul '
s side ,
and David '
s place was empty .
*
Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day :
for he thought ,
Something hath befallen him ,
he is not clean ;
surely he is not clean .
*
And it came to pass on the morrow ,
which was the second day of the month ,
that David '
s place was empty :
and Saul said unto Jonathan his son ,
Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat ,
neither yesterday ,
nor to day ?
*
And Jonathan answered Saul ,
David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem :
*
And he said ,
Let me go ,
I pray thee ;
for our family hath a sacrifice in the city ;
and my brother ,
he hath commanded me to be there :
and now ,
if I have found favour in thine eyes ,
let me get away ,
I pray thee ,
and see my brethren .
Therefore he cometh not unto the king '
s table .
*
Then Saul '
s anger was kindled against Jonathan ,
and he said unto him ,
Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman ,
do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion ,
and unto the confusion of thy mother '
s nakedness ?
*
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground ,
thou shalt not be established ,
nor thy kingdom .
Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me ,
for he shall surely die .
*
And Jonathan answered Saul his father ,
and said unto him ,
Wherefore shall he be slain ?
what hath he done ?
*
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him :
whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David .
*
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger ,
and did eat no meat the second day of the month :
for he was grieved for David ,
because his father had done him shame .
*
And it came to pass in the morning ,
that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David ,
and a little lad with him .
*
And he said unto his lad ,
Run ,
find out now the arrows which I shoot .
And as the lad ran ,
he shot an arrow beyond him .
*
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot ,
Jonathan cried after the lad ,
and said ,
Is not the arrow beyond thee ?
*
And Jonathan cried after the lad ,
Make speed ,
haste ,
stay not .
And Jonathan '
s lad gathered up the arrows ,
and came to his master .
*
But the lad knew not any thing :
only Jonathan and David knew the matter .
*
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad ,
and said unto him ,
Go ,
carry them to the city .
*
And as soon as the lad was gone ,
David arose out of a place toward the south ,
and fell on his face to the ground ,
and bowed himself three times :
and they kissed one another ,
and wept one with another ,
until David exceeded .
*
And Jonathan said to David ,
Go in peace ,
forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD ,
saying ,
The LORD be between me and thee ,
and between my seed and thy seed for ever .
And he arose and departed :
and Jonathan went into the city .
*
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest :
and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David ,
and said unto him ,
Why art thou alone ,
and no man with thee ?
*
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest ,
The king hath commanded me a business ,
and hath said unto me ,
Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee ,
and what I have commanded thee :
and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place .
*
Now therefore what is under thine hand ?
give me five loaves of bread in mine hand ,
or what there is present .
*
And the priest answered David ,
and said ,
There is no common bread under mine hand ,
but there is hallowed bread ;
if the young men have kept themselves at least from women .
*
And David answered the priest ,
and said unto him ,
Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days ,
since I came out ,
and the vessels of the young men are holy ,
and the bread is in a manner common ,
yea ,
though it were sanctified this day in the vessel .
*
So the priest gave him hallowed bread :
for there was no bread there but the shewbread ,
that was taken from before the LORD ,
to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away .
*
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day ,
detained before the LORD ;
and his name was Doeg ,
an Edomite ,
the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul .
*
And David said unto Ahimelech ,
And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword ?
for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me ,
because the king '
s business required haste .
*
And the priest said ,
The sword of Goliath the Philistine ,
whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah ,
behold ,
it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod :
if thou wilt take that ,
take it :
for there is no other save that here .
And David said ,
There is none like that ;
give it me .
*
And David arose ,
and fled that day for fear of Saul ,
and went to Achish the king of Gath .
*
And the servants of Achish said unto him ,
Is not this David the king of the land ?
did they not sing one to another of him in dances ,
saying ,
Saul hath slain his thousands ,
and David his ten thousands ?
*
And David laid up these words in his heart ,
and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath .
*
And he changed his behaviour before them ,
and feigned himself mad in their hands ,
and scrabbled on the doors of the gate ,
and let his spittle fall down upon his beard .
*
Then said Achish unto his servants ,
Lo ,
ye see the man is mad :
wherefore then have ye brought him to me ?
*
Have I need of mad men ,
that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence ?
shall this fellow come into my house ?
*
David therefore departed thence ,
and escaped to the cave Adullam :
and when his brethren and all his father '
s house heard it ,
they went down thither to him .
*
And every one that was in distress ,
and every one that was in debt ,
and every one that was discontented ,
gathered themselves unto him ;
and he became a captain over them :
and there were with him about four hundred men .
*
And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab :
and he said unto the king of Moab ,
Let my father and my mother ,
I pray thee ,
come forth ,
and be with you ,
till I know what God will do for me .
*
And he brought them before the king of Moab :
and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold .
*
And the prophet Gad said unto David ,
Abide not in the hold ;
depart ,
and get thee into the land of Judah .
Then David departed ,
and came into the forest of Hareth .
*
When Saul heard that David was discovered ,
and the men that were with him , (
now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah ,
having his spear in his hand ,
and all his servants were standing about him ;)
*
Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him ,
Hear now ,
ye Benjamites ;
will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards ,
and make you all captains of thousands ,
and captains of hundreds ;
*
That all of you have conspired against me ,
and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse ,
and there is none of you that is sorry for me ,
or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me ,
to lie in wait ,
as at this day ?
*
Then answered Doeg the Edomite ,
which was set over the servants of Saul ,
and said ,
I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob ,
to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub .
*
And he enquired of the LORD for him ,
and gave him victuals ,
and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine .
*
Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest ,
the son of Ahitub ,
and all his father '
s house ,
the priests that were in Nob :
and they came all of them to the king .
*
And Saul said ,
Hear now ,
thou son of Ahitub .
And he answered ,
Here I am ,
my lord .
*
And Saul said unto him ,
Why have ye conspired against me ,
thou and the son of Jesse ,
in that thou hast given him bread ,
and a sword ,
and hast enquired of God for him ,
that he should rise against me ,
to lie in wait ,
as at this day ?
*
Then Ahimelech answered the king ,
and said ,
And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David ,
which is the king '
s son in law ,
and goeth at thy bidding ,
and is honourable in thine house ?
*
Did I then begin to enquire of God for him ?
be it far from me :
let not the king impute any thing unto his servant ,
nor to all the house of my father :
for thy servant knew nothing of all this ,
less or more .
*
And the king said ,
Thou shalt surely die ,
Ahimelech ,
thou ,
and all thy father '
s house .
*
And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him ,
Turn ,
and slay the priests of the LORD ;
because their hand also is with David ,
and because they knew when he fled ,
and did not shew it to me .
But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD .
*
And the king said to Doeg ,
Turn thou ,
and fall upon the priests .
And Doeg the Edomite turned ,
and he fell upon the priests ,
and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod .
*
And Nob ,
the city of the priests ,
smote he with the edge of the sword ,
both men and women ,
children and sucklings ,
and oxen ,
and asses ,
and sheep ,
with the edge of the sword .
*
And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub ,
named Abiathar ,
escaped ,
and fled after David .
*
And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD '
S priests .
*
And David said unto Abiathar ,
I knew it that day ,
when Doeg the Edomite was there ,
that he would surely tell Saul :
I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father '
s house .
*
Abide thou with me ,
fear not :
for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life :
but with me thou shalt be in safeguard .
*
Then they told David ,
saying ,
Behold ,
the Philistines fight against Keilah ,
and they rob the threshingfloors .
*
Therefore David enquired of the LORD ,
saying ,
Shall I go and smite these Philistines ?
And the LORD said unto David ,
Go ,
and smite the Philistines ,
and save Keilah .
*
And David '
s men said unto him ,
Behold ,
we be afraid here in Judah :
how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines ?
*
Then David enquired of the LORD yet again .
And the LORD answered him and said ,
Arise ,
go down to Keilah ;
for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand .
*
So David and his men went to Keilah ,
and fought with the Philistines ,
and brought away their cattle ,
and smote them with a great slaughter .
So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah ,
that he came down with an ephod in his hand .
*
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah .
And Saul said ,
God hath delivered him into mine hand ;
for he is shut in ,
by entering into a town that hath gates and bars .
*
And Saul called all the people together to war ,
to go down to Keilah ,
to besiege David and his men .
*
And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him ;
and he said to Abiathar the priest ,
Bring hither the ephod .
*
Then said David ,
O LORD God of Israel ,
thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah ,
to destroy the city for my sake .
*
Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand ?
will Saul come down ,
as thy servant hath heard ?
O LORD God of Israel ,
I beseech thee ,
tell thy servant .
And the LORD said ,
He will come down .
*
Then said David ,
Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul ?
And the LORD said ,
They will deliver thee up .
*
Then David and his men ,
which were about six hundred ,
arose and departed out of Keilah ,
and went whithersoever they could go .
And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah ;
and he forbare to go forth .
*
And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds ,
and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph .
And Saul sought him every day ,
but God delivered him not into his hand .
*
And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life :
and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood .
*
And Jonathan Saul '
s son arose ,
and went to David into the wood ,
and strengthened his hand in God .
*
And he said unto him ,
Fear not :
for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee ;
and thou shalt be king over Israel ,
and I shall be next unto thee ;
and that also Saul my father knoweth .
*
And they two made a covenant before the LORD :
and David abode in the wood ,
and Jonathan went to his house .
*
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah ,
saying ,
Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood ,
in the hill of Hachilah ,
which is on the south of Jeshimon ?
*
Now therefore ,
O king ,
come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down ;
and our part shall be to deliver him into the king '
s hand .
*
And Saul said ,
Blessed be ye of the LORD ;
for ye have compassion on me .
*
Go ,
I pray you ,
prepare yet ,
and know and see his place where his haunt is ,
and who hath seen him there :
for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly .
*
See therefore ,
and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself ,
and come ye again to me with the certainty ,
and I will go with you :
and it shall come to pass ,
if he be in the land ,
that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah .
*
And they arose ,
and went to Ziph before Saul :
but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon ,
in the plain on the south of Jeshimon .
*
Saul also and his men went to seek him .
And they told David :
wherefore he came down into a rock ,
and abode in the wilderness of Maon .
And when Saul heard that ,
he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon .
*
And Saul went on this side of the mountain ,
and David and his men on that side of the mountain :
and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul ;
for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them .
*
But there came a messenger unto Saul ,
saying ,
Haste thee ,
and come ;
for the Philistines have invaded the land .
*
Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David ,
and went against the Philistines :
therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth .
*
And David went up from thence ,
and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Saul was returned from following the Philistines ,
that it was told him ,
saying ,
Behold ,
David is in the wilderness of Engedi .
*
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel ,
and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats .
*
And he came to the sheepcotes by the way ,
where was a cave ;
and Saul went in to cover his feet :
and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave .
*
And the men of David said unto him ,
Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee ,
Behold ,
I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand ,
that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee .
Then David arose ,
and cut off the skirt of Saul '
s robe privily .
*
And it came to pass afterward ,
that David '
s heart smote him ,
because he had cut off Saul '
s skirt .
*
And he said unto his men ,
The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master ,
the LORD '
S anointed ,
to stretch forth mine hand against him ,
seeing he is the anointed of the LORD .
*
So David stayed his servants with these words ,
and suffered them not to rise against Saul .
But Saul rose up out of the cave ,
and went on his way .
*
David also arose afterward ,
and went out of the cave ,
and cried after Saul ,
saying ,
My lord the king .
And when Saul looked behind him ,
David stooped with his face to the earth ,
and bowed himself .
*
And David said to Saul ,
Wherefore hearest thou men '
s words ,
saying ,
Behold ,
David seeketh thy hurt ?
*
Behold ,
this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave :
and some bade me kill thee :
but mine eye spared thee ;
and I said ,
I will not put forth mine hand against my lord ;
for he is the LORD '
S anointed .
*
Moreover ,
my father ,
see ,
yea ,
see the skirt of thy robe in my hand :
for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe ,
and killed thee not ,
know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand ,
and I have not sinned against thee ;
yet thou huntest my soul to take it .
*
The LORD judge between me and thee ,
and the LORD avenge me of thee :
but mine hand shall not be upon thee .
*
As saith the proverb of the ancients ,
Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked :
but mine hand shall not be upon thee .
*
After whom is the king of Israel come out ?
after whom dost thou pursue ?
after a dead dog ,
after a flea .
*
The LORD therefore be judge ,
and judge between me and thee ,
and see ,
and plead my cause ,
and deliver me out of thine hand .
*
And it came to pass ,
when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul ,
that Saul said ,
Is this thy voice ,
my son David ?
And Saul lifted up his voice ,
and wept .
*
And he said to David ,
Thou art more righteous than I :
for thou hast rewarded me good ,
whereas I have rewarded thee evil .
*
And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me :
forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand ,
thou killedst me not .
*
For if a man find his enemy ,
will he let him go well away ?
wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day .
*
And now ,
behold ,
I know well that thou shalt surely be king ,
and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand .
*
Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD ,
that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me ,
and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father '
s house .
*
And David sware unto Saul .
And Saul went home ;
but David and his men gat them up unto the hold .
*
And Samuel died ;
and all the Israelites were gathered together ,
and lamented him ,
and buried him in his house at Ramah .
And David arose ,
and went down to the wilderness of Paran .
*
And there was a man in Maon ,
whose possessions were in Carmel ;
and the man was very great ,
and he had three thousand sheep ,
and a thousand goats :
and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel .
*
Now the name of the man was Nabal ;
and the name of his wife Abigail :
and she was a woman of good understanding ,
and of a beautiful countenance :
but the man was churlish and evil in his doings ;
and he was of the house of Caleb .
*
And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep .
*
And David sent out ten young men ,
and David said unto the young men ,
Get you up to Carmel ,
and go to Nabal ,
and greet him in my name :
*
And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity ,
Peace be both to thee ,
and peace be to thine house ,
and peace be unto all that thou hast .
*
And now I have heard that thou hast shearers :
now thy shepherds which were with us ,
we hurt them not ,
neither was there ought missing unto them ,
all the while they were in Carmel .
*
Ask thy young men ,
and they will shew thee .
Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes :
for we come in a good day :
give ,
I pray thee ,
whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants ,
and to thy son David .
*
And when David '
s young men came ,
they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David ,
and ceased .
*
And Nabal answered David '
s servants ,
and said ,
Who is David ?
and who is the son of Jesse ?
there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master .
*
Shall I then take my bread ,
and my water ,
and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers ,
and give it unto men ,
whom I know not whence they be ?
*
So David '
s young men turned their way ,
and went again ,
and came and told him all those sayings .
*
And David said unto his men ,
Gird ye on every man his sword .
And they girded on every man his sword ;
and David also girded on his sword :
and there went up after David about four hundred men ;
and two hundred abode by the stuff .
*
But one of the young men told Abigail ,
Nabal '
s wife ,
saying ,
Behold ,
David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master ;
and he railed on them .
*
But the men were very good unto us ,
and we were not hurt ,
neither missed we any thing ,
as long as we were conversant with them ,
when we were in the fields :
*
They were a wall unto us both by night and day ,
all the while we were with them keeping the sheep .
*
Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do ;
for evil is determined against our master ,
and against all his household :
for he is such a son of Belial ,
that a man cannot speak to him .
*
Then Abigail made haste ,
and took two hundred loaves ,
and two bottles of wine ,
and five sheep ready dressed ,
and five measures of parched corn ,
and an hundred clusters of raisins ,
and two hundred cakes of figs ,
and laid them on asses .
*
And she said unto her servants ,
Go on before me ;
behold ,
I come after you .
But she told not her husband Nabal .
*
And it was so ,
as she rode on the ass ,
that she came down by the covert of the hill ,
and ,
behold ,
David and his men came down against her ;
and she met them .
*
Now David had said ,
Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness ,
so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him :
and he hath requited me evil for good .
*
So and more also do God unto the enemies of David ,
if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall .
*
And when Abigail saw David ,
she hasted ,
and lighted off the ass ,
and fell before David on her face ,
and bowed herself to the ground ,
*
And fell at his feet ,
and said ,
Upon me ,
my lord ,
upon me let this iniquity be :
and let thine handmaid ,
I pray thee ,
speak in thine audience ,
and hear the words of thine handmaid .
*
Let not my lord ,
I pray thee ,
regard this man of Belial ,
even Nabal :
for as his name is ,
so is he ;
Nabal is his name ,
and folly is with him :
but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord ,
whom thou didst send .
*
Now therefore ,
my lord ,
as the LORD liveth ,
and as thy soul liveth ,
seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood ,
and from avenging thyself with thine own hand ,
now let thine enemies ,
and they that seek evil to my lord ,
be as Nabal .
*
And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord ,
let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord .
*
I pray thee ,
forgive the trespass of thine handmaid :
for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house ;
because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD ,
and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days .
*
Yet a man is risen to pursue thee ,
and to seek thy soul :
but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God ;
and the souls of thine enemies ,
them shall he sling out ,
as out of the middle of a sling .
*
And it shall come to pass ,
when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee ,
and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel ;
*
That this shall be no grief unto thee ,
nor offence of heart unto my lord ,
either that thou hast shed blood causeless ,
or that my lord hath avenged himself :
but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord ,
then remember thine handmaid .
*
And David said to Abigail ,
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel ,
which sent thee this day to meet me :
*
And blessed be thy advice ,
and blessed be thou ,
which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood ,
and from avenging myself with mine own hand .
*
For in very deed ,
as the LORD God of Israel liveth ,
which hath kept me back from hurting thee ,
except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me ,
surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall .
*
So David received of her hand that which she had brought him ,
and said unto her ,
Go up in peace to thine house ;
see ,
I have hearkened to thy voice ,
and have accepted thy person .
*
And Abigail came to Nabal ;
and ,
behold ,
he held a feast in his house ,
like the feast of a king ;
and Nabal '
s heart was merry within him ,
for he was very drunken :
wherefore she told him nothing ,
less or more ,
until the morning light .
*
But it came to pass in the morning ,
when the wine was gone out of Nabal ,
and his wife had told him these things ,
that his heart died within him ,
and he became as a stone .
*
And it came to pass about ten days after ,
that the LORD smote Nabal ,
that he died .
*
And when David heard that Nabal was dead ,
he said ,
Blessed be the LORD ,
that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal ,
and hath kept his servant from evil :
for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head .
And David sent and communed with Abigail ,
to take her to him to wife .
*
And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel ,
they spake unto her ,
saying ,
David sent us unto thee ,
to take thee to him to wife .
*
And she arose ,
and bowed herself on her face to the earth ,
and said ,
Behold ,
let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord .
*
And Abigail hasted ,
and arose ,
and rode upon an ass ,
with five damsels of hers that went after her ;
and she went after the messengers of David ,
and became his wife .
*
David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel ;
and they were also both of them his wives .
*
But Saul had given Michal his daughter ,
David '
s wife ,
to Phalti the son of Laish ,
which was of Gallim .
*
And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah ,
saying ,
Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah ,
which is before Jeshimon ?
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