1Samuel:26-27

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* And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gib ’ah , saying , Behold , David hideth himself on the hill of Chachilah , before the desert . * Then arose Saul , and went down to the wilderness of Ziph , and with him were three thousand men chosen out of Israel , to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph . * And Saul encamped on the hill of Chachilah , which is before the desert by the way ; but David abode in the wilderness , and he saw that Saul was coming after him into the wilderness . * David thereupon sent out spies , and understood that Saul was come for a certainty . * And David arose , and came to the place where Saul was encamped ; and David beheld the place where Saul lay , with Abner the son of Ner , the captain of his army ; and Saul was lying in the midst of the ring , and the people were encamped round about him . * Then commenced David and said to Achimelech the Hittite , and to Abishai the son of Zeruyah , the brother of Joab , saying , Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp ? And Abishai said , I will readily go down with thee . * So David and Abishai came to the people by night : and , behold , Saul lay sleeping within the ring , with his spear stuck in the ground by his head ; but Abner and the people were lying round about him . * Then said Abishai to David , God hath surrendered this day thy enemy into thy hand : and now let me strike him through , I pray thee , with the spear , even to the earth with one blow , and I will not give him a second one . * But David said to Abishai , Destroy him not ; for who hath stretched forth his hand against the Lord ’s anointed , and remained guiltless ? * David said farthermore , As the Lord liveth , the Lord alone shall strike him down : either his day shall come that he die ; or he shall go down into battle , and perish . * Far be this from me for the sake of the Lord , that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord ’s anointed ; but now , I pray thee , take thou the spear that is by his head , and the cruise of water , and let us go our way . * So David took the spear and the cruise of water by the head of Saul , and they went their way ; and no one saw it , and no one perceived it , and –no one awaked ; for they were all sleeping ; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them . * Then went David over to the other side , and stood on the top of the mount afar off , the space between them being great . * And David called to the people , and to Abner the son of Ner , saying , Wilt thou not answer , Abner ? And Abner answered and said , Who art thou that callest to the king ? * And David said to Abner , Art thou not a man ? and who is like to thee in Israel ? why then hast thou not kept guard over thy lord the king ? for there came one of the people to destroy the king thy lord . * This thing which thou hast done is not good . As the Lord liveth , ye deserve to die ; because ye have not kept guard over your master , over the Lord ’s anointed . And now see , where is the king ’s spear , and the cruise of water that was by his head ? * And Saul recognized David ’s voice , and he said , Is this thy voice , my son David ? And David said , It is my voice , my Lord , O king . * And he said , Why is this that my lord doth pursue after his servant ? for what have I done ? or what evil is in my hand ? * And now , I pray thee , let my Lord the king hear the words of his servant ! If the Lord have stirred thee up against me , then may he accept the savor of an offering ; but if they be the children of men , then be they cursed before the Lord ; because they have driven me out this day so that I cannot attach myself on the inheritance of the Lord , saying , Go , serve other gods . * Now , therefore , let not my blood fall to the earth far from the presence of the Lord ; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea , as one doth usually pursue a partridge on the mountains . * Then said Saul , I have sinned ; return , my son David ; for I will not do thee harm any more , for the cause that my life was precious in thy eyes this day : behold , I have acted foolishly , and have erred exceedingly much . * And David answered and said , Behold , here is the king ’s spear ! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it . * And may the Lord recompense to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness ; since the Lord delivered thee into my hand today , and I would not stretch forth my hand against the anointed of the Lord . * And behold , as thy life was highly valued this day in my eyes , so may my life be highly valued in the eyes of the Lord , and may he deliver me out of all tribulation . * Then said Saul to David , Blessed be thou my son David : thou wilt both do great things , and wilt also surely prevail . And David went then on his way , and Saul returned to his place . * And David said in his heart , Now I may yet perish suddenly one day by the hand of Saul ; there is nothing better for me than that I should escape at once into the land of the Philistines , then Saul will abstain from me , to seek me any more in all the territory of Israel : and so shall I escape out of his hand . * And David arose , and he passed over himself with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish , the son of Ma ’och , the king of Gath . * And David remained with Achish at Gath , he and his men , every man with his household , also David with his two wives , Achino ’am the Yizre ’elitess , and Abigayil , Nabal ’s wife , the Carmelitess . * And when it was told unto Saul that David was fled to Gath , he continued no more to seek for him . * And David said unto Achish , If now I have found grace in thy eyes , let them give me a place in some one of the country –towns , that I may dwell there ; for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee ? * Then gave Achish unto him on that day Ziklag : therefore hath Ziklag pertained unto the kings of Judah until this day . * And the number of the days that David dwelt in the fields of the Philistines was a full year and four months . * And David and his men went up , and invaded the Geshurites , and the Gizrites , and the ‘Amalekites ; for these nations were of old the inhabitants of the land , till thou comest to Shur , and as far as the land of Egypt . * And David smote the land , and left not alive either man or woman , and took away the flocks , and the oxen , and the asses , and the camels , and the apparel , and returned , and came to Achish . * And Achish said , Whither have ye made an inroad today ? And David said , Against the south of Judah , and against the south of the Yerachmeelites , and against the south of the Kenites . * And David left not alive either man or woman , to bring to Gath , saying , That they may not tell on us , saying , So hath David done , and so is his custom all the days he hath dwelt in the fields of the Philistines . * And Achish had confidence in David , saying , He hath surely spoiled his odor among his people , among Israel ; and he will become unto me a servant for ever . * And it came to pass in those days , that the Philistines gathered their camps together for warfare , to fight with Israel ; and Achish said unto David , Thou must know that thou shalt go out with me into the camp , thou and thy men .

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