No More Learning

17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and
drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army
to meet the Philistine.

17:49 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.

17:50 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.

17:51 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.

17:52 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.

17:53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the
Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.

17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to
Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

17:55 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.

17:56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.

17:57 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.

17:58 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.

18:1 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.

18:2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to
his father's house.

18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as
his own soul.

18:4 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.

18:5 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.

18:6 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.

18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul
hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

18:8 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?
18:9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

18:10 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.

18:11 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.

18:12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and
was departed from Saul.

18:13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain
over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

18:14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD
was with him.

18:15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he
was afraid of him.

18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and
came in before them.

18:17 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.

18:18 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?
18:19 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.

18:20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and
the thing pleased him.

18:21 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.

18:22 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.

18:23 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? 18:24 And the
servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.

18:25 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.

18:26 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.

18:27 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.

18:28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that
Michal Saul's daughter loved him.

18:29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became
David's enemy continually.

18:30 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.

19:1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that
they should kill David.

19:2 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: 19:3 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.

19:4 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: 19:5 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? 19:6
And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the
LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.

19:7 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.

19:8 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.

19:9 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.

19:10 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.

19:11 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.

19:12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and
fled, and escaped.

19:13 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.

19:14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is
sick.

19:15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring
him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

19:16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image
in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.

19:17 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? 19:18 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.

19:19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in
Ramah.

19:20 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.

19:21 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.

19:22 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.

19:23 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.

19:24 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? 20:1 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? 20:2 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.

20:3 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.

20:4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I
will even do it for thee.

20:5 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.

20:6 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.

20:7 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.

20:8 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? 20:9 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? 20:10 Then
said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father
answer thee roughly? 20:11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and
let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the
field.

20:12 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; 20:13 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.

20:14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of
the LORD, that I die not: 20:15 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.

20:16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let
the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.

20:17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him:
for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou
shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

20:19 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.

20:20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I
shot at a mark.

20:21 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.

20:22 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.

20:23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of,
behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.

20:24 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was
come, the king sat him down to eat meat.

20:25 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.

20:26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought,
Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

20:27 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? 20:28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David
earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: 20:29 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.

20:30 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? 20:31 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.

20:32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him,
Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 20:33 And Saul cast a
javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was
determined of his father to slay David.

20:34 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.

20:35 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.

20:36 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.

20:37 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? 20:38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make
speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and
came to his master.

20:39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the
matter.

20:40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him,
Go, carry them to the city.

20:41 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.

20:42 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.

21:1 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? 21:2 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.

21:3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of
bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

21:4 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.

21:5 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.

21:6 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.

21:7 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.

21:8 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.

21:9 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.

21:10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to
Achish the king of Gath.

21:11 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?
21:12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid
of Achish the king of Gath.

21:13 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.

21:14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad:
wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 21:15 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? 22:1 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.

22:2 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.

22:3 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.

22:4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with
him all the while that David was in the hold.

22:5 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.

22:6 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;) 22:7
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; 22:8 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? 22:9 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.

22:10 And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and
gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

22:11 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.

22:12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered,
Here I am, my lord.

22:13 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? 22:14 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? 22:15 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.

22:16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and
all thy father's house.

22:17 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.

22:18 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.

22:19 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.

22:20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named
Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.

22:21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD's
priests.

22:22 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.

22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life
seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

23:1 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight
against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors.

23:2 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.

23:3 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? 23:4 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.

23:5 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.

23:6 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.

23:7 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.

23:8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to
Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

23:9 And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him;
and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.

23:10 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.

23:11 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.

23:12 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.

23:13 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.

23:14 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.

23:15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David
was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

23:16 And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood,
and strengthened his hand in God.

23:17 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.

23:18 And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in
the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

23:19 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? 23:20 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.

23:21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion
on me.

23:22 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.

23:23 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.

23:24 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.

23:25 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.

23:26 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.

23:27 But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and
come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.

23:28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went
against the Philistines: therefore they called that place
Selahammahlekoth.

23:29 And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at
Engedi.

24:1 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.

24:2 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.

24:3 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.

24:4 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.

24:5 And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him,
because he had cut off Saul's skirt.

24:6 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.

24:7 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.

24:8 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.

24:9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words,
saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 24:10 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.

24:11 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.

24:12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of
thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

24:13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from
the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

24:14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou
pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.

24:15 The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and
see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.

24:16 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.

24:17 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou
hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.

24:18 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.

24:19 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.

24:20 And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and
that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.

24:21 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.

24:22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his
men gat them up unto the hold.

25:1 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.

25:2 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.

25:3 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.

25:4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

25:5 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:
25:6 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.

25:7 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.

25:8 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.

25:9 And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to
all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

25:10 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.

25:11 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? 25:12 So David's young men turned their way, and went
again, and came and told him all those sayings.

25:13 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.

25:14 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.

25:15 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: 25:16 They were a wall unto us both by
night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

25:17 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.

25:18 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.

25:19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come
after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

25:20 And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the
covert on the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against
her; and she met them.

25:21 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.

25:22 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.

25:23 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,
25:24 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.

25:25 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.

25:26 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.

25:27 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.

25:28 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.

25:29 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.

25:30 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; 25:31 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.

25:32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,
which sent thee this day to meet me: 25:33 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.

25:34 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.

25:35 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.

25:36 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.

25:37 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.

25:38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote
Nabal, that he died.

25:39 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.

25:40 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.

25:41 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.

25:42 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.

25:43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of
them his wives.

25:44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti
the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.

26:1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David
hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? 26:2
Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three
thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the
wilderness of Ziph.

26:3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before
Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw
that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

26:4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come
in very deed.

26:5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched:
and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner,
the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people
pitched round about him.

26:6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to
Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down
with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with
thee.

26:7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold,
Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground
at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.

26:8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into
thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with
the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the
second time.

26:9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch
forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless? 26:10
David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him;
or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and
perish.

26:11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against
the LORD's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is
at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

26:12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's
bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it,
neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from
the LORD was fallen upon them.

26:13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of
an hill afar off; a great space being between them: 26:14 And David
cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest
thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that
criest to the king? 26:15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a
valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast
thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in
to destroy the king thy lord.

26:16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth,
ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD's
anointed.

And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was
at his bolster.

26:17 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son
David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.

26:18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his
servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? 26:19
Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his
servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept
an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before
the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the
inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

26:20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the
face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea,
as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

26:21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will
no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this
day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

26:22 And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let
one of the young men come over and fetch it.

26:23 The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his
faithfulness; for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I
would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD's anointed.

26:24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes,
so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him
deliver me out of all tribulation.

26:25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou
shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David
went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

27:1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the
hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should
speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall
despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I
escape out of his hand.

27:2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that
were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

27:3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man
with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the
Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.

27:4 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought
no more again for him.

27:5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine
eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may
dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with
thee? 27:6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag
pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

27:7 And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines
was a full year and four months.

27:8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and
the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the
inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of
Egypt.

27:9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive,
and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels,
and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.

27:10 And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David
said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the
Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.

27:11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to
Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and
so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the
Philistines.

27:12 And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people
Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for
ever.

28:1 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered
their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish
said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me
to battle, thou and thy men.

28:2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant
can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of
mine head for ever.

28:3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried
him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that
had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.

28:4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and
pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they
pitched in Gilboa.

28:5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and
his heart greatly trembled.

28:6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not,
neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a
familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his
servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar
spirit at Endor.

28:8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he
went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and
he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring
me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath
done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the
wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my
life, to cause me to die? 28:10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD,
saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee
for this thing.

28:11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he
said, Bring me up Samuel.

28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and
the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou
art Saul.

28:13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou?
And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

28:14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old
man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived
that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and
bowed himself.

28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring
me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines
make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no
more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called
thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

28:16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the
LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 28:17 And the
LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the
kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to
David: 28:18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor
executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done
this thing unto thee this day.

28:19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the
hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with
me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of
the Philistines.

28:20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore
afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in
him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

28:21 And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled,
and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I
have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which
thou spakest unto me.

28:22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of
thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat,
that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.

28:23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants,
together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their
voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.

28:24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and
killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened
bread thereof: 28:25 And she brought it before Saul, and before his
servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that
night.

29:1 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek:
and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.

29:2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by
thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with
Achish.

29:3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews
here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not
this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been
with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him
since he fell unto me unto this day? 29:4 And the princes of the
Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines
said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his
place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us
to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith
should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the
heads of these men? 29:5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to
another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten
thousands? 29:6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely,
as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy
coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not
found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day:
nevertheless the lords favour thee not.

29:7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not
the lords of the Philistines.

29:8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast
thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this
day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
29:9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good
in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the
Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

29:10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's
servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the
morning, and have light, depart.

29:11 So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to
return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up
to Jezreel.

30:1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag
on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and
Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 30:2 And had
taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either
great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

30:3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned
with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were
taken captives.

30:4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their
voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

30:5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the
Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

30:6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning
him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his
sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD
his God.