Mar 3 - 1 Samuel 22-24
1 Samuel
1Then David went away from there, and he fled to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all of his father’s house had heard of it, they descended to him there2And all those left in distress, or oppressed by debt to strangers, or bitter in soul, gathered themselves to him. And he became their leader, and about four hundred men were with him3And David set out from there to Mizpah, which is of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, "I beg you, let my father and my mother remain with you, until I know what God will do for me.4And he left them before the face of the king of Moab. And they stayed with him for all the days that David was in the stronghold5And the prophet Gad said to David: "Do not choose to stay in the stronghold. Set out and go into the land of Judah." And so, David set out, and he went into the forest of Hereth6And Saul heard that David, and the men who were with him, had been seen. Now while Saul was staying in Gibeah, and while he was in the forest that is in Ramah, holding a spear in his hand, with all his servants standing around him7he said to his servants who were assisting him: "Listen now, you sons of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give to all of you fields and vineyards, and will he make all of you tribunes or centurions8so that you would all conspire against me, and so that there is no one to inform me, especially when even my son has formed a pact with the son of Jesse? There is no one among you who grieves for my situation, or who would report to me. For my son has raised up my servant against me, seeking to betray me, even to this day.9Then Doeg, the Edomite, who was standing near, and who was first among the servants of Saul, responding, said: "I saw the son of Jesse, in Nob, with Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, the priest10And he consulted the Lord for him, and he gave him food. Moreover, he gave him the sword of Goliath, the Philistine.11Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech, the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all of his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob, and they all came before the king12And Saul said to Ahimelech, "Listen, son of Ahitub." He responded, "Here I am, lord.13And Saul said to him: "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse? For you gave him bread and a sword, and you consulted the Lord for him, so that he might rise up against me, continuing as a traitor even to this day.14And responding to the king, Ahimelech said: "But who among all your servants is as faithful as David? And he is the son-in-law of the king, and he goes forth at your order, and he is a glory within your house15Did I begin to consult the Lord for him today? May this be far from me! Let not the king suspect this kind of thing against his servant, nor against anyone in all my father’s house. For your servant did not know anything about this matter, either small or great.16And the king said, "You shall die a death, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!17And the king said to the emissaries who were standing around him: "You shall turn, and put to death the priests of the Lord. For their hand is with David. They knew that he had fled, and they did not reveal it to me." But the servants of the king were not willing to extend their hands against the priests of the Lord18And the king said to Doeg, "You shall turn and rush against the priests." And Doeg, the Edomite, turned and rushed against the priests. And he massacred, on that day, eighty-five men, vested with the linen ephod19Then he struck Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword; he struck down men and women, little ones and infants, as well as ox and donkey and sheep, with the edge of the sword20But one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, whose name was Abiathar, escaping, fled to David21And he reported to him that Saul had slain the priests of the Lord22And David said to Abiathar: "I knew, on that day when Doeg, the Edomite was there, that without doubt he would report it to Saul. I am guilty of all the souls of your father’s house23You should remain with me. Do not be afraid. For he who seeks my life, seeks your life also, but with me you shall be saved.
1And they reported to David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are plundering the grain stores.2Therefore, David consulted the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and strike down these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go, and you shall strike down the Philistines, and you shall save Keilah.3And the men who were with David said to him, "Behold, we continue in fear here in Judea; how much more so, if we go into Keilah against the troops of the Philistines?4Therefore, David consulted the Lord again. And responding, he said to him: "Rise up, and go into Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.5Therefore, David and his men went into Keilah. And they fought against the Philistines, and they took away their cattle, and they struck them with a great slaughter. And David saved the inhabitants of Keilah6And in that time, when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, was in exile with David, he had descended to Keilah, having an ephod with him7Then it was reported to Saul that David had gone to Keilah. And Saul said: "The Lord has delivered him into my hands. For he is enclosed, having entered into a city which has gates and bars.8And Saul instructed all the people to descend in order to fight against Keilah, and to besiege David and his men9And when David had realized that Saul had secretly prepared evil against him, he said to Abiathar, the priest, "Bring the ephod.10And David said: "O Lord God of Israel, your servant has heard a report that Saul is planning to go to Keilah, so that he may overturn the city because of me11Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hands? And will Saul descend, just as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, reveal to your servant." And the Lord said, "He will descend.12And David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me, and the men who are with me, into the hands of Saul?" And the Lord said, "They will deliver you.13Therefore, David, and his men of about six hundred, rose up, and, departing from Keilah, they wandered here and there, aimlessly. And it was reported to Saul that David had fled from Keilah, and was saved. For this reason, he chose not to go out14Then David stayed in the desert, in very strong places. And he stayed on a mount in the wilderness of Ziph, on a shady mount. Nevertheless, Saul was seeking him every day. But the Lord did not deliver him into his hands15And David saw that Saul had gone out, so that he might seek his life. Now David was in the desert of Ziph, in the woods16And Jonathan, the son of Saul, rose up and went to David in the woods, and he strengthened his hands in God. And he said to him17"Do not be afraid. For the hand of my father, Saul, will not find you. And you shall reign over Israel. And I will be second to you. And even my father knows this.18Therefore, they both struck a pact before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods. But Jonathan returned to his house19Then the Ziphites ascended to Saul at Gibeah, saying: "Behold, is not David hidden with us in very secure places in the woods on the hill of Hachilah, which is to the right of the desert20Now therefore, if your soul has desired to descend, then descend. Then it will be for us to deliver him into the hands of the king.21And Saul said: "You have been blessed by the Lord. For you have grieved for my situation22Therefore, I beg you, go forth, and prepare diligently, and act carefully. And consider the place where his foot may be, and who may have seen him there. For he thinks, concerning me, that I craftily plan treachery against him23Consider and seek out all his hiding places, in which he may be concealed. And return to me with certainty about the matter, so that I may go with you. But if he would even press himself into the earth, I will search him out, amid all the thousands of Judah.24And rising up, they went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain to the right of Jeshimon25Then Saul and his allies went to seek him. And this was reported to David. And immediately, he descended to the rock, and he moved about in the desert of Maon. And when Saul had heard of it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon26And Saul went to one side of the mountain. But David and his men were on the other side of the mountain. Then David was despairing that he would be able to escape from the face of Saul. And Saul and his men enclosed David and his men in the manner of a crown, so that they might capture them27And a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, because the Philistines have poured themselves out upon the land.28Therefore, Saul turned back, ceasing in the pursuit of David, and he traveled to meet the Philistines. For this reason, they called that place, the Rock of Division.29Then David ascended from there, and he lived in very secure places in Engedi.
1And when Saul had returned after pursuing the Philistines, they reported to him, saying, "Behold, David is in the desert of Engedi.2Therefore, Saul, taking three thousand elect men from all of Israel, traveled in order to search for David and his men, even upon the most broken rocks, which are passable only to mountain goats3And he arrived at the sheepfolds, which presented themselves along the way. And a cave was in that place, which Saul entered, so that he might ease his bowels. But David and his men were hiding in the interior part of the cave4And the servants of David said to him: "Behold the day, about which the Lord said to you, ‘I will deliver your enemy to you, so that you may do to him as it will be pleasing in your eyes.’ " Then David rose up, and he quietly cut off the edge of Saul’s cloak5After this, his own heart struck David, because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s cloak6And he said to his men: "May the Lord be gracious to me, lest I do this thing to my lord, the Christ of the Lord, so that I lay my hand upon him. For he is the Christ of the Lord.7And David restrained his men with his words, and he would not permit them to rise up against Saul. And so Saul, going out of the cave, continued to undertake his journey8Then David also rose up after him. And departing from the cave, he cried out behind the back of Saul, saying: "My lord, the king!" And Saul looked behind him. And David, bowing himself face down to the ground, reverenced9And he said to Saul: "Why do you listen to the words of men who say: ‘David seeks evil against you?10Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord has delivered you into my hand, in the cave. And I thought that I might kill you. But my eye has spared you. For I said: I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Christ of the Lord11Moreover, see and know, O my father, the edge of your cloak in my hand. For though I cut off the top of your cloak, I was not willing to extend my hand against you. Turn your soul and see that there is no evil in my hand, nor any iniquity or sin against you. Yet you lie in wait for my life, so that you may take it away12May the Lord judge between me and you. And may the Lord vindicate me from you. But my hand will not be against you13So too, it is said in the ancient proverb, ‘From the impious, impiety will go forth.’ Therefore, my hand will not be upon you.14Whom are you pursuing, O king of Israel? Whom are you pursuing? You are pursuing a dead dog, a single flea15May the Lord be the judge, and may he judge between me and you. And may he see and judge my case, and rescue me from your hand.16And when David had completed speaking words in this way to Saul, Saul said, "Could this be your voice, my son David?" And Saul lifted up his voice, and he wept17And he said to David: "You are more just than I am. For you have distributed good to me, but I have repaid evil to you18And you have revealed this day the good that you have done for me: how the Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me19For who, when he will have found his enemy, will release him along a good path? So may the Lord repay you for this good turn, because you have acted on my behalf this day20And now I know certainly that you shall be king, and you shall have the kingdom of Israel in your hand21Swear to me in the Lord that you will not take away my offspring after me, nor take away my name from the house of my father.22And David swore to Saul. Therefore, Saul went away to his own house. And David and his men ascended to places that were more secure