God’s Dream, My Yes!

Foundation First: Building Habits That Actually Last

God Will (Do It)!

Protocols, Postures and Power of Thanksgiving

Know Jesus, Be Transformed

5 Pillars of Faith & Finances: Anchored in God, Growing in Wealth

The Promised Land

Awestruck: 30 Days of Wonder in the Bible

Addiction Rewritten: Addiction Takes, God Provides

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch16" data-usfm="1SA.16">
 <div class="label">16</div><div class="s1">Samuel Anoints David</div><div class="p"> 1The Lord said to Samuel, &#8220;How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2But Samuel said, &#8220;How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord said, &#8220;Take a heifer with you and say, &#8216;I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.&#8217; 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, &#8220;Do you come in peace?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Samuel replied, &#8220;Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.&#8221; Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.</div><div class="p"> 6When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, &#8220;Surely the Lord&#8217;s anointed stands here before the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7But the Lord said to Samuel, &#8220;Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, &#8220;The Lord has not chosen this one either.&#8221; 9Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, &#8220;Nor has the Lord chosen this one.&#8221; 10Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, &#8220;The Lord has not chosen these.&#8221; 11So he asked Jesse, &#8220;Are these all the sons you have?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;There is still the youngest,&#8221; Jesse answered. &#8220;He is tending the sheep.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Samuel said, &#8220;Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.</div><div class="p">Then the Lord said, &#8220;Rise and anoint him; this is the one.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.</div><div class="s1">David in Saul&#8217;s Service</div><div class="p"> 14Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil#16:14 Or and a harmful; similarly in verses 15, 16 and 23 spirit from the Lord tormented him.</div><div class="p"> 15Saul&#8217;s attendants said to him, &#8220;See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17So Saul said to his attendants, &#8220;Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18One of the servants answered, &#8220;I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, &#8220;Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.&#8221; 20So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.</div><div class="p"> 21David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, &#8220;Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch18" data-usfm="1SA.18">
 <div class="label">18</div><div class="s1">Saul&#8217;s Growing Fear of David</div><div class="p"> 1After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.</div><div class="p"> 5Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul&#8217;s officers as well.</div><div class="p"> 6When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7As they danced, they sang:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Saul has slain his thousands,</div><div class="q2">and David his tens of thousands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. &#8220;They have credited David with tens of thousands,&#8221; he thought, &#8220;but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?&#8221; 9And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.</div><div class="p"> 10The next day an evil#18:10 Or a harmful spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11and he hurled it, saying to himself, &#8220;I&#8217;ll pin David to the wall.&#8221; But David eluded him twice.</div><div class="p"> 12Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. 15When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.</div><div class="p"> 17Saul said to David, &#8220;Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord.&#8221; For Saul said to himself, &#8220;I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18But David said to Saul, &#8220;Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king&#8217;s son-in-law?&#8221; 19So#18:19 Or However, when the time came for Merab, Saul&#8217;s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.</div><div class="p"> 20Now Saul&#8217;s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21&#8220;I will give her to him,&#8221; he thought, &#8220;so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.&#8221; So Saul said to David, &#8220;Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Then Saul ordered his attendants: &#8220;Speak to David privately and say, &#8216;Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23They repeated these words to David. But David said, &#8220;Do you think it is a small matter to become the king&#8217;s son-in-law? I&#8217;m only a poor man and little known.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24When Saul&#8217;s servants told him what David had said, 25Saul replied, &#8220;Say to David, &#8216;The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; Saul&#8217;s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.</div><div class="p"> 26When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king&#8217;s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king&#8217;s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.</div><div class="p"> 28When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.</div><div class="p"> 30The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul&#8217;s officers, and his name became well known.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="1SA.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">Saul Tries to Kill David</div><div class="p"> 1Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David 2and warned him, &#8220;My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I&#8217;ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, &#8220;Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.</div><div class="p"> 8Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.</div><div class="p"> 9But an evil#19:9 Or But a harmful spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, 10Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.</div><div class="p"> 11Saul sent men to David&#8217;s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David&#8217;s wife, warned him, &#8220;If you don&#8217;t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you&#8217;ll be killed.&#8221; 12So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats&#8217; hair at the head.</div><div class="p"> 14When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, &#8220;He is ill.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, &#8220;Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.&#8221; 16But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats&#8217; hair.</div><div class="p"> 17Saul said to Michal, &#8220;Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Michal told him, &#8220;He said to me, &#8216;Let me get away. Why should I kill you?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19Word came to Saul: &#8220;David is in Naioth at Ramah&#8221;; 20so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul&#8217;s men, and they also prophesied. 21Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, &#8220;Where are Samuel and David?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Over in Naioth at Ramah,&#8221; they said.</div><div class="p"> 23So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel&#8217;s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, &#8220;Is Saul also among the prophets?&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch20" data-usfm="1SA.20">
 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">David and Jonathan</div><div class="p"> 1Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, &#8220;What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2&#8220;Never!&#8221; Jonathan replied. &#8220;You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn&#8217;t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn&#8217;t so!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But David took an oath and said, &#8220;Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, &#8216;Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.&#8217; Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Jonathan said to David, &#8220;Whatever you want me to do, I&#8217;ll do for you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So David said, &#8220;Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6If your father misses me at all, tell him, &#8216;David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.&#8217; 7If he says, &#8216;Very well,&#8217; then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. 8As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Never!&#8221; Jonathan said. &#8220;If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn&#8217;t I tell you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10David asked, &#8220;Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;Come,&#8221; Jonathan said, &#8220;let&#8217;s go out into the field.&#8221; So they went there together.</div><div class="p"> 12Then Jonathan said to David, &#8220;I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord&#8217;s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family&#8212;not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David&#8217;s enemies from the face of the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, &#8220;May the Lord call David&#8217;s enemies to account.&#8221; 17And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.</div><div class="p"> 18Then Jonathan said to David, &#8220;Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21Then I will send a boy and say, &#8216;Go, find the arrows.&#8217; If I say to him, &#8216;Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,&#8217; then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. 22But if I say to the boy, &#8216;Look, the arrows are beyond you,&#8217; then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23And about the matter you and I discussed&#8212;remember, the Lord is witness between you and me forever.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat. 25He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan,#20:25 Septuagint; Hebrew wall. Jonathan arose and Abner sat next to Saul, but David&#8217;s place was empty. 26Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, &#8220;Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean&#8212;surely he is unclean.&#8221; 27But the next day, the second day of the month, David&#8217;s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, &#8220;Why hasn&#8217;t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28Jonathan answered, &#8220;David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. 29He said, &#8216;Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.&#8217; That is why he has not come to the king&#8217;s table.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30Saul&#8217;s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, &#8220;You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don&#8217;t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? 31As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32&#8220;Why should he be put to death? What has he done?&#8221; Jonathan asked his father. 33But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.</div><div class="p"> 34Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father&#8217;s shameful treatment of David.</div><div class="p"> 35In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36and he said to the boy, &#8220;Run and find the arrows I shoot.&#8221; As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37When the boy came to the place where Jonathan&#8217;s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t the arrow beyond you?&#8221; 38Then he shouted, &#8220;Hurry! Go quickly! Don&#8217;t stop!&#8221; The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39(The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, &#8220;Go, carry them back to town.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 41After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together&#8212;but David wept the most.</div><div class="p"> 42Jonathan said to David, &#8220;Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, &#8216;The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.#20:42 In Hebrew texts this sentence (20:42b) is numbered 21:1.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="1SA.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">David at Nob</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 21:1-15 is numbered 21:2-16. 1David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, &#8220;Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2David answered Ahimelek the priest, &#8220;The king sent me on a mission and said to me, &#8216;No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.&#8217; As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4But the priest answered David, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here&#8212;provided the men have kept themselves from women.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5David replied, &#8220;Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever#21:5 Or from us in the past few days since I set out. The men&#8217;s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!&#8221; 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.</div><div class="p"> 7Now one of Saul&#8217;s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul&#8217;s chief shepherd.</div><div class="p"> 8David asked Ahimelek, &#8220;Don&#8217;t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven&#8217;t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king&#8217;s mission was urgent.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9The priest replied, &#8220;The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.&#8221;</div><div class="p">David said, &#8220;There is none like it; give it to me.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">David at Gath</div><div class="p"> 10That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11But the servants of Achish said to him, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t this David, the king of the land? Isn&#8217;t he the one they sing about in their dances:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Saul has slain his thousands,</div><div class="q2">and David his tens of thousands&#8217;?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.</div><div class="p"> 14Achish said to his servants, &#8220;Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="1SA.22">
 <div class="label">22</div><div class="s1">David at Adullam and Mizpah</div><div class="p"> 1David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father&#8217;s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.</div><div class="p"> 3From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, &#8220;Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?&#8221; 4So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.</div><div class="p"> 5But the prophet Gad said to David, &#8220;Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.&#8221; So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.</div><div class="s1">Saul Kills the Priests of Nob</div><div class="p"> 6Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side. 7He said to them, &#8220;Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul&#8217;s officials, said, &#8220;I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelek son of Ahitub at Nob. 10Ahimelek inquired of the Lord for him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all the men of his family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 12Saul said, &#8220;Listen now, son of Ahitub.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, my lord,&#8221; he answered.</div><div class="p"> 13Saul said to him, &#8220;Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Ahimelek answered the king, &#8220;Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king&#8217;s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? 15Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father&#8217;s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16But the king said, &#8220;You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Then the king ordered the guards at his side: &#8220;Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But the king&#8217;s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 18The king then ordered Doeg, &#8220;You turn and strike down the priests.&#8221; So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.</div><div class="p"> 20But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. 21He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22Then David said to Abiathar, &#8220;That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family. 23Stay with me; don&#8217;t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="1SA.23">
 <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1">David Saves Keilah</div><div class="p"> 1When David was told, &#8220;Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,&#8221; 2he inquired of the Lord, saying, &#8220;Shall I go and attack these Philistines?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord answered him, &#8220;Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But David&#8217;s men said to him, &#8220;Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Once again David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him, &#8220;Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.&#8221; 5So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)</div><div class="s1">Saul Pursues David</div><div class="p"> 7Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, &#8220;God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.&#8221; 8And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.</div><div class="p"> 9When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, &#8220;Bring the ephod.&#8221; 10David said, &#8220;Lord, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord, God of Israel, tell your servant.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And the Lord said, &#8220;He will.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Again David asked, &#8220;Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?&#8221;</div><div class="p">And the Lord said, &#8220;They will.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.</div><div class="p"> 14David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.</div><div class="p"> 15While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that#23:15 Or he was afraid because Saul had come out to take his life. 16And Saul&#8217;s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17&#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid,&#8221; he said. &#8220;My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.&#8221; 18The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.</div><div class="p"> 19The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, &#8220;Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Saul replied, &#8220;The Lord bless you for your concern for me. 22Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.</div><div class="p"> 26Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27a messenger came to Saul, saying, &#8220;Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.&#8221; 28Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.#23:28 Sela Hammahlekoth means rock of parting. 29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.#23:29 In Hebrew texts this verse (23:29) is numbered 24:1.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="1SA.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">David Spares Saul&#8217;s Life</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 24:1-22 is numbered 24:22-23. 1After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, &#8220;David is in the Desert of En Gedi.&#8221; 2So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.</div><div class="p"> 3He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4The men said, &#8220;This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said#24:4 Or &#8220;Today the Lord is saying to you, &#8216;I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul&#8217;s robe.</div><div class="p"> 5Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6He said to his men, &#8220;The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord&#8217;s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.&#8221; 7With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.</div><div class="p"> 8Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, &#8220;My lord the king!&#8221; When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9He said to Saul, &#8220;Why do you listen when men say, &#8216;David is bent on harming you&#8217;? 10This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, &#8216;I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord&#8217;s anointed.&#8217; 11See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13As the old saying goes, &#8216;From evildoers come evil deeds,&#8217; so my hand will not touch you.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16When David finished saying this, Saul asked, &#8220;Is that your voice, David my son?&#8221; And he wept aloud. 17&#8220;You are more righteous than I,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father&#8217;s family.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.</div>
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 <div class="label">25</div><div class="s1">David, Nabal and Abigail</div><div class="p"> 1Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert of Paran.#25:1 Hebrew and some Septuagint manuscripts; other Septuagint manuscripts Maon</div><div class="p"> 2A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. 3His name was Nabal and his wife&#8217;s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings&#8212;he was a Calebite.</div><div class="p"> 4While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. 5So he sent ten young men and said to them, &#8220;Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. 6Say to him: &#8216;Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. 8Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9When David&#8217;s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David&#8217;s name. Then they waited.</div><div class="p"> 10Nabal answered David&#8217;s servants, &#8220;Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12David&#8217;s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. 13David said to his men, &#8220;Each of you strap on your sword!&#8221; So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.</div><div class="p"> 14One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal&#8217;s wife, &#8220;David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. 15Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. 16Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. 17Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs#25:18 That is, probably about 60 pounds or about 27 kilograms of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19Then she told her servants, &#8220;Go on ahead; I&#8217;ll follow you.&#8221; But she did not tell her husband Nabal.</div><div class="p"> 20As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. 21David had just said, &#8220;It&#8217;s been useless&#8212;all my watching over this fellow&#8217;s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. 22May God deal with David,#25:22 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew with David&#8217;s enemies be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24She fell at his feet and said: &#8220;Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name&#8212;his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. 26And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. 27And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.</div><div class="p"> 28&#8220;Please forgive your servant&#8217;s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord&#8217;s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. 29Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, 31my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32David said to Abigail, &#8220;Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. 34Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, &#8220;Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. 37Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. 38About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.</div><div class="p"> 39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, &#8220;Praise be to the Lord, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal&#8217;s wrongdoing down on his own head.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. 40His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, &#8220;David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 41She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, &#8220;I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord&#8217;s servants.&#8221; 42Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with David&#8217;s messengers and became his wife. 43David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives. 44But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David&#8217;s wife, to Paltiel#25:44 Hebrew Palti, a variant of Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.</div>
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 <div class="label">26</div><div class="s1">David Again Spares Saul&#8217;s Life</div><div class="p"> 1The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, &#8220;Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand select Israelite troops, to search there for David. 3Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah facing Jeshimon, but David stayed in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul had followed him there, 4he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived.</div><div class="p"> 5Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the camp, with the army encamped around him.</div><div class="p"> 6David then asked Ahimelek the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab&#8217;s brother, &#8220;Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I&#8217;ll go with you,&#8221; said Abishai.</div><div class="p"> 7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.</div><div class="p"> 8Abishai said to David, &#8220;Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won&#8217;t strike him twice.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9But David said to Abishai, &#8220;Don&#8217;t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord&#8217;s anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the Lord lives,&#8221; he said, &#8220;the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord&#8217;s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let&#8217;s go.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12So David took the spear and water jug near Saul&#8217;s head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.</div><div class="p"> 13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. 14He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, &#8220;Aren&#8217;t you going to answer me, Abner?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Abner replied, &#8220;Who are you who calls to the king?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15David said, &#8220;You&#8217;re a man, aren&#8217;t you? And who is like you in Israel? Why didn&#8217;t you guard your lord the king? Someone came to destroy your lord the king. 16What you have done is not good. As surely as the Lord lives, you and your men must die, because you did not guard your master, the Lord&#8217;s anointed. Look around you. Where are the king&#8217;s spear and water jug that were near his head?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Saul recognized David&#8217;s voice and said, &#8220;Is that your voice, David my son?&#8221;</div><div class="p">David replied, &#8220;Yes it is, my lord the king.&#8221; 18And he added, &#8220;Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of? 19Now let my lord the king listen to his servant&#8217;s words. If the Lord has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, people have done it, may they be cursed before the Lord! They have driven me today from my share in the Lord&#8217;s inheritance and have said, &#8216;Go, serve other gods.&#8217; 20Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the Lord. The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea&#8212;as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then Saul said, &#8220;I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;Here is the king&#8217;s spear,&#8221; David answered. &#8220;Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord&#8217;s anointed. 24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Then Saul said to David, &#8220;May you be blessed, David my son; you will do great things and surely triumph.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.</div>
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 <div class="label">27</div><div class="s1">David Among the Philistines</div><div class="p"> 1But David thought to himself, &#8220;One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. 3David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.</div><div class="p"> 5Then David said to Achish, &#8220;If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.</div><div class="p"> 8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.</div><div class="p"> 10When Achish asked, &#8220;Where did you go raiding today?&#8221; David would say, &#8220;Against the Negev of Judah&#8221; or &#8220;Against the Negev of Jerahmeel&#8221; or &#8220;Against the Negev of the Kenites.&#8221; 11He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, &#8220;They might inform on us and say, &#8216;This is what David did.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12Achish trusted David and said to himself, &#8220;He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">29</div><div class="s1">Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag</div><div class="p"> 1The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3The commanders of the Philistines asked, &#8220;What about these Hebrews?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Achish replied, &#8220;Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, &#8220;Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master&#8217;s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5Isn&#8217;t this the David they sang about in their dances:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Saul has slain his thousands,</div><div class="q2">and David his tens of thousands&#8217;?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So Achish called David and said to him, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don&#8217;t approve of you. 7Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;But what have I done?&#8221; asked David. &#8220;What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can&#8217;t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Achish answered, &#8220;I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, &#8216;He must not go up with us into battle.&#8217; 10Now get up early, along with your master&#8217;s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.</div>
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 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch30" data-usfm="1SA.30">
 <div class="label">30</div><div class="s1">David Destroys the Amalekites</div><div class="p"> 1David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.</div><div class="p"> 3When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5David&#8217;s two wives had been captured&#8212;Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.</div><div class="p"> 7Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, &#8220;Bring me the ephod.&#8221; Abiathar brought it to him, 8and David inquired of the Lord, &#8220;Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Pursue them,&#8221; he answered. &#8220;You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.</div><div class="p"> 11They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat&#8212; 12part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.</div><div class="p"> 13David asked him, &#8220;Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?&#8221;</div><div class="p">He said, &#8220;I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14We raided the Negev of the Kerethites, some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15David asked him, &#8220;Can you lead me down to this raiding party?&#8221;</div><div class="p">He answered, &#8220;Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, &#8220;This is David&#8217;s plunder.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22But all the evil men and troublemakers among David&#8217;s followers said, &#8220;Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23David replied, &#8220;No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.&#8221; 25David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.</div><div class="p"> 26When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, &#8220;Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord&#8217;s enemies.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27David sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; 28to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa 29and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; 30to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak 31and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.</div>
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