18:1 When David 1 had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. 2 Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. 3 18:2 Saul retained David 4 on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house. 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. 5 18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt.
18:5 On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul’s servants. 6
18:6 When the men 7 arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. 8 18:7 The women who were playing the music sang,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands!”
18:8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, 9 “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?” 18:9 So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre 10 that day. There was a spear in Saul’s hand, 18:11 and Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall!” But David escaped from him on two different occasions.
18:12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 18:13 Saul removed David 11 from his presence and made him a commanding officer. 12 David led the army out to battle and back. 13 18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did, 14 for the Lord was with him. 18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back.
18:17 15 Then Saul said to David, “Here’s my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior 16 for me and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul thought, “There’s no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!”
18:18 David said to Saul, “Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father 17 in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 18:19 When the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah.
18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it 18 pleased him. 18:21 Saul said, “I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law.” 19
18:22 Then Saul instructed his servants, “Tell David secretly, ‘The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.” 18:23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately 20 to David. David replied, “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law something insignificant to you? I’m just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!”
18:24 When Saul’s servants reported what David had said, 18:25 Saul replied, “Here is what you should say to David: ‘There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his 21 enemies.’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.)
18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed 22 to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired 23 18:27 when David, along with his men, went out 24 and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king’s son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
18:28 When Saul realized 25 that the Lord was with David and that his 26 daughter Michal loved David, 27 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him. 28 Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. 29 18:30 30 Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.
19:1 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much. 31 19:2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying 32 to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find 33 a hiding place and stay in seclusion. 34 19:3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, 35 I will let you know.”
19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf 36 to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial 37 for you. 19:5 He risked his life 38 when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”
19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice 39 and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. 40
19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly 41 and they ran away from him. 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon 42 Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. 43 19:10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence and the spear drove into the wall. 44 David escaped quickly 45 that night.
19:11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself 46 tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” 19:12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped.
19:13 Then Michal took a household idol 47 and put it on the bed. She put a quilt 48 made of goat’s hair over its head 49 and then covered the idol with a garment. 19:14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, “He’s sick.”
19:15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 19:16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat’s hair at its head.
19:17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!” Michal replied to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’” 50
19:18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. 19:19 It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 19:20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. 19:21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. 19:22 Finally Saul 51 himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”
19:23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 19:24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there 52 naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”)
20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, 53 “What have I done? What is my offense? 54 How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”
20:2 Jonathan 55 said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing 56 large or small without making me aware of it. 57 Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
20:3 Taking an oath, David again 58 said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact 59 that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 60 ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!” 20:4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.” 61
20:5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. 62 You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go 63 to his city Bethlehem, 64 for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ 65 then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. 66 20:8 You must be loyal 67 to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name. 68 If I am guilty, 69 you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”
20:9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” 20:10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 20:11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”
When the two of them had gone out into the field, 20:12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness. 70 I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? 71 20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know 72 and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. 73 May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 20:14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! 20:15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 20:16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant 74 with the house of David. 75 20:17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. 76 20:18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 20:19 On the third day 77 you should go down quickly 78 and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. 79 Stay near the stone Ezel. 20:20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 20:21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, “Go and find the arrows.” If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; 80 get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. 20:22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’ 81 get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 20:23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!” 82
20:24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 20:25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him 83 and Abner at his side. 84 But David’s place was vacant. 20:26 However, Saul said nothing about it 85 that day, for he thought, 86 “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 20:27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”
20:28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 20:29 He said, ‘Permit me to go, 87 for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged 88 me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go 89 to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan 90 and said to him, “You stupid traitor! 91 Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 20:31 For as long as 92 this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men 93 and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!” 94
20:32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 20:33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan 95 in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced 96 that his father had decided to kill David. 20:34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. 97
20:35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 20:36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan 98 shot the arrow beyond him. 20:37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to 99 the servant, “Isn’t the arrow further beyond you?” 20:38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 20:39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) 100 20:40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the city.”
20:41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, 101 knelt 102 with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 20:42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”
(21:1)103 Then David 104 got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city. 21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met 105 David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?” 21:2 David replied to Ahimelech the priest, “The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, ‘Don’t let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.’ 106 I have told my soldiers 107 to wait at a certain place. 108 21:3 Now what do you have at your disposal? 109 Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
21:4 The priest replied to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers 110 have abstained from sexual relations with women.” 111 21:5 David said to the priest, “Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers’ 112 equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!”
21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. 21:7 (One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s shepherds.) 21:8 David said to Ahimelech, “Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don’t have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king’s instructions.”
21:9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there’s nothing here.” David said, “There’s nothing like it! Give it to me!” 21:10 So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. 21:11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,
‘Saul struck down his thousands,
But David his tens of thousands’?”
21:12 David thought about what they said 113 and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. 21:13 He altered his behavior in their presence. 114 Since he was in their power, 115 he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard.
21:14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? 21:15 Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?”
22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family 116 learned about it, they went down there to him. 22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented 117 gathered around 118 him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.
22:3 Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay 119 with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” 22:4 So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time 120 that David was in the stronghold. 22:5 Then Gad the prophet said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
22:6 But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. 121 Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him. 22:7 Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, “Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse’s son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you 122 commanders and officers? 123 22:8 For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me 124 when my own son makes an agreement with this son of Jesse! Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!”
22:9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, “I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 22:10 He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
22:11 Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father’s house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. 22:12 Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 22:13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave 125 him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes 126 me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!”
22:14 Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! 22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse 127 his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” 128
22:16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house! 22:17 Then the king said to the messengers 129 who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided 130 with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm 131 the priests of the Lord.
22:18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five 132 men who wore the linen ephod. 22:19 As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep – all with the sword.
22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. 22:21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty 133 of all the deaths in your father’s house! 22:23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid! Whoever 134 seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me.”
23:1 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.” 23:2 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”
23:3 But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 23:4 So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”
23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. 135 David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.
23:6 Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod. 136 23:7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered 137 him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.” 138 23:8 So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. 139
23:9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, 140 he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod!” 23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning 141 to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. 23:11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant!”
Then the Lord said, “He will come down.” 23:12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”
23:13 So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. 142 When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. 23:14 David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, 143 but God did not deliver David 144 into his hand. 23:15 David realized 145 that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.
23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him 146 through God. 23:17 He said to him, “Don’t be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this.” 23:18 When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.
23:19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 23:20 Now at your own discretion, 147 O king, come down. Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.”
23:21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. 23:22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely 148 where he is 149 and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. 23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. 150 Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him 151 among all the thousands of Judah.”
23:24 So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 23:25 Saul and his men went to look for him. 152 But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon. 23:26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them. 23:27 But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
23:28 So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. 153 23:29 (24:1) 154 Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.
24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.” 24:2 So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find 155 David and his men in the region of 156 the rocks of the mountain goats. 157 24:3 He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. 158
Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. 24:4 David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the Lord said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.’” 159 So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:5 Afterward David’s conscience bothered him 160 because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord’s chosen one, 161 by extending my hand against him. After all, 162 he is the Lord’s chosen one.” 163 24:7 David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and started down 164 the road.
24:8 Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, “My lord, O king!” When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground. 24:9 David said to Saul, “Why do you pay attention when men say, ‘David is seeking to do you harm’? 24:10 Today your own eyes see how the Lord delivered you – this very day – into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I had pity 165 on you and said, ‘I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s chosen one.’ 166 24:11 Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn’t kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning 167 evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life. 24:12 May the Lord judge between the two of us, and may the Lord vindicate me over you, but my hand will not be against you. 24:13 It’s like the old proverb says: ‘From evil people evil proceeds.’ But my hand will not be against you. 24:14 Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? 24:15 May the Lord be our judge and arbiter. May he see and arbitrate my case and deliver me from your hands!”
24:16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly. 168 24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent 169 than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! 24:18 You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. 24:19 Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me. 24:20 Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 24:21 So now swear to me in the Lord’s name 170 that you will not kill 171 my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”
24:22 David promised Saul this on oath. 172 Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.
25:1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. 173
25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; 174 he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 25:3 The man’s name was Nabal, 175 and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise 176 and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.
25:4 When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 25:5 he 177 sent ten servants, 178 saying to them, 179 “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. 180 25:6 Then you will say to my brother, 181 “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! 25:7 Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. 25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come 182 at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants 183 and your son David – with whatever you can spare.” 184
25:9 So David’s servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David’s name. Then they paused. 25:10 But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! 25:11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t even know where they came from!”
25:12 So David’s servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David 185 all these things. 25:13 Then David instructed his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment.
25:14 But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet 186 our lord, but he screamed at them. 25:15 These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together 187 in the field. 25:16 Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. 25:17 Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. 188 He is such a wicked person 189 that no one tells him anything!”
25:18 So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers 190 of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs 191 of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys 25:19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
25:20 Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. 25:21 Now David had been thinking, 192 “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. 25:22 God will severely punish David, 193 if I leave alive until morning even one male 194 from all those who belong to him!”
25:23 When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. 25:24 Falling at his feet, she said, “My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant! 25:25 My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means ‘fool,’ and he is indeed foolish! 195 But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent. 196
25:26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal. 25:27 Now let this present 197 that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow 198 my lord. 25:28 Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days! 25:29 When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag 199 of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling’s pocket! 25:30 The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you, 200 and he will make 201 you a leader over Israel. 25:31 Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt 202 for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the Lord has granted my lord success, 203 please remember your servant.”
25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised 204 be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! 25:33 Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded 205 for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! 25:34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives – he who has prevented me from harming you – if you had not come so quickly to meet me, by morning’s light not even one male belonging to Nabal would have remained alive!” 25:35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, “Go back 206 to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you 207 and responded favorably.” 208
25:36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time 209 and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing 210 until morning’s light. 25:37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, 211 his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. 212 25:38 After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.
25:39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! 213 The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” 214 Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.
25:40 So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife.” 25:41 She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash 215 the feet of the servants of my lord.” 25:42 Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. 216 She followed David’s messengers and became his wife.
25:43 David had also married 217 Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. 25:44 (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)
26:1 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near 218 Jeshimon?” 26:2 So Saul arose and
went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand select men of Israel, to look for David in the desert of Ziph. 26:3 Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the desert. When he realized that Saul had come to the desert to find 219 him, 26:4 David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived. 220
26:5 So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him. 26:6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai replied, “I will go down with you.”
26:7 So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. 26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear 221 right through him into the ground with one swift jab! 222 A second jab won’t be necessary!”
26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one 223 and remain guiltless?” 26:10 David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. 26:11 But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord’s chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul’s head and the jug of water, and let’s get out of here!” 26:12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them.
26:13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them. 26:14 David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Won’t you answer, Abner?” Abner replied, “Who are you, that you have called to the king?” 26:15 David said to Abner, “Aren’t you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven’t you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king. 26:16 This failure on your part isn’t good! 224 As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead! 225 Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”
26:17 When Saul recognized David’s voice, he said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David replied, “Yes, it’s my voice, my lord the king.” 26:18 He went on to say, “Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done? 226 26:19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in 227 an offering. But if men have instigated this, 228 may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’ 26:20 Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge 229 in the hill country.”
26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value 230 this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” 231 26:22 David replied, “Here is the king’s spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. 26:23 The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. 232 Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. 26:24 In the same way that I valued your life this day, 233 may the Lord value my life 234 and deliver me from all danger.” 26:25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded, 235 my son David! You will without question be successful!” 236 So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
27:1 David thought to himself, 237 “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”
27:2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. 27:3 David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. 238 David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 27:4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.
27:5 David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?” 27:6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) 27:7 The length of time 239 that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year 240 and four months.
27:8 Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach 241 to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) 27:9 When David would attack a district, 242 he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. 27:10 When Achish would ask, “Where 243 did you raid today?” David would say, “The Negev of Judah” or “The Negev of Jeharmeel” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” 27:11 Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, “This way they can’t tell on us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” Such was his practice the entire time 244 that he lived in the country of the Philistines. 27:12 So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, 245 “He is really hated 246 among his own people in 247 Israel! From now on 248 he will be my servant.”
28:1 In those days the Philistines gathered their troops 249 for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, “You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle.” 250 28:2 David replied to Achish, “That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!” Achish said to David, “Then I will make you my bodyguard 251 from now on.” 252
28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. 253 In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums 254 and magicians 255 from the land. 28:4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 28:5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. 256 28:6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim 257 nor by the prophets. 28:7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, 258 so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”
28:8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.” 259
28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed 260 the mediums and magicians 261 from the land! Why are you trapping me 262 so you can put me to death?” 28:10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!” 28:11 The woman replied, “Who is it that I should bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up for me Samuel.”
28:12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. 263 The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 28:13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen one like a god 264 coming up from the ground!” 28:14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”
Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. 28:15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me – not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”
28:16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 28:17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! 265 The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! 28:18 Since you did not obey the Lord 266 and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 28:19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! 267 Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. 268 The Lord will also hand the army 269 of Israel over to the Philistines!”
28:20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, 270 not having eaten anything 271 all that day and night. 28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. 272 I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. 273 28:22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.”
28:23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged 274 him to eat, so he gave in. 275 He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 28:24 Now the woman 276 had a well-fed calf 277 at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. 28:25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.
29:1 The Philistines assembled all their troops 278 at Aphek, while Israel camped at the spring that is in Jezreel. 29:2 When the leaders of the Philistines were passing in review at the head of their units of hundreds and thousands, 279 David and his men were passing in review in the rear with Achish.
29:3 The leaders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? 280 I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!” 281
29:4 But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said 282 to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become 283 our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? 284 29:5 Isn’t this David, of whom they sang as they danced, 285
‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands’?”
29:6 So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you 286 serving 287 with me in the army. 288 I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion 289 of the leaders, you are not reliable. 290 29:7 So turn and leave 291 in peace. You must not do anything that the leaders of the Philistines consider improper!” 292
29:8 But David said to Achish, “What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?” 29:9 Achish replied to David, “I am convinced that you are as reliable 293 as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us in the battle.’ 29:10 So get up early in the morning along with the servants of your lord who have come with you. 294 When you get up early in the morning, as soon as it is light enough to see, leave.” 295
29:11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to return 296 to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
30:1 On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. 297 30:2 They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way.
30:3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. 298 Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 30:4 Then David and the men 299 who were with him wept loudly 300 until they could weep no more. 301 30:5 David’s two wives had been taken captive – Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 30:6 David was very upset, for the men 302 were thinking of stoning him; 303 each man grieved bitterly 304 over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.
30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 30:8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!”
30:9 So David went, accompanied by his six hundred men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there. 305 30:10 David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there.
30:11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. 30:12 They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, 306 for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 30:13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The young man said, “I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. 30:14 We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag.” 307 30:15 David said to him, “Can you take us down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party.”
30:16 So he took David 308 down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot 309 they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 30:17 But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels. 310 30:18 David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he 311 also rescued his two wives. 30:19 There was nothing missing, whether small or great. He retrieved sons and daughters, the plunder, and everything else they had taken. 312 David brought everything back. 30:20 David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, “This is David’s plunder!”
30:21 Then David approached the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him, 313 those whom they had left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and the people who were with him. When David approached the people, he asked how they were doing. 30:22 But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, 314 we won’t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!”
30:23 But David said, “No! You shouldn’t do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! 315 He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 30:24 Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!”
30:25 From that time onward it was a binding ordinance 316 for Israel, right up to the present time.
30:26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, “Here’s a gift 317 for you from the looting of the Lord’s enemies!” 30:27 The gift was for those in the following locations: 318 for those in Bethel, 319 Ramoth Negev, and Jattir; 30:28 for those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 30:29 and Racal; for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites; 30:30 for those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, 30:31 and Hebron; and for those in whatever other places David and his men had traveled.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David.”
3 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
sn On the nature of Jonathan’s love for David, see J. A. Thompson, “The Significance of the Verb Love in the David-Jonathan Narratives in 1 Samuel,” VT 24 (1974): 334-38.
4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
6 tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.”
7 tn Heb “them.” The masculine plural pronoun apparently refers to the returning soldiers.
8 tn Heb “with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.”
9 tn Heb “said.” So also in vv. 11, 17.
10 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
11 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “an officer of a thousand.”
13 tn Heb “and he went out and came in before the people.” See v. 16.
14 tn Heb “in all his ways.”
15 tc Much of the
16 tn Heb “son of valor.”
17 tn Heb “Who are my relatives, the clan of my father?” The term חַי (khay), traditionally understood as “my life,” is here a rare word meaning “family, kinfolk” (see HALOT 309 s.v. III חַי). The phrase “clan of my father” may be a scribal gloss explaining the referent of this rare word.
18 tn Heb “the matter.”
19 tc The final sentence of v. 21 is absent in most LXX
20 tn Heb “in the ears of.”
21 tn Heb “the king’s.”
22 tn Heb “and it was acceptable in the eyes of David.”
23 tn Heb “the days were not fulfilled.”
24 tn Heb “arose and went.”
25 tn Heb “saw and knew.”
26 tn Heb “Saul’s.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
27 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 tn Heb “of David.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
29 tc The final sentence of v. 29 is absent in most LXX
tn Heb “all the days.”
30 tc Verse 30 is absent in most LXX
31 tn Heb “delighted greatly in David.”
32 tn Heb “seeking.”
33 tn Heb “stay in.”
34 tn Heb “and hide yourself.”
35 tn Heb “when I see.”
36 tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”
37 tn Heb “good.”
38 tn Heb “and he put his life into his hand.”
39 tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”
40 tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”
41 tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”
42 tn Heb “[was] to.”
43 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
44 tn Heb “and he drove the spear into the wall.”
45 tn Heb “fled and escaped.”
46 tn Heb “your life.”
47 tn Heb “teraphim” (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah’s reform movement in the seventh century. The idol Michal placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.
48 tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word כָּבִיר (kavir) is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goat’s hair, perhaps used as a fly net while one slept. See HALOT 458 s.v. *כָּבִיר. Cf. KJV, TEV “pillow”; NLT “cushion”; NAB, NRSV “net.”
49 tn Heb “at the place of its head.”
50 tn Heb “Send me away! Why should I kill you?” The question has the force of a threat in this context. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 325, 26.
51 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52 tn Heb “and he fell down.”
53 tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”
54 tn Heb “What is my guilt?”
55 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew
57 tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”
58 tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”
59 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
60 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.
61 tn Heb “whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”
62 tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
63 tn Heb “to run.”
64 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
65 tn Heb “good.”
66 tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”
67 tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.”
68 tn Heb “for into a covenant of the
69 tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”
70 tc The Hebrew text has simply “the
71 tn Heb “and uncover your ear.”
72 tn Heb “uncover your ear.”
73 tn Heb “in peace.”
74 tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.
75 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the
76 tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”
77 tc Heb “you will do [something] a third time.” The translation assumes an emendation of the verb from שִׁלַּשְׁתָּ (shillashta, “to do a third time”) to שִׁלִּישִׁית (shillishit, “[on the] third [day]”).
78 tn Heb “you must go down greatly.” See Judg 19:11 for the same idiom.
79 tn Heb “on the day of the deed.” This probably refers to the incident recorded in 19:2.
80 tn Heb “from you and here.”
81 tn Heb “from you and onward.”
82 tc Heb “the
83 tc Heb “and Jonathan arose.” Instead of MT’s וַיָּקָם (vayyaqam, “and he arose”; from the hollow verbal root קוּם, qum), the translation assumes a reading וַיִּקַדֵּם (vayyiqaddem, “and he was in front of”; from the verbal root קדם, qdm). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.
84 tn Heb “and Abner sat at the side of Saul.”
85 tn The words “about it” are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied.
86 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself.
87 tn Heb “send me.”
88 tn Heb “commanded.”
89 tn Heb “be released [from duty].”
90 tc Many medieval Hebrew
91 tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.
92 tn Heb “all the days that.”
93 tn The words “some men” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
94 tn Heb “a son of death.”
95 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96 tn Heb “knew.”
97 tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.
98 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
99 tn Heb “called after” (also in v. 38).
100 tn Heb “knew the matter.”
101 tc The translation follows the LXX in reading “the mound,” rather than the MT’s “the south.” It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading “from beside the south” would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as “from the south side of the stone (rock NCV).” This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here.
102 tn Heb “fell.”
103 sn Beginning with 20:42b, the verse numbers through 21:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:42b ET = 21:1 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:2 ET = 21:3 HT, etc., through 21:15 ET = 21:16 HT. With 22:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
104 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
105 tn Heb “trembled to meet.”
106 tn Heb “let not a man know anything about the matter [for] which I am sending you and [about] which I commanded you.”
107 tn Heb “servants.”
108 tn The Hebrew expression here refers to a particular, but unnamed, place. It occurs in the OT only here, in 2 Kgs 6:8, and in Ruth 4:1, where Boaz uses it to refer to Naomi’s unnamed kinsman-redeemer. A contracted form of the expression appears in Dan 8:13.
109 tn Heb “under your hand.”
110 tn Heb “servants.”
111 tn Heb “have kept themselves from women” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “haven’t had sexual relations recently”; NLT “have not slept with any women recently.”
112 tn Heb “servants’.”
113 tn Heb “placed these matters in his heart.”
114 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
115 tn Heb “in their hand.”
116 tn Heb “house.”
117 tn Heb “bitter of soul.”
118 tn Heb “to.”
119 tn Heb “go forth.”
120 tn Heb “all the days.”
121 tn Heb “and Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were known.”
122 tc The MT has “to all of you.” If this reading is correct, we have here an example of a prepositional phrase functioning as the equivalent of a dative of advantage, which is not impossible from a grammatical point of view. However, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have “and.” A conjunction rather than a preposition should probably be read on the front of this phrase.
123 tn Heb “officers of a thousand and officers of a hundred.”
124 tn Heb “uncovers my ear.”
125 tn Heb “by giving.”
126 tn Heb “rises up against.”
127 tn Heb “set a matter against.”
128 tn Heb “small or great.”
129 tn Heb “runners.”
130 tn Heb “their hand is.”
131 tn Heb “to extend their hand to harm.”
132 tc The number is confused in the Greek
133 tc The translation follows the LXX, which reads “I am guilty,” rather than the MT, which has “I have turned.”
134 tn Or “the one who.” This may refer specifically to Saul, in which case David acknowledges that Abiathar’s life is endangered because of his allegiance to David. The translation assumes that the statement is more generalized, meaning that any enemy of Abiathar is an enemy of David. In other words, David promises that he will protect Abiathar with his very own life.
135 tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”
136 tn Heb “an ephod went down in his hand.”
137 tn The MT reading (“God has alienated him into my hand”) in v. 7 is a difficult and uncommon idiom. The use of this verb in Jer 19:4 is somewhat parallel, but not entirely so. Many scholars have therefore suspected a textual problem here, emending the word נִכַּר (nikkar, “alienated”) to סִכַּר (sikkar, “he has shut up [i.e., delivered]”). This is the idea reflected in the translations of the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate, although it is not entirely clear whether they are reading something different from the MT or are simply paraphrasing what for them too may have been a difficult text. The LXX has “God has sold him into my hands,” apparently reading מַכַר (makar, “sold”) for MT’s נִכַּר. The present translation is a rather free interpretation.
138 tn Heb “with two gates and a bar.” Since in English “bar” could be understood as a saloon, it has been translated as an attributive: “two barred gates.”
139 tn Heb “So Saul mustered all his army for battle to go down to Keilah to besiege against David and his men.”
140 tn Heb “Saul was planning the evil against him.”
141 tn Heb “seeking.”
142 tn Heb “they went where they went.”
143 tn Heb “all the days.”
144 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
145 tn Heb “saw.”
146 tn Heb “strengthened his hand.”
147 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul.”
148 tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
149 tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”
150 tn Heb “established.”
151 tn Heb “I will search him out.”
152 tn Heb “to search.”
153 sn The name הַמַּחְלְקוֹת סֶלַע (Sela Hammakhleqoth) probably means “Rock of Divisions” in Hebrew, in the sense that Saul and David parted company there (cf. NAB “Gorge of Divisions”; TEV “Separation Hill”). This etymology assumes that the word derives from the Hebrew root II חלק (khlq, “to divide”; HALOT 322 s.v. II חלק). However, there is another root I חלק, which means “to be smooth or slippery” (HALOT 322 s.v. I חלק). If the word is taken from this root, the expression would mean “Slippery Rock.”
154 sn Beginning with 23:29, the verse numbers through 24:22 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 23:29 ET = 24:1 HT, 24:1 ET = 24:2 HT, 24:2 ET = 24:3 HT, etc., through 24:22 ET = 24:23 HT. With 25:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
155 tn Heb “to search [for].”
156 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
157 tn Or “the region of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats,” if this expression is understood as a place name (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV).
158 tn Heb “to cover his feet,” an idiom (euphemism) for relieving oneself (cf. NAB “to ease nature”).
159 tn Heb “is good in your eyes.”
160 tn Heb “the heart of David struck him.”
161 tn Heb “anointed.”
162 tn Or “for.”
163 tn Heb “anointed.”
164 tn Heb “went on.”
165 tn Heb “it had pity,” apparently with the understood subject being “my eye,” in accordance with a common expression.
166 tn Heb “anointed.”
167 tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”
168 tn Heb “lifted his voice and wept.”
169 tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”
170 tn Heb “by the
171 tn Heb “cut off.”
172 tn Heb “and David swore an oath to Saul.”
173 tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.
174 tn Heb “great.”
175 sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.
176 tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.”
177 tn Heb “David”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun has been used in the translation.
178 tn Or “young men.”
179 tn Heb “and David said to the young men.”
180 tn Heb “and inquire concerning him in my name in regard to peace.”
181 tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV).
182 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
183 tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.
184 tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”
185 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
186 tn Heb “bless.”
187 tn Heb “all the days we walked about with them when we were.”
188 tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.”
189 tn Heb “he is a son of worthlessness.”
190 tn Heb “skins.”
191 sn The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts.
192 tn Heb “said.”
193 tc Heb “Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add.” Most of the Old Greek
194 tn Heb “one who urinates against a wall” (also in v. 34); KJV “any that pisseth against the wall.”
195 tn Heb “and foolishness is with him.”
196 tn Heb “my lord’s servants, whom you sent.”
197 tn Heb “blessing.”
198 tn Heb “are walking at the feet of.”
199 tn Cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “bundle”; NLT “treasure pouch.”
200 tn Heb “according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you.”
201 tn Heb “appoint.”
202 tn Heb “and this will not be for you for staggering and for stumbling of the heart of my lord.”
203 tn Heb “and the
204 tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).
205 tn Heb “blessed.”
206 tn Heb “up.”
207 tn Heb “your voice.”
208 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face.”
209 tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”
210 tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”
211 tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.”
212 tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness.
213 tn Heb “who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal.”
214 tn Heb “his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the
215 tn Heb “Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash.”
216 tn Heb “going at her feet.”
217 tn Heb “taken.”
218 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
219 tn Heb “after.”
220 tn Heb “and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come.”
221 tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.
222 tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”
223 tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
224 tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”
225 tn Heb “you are sons of death.”
226 tn Heb “What in my hand [is] evil?”
227 tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.
228 tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”
229 tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.
230 tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”
231 tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”
232 tn Heb “and the
233 tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”
234 tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the
235 tn Heb “blessed.”
236 tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.
237 tn Heb “said to his heart.”
238 tn Heb “a man and his house.”
239 tn Heb “the number of the days.”
240 tn Heb “days.” The plural of the word “day” is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.
241 tn Heb “from where you come.”
242 tn Heb “the land.”
243 tc The translation follows the LXX (ἐπι τίνα, epi tina) and Vulgate (in quem) which assume אֶל מִי (’el mi, “to whom”) rather than the MT אַל (’al, “not”). The MT makes no sense here. Another possibility is that the text originally had אַן (’an, “where”), which has been distorted in the MT to אַל. Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and the Targum, which have “where.”
244 tn Heb “all the days.”
245 tn Heb “saying.”
246 tn Heb “he really stinks.” The expression is used figuratively here to describe the rejection and ostracism that David had experienced as a result of Saul’s hatred of him.
247 tc Many medieval Hebrew
248 tn Heb “permanently.”
249 tn Heb “their camps.”
250 tc The translation follows the LXX (εἰς πόλεμον, eis polemon) and a Qumran
251 tn Heb “the guardian for my head.”
252 tn Heb “all the days.”
253 tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”
254 tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).
255 sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
256 tn Heb “he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified.”
257 sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.
258 tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.
259 tn Heb “Use divination for me with the ritual pit and bring up for me the one whom I say to you.”
260 tn Heb “how he has cut off.”
261 tn See the note at v. 3.
262 tn Heb “my life.”
263 tn Heb “in a great voice.”
264 tn Heb “gods.” The modifying participle (translated “coming up”) is plural, suggesting that underworld spirits are the referent. But in the following verse Saul understands the plural word to refer to a singular being. The reference is to the spirit of Samuel.
265 tn Heb “just as he said by my hand.”
266 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the
267 tn Heb “And the
268 tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here “and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall.”
269 tn Heb “camp.”
270 tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”
271 tn Heb “food.”
272 tn Heb “listened to your voice.”
273 tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”
274 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
275 tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”
276 sn Masoretic
277 tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”
278 tn Heb “camps.”
279 tn Heb “passing by with respect to hundreds and thousands.” This apparently describes a mustering of troops for the purpose of inspection and readiness.
280 tn Heb “these days or these years.”
281 tn Heb “from the day of his falling [away] until this day.”
282 tn Heb “and the leaders of the Philistines said.”
283 tn Heb “so that he might not become.”
284 tn Or perhaps, “our men.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.e.
285 tn Heb “in dances.”
286 tn Heb “it is good in my eyes.” Cf. v. 7.
287 tn Heb “your going forth and your coming in.” The expression is a merism.
288 tn Heb “camp.”
289 tn Heb “eyes.”
290 tn Heb “good.”
291 tn Heb “go.”
292 tn Heb “and you must not do evil in the eyes of the leaders of the Philistines.”
293 tn Heb “I know that you are good in my eyes.”
294 tc The LXX and a couple of Old Latin
295 tn Heb “when you get up early in the morning and you have light, go.”
296 tc Heb “to go in the morning to return.” With the exception of Origen and the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek tradition lacks the phrase “in the morning.” The Syriac Peshitta also omits it.
297 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
298 tn Heb “and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire.”
299 tn Heb “people.”
300 tn Heb “lifted up their voice and wept.”
301 tn Heb “until there was no longer in them strength to weep.”
302 tn Heb “people.”
303 tn Heb “said to stone him.”
304 tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”
305 tn Heb “stood.” So also in v. 10.
306 tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”
307 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
308 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
309 tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”
310 tn Heb “who rode on camels and fled.”
311 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“he”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
312 tn Heb “there was nothing missing to them, from the small even unto the great, and unto sons and daughters, and from loot even unto all which they had taken for themselves.”
313 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“him”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
314 tc Heb “with me.” The singular is used rather than the plural because the group is being treated as a singular entity, in keeping with Hebrew idiom. It is not necessary to read “with us,” rather than the MT “with me,” although the plural can be found here in a few medieval Hebrew
315 tc This clause is difficult in the MT. The present translation accepts the text as found in the MT and understands this clause to be elliptical, with an understood verb such as “look” or “consider.” On the other hand, the LXX seems to reflect a slightly different Hebrew text, reading “after” where the MT has “my brothers.” The Greek translation yields the following translation: “You should not do this after the
316 tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.
317 tn Heb “blessing.”
318 tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
319 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.