When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy.

The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” ¹ 

So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand.

Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem.” 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 

David said to Saul, “Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father ¹  in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?”

So his servants told David these things and David agreed ¹  to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired ² 

¹  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.

Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much. ¹ 

Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ¹  and they ran away from him.

Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.”

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

The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him ¹  and Abner at his side. ²  But David’s place was vacant.

Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan ¹  in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced ²  that his father had decided to kill David.

So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath.

David thought about what they said ¹  and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath.

So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family ¹  learned about it, they went down there to him.

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?”

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.”

When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered ¹  him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.” ²