and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”

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 and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. ¹  David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. ¹ 

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.

So David and his men got up early in the morning to return ¹  to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

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. ¹ 

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 ¹  for you from the looting of the Lord’s enemies!”

Now Joab returned from chasing Abner and assembled all the people. Nineteen of David’s soldiers were missing, in addition to Asahel.

So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.

The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, ¹  and came to Helam. The Arameans deployed their forces against David and fought with him.

So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers ¹  were.

So the messenger departed. When he arrived, he informed David of all the news that Joab had sent with him.

Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city. ¹ 

But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king, ¹  has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?” ² 

So Joab’s men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

You rescue me from a hostile army; ¹  you preserve me as a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ² 

At the time of ¹  the harvest three ²  of the thirty leaders went down to ³  David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the valley of Rephaim.

He received honor from ¹  the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.