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.

And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against thee; for also what he did was very advantageous to thee;

For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

So Jonathan summoned David and told him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he did before.

Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!”

She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

And David fled, and he will escape and will come to Samuel at Ramah, and he will announce to him all that Saul did to him. And he went, and Samuel, and they dwelt in Naioth.

David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What did I do wrong? How have I sinned against your father so that he wants to take my life?”

If thy father, enquire, for me, then shalt thou say - David, did ask leave, of me, to run to Bethlehem, his own city, for, a yearly sacrifice, is to be held there for all the family.

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.

And when you have stayed three days, then you shall go down quickly, and come to the place where you did hide yourself when the matter was in hand, and shall remain by the stone Ezel.

And Saul did not speak anything that day. For he thought, Something has happened to him; he is not clean. Surely he is not clean.

{And then} on the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty. So Saul asked Jonathan his son, "Why did the son of Jesse not come either yesterday or today to the feast?"

He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if you are pleased with me, let me go so I can see my brothers.’ That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.”

And Saul's anger will kindle against Jonathan, and he will say to him, Son of crooked rebelliousness, did I not know that thou choosest to the son of Jesse to thy shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?

Jonathan asked his father Saul, "Why should he be killed? What did he do?"

So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

But the boy did not know anything [about this]; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

David said to Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword on hand? I didn’t even bring my sword or my weapons since the king’s mission was urgent.”

And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see a madman! Why did you bring him to me?

Then Saul said to him, "Why did you conspire against me, you and the son of Jesse, when you gave to him bread and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him so that he might arise against me to ambush [me] as [has been done] this day?"

Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it far from me. Let not the king impute any thing to his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.

And the king said to the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.

And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.

And David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah and went wherever they could go. And it was told to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah. And he did not go forth.

David remained in the wilderness, in the strongholds, and in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him {continually}, but God did not give him into his hand

So David rebuked his men with the words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave, and he went on his way.

David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance.

Now, my father, see, yes, see, the hem of your robe in my hand! For {when I cut} the hem of your robe I did not kill you. Know and {realize} that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I did not sin against you, but you [are] hunting down my life to take it.

After whom did the king of Israel go out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? After one flea?

You have explained to me today that you have dealt well with me, how Yahweh delivered me into your hand but you did not kill me.

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

Now I have heard that {you have shearers}. Now while your shepherds [were] with us, we did not mistreat them, and nothing of theirs [was] missing, all the days they were in Carmel.

David said to his men, “Each man put on your sword.” So each man put on his sword. David also put on his sword, and about four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred stayed back with the provisions and supplies.

even though the men [were] very good to us; we were not mistreated and did not miss anything all the days we went about with them {while we were} in the field.

Then she said to her servants, "Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you," but she did not tell her husband Nabal.

Now David had been thinking, "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.

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from the donkey, and kneeled face downward before David and bowed down to the ground [in respect].

Please do not let my lord set his heart against {this worthless man}, Nabal; for as his name, so [is] he. Nabal [is] his name, and stupidity [is] with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

Then Abigail went to Nabal, and look, {he was holding a feast} in his house like the feast of the king. {Nabal was enjoying himself}, and he [was] very drunk, so she did not tell him a thing, {nothing at all}, until the light of morning.

So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they gat them away: and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Jehovah was fallen upon them.

So David said to Abner, "[Are] you not a man? And who [is] like you in Israel? Why did you not keep watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy your lord the king.

What you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you deserve to die since you didn’t protect your lord, the Lord’s anointed. Now look around; where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”

And he will say, Wherefore this my lord pursued after his servant? for what did I? and what evil in my hand?

When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.

So David struck the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive; he took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.

When Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" David would say, "The Negev of Judah" or "The Negev of Jeharmeel" or "The Negev of the Kenites."

And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should inform against us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.

And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.

But the woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums and the soothsayers from the land! Why [are] you setting a trap for my life to kill me?"

When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, "Why did you deceive me? You [are] Saul!"

And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. For what did you see? And the woman said to Saul, I saw gods coming up out of the earth.

And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.

Samuel told Saul, "Why did you disturb me by bringing me up?" Saul said, "I'm in great distress. The Philistines are waging war against me. God has departed from me and won't answer me anymore, either by messages written by the hand of the prophets or by dreams. So I've summoned you to tell me what I should do."

Because you {did not obey} Yahweh and did not carry out the fierce anger of his {wrath} against Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today.

When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, "Your servant has done what you asked. I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me.

And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:

And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

And David will say to Achish, But what did I? and what didst thou find in thy servant from the day I was before thee, even to this day, that I shall not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

They took captive the women who were in it, {from the youngest to the oldest}. They did not kill anyone, but carried [them] off and went on their way.

And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;

And David rescued all whom the Amalekites had taken, - his two wives also, did David rescue;

and there was nothing missing to them - whether small or great, whether spoil, or sons or daughters, or, any thing which they had taken unto themselves, - the whole, did David recover.

Then all the corrupt and useless men among the men who went with David reacted and said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them [anything] from the plunder which we recovered, {except} each [man may take] his own wife and children. They must take them along and go!"

Saul told his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised people will come and run me through and make sport of me." But his armor bearer did not want to do it because he was very frightened, so Saul took the sword and fell on it.

And when his servant saw that Saul was dead, he did the same, and was united with him in death.

And the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead will hear concerning him what the rovers did to Saul,