And David said to the men near him, What will be done to the man who overcomes this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? for who is this Philistine, a man without circumcision, that he has put shame on the armies of the living God?

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mayest see the battle.

But Saul said to David, "You will not be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, because you are [only] a boy, whereas [he has] been a man of war since his childhood!"

And David said to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd of the flock for his father. If the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the group,

Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he defied the battle lines of the living God."

And David said, Jehovah who has delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may Jehovah be with you.

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God

And the women sang as they danced, and they said, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands!"

Saul commanded his servants, "Talk with David secretly, and say, 'Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.'"

And Saul said, Then say to David, The king has no desire for any bride-price, but only for the private parts of a hundred Philistines so that the king may get the better of his haters. But it was in Saul's mind that David might come to his end by the hands of the Philistines.

and Jonathan son of Saul delighted exceedingly in David, and Jonathan declareth to David, saying, 'Saul my father is seeking to put thee to death, and, now, take heed, I pray thee, in the morning, and thou hast abode in a secret place, and been hidden,

So Jonathan spoke well about David to his father Saul and said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his service for you [has been] very good.

yea, he putteth his life in his hand, and smiteth the Philistine, and Jehovah worketh a great salvation for all Israel; thou hast seen, and dost rejoice, and why dost thou sin against innocent blood, to put David to death for nought?'

And Saul said to Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away my enemy, that he has escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

Taking an oath, David again said, "Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, '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!"

And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Lo, the new moon is to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening;

if thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days is there for all the family.

If he says 'Good,' [it will mean] peace for your servant; but if he [is] very angry, know that {he has decided to do me harm}.

Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there is in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldst thou bring me to thy father?

“No!” Jonathan responded. “If I ever find out my father has evil intentions against you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”

{So may Yahweh punish Jonathan and more} if {my father decides to do you harm} and if {I fail to disclose it to you} and send word to you that you can go safely. And may Yahweh be with you, as he has been with my father.

but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when Jehovah has cut off the enemies of David, every one, from the face of the earth.

And Jonathan saith to him, 'To-morrow is new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after;

And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.

But if I say this to the young man, 'Look, the arrows [are] {beyond you},' go, for Yahweh has sent you away.

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.

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?"

He said, 'Send me away, please, for our clan sacrifice [is] in the city, and my brother commanded me [to be present]. So then, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the table of the king."

Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thy own confusion, and to the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?

But Jonathan answered his father Saul and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"

And when the boy came to the place where the arrow was, Jonathan, crying out after the boy, said, Has it not gone past you?

And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commanded me a business and has said to me, Let no man know anything of the business about which I send you, and what I have sent you. And I have sent servants to such and such a place.

And now what hast thou under thine hand? Give me five loaves of bread or what cometh to hand."

David answered the priest and said to him, "Indeed, women [were] held back from us {as it has been when I've gone out before}. And the things of the young men are holy when it [is] an ordinary journey. {How much more} {today} will the things be holy?"

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

And Gad the prophet saith unto David, 'Thou dost not abide in a fortress, go, and thou hast entered for thee the land of Judah;' and David goeth and entereth the forest of Hareth.

For all of you have conspired against me, and {no one discloses to me} the {making} [of an agreement] between my son and the son of Jesse! None of you have had sympathy for me or {disclosed to me} [that] {my son commissioned my servant against me to ambush me} as [has been done] this day!"

And Saul said to him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

And Ahimelech answered the king and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and has access to thy secret council, and is honourable in thy house?

[Only] today I began to inquire of God for him. Far be it from me that {the king should impute anything against his servant} or against my father's household, for your servant has not known any of this matter, little or much."

Keep here with me and have no fear; for he who has designs on my life has designs on yours: but with me you will be safe.

And David asketh at Jehovah, saying, 'Do I go? -- and have I smitten among these Philistines?' And Jehovah saith unto David, 'Go, and thou hast smitten among the Philistines, and saved Keilah.'

When it was told to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, Saul said, "God {has given him} into my hand, because he has shut himself in by going into a city [with] {two barred gates}.

And David said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul [is] seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

Will the rulers of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Yahweh, God of Israel, please tell your servant!" And Yahweh said, "He will come down."

Go, please, make certain again! Find out and see {exactly where he is} and who has seen him there! For they have said to me, 'He [is] very cunning.'

And the men of David say unto him, 'Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;' and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which is on Saul -- gently.

And David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him.

Look! you have seen today how the Lord gave you up into my hands even now in the hollow of the rocks: and some would have had me put you to death, but I had pity on you: for I said, Never will my hand be lifted up against my lord, who has been marked with the holy oil.

After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog? After a flea?

And he said to David, thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded thee with evil.

And thou hast showed this day how thou hast dealt with me; forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thy hand, thou didst not kill me.

For if a man findeth his enemy, will he let him go away well? wherefore the LORD reward thee with good, for what thou hast done to me this day.

And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast.

And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel.

And one of Nabal's young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he has insulted them.

And so then, know and {consider} what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his household, and he [is such] {a wicked man}, {nobody can reason with him}!"

And David had said, Surely in vain I have kept all that belongs to this fellow in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his. And he has requited me evil for good.

And now, my lord, as Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, since Jehovah has withheld you from coming to shed blood, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those that seek to do evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men {who follow my lord}.

Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid. For Jehovah will certainly make a sure house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in you all your days.

Yet a man has risen to pursue you and to seek your soul. But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah your God. And the souls of your enemies, He shall sling them from the hollow of a sling.

{And then} when Yahweh has done for my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you as leader over Israel,

That this will be no grief to thee, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.

Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has sent you this day to meet me!

And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my own hand.

But {as Yahweh lives}, the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been {one male} left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!"

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his [own] head." Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife.

So the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, and they spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you to take you for his wife."

Then Abishai said to David, "God has handed over your enemy into your hand today! So then, {please let me pin him to the ground with the spear} {one time}, and {I will not strike him twice}."

But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him! For who has stretched out his hand against Yahweh's anointed one and remained blameless?"

And David cried aloud unto the people, and unto Abner son of Ner, saying, Wilt thou not answer, Abner? Then answered Abner, and said, Who art thou, that hast cried aloud unto the king?

And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? why then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came in one of the people to destroy the king thy lord.

This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.

And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if {it is mortals}, [may] they be accursed {before} Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, 'Go, serve other gods!'

And so then, do not let my blood fall to the ground {away from} the presence of Yahweh, for the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

And the Lord will give to every man the reward of his righteousness and his faith: because the Lord gave you into my hands today, and I would not put out my hand against the man who has been marked with the holy oil.

So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.)

And David did not keep alive man or woman to bring news to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So David did, and so has been his custom all the days he lived in the fields of the Philistines.

And Achish trusted David, saying, "{He has made himself utterly hated} among his people in Israel, and he will be my servant forever."

Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "Behold, there is a woman who has a familiar spirit at Endor."

And the woman said to him, Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off mediums, and the spirit-knowers, out of the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

And the king saith to her, 'Do not fear; for what hast thou seen?' and the woman saith unto Saul, 'Gods I have seen coming up out of the earth.'

And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am grievously distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God hath departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known to me what I shall do.

Then Samuel said, "Why do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your enemy?

Yahweh has done to you just as he spoke by my hand! Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, to David.

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.

Then the woman came to Saul and realized that he was absolutely terrified, so she said to him, "Look, your female servant {has obeyed you}, and I have {risked my life}. I have listened to your words that you have spoken to me.

Then the commanders of [the] Philistines said, "What [are] these Hebrews [doing here]?" And Achish said to the commanders of [the] Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me {for days and years}? I have not found anything [threatening] in him from the day of his desertion until this day!"

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make this man return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he should be an adversary to us: for with what would he reconcile himself to his master? would it not be with the heads of these men?

[Is] this not David about whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

Then Achish called David, and said to him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee from the day of thy coming to me to this day: nevertheless the lords favor thee not.

And David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant, so long as I have been with thee to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king.

But David said to them, "You should not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given to us! He has preserved us and has given the [raiding] band that came against us into our hand.

And it has been so from that day forward. David established this policy as a law and an ordinance for Israel and it continues to this very day.