And the troops had spoken to him according to this word, saying, "So it will be done for the man who defeats him."

Then he turned from him toward another person and asked the same thing. The people replied to him the same way as the first one had.

Now the words which David had spoken were heard and they reported [them] {to} Saul, and he summoned him.

Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor.

And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he essayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off from him.

And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.

And the Philistine came nearer to David; and the man who had his body-cover went before him.

When the Philistine looked and saw David, he had contempt for him, because he was only a young man. David had a dark, healthy complexion and was handsome.

David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?”

“My king, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.

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.

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

Jonathan took off the robe that he had on and gave it to David, along with his coat, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And when Saul had set him over his men of war, he pleased all the people, and Saul's servants thereto.

And it came to pass as they came, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music.

It happened on the next day, that an evil spirit from God came mightily on Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house. David played with his hand, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;

And Saul had a spear in his hand, and hurled it; intending to have nailed David to the wall. But David avoided out of his presence two times.

And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and had departed from Saul.

So then Saul said unto David - Lo! my elder daughter Merab, her, will I give thee to wife, only, approve thyself unto me as a son of valour and fight the battles of Yahweh. Saul, however, had said to himself - Let not, my own hand, be upon him, but let, the hand of the Philistines, be upon him.

And Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David: and Saul had word of it and was pleased.

When Saul's servants reported what David had said,

Then Saul said, "This [is] what you must say to David: '{The king desires no bride price} except for a hundred foreskins of [the] Philistines, to avenge himself on the enemies of the king.'" (Now Saul had planned to allow David to fall by the hand of [the] Philistines.)

And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law: and the days had not expired.

Then the Philistine commanders (princes) came out to battle, and it happened as often as they did, that David acted more wisely and had more success than all Saul’s servants. So his name was highly esteemed.

Then Saul communed with Jonathan his son, and with all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul's son had a great favour to David,

And Jonathan gave his father Saul a good account of David, and said to him, Let not the king do wrong against his servant, against David; because he has done you no wrong, and all his acts have had a good outcome for you:

Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly.

And when the messengers had come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster.

So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

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?"

Jonathan said to David, "Come on. Let's go out to the field." When the two of them had gone out into the field,

And Jonathan said to David, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be witness; when I have had a chance of talking to my father, about this time tomorrow, if his feelings to David are good, will I not send and give you the news?

Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

So David hid himself in the field: and when the new-moon had come, the king sat down to eat food.

Then Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew {that his father had decided} to kill David.

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

Now in the morning, Jonathan went out into the fields at the time he had said to David, and he had a little boy with him.

And when the lad had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?

The servant was not aware of anything. Only Jonathan and David understood what had happened.

As soon as the lad had gone, David rose from the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. And they kissed one another, and wept with one another, until David exceeded.

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.

And David said to Ahimelech, Have you no sword or spear with you here? for I have come without my sword and other arms, because the king's business had to be done quickly.

Every man in distress and every man who had a creditor and every embittered man gathered to him, and he became {their commander}. Now there [were] about four hundred men with him.

So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time that David was in the stronghold.

Now Saul heard that David and the men who [were] with him had been located. Saul [was] sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk [tree] at Ramah. Now his spear [was] in his hand and all his servants [were] stationed around him.

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!"

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.

And Ahimelech answered the king, and said, "Who is so faithful among all thy servants as David and thereto the king's son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is had in honour in thine house?

And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests.

So David and his men went to Keilah, and had a fight with the Philistines, and took away their cattle, and put them to the sword with great destruction. So David was the saviour of the people of Keilah.

Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod.

And it was told to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.

But David had knowledge that Saul imagined mischief against him, and said therefore to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod."

Then David and his men who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah: and he forbore to go forth.

And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.

Saul said, "You are blessed by the LORD; for you have had compassion on me.

Then Saul and his men departed, to seek him ; but it had been told David, and he had gone down the cliff, and taken up his abode in the wilderness of Maon, - and when Saul had, heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon.

And Saul and his men went on the one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other. And David, as a man amazed, made haste to get from Saul. For Saul and his men had compassed David and his men round about, to take them.

And it came to pass, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told to him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.

And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.

Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed.

And it came to pass when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.

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.

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep.

I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel.

So David's servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David all these things.

(Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this man hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, who hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any male person.

So David received from her hand that which she had brought him, and said to her, Return in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

And, when Abigail came unto Nabal, lo! he, had a banquet in his house, like the banquet of a king, and, the heart of Nabal, was glad accordingly, he having drunk deeply, - so she told him nothing - less or more, until the light of the morning.

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had left Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

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.

And when the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to him for a wife.

Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

David had also taken Ahinoam from Jezreel, and both of them became his wives.

But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Now Saul was on the hill of Hakilah, which [is] opposite Jeshimon by the road, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness after him,

David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had come in very deed.

And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched around him.

So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they departed, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep: because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.

And David saith unto Abner, 'Art not thou a man? and who is like thee in Israel? but why hast thou not watched over thy lord the king? for one of the people had come in to destroy the king, thy lord.

David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal's widow.

And it was told to Saul that David had fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites, for they had been living [in] the land for a long time {in the direction of} Shur and {as far as} the land of Egypt.

Not one living man or woman did David ever take back with him to Gath, fearing that they might give an account of what had taken place, and say, This is what David did, and so has he been doing all the time while he has been living in the land of the Philistines.

And Achish had belief in what David said, saying, He has made himself hated by all his people Israel, and so he will be my servant for ever.

Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.

And the woman said unto him, "Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath destroyed the women that had prophesying spirits, and the sorcerers, out of the land. Wherefore then layest thou a net for my soul to kill me?"

Then Saul fell immediately all along on the earth, and was exceedingly afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

And the woman had a fat calf in the house: and she hasted and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it.

and brought them before Saul and before his servants. And when they had eaten, they stood up, and went away the same night.

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

And had taken the women captives that were in it, they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

When David and his men came to the city, {they saw}, and [it] was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

Then David and the people that were with him, lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

Two of David's wives had been taken captive. Ahinoam {from Jezreel} and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

And David was in sore distress, for the people had spoken of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were embittered, every man for his own sons and for his own daughters, - but David emboldened himself in Yahweh his God.

So David went, he, and the six hundred men, who were with him, and they came in as far as the ravine of Besor, - where, they who had to be left behind, stayed.