And Jonathan will announce to David, saying, Saul my father is seeking to kill thee: and at this time, watch now, in the morning, and dwell in secret and hide.

Jonathan summoned David and told him all this. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.

Then Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him and to slay him in the morning. But Michal his wife told it him saying, "If thou save not thyself this night, tomorrow thou art a dead man."

Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?" Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go, why should I kill you?'"

They reported this to Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also were caught up in prophetic ecstasy.

And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel, even he. And he lay down disrobed all that day and all that night. Because of this they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

And he said to him, Far be it from thee; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it to me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.

And David swore moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he should be grieved: But truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.

And David said unto Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the first day of the month, and I should sit with the king at meat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the fields unto this day three days at evening.

and thou hast done kindness, to thy servant, for into a covenant of Jehovah thou hast brought thy servant with thee; -- and if there is in me iniquity, put thou me to death; and unto thy father, why is this -- thou dost bring me in?'

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?"

Then Jonathan said to David, "Yahweh the God of Israel [is my witness] that I will question my father {by this time the day after tomorrow}. And look, {if he is well disposed toward you}, will I not send [word] to you and {disclose it to you}?

But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don't let you know and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father.

Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David: "May the LORD punish any violation of this covenant by the hand of David's enemies."

On the third day you must go down quickly and go to the place where you hid yourself {on the day all this started} and remain beside the stone Ezel.

And behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.

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

And of this which thou and I have spoke, behold the LORD is witness between thee and me forever."

And on the morrow, of the month the second, and David's place will be reviewed: and Saul will say to Jonathan his son, Wherefore came not the son of Jesse also yesterday, also this day to the bread?

and said - Let me go, I pray thee, for, a family sacrifice, have we in the city, and my brethren have commanded me, now, therefore, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me slip away, I pray thee, that I may see my brethren. For this cause, hath he not come in unto the table of the king.

Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, "You stupid traitor! Don't I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother's nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse?

For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!"

And Saul threw a spear at him to strike him, and by this Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

And he said to this lad, Run now, find the arrows which I shoot. As the lad ran, he shot an arrow, causing it to pass over him.

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

So David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me [with] a matter and said to me, 'No one must know anything about this matter [on] which I am sending you, [with] which I have charged you and the servants.'" So {I have arranged to meet with my servants at a certain place}.

And David answered the priest, and said to him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yes, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

And the priest saith, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou didst smite in the valley of Elah, lo, it is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod, if it thou dost take to thyself, take; for there is none other save it in this place.' And David saith, 'There is none like it -- give it to me.'

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?

David took this to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath,

Achish said to his servants, "Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me?

Have I need of mad-men, that ye have brought this man to play the mad-man in my presence? shall this man come into my house?

David left from there and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. His brothers and all his father's family heard about this and went down to him there.

And the prophet Gad said to David, Do not go on living in this place but go into the land of Judah. Then David went away and came to the woodland of Hereth.

That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth to me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at 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 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?

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.

He said to him, "Do not be afraid, for the hand of my father Saul will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and {I will be second to you}. My father Saul knows [this] also."

And Saul and his men went to seek [him], and they told David, so he went down [to] the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard [this], he pursued David [into] the wilderness of Maon.

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men around to take them.

Then a messenger came to Saul with this news: "Come quickly, because the Philistines have made a raid on the land!"

And Saul will turn back from pursuing after David, and he will go to meet the rovers: for this they called that place the Rock of Escapes.

And the men of David said to him, Behold, this is the day of which Jehovah said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand so that you may do to him as it shall seem good to you. And David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.

And it will be after this, the heart of David will strike him because that he cut off the wing which is to Saul.

And he said to his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.

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

May the LORD act as judge, and may he decide between me and you. May he see, may he plead my case, and may he vindicate me in this dispute against you."

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.

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.

So David swore [this on oath] to Saul, and Saul went to his house, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.

And you shall say this, Long life and peace be to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have.

David's young men came to Nabal and told him all this in David's name, and then they waited.

But Nabal responded to David's servants, "Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters!

Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. He is such a wicked person that no one tells him anything!"

(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.

May the LORD do this to the enemies of David and more also if by the morning I've left alive a single male of all those who belong to him."

And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thy audience, and hear the words of thy handmaid.

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

And now this blessing which thy handmaid hath brought to my lord, let it even be given to the young men that follow my lord.

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.

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent thee 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.

Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thy enemy into thy hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear, even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

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 Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? and David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.

And he said, Why does my lord pursue after his servant this way? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they are the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thy eyes this day: behold I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; for Jehovah gave thee into my hand this day, and I would not stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed.

And behold, as thy life was precious this day in my eyes, so let my life be precious in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth to the kings of Judah to this day.

And Achish said, "Have ye not been a roving this day?" And David answered, "Yes, in the south of Judah, and in the south of the Jezreelites, and in the south of the Kenites."

Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines.

And David will say to Achish, For this thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achish will say to David, For this I will set thee a watcher for my head all the days.

By this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city, and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

Because thou didst not obey the voice of the LORD, nor execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing to thee this day.

And more than this, the Lord will give Israel up with you into the hands of the Philistines: and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me: and the Lord will give up the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.

Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to 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 not this David, of whom they sung one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and 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.

And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

They gave him a slice of fig cake and two raisin cakes; he ate and {this revived him}, because he had not eaten food or drunk water [for] three days and three nights.

And David said to him, Canst thou conduct me down to this company? And he said, Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will lead thee down to this company.

And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.

At this point, all the wicked and worthless men of the group who had gone with David answered, "Because they didn't go with us, we won't give them any of the spoil that we recovered, except that each person may take his wife and his children and go."

But David said, "No! You shouldn't do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.

For who will hearken to you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the goods: they shall part alike.

And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, and to his friends, telling them, "Look, this is a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD

And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and they that were on this side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

David said to the young man who was telling him this, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

The young man who was telling him this said, "I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him.

On hearing this, David grabbed his clothes and tore them, as did all the men who were attending to him.