The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David.

(Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.)

When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David.

Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, 'The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'"Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city.

David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?"

David replied to Ahimelech the priest, "The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, 'Don't let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.' I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place.

The priest replied to David, "I don't have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers have abstained from sexual relations with women."

David said to the priest, "Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers' equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!"

David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don't have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king's instructions."

The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there's nothing here." David said, "There's nothing like it! Give it to me!"

So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath.

The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, 'Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands'?"

David thought about what they said and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath.

So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father's family learned about it, they went down there to him.

Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God is going to do for me."

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

Then Gad the prophet said to David, "Don't stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him.

Ahimelech replied to the king, "Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king's son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house!

Then the king said to the messengers who were stationed beside him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me." But the king's servants refused to harm the priests of the Lord.

But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar.

Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord.

Then David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty of all the deaths in your father's house!

They told David, "The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors."

So David asked the Lord, "Should I go and strike down these Philistines?" The Lord said to David, "Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah."

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 asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand."

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

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

When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates."

So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men.

When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod!"

Then David said, "O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

David asked, "Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul's hand?" The Lord said, "They will deliver you over."

So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition.

David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, but God did not deliver David into his hand.

David realized that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.

Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him through God.

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

Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon?

So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.

Saul and his men went to look for him. But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon.

Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them.

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

Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.

When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, "Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi."

So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find David and his men in the region of the rocks of the mountain goats.

He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave.

David's men said to him, "This is the day about which the Lord said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.'" So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul's robe.

Afterward David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off an edge of Saul's robe.

David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and started down the road.

Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, "My lord, O king!" When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground.

David said to Saul, "Why do you pay attention when men say, 'David is seeking to do you harm'?

When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" Then Saul wept loudly.

He said to David, "You are more innocent than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you!

David promised Saul this on oath. Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran.

When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep,

Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come at the time of a holiday. Please provide us -- your servants and your son David -- with whatever you can spare."

So David's servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David's name. Then they paused.

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!

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

Then David instructed his men, "Each of you strap on your sword!" So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment.

But one of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our lord, but he screamed at them.

Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them.

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.

God will severely punish David, if I leave alive until morning even one male from all those who belong to him!"

When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground.

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

Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, "Go back to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you and responded favorably."

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds." Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.

So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, "David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife."

Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. She followed David's messengers and became his wife.

David had also married Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives.

(Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)

The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon?"

So Saul arose and went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand select men of Israel, to look for David in the desert of Ziph.

Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the desert. When he realized that Saul had come to the desert to find him,

David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived.

So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him.

David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" Abishai replied, "I will go down with you."

So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him.

Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear right through him into the ground with one swift jab! A second jab won't be necessary!"

But David said to Abishai, "Don't kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord's chosen one and remain guiltless?"

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 took the spear and the jug of water by Saul's head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them.

Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them.

David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Won't you answer, Abner?" Abner replied, "Who are you, that you have called to the king?"

David said to Abner, "Aren't you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven't you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king.

When Saul recognized David's voice, he said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David replied, "Yes, it's my voice, my lord the king."

Saul replied, "I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won't harm you, for you treated my life with value this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!"

David replied, "Here is the king's spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it.

Saul replied to David, "May you be rewarded, my son David! You will without question be successful!" So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David thought to himself, "One of these days I'm going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand."

So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men.

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.

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

David said to Achish, "If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?"

The length of time that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year and four months.

Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.)