So Saul tried {to pin David to the wall with the spear}, but {he eluded Saul}, so that he struck the spear into the wall, and David fled and escaped that [same] night.

Then Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard him and to kill him in the morning, but Michal his wife told David, saying, "If {you do not save your life} tonight, [then] tomorrow you [will be] killed!"

He also stripped [off] his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, "[Is] Saul also among the prophets?"

And he said to him, "Far from it! You will not die! Look, my father does not do {anything large or small unless he reveals it to me}. Why should my father hide this thing or anything from me?"

Then David {took an oath} again and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.' But {as Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, surely [there is] merely a step between me and death!"

Then Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! For if I know for certain that {my father decided evil should come upon you}, would I not have told it to you?"

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}?

And not while I am still alive, will you not show the loyal love of Yahweh with me, that I may not die?

And do not cut off your loyal love from {my family} forever, not [even] when Yahweh {exterminates} each of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."

But Saul said nothing on that day, for he thought, "{Something happened to him}. He [is] not [ceremonially] 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, '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 became angry} at Jonathan and said to him, "[You] son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

For {as long as} the son of Jesse [is] alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for {he will surely die}!"

Jonathan got up from the table {enraged}, and did not eat on the second day of the new moon because he was upset about David, because his father had disgraced him.

When the boy came up to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called out after the boy and said, "[Is] not the arrow {beyond you}?"

Then Jonathan called out after the boy, "Quick, hurry, do not linger!" And Jonathan's servant collected the arrows and came to his master.

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

David asked Ahimelech, "Is there not {at your disposal} a spear or a sword? For I took neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's matter was urgent."

The servants of Achish said to him, "[Is] not this David the king of the land? [Is] it not for this [one] that they sang in the dances, saying, 'Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?'"

Then Gad the prophet said to David, "You should not stay in the stronghold; leave and go into the land of Judah." So David left and came [to] the forest of Hereth.

[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."

So the king said to the runners [who were] stationed around him, "Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because {they also support David} and because they knew that he was fleeing and {did not disclose it to me}." But the servants of the king [were] not willing to raise their hand to attack the priests of Yahweh.

Stay with me! Do not fear, because he who seeks my life seeks your life. You are in good care with me."

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

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."

Then [the] Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "[Is] not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which [is] south of Jeshimon

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.

Look, this day your eyes have seen that Yahweh gave you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you. But {I took pity} on you and said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, because he [is] Yahweh's anointed one.'

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.

May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you!

Just as the ancient proverb says, 'From the wicked, wickedness goes out,' but my hand will not be against you!

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.

So then, swear to me by Yahweh that you will not cut off my {descendants} after me and that you will not wipe out my name from my father's house."

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.

Should I take my bread and my water and my meat which I have slaughtered for my shearers and give [it] to men whom I do not know where they [are] from?

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.

They were a wall to us both night and day, all {the days we were} with them keeping the sheep.

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

{May God severely punish the enemies of David} and again do thus if I leave behind {anything that is his} until the morning, [not even] {one male}!"

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.

Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house for my lord, because my lord [is] fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you {as long as you live}.

then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord [either] by the shedding of blood without cause or by {my lord taking matters into his own hands}. And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant."

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!"

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.

The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "[Is] not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah opposite Jeshimon?"

So David and Abishai came to the army [by] night, and {there was} Saul lying asleep in the encampment with his spear thrust into the ground near his head, and Abner and the army [were] lying all around him.

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?"

David called out to the army and to Abner the son of Ner, "Will you not answer, Abner?" And Abner answered and said, "Who [are] you [that] you call to the king?"

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.

This thing that you have done [is] not good. {As Yahweh lives}, {surely you people deserve to die} since you have not kept watch over your lord, over Yahweh's anointed one! So then, see where the king's spear [is] and the jar of water that [was] near his head!"

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."

Then Saul said, "I have sinned! Come back, David my son, for I will not harm you again, because my life [was] precious in your eyes this day. Look, I have acted like a fool and {have made a terrible mistake}."

Yahweh repays to each [one] his righteousness and his faithfulness, for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to stretch out my hand against Yahweh's anointed.

Then Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my son David; {you will not only do many things, but also will always succeed}!" Then David went on his way and Saul returned to his place.

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.

And David did not leave alive a man or a woman to bring [them back] to Gath, thinking, "So that they will not report about us, saying, 'David did thus and so.'" Thus was his practice all the days that he lived in the countryside 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.

So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went {with two of his men}. And they came to the woman [by] night and he said, "Please consult a spirit for me through {the ritual pit}, and bring up for me [the one] whom I tell you."

Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, "{As Yahweh lives}, {you will not be punished} for this thing."

The king said to her, "Do not be afraid! What do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up from the ground!"

Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul said, "{I am in distress}! For [the] Philistines [are about] to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not {by the prophets} or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know 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.

{Then Saul immediately fell prostrate} to the ground, and he was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; there was no more strength in him, for he had not eaten food all day and all night.

But he refused and said, "I will not eat!" However, his servants urged him, and the woman also. So he listened {to what they said}, and he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and went away that [very] night.

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!"

But the commanders of [the] Philistines were angry with him and they said to him, "Send the man back so that he might return to his place where you have assigned him! But he will not go down with us into the battle, so that he does not become an adversary to us in the battle. By what could this fellow make himself favorable to his lord? Is it not 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'?"

So Achish called David and said to him, "{As Yahweh lives}, certainly you were honest, and {I am pleased to have you marching with me} in the campaign. For I have not found any wrong in you from the day you came to me until this day, but in the eyes of the rulers, you [are] not good.

So then, return and go in peace, so that you do not do {something that displeases} the rulers of [the] Philistines."

Then David said to Achish, "But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day that I {entered your service} until this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

And Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you [are] good in my eyes, like an angel of God! However, the commanders of [the] Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us into the battle.'

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.

Then David and the people who [were] with him raised their voices and wept until there was not [enough] strength in them to weep.

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.

So David asked him, "Will you take me down to this band [of raiders]?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and that you will not deliver me into my master's hand! Then I will take you down to this band."

Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped {except} four hundred young men who rode [off] on camels and fled.

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!"

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.

Then Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!" But {his armor bearer} [was] not willing [to do so] because he [was] very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

all of {the valiant men} set out and went all night and took the corpse of Saul and the corpses of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that [was] on his head and [the] bracelet which [was] on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord.

David said to him, "How [is it that] you [were] not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh's anointed one?"

Do not tell it in Gath; do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of [the] Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

O mountains of Gilboa, [let there be] no dew or rain upon you or on the fields of [grain for] offerings, for there the small shield of [the] mighty [was] defiled, the small shield of Saul [was] not anointed with oil.

From the blood of [the] slain, from the fat of [the] mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return {without effect}.

Saul and Jonathan [were] beloved and pleasant in their lives and [were] not separated in their death. They [were] swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

So Asahel pursued Abner, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left from going after Abner.

Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right or to your left; seize for yourself one of the young men, and take his belongings for yourself." But Asahel [was] not willing to turn aside from him.

Then Abner called to Joab and said, "Will [the] sword devour forever? Do you not know that [there] will be bitterness in the end? {How long} will you not tell the people to turn {away from pursuing} their brothers?"

Joab said, "{As God lives}, for if you had not spoken, the people would surely have gone up in the morning, each [one of them] {from following after} his brother."

Then Joab blew on the trumpet and all the people stopped, and they no longer pursued after Israel, and they did not fight with them again.

Then Abner and his men went through the Arabah all that night, and they crossed over the Jordan. They went all the forenoon and came to Mahanaim.

Then they picked up Asahel and buried him in the grave of his father, which [was at] Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all that night {[arriving] in Hebron at first light}.

{Abner became very angry} at the words of Ish-Bosheth, and he said, "[Am] I the head of a dog which [is] for Judah today? Do I not continue to show loyal love with the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends? I have not let you fall into the hands of David, yet you have {accused me of sin with this woman} today.

Thus {may God punish Abner}, {if I do not accomplish what Yahweh has sworn to David};

He said, "Good. {I will make a covenant with you}. I am asking only one thing from you: You shall not see my face unless you bring Michal the daughter of Saul when you come to see {me}."

And look, the servants of David and Joab came from the raid, and they brought much plunder with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for he had dismissed him, and he had gone in peace.