David saves the town of Keilah
1Someone told David: ‘The Philistines are making war_against the people of the town of Keilah and they are taking the wheat on the threshing-floors.’
2David asked the Lord: ‘Must I attack these Philistines?’ And the Lord said to David: ‘Yes, you must attack the Philistines and you must save the people of Keilah.’
3David's men said to him: ‘We are afraid here in Judah, but we will be even more afraid if we go to Keilah to attack the Philistines.’
4David asked the Lord again what he must do and the Lord answered him and said: ‘Go and attack Keilah, because I will help you defeat the Philistines.’
5David and his men went to Keilah. They made war_against the Philistines and defeated them. They took the Philistines' cattle, sheep and goats and wounded a lot of the people. That is how David saved the people of Keilah.
Saul chases David
6Abiathar, son of Ahimelek, had brought the shoulder-cloth with him when he fled to David in Keilah.
7Someone told Saul that David had gone to Keilah and Saul said: ‘God has stopped helping David, because David has gone into a town with gates and he has locked himself in the town. He can not escape.’ 8Saul called all his men to besiege Keilah and to catch David and his men inside the town. 9When they told David that Saul was coming and planning to catch them, he told the priest Abiathar to bring the shoulder-cloth. 10David asked the Lord: ‘Lord, God of Israel, please listen to me because I know that Saul is coming to Keilah to destroy the town because I am here. 11I ask you: Is it true that Saul is coming to Keilah? Will the leaders of the town of Keilah give me to Saul? Lord, God of Israel, please tell me what will happen.’ And the Lord said: ‘Saul will come.’
12David asked again: ‘Will the leaders of the people of Keilah give me and my men to Saul?’ And the Lord said: ‘Yes, they will.’
13David and his men then went out of Keilah. There were about 600 men. They did not stay in one place, but they went from one place to another place. When they told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go to the town.
David goes into the desert
14David went into the desert and they stayed in places in the mountains where it was not easy to go. He also went to stay on the mountain in the Ziph Desert. Saul continued to look for David, but God did not let Saul catch David. God protected David. 15David knew that Saul wanted to come and kill him and he went to the Ziph Desert and stayed at the town of Horesh. 16Saul's son, Jonathan, went to see David at Horesh. Jonathan came to David and said to him: ‘God will help you and He will not stop. 17Do not worry. My father will not catch you. You will be king_of_Israel and I will be your most important_official. Even my father Saul knows this.’
18Jonathan and David made an agreement again, and the Lord was their Witness. David stayed at Horesh but Jonathan went back to his home. 19People from the town of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and told him: ‘David is hiding near us in the hills of Horesh. He is on Mount Hakilah, south of Jeshimon. 20Your_Majesty, you must say what you want to do. If you want to come, then we will help you catch David.’
21Saul said to the people of Ziph: ‘I pray that God will be good to you because you were good to me. 22Please go and find out where David is and where people have seen him. Someone told me that David is very clever. 23Find out all the places where he hides and come and tell me where he is. Then I will go with you and, if he is still in the land, I will look for him and I will find him among all the people of Judah.’
24The men of Ziph went home and Saul came later. David and his men were in the Maon Desert. They were in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon. 25Saul and his men went to look for David, but when David's friends told him that they were coming to look for him, he went to the big rock in the Maon Desert. They told Saul that David was there and he followed_and_chased David. 26Saul and his men were on one side of the mountain and David and his men were on the other side of the mountain. David ran to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men surrounded David and his men, and they came to catch them. 27Then a messenger came to Saul and he said: ‘You must come quickly because the Philistines have come into the land and they are taking everything they can get.’
28Saul then stopped chasing David and he went to war_against the Philistines. This is why people named that place ‘The great rock where they went away from each other’. 29David then went away to En-Gedi and he stayed there.
