men.
3And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab; and he said unto the king of Moab: 'Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.' 4And he brought them before the king of Moab; and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold. 5And the prophet Gad said unto David: 'Abide not in the stronghold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah.' Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.
6And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him; now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7And Saul said unto his servants that stood about him: 'Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds; 8that all of you have conspired against me, and there was none that disclosed it to me when my son made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or discloseth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?' 9Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said: 'I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10And he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.'
11Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob; and they came all of them to the king. 12And Saul said: 'Hear now, thou son of Ahitub.' And he answered: 'Here I am, my lord.' 13And Saul said unto 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?' 14Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said: 'And who among all thy servants is so trusted as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and giveth heed unto thy bidding, and is honourable in thy house? 15Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me; let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more.' 16And the king said: 'Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.' 17And the king said unto the guard that stood about him: 'Turn, and slay the priests of the Lord; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me.' But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord. 18And the king said to Doeg: 'Turn thou, and fall upon the priests.' And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and he slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. 19And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword. 20And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 21And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests. 22And David said unto Abiathar: 'I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul; I have brought about the death of all the persons of thy father's house. 23Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life; for with me thou shalt be in safeguard.'
23And they told David, saying: 'Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they rob the threshing-floors.' 2Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying: 'Shall I go and smite these Philistines?' And the Lord said unto David: 'Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.' 3And David's men said unto him: 'Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?' 4Then David inquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said: 'Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand.' 5And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7And it was told Saul that David was 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.' 8And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9And David knew that Saul devised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest: 'Bring hither the ephod.' 10Then said David: 'O Lord, the God of Israel, Thy servant hath surely heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as Thy servant hath heard?' O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech Thee, tell Thy servant.' And the Lord said: 'He will come down.' 12Then said David: 'Will the men of Keilah deliver up me and my men into the hand of Saul?' And the Lord said: 'They will deliver thee up.' 13Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbore to go forth.
14And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. 15And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life; and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood. 16And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17And he said unto him: 'Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.' 18And they two made a covenant before the Lord; and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
19Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying: 'Doth not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand.' 21And Saul said: 'Blessed be ye of the Lord; for ye have had compassion on me. 22Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. 23See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye back to me with the certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.' 24And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul; but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of Jeshimon. 25And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David; wherefore he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26And 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 round about to take them. 27But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying: 'Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have made a raid upon the land.' 28So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines; therefore they called that place 8Sela-hammahlekoth. 241And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the strongholds of En-gedi.
2And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying: 'Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.' 3Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 4And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 5And the men of David said unto him: 'Behold the day in which the Lord hath said unto thee: Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.' Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 6And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. 7And he said unto his men: 'The Lord forbid it me, that I should do this thing unto my