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1 Samuel 23
New King James Version

### David Saves the City of Keilah

23 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against (A)Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore David (B)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and [a]attack these Philistines?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.

And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and (C)fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech (D)fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, (E)he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah (F)to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will come down.”

12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah [b]deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”

13 So David and his men, (G)about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

### David in Wilderness Strongholds

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in (H)the mountains in the Wilderness of (I)Ziph. Saul (J)sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph [c]in a forest. 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and [d]strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, (K)“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. (L)Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them (M)made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

19 Then the Ziphites (N)came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and (O)our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. 22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the [e]clans of Judah.”

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness (P)of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down [f]to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. (Q)So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men (R)were encircling David and his men to take them.

27 (S)But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” 28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place [g]the Rock of Escape. 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at (T)En Gedi.

#### Footnotes

1. 1 Samuel 23:2 Lit. strike
2. 1 Samuel 23:12 Lit. shut up
3. 1 Samuel 23:15 Or in Horesh
4. 1 Samuel 23:16 encouraged him
5. 1 Samuel 23:23 Lit. thousands
6. 1 Samuel 23:25 Or from the rock
7. 1 Samuel 23:28 Heb. Sela Hammahlekoth

#### Cross references

1. 1 Samuel 23:1 : Josh. 15:44; Neh. 3:17, 18
2. 1 Samuel 23:2 : 1 Sam. 22:10; 23:4, 6, 9; 28:6; 30:8; 2 Sam. 5:19, 23
3. 1 Samuel 23:5 : 1 Sam. 19:8; 2 Sam. 5:20
4. 1 Samuel 23:6 : 1 Sam. 22:20
5. 1 Samuel 23:9 : Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 23:6; 30:7
6. 1 Samuel 23:10 : 1 Sam. 22:19
7. 1 Samuel 23:13 : 1 Sam. 22:2; 25:13
8. 1 Samuel 23:14 : Ps. 11:1
9. 1 Samuel 23:14 : Josh. 15:55; 2 Chr. 11:8
10. 1 Samuel 23:14 : Ps. 32:7; 54:3, 4
11. 1 Samuel 23:17 : [Ps. 27:1–3; Heb. 13:6]
12. 1 Samuel 23:17 : 1 Sam. 20:31; 24:20
13. 1 Samuel 23:18 : 1 Sam. 18:3; 20:12–17, 42; 2 Sam. 9:1; 21:7
14. 1 Samuel 23:19 : 1 Sam. 26:1; Ps. 54:title
15. 1 Samuel 23:20 : Ps. 54:3
16. 1 Samuel 23:24 : Josh. 15:55; 1 Sam. 25:2
17. 1 Samuel 23:26 : Ps. 31:22
18. 1 Samuel 23:26 : Ps. 17:9
19. 1 Samuel 23:27 : 2 Kin. 19:9
20. 1 Samuel 23:29 : Josh. 15:62; 2 Chr. 20:2

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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