1 David was told, "The Philistines are attacking Keilah and plundering the threshing floors."
2 David asked the LORD, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" The LORD told David, "Go, strike the Philistines and rescue Keilah."
3 But David's men said to him, "Look, even here in Judah we are afraid. How much more if we go to Keilah against the Philistine lines!"
4 David asked the LORD once again, and the LORD answered him, "Get up, go down to Keilah, for I am handing the Philistines over to you."
5 David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; he drove off their cattle and struck them a heavy blow. So David rescued the people living in Keilah.
6 When Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand.
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by going into a town with gates and bars."
8 Saul called all the troops to war, to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men.
9 David learned that Saul was devising harm against him, and he told Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod over here."
10 David said, "LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard for certain that Saul is planning to come to Keilah and destroy the town on my account.
11 Will the leaders of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant, please." The LORD said, "He will come down."
12 David said, "Will the leaders of Keilah surrender me and my men into Saul's hand?" The LORD said, "They will surrender you."
13 So David and his men, about six hundred, got up and left Keilah and went wherever they could. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he called off the march.
14 David stayed in the wilderness, in the strongholds, in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand him over to him.
15 David saw that Saul had come out to take his life; David was in the wilderness of Ziph, at Horesh.
16 Saul's son Jonathan set out and came to David at Horesh, and he strengthened his hand in God.
17 He told him, "Do not be afraid; the hand of my father Saul will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you. Even my father Saul knows it."
18 The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David stayed on at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "David is hiding among us, is he not, in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?
20 So now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, come down; our part will be to surrender him into the king's hand."
21 Saul said, "The LORD bless you, for you have taken pity on me.
22 Go, please, and make further preparations. Find out and see where his haunts are and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is very crafty.
23 See and find out all the hiding places where he hides, and come back to me with certain word. Then I will go with you, and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah."
24 They set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.
25 Saul and his men went to search, and David was told. So he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. Saul heard of it and chased after David into the wilderness of Maon.
26 Saul went along this side of the mountain, and David and his men along that side. David was rushing to get away from Saul, as Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to capture them.
27 Then a messenger came to Saul: "Come quickly! The Philistines have raided the land."
28 So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why that place is called Sela-hammahlekoth.
29 David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En-gedi.