14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the
wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David wasin the wilderness of
Ziph in a wood.
16 And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in
God.
17 And 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.
18 And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan
went to his house.
19 Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in
strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which ison the south of Jeshimon?
20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and
our part shall beto deliver him into the king's hand.
21 And Saul said, Blessed beye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me.
22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, andwho hath seen
him there: for it is told me thathe dealeth very subtilly.
23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and
come ye again 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 throughout all the thousands of Judah.
24 And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men werein the wilderness
of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
25 Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a
rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in
the wilderness of Maon.
26 And 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.
27 But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines
have invaded the land.
28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines:
therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.
29 And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.
1 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told
him, saying, Behold, David isin the wilderness of Engedi.
2 Then 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.
3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where wasa cave; and Saul went in to cover his
feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold,
I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto
thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
5 And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's
skirt.
6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the
LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he isthe anointed of the LORD.
7 So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul.
But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on hisway.
8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the

king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed
himself.
9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh
thy hurt?
10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine
hand in the cave: and somebade mekill thee: but mine eyespared thee; and I said, I will not put
forth mine hand against my lord; for he isthe LORD'S anointed.
11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the
skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there isneither evil nor
transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take
it.
12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall
not be upon thee.
13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand
shall not be upon thee.
14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog,
after a flea.
15 The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause,
and deliver me out of thine hand.
16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that
Saul said, Isthis thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
17 And he said to David, Thou artmore righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good,
whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
18 And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when
the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not.
19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee
good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
20 And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel
shall be established in thine hand.
21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and
that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.
22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the
hold.
1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried
him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
2 And there wasa man in Maon, whose possessions werein Carmel; and the man wasvery great,
and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
3 Now the name of the man wasNabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she wasa woman
of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man waschurlish and evil in his
doings; and he wasof the house of Caleb.
4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.
5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel,
and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:
6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace beboth to thee, and peace beto
thine house, and peace beunto all that thou hast.
7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt
them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.
8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine
eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy

servants, and to thy son David.
9 And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the
name of David, and ceased.
10 And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who isDavid? and who isthe son of Jesse?
there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers,
and give itunto men, whom I know not whence they be?
12 So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those
sayings.
13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man
his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred
men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers
out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.
15 But the men werevery good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as
long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:
16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the
sheep.
17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our
master, and against all his household: for he is sucha son of Belial, that a mancannot speak to
him.
18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five
sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and
two hundred cakes of figs, and laid themon asses.
19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not
her husband Nabal.
20 And it was so, asshe rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and,
behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.
21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellowhath in the wilderness, so
that nothing was missed of all that pertainedunto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.
22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertainto him by
the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her
face, and bowed herself to the ground,
24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, uponme let thisiniquity be: and let thine
handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.
25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, evenNabal: for as his name is, so is
he; Nabal ishis name, and folly iswith him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my
lord, whom thou didst send.
26 Now therefore, my lord, asthe LORD liveth, and asthy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath
withholden thee from coming to shedblood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now
let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given
unto the young men that follow my lord.
28 I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my
lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found
in thee allthy days.
29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound
in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling