1 Samuel 22:1

David Goes to Adullam and Mizpah

22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family ¹  learned about it, they went down there to him.

1 Samuel 23:15

23:15 David realized ²  that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.

1 Samuel 23:19

23:19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon?

1 Samuel 23:23

23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. ³  Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him ⁴  among all the thousands of Judah.”

1 Samuel 24:1-3

David Spares Saul’s Life

24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.” 24:2 So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find ⁵  David and his men in the region of ⁶  the rocks of the mountain goats. ⁷  24:3 He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. ⁸ 

Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave.

1 Samuel 26:1

David Spares Saul’s Life Again

26:1 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near ⁹  Jeshimon?”

1 Samuel 26:1

David Spares Saul’s Life Again

26:1 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near ¹⁰  Jeshimon?”

1 Samuel 17:3

17:3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites ¹¹  on another hill, with the valley between them.

1 Samuel 18:4

18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt.

1 Samuel 18:13

18:13 Saul removed David ¹²  from his presence and made him a commanding officer. ¹³  David led the army out to battle and back. ¹⁴ 

1 Samuel 19:9

19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon ¹⁵  Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 142:1-7

Psalm 142 ¹⁷ 

A well-written song ¹⁸  by David, when he was in the cave; ¹⁹  a prayer.

142:1 To the Lord I cry out; ²⁰ 

to the Lord I plead for mercy. ²¹ 

142:2 I pour out my lament before him;

I tell him about ²²  my troubles.

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ²³ 

you watch my footsteps. ²⁴ 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ²⁵ 

I have nowhere to run; ²⁶ 

no one is concerned about my life. ²⁷ 

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ²⁸  in the land of the living.”

142:6 Listen to my cry for help,

for I am in serious trouble! ²⁹ 

Rescue me from those who chase me,

for they are stronger than I am.

142:7 Free me ³⁰  from prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

Because of me the godly will assemble, ³¹ 

for you will vindicate me. ³² 

[22:1]  ¹ tn Heb “house.”

[23:15]  ² tn Heb “saw.”

[23:23]  ³ tn Heb “established.”

[23:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will search him out.”

[24:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “to search [for].”

[24:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[24:2]  ⁷ tn Or “the region of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats,” if this expression is understood as a place name (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV).

[24:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “to cover his feet,” an idiom (euphemism) for relieving oneself (cf. NAB “to ease nature”).

[26:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[26:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “upon the face of.”

[17:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Israel.”

[18:13]  ¹² tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “an officer of a thousand.”

[18:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he went out and came in before the people.” See v. 16.

[19:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[was] to.”

[19:9]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”

[142:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[142:1]  ¹⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[142:1]  ¹⁹ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.

[142:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I cry out.”

[142:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I plead for mercy.”

[142:2]  ²² tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”

[142:3]  ²³ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you know my path.”

[142:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

[142:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

[142:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for I am very low.”

[142:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “bring out my life.”

[142:7]  ³¹ tn Or “gather around.”

[142:7]  ³² tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.