Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told Samuel:

When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived) and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly.

Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified.

If they say to us, ‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay right there and not go up to them.

He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me.” They said, “He is witness!”

When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.”

The man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I spoke about his house – from start to finish!

But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!”

The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, “This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down.”

Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much.

When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.

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

They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.

Samuel revealed the word of the Lord to all Israel.Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, ‘Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands’?”

Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, not having eaten anything all that day and night.

David thought to himself, “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”

So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed. She put a quilt made of goat’s hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment.