Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly and they ran away from him.

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

Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.”

Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth

The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David’s place was vacant.

Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David.

So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath.

David thought about what they said and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath.

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

Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house!

But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

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.”

So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men.

When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod!”

Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, but God did not deliver David into his hand.

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?

So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.