So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them.

So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him.

When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy.

The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, ¹  and cisterns.

The five leaders of the Philistines watched what was happening and then returned to Ekron on the same day.

When Saul realized ¹  that the Lord was with David and that his ²  daughter Michal loved David, ³ 

David realized ¹  that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.

Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul ¹  replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, ²  we went to Samuel.”

¹ Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, “Whose son is this young man, Abner?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.”

Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the desert. When he realized that Saul had come to the desert to find ¹  him,

Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ¹  looked on ²  as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. ³ 

So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction ¹  to go up to the high place.

The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen one like a god ¹  coming up from the ground!”

When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. ¹  Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive.

When they arrived, Samuel ¹  noticed ²  Eliab and said to himself, ³  “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!” ⁴ 

My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means ‘fool,’ and he is indeed foolish! ¹  But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent. ² 

When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly ¹  that the ground shook.

As they were going up the ascent to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water. They said to them, “Is this where the seer is?”

When Saul and his servant ¹  arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the spirit of God rushed upon Saul ²  and he prophesied among them.

When they ¹  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.”