<p class="bodytext">Saul sent messengers to David&#8217;s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David&#8217;s wife Michal told him, &#8220;If you do not save yourself<n id="1" /> tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!&#8221;

Jonathan said to David, &#8220;Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the <sc>Lordsc> saying, &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc> will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.&#8217;&#8221;p><t /><v id="(21:1)" /><n id="1" /><p class="bodytext">Then David<n id="2" /> got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city.

The servants of Achish said to him, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t this David, the king of the land? Isn&#8217;t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Saul struck down his thousands,p> <p class="poetry">But David his tens of thousands&#8217;?&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, &#8220;My lord, O king!&#8221; When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground.

David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab&#8217;s brother, &#8220;Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?&#8221; Abishai replied, &#8220;I will go down with you.&#8221;p>

David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, &#8220;Won&#8217;t you answer, Abner?&#8221; Abner replied, &#8220;Who are you, that you have called to the king?&#8221;

When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel&#8217;s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin&#8217;s border. They will say to you, &#8216;The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two!<n id="1" /> He is asking, &#8220;What should I do about my son?&#8221;&#8217;p>

So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the <sc>Lordsc> has incited you against me, may he take delight in<n id="1" /> an offering. But if men have instigated this,<n id="2" /> may they be cursed before the <sc>Lordsc>! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s inheritance, saying, &#8216;Go on, serve other gods!&#8217;