This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, ¹  Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die!

When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly. ¹ 

The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.

But David said to Achish, “What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?”

On that day ¹  a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head.

Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men.

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! ¹  The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” ²  Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.

Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”

When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered ¹  him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.” ² 

(One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s shepherds.)

He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan ¹  shot the arrow beyond him.

Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul ¹  did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.

As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. ¹  But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by ²  Israel.

Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence and the spear drove into the wall. ¹  David escaped quickly ²  that night.

Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found ¹  the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. ² 

Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth.

Eli ¹  said, “What message did he speak to you? Don’t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely ²  if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!”

In those days the Philistines gathered their troops ¹  for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, “You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle.” ² 

He watches over ¹  his holy ones, ²  but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.

Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. ¹