<p class="bodytext">Then Samuel said to Saul, &#8220;Wait a minute!<n id="1" /> Let me tell you what the <sc>Lordsc> said to me last night.&#8221; Saul<n id="2" /> said to him, &#8220;Tell me.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">So his servants told David these things and David agreed<n id="1" /> to become the king&#8217;s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired<n id="2" />

So Jonathan told David, &#8220;My father Saul is trying<n id="1" /> to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find<n id="2" /> a hiding place and stay in seclusion.<n id="3" />

I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is,<n id="1" /> I will let you know.&#8221;p>

When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied.

When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, &#8220;God has delivered<n id="1" /> him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.&#8221;<n id="2" />

Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel, please inform your servant!&#8221;p> <p class="bodytext">Then the <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;He will come down.&#8221;

Saul and his men went to look for him.<n id="1" /> But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon.

<t /><p class="bodytext"><v id="(24:2)" /> When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, &#8220;Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.&#8221;

You have explained today how you have treated me well. The <sc>Lordsc> delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me.

<p class="bodytext">But one of the servants told Nabal&#8217;s wife Abigail, &#8220;David sent messengers from the desert to greet<n id="1" /> our lord, but he screamed at them.

In the morning, when Nabal was sober,<n id="1" /> his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed.<n id="2" />

David said to the young man<n id="1" /> who was telling him this, &#8220;How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?&#8221;<n id="2" />

The young man who was telling him this<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him.

<p class="bodytext">David said to the young man who told this to him, &#8220;Where are you from?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t report it in Gath,p> <p class="poetry">don&#8217;t spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,p> <p class="poetry">the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!p>

When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, Joab was told: &#8220;Abner the son of Ner came to the king; he sent him away, and he left in peace!&#8221;p>

Messengers<n id="1" /> told David what had happened,<n id="2" /> so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, &#8220;Stay in Jericho<n id="3" /> until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River,<n id="1" /> and came to Helam. The Arameans deployed their forces against David and fought with him.

Now David<n id="1" /> had been told, &#8220;Ahithophel has sided with the conspirators who are with Absalom. So David prayed,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Make the advice of Ahithophel foolish, O <sc>Lordsc>!&#8221;p>