1 Samuel

1 Samuel 21: Survival, Strategy, And God’s Unseen Hand

1 Samuel 21:1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

1 Samuel 21:2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

1 Samuel 21:3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

1 Samuel 21:5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Ofa truth women have been kept from us about these three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

1 Samuel 21:6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

1 Samuel 21:7 Now a certain man ofthe servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

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1 Samuel 21:8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.

1 Samuel 21:9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.

1 Samuel 21:10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

1 Samuel 21:11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousand?

1 Samuel 21:13 scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

1 Samuel 21:14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?

1 Samuel 21:15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

1 Samuel 22: How God Builds Leaders In Times Of Adversity

1 Samuel 22:1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam; and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.

1 Samuel 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and everyone that in debt, and everyone that wets discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them, and there were with him about four hundred men.

1 Samuel 22:3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.

1 Samuel 22:5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed and came into the forest of Hareth.

1 Samuel 22:6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)

1 Samuel 22:7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousandÿ and captains of hundreds;

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1 Samuel 22:8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

1 Samuel 22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

1 Samuel 22:10 And he inquired of the LORD for him and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

1 Samuel 22:11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.

1 Samuel 22:13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

1 Samuel 22:14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king’s son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thine house?

1 Samuel 22:15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.

1 Samuel 22:16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.

1 Samuel 22:17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.

1 Samuel 22:18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.

1 Samuel 22:19 And Nob, the city ofthe priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

1 Samuel 22:21 And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests.

1 Samuel 22:22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.

1 Samuel 22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me, thou shalt be in safeguard.

1 Samuel 23: David’s Faithful Leadership Amid Saul’s Pursuit

1 Samuel 23:1 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors.

1 Samuel 23:2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah,

1 Samuel 23:3 And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies ofthe Philistines?

1 Samuel 23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

1 Samuel 23:6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

1 Samuel 23:7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.

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1 Samuel 23:8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

1 Samuel 23:9 And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.

1 Samuel 23:10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

1 Samuel 23:11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said He will come down.

1 Samuel 23:12 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said They will deliver thee up.

1 Samuel 23:13 Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah, and he forbare to go forth.

1 Samuel 23:14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.

1 Samuel 23:15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

1 Samuel 23:17 And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and that also Saul my father knoweth.

1 Samuel 23:18 And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

1 Samuel 23:19 Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?

1 Samuel 23:20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down, and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.

1 Samuel 23:21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me.

1 Samuel 23:22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly.

1 Samuel 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass if he is in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.

1 Samuel 23:25 Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

1 Samuel 23:26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.

1 Samuel 23:27 But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.

1 Samuel 23:28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth.

1 Samuel 23:29 And David went up from thence and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.

1 Samuel 24: How David Proved His Loyalty To God And Saul

1 Samuel 24:1 And it came to pass when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-Gedi.

1 Samuel 24:2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.

1 Samuel 24 Commentary On David’s Loyalty

1 Samuel 24:3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave,

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1 Samuel 24:4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine, enemy, into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.

1 Samuel 24:5 And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.

How David Showed Loyalty To God And Saul In 1 Samuel 24

1 Samuel 24:7 So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out ofthe cave and went on his way.

1 Samuel 24:8 David also arose afterward and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself.

1 Samuel 24:9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?

Bible Study Guide On 1 Samuel 24

1 Samuel 24:10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed.

1 Samuel 24:11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.

1 Samuel 24:12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

1 Samuel 24:13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

1 Samuel 24:14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.

Biblical Perspective On 1 Samuel 24 And David’s Faithfulness

1 Samuel 24:16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

1 Samuel 24:17 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.

1 Samuel 24:18 And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not.

1 Samuel 24 Meaning Explained

1 Samuel 24:19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.

1 Samuel 24:20 And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.

1 Samuel 24:21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house.

1 Samuel 24:22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.

1 Samuel 25: The Power Of Humility And Bold Action

1 Samuel 25:1 And Samuel died, and all the Israelites were gathered together and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

1 Samuel 25:2 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

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1 Samuel 25:3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings, and he was ofthe house of Caleb.

1 Samuel 25:4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

1 Samuel 25:5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:

1 Samuel 25:7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.

1 Samuel 25:8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

1 Samuel 25:9 And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

1 Samuel 25:10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master.

1 Samuel 25:11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and the flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they are?

1 Samuel 25:12 So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

1 Samuel 25:13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword, and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred abodes by the stuff.

1 Samuel 25:14 But one of the young men told Abigail, NabaTs wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

1 Samuel 25:15 But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields:

1 Samuel 25:17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

1 Samuel 25:18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

1 Samuel 25:19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told her, not her husband Nabal.

1 Samuel 25:20 And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert ofthe hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

1 Samuel 25:21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

1 Samuel 25:22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if 1 leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

1 Samuel 25:23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

1 Samuel 25:24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity he: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

1 Samuel 25:25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

1 Samuel 25:26 Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath with holden thee from coming toshed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

1 Samuel 25:27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

1 Samuel 25:28 pray thee, forgive the trespass of Thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

1 Samuel 25:29 Yet a man rises to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

1 Samuel 25:30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

1 Samuel 25:31 That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offense of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine, handmaid.

1 Samuel 25:32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:

1 Samuel 25:34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

1 Samuel 25:35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

1 Samuel 25:36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabats heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

1 Samuel 25:37 But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

1 Samuel 25:38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.

1 Samuel 25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him as wife.

1 Samuel 25:40 And when the servants of David came to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.

1 Samuel 25:42 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

1 Samuel 25:43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they were also both of them his wives.

1 Samuel 25:44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.

1 Samuel 26: Trusting God’s Justice Over Personal Vengeance

1 Samuel 26:1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?

1 Samuel 26:2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph,

1 Samuel 26:3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

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1 Samuel 26:4 David, therefore, sent out spies and understood that Saul was come in very deed.

1 Samuel 26:5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

1 Samuel 26:6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said I will go down with thee.

1 Samuel 26:8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine, enemy, into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?

1 Samuel 26:10 David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him, or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

1 Samuel 26:11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

1 Samuel 26:12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster, and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.

1 Samuel 26:13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off; a great space being between them:

1 Samuel 26:14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?

1 Samuel 26:15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.

1 Samuel 26:16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD iiveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD’S anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.

1 Samuel 26:18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?

1 Samuel 26:19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they are the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

1 Samuel 26:20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

1 Samuel 26:21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

1 Samuel 26:22 And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it.

1 Samuel 26:24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.

1 Samuel 26:25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

1 Samuel 27: David’s Strategy For Survival In Enemy Land

1 Samuel 27:1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of all: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land ofthe Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me anymore in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand,

1 Samuel 27:2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath,

1 Samuel 27:3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, NabaTs wife.

1 Samuel 27:4 And it was toldSaul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

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1 Samuel 27:5 And David said unto Achish, If1 have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that 1 may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?

1 Samuel 27:6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day

1 Samuel 27:7 And the time that David dwelt in the country ofthe Philistines was a full year and four months.

1 Samuel 27:9 And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.

1 Samuel 27:10 And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south ofthe Kenites.

1 Samuel 27:11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country ofthe Philistines.

1 Samuel 27:12 And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant forever.

1 Samuel 28: The Danger Of Turning Away From God’s Guidance

1 Samuel 28:1 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.

1 Samuel 28:2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head forever.

1 Samuel 28:3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out ofthe land.

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1 Samuel 28:4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.

1 Samuel 28:5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.

1 Samuel 28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor.

1 Samuel 28:8 And Saul disguised himself and put on another raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

1 Samuel 28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

1 Samuel 28:10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

1 Samuel 28:11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up, Samuel.

1 Samuel 28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

1 Samuel 28:13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out ofthe earth.

1 Samuel 28:14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

1 Samuel 28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered I am sorely distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

1 Samuel 28:16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

1 Samuel 28:17 And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David: IS Because thou obeyed not the voice of the LORD, nor executed his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.

1 Samuel 28:20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

1 Samuel 28:21 And the woman came unto Saul and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.

1 Samuel 28:22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way.

1 Samuel 28:23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth and sat upon the bed

1 Samuel 28:24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:

1 Samuel 28:25 And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants, and they did eat. Then they rose up and went away that night

1 Samuel 29: When God Protects You From Dangerous Alliances

1 Samuel 29:1 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel,

1 Samuel 29:2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish.

1 Samuel 29:3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes ofthe Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of all the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?

1 Samuel 29:4 And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?

Read and Learn More 1 Samuel: A Journey of Faith, Leadership, and God’s Providence

1 Samuel 29:5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousand?

1 Samuel 29:6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favor thee not.

1 Samuel 29:7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords ofthe Philistines.

1 Samuel 29:9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

1 Samuel 29:10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.

1 Samuel 29:11 So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land ofthe Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 31: The Consequences Of Disobedience And God’s Judgment

1 Samuel 31:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa.

1 Samuel 31:2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malachi-shua, Saul’s sons

Read and Learn More 1 Samuel: A Journey of Faith, Leadership, and God’s Providence

1 Samuel 31:3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers.

1 Samuel 31:4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it.

1 Samuel 31:6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

1 Samuel 31:7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

1 Samuel 31:8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.

1 Samuel 31:10 And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;

1 Samuel 31:12 All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body ofSaul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

1 Samuel 31:13 And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.