Samuel I_Chapter 23

Someone told David that the Philistines attacked Keilah and plundered the threshing floor.

So David asked the Lord, saying, May I go and attack those Philistines. The Lord said to David, Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.

The people who followed David said to him, “We are still in fear here in the land of Judah. How much less are we going to Keilah to attack the army of the Philistines?”?

David asked the Lord again. The Lord replied, “Get up and go down to Keilah, and I will deliver the Philistines into your hands.”.

David and his men went to Keilah and fought against the Philistines, greatly defeating them and seizing their livestock. In this way, David saved the residents of Keira.

When Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, fled to Keilah to see David, he held an ephod in his hand.

Someone told Saul that David had arrived at Keilah. Saul said, He has entered a city with gates and bars, and is trapped inside. God has handed him over to me.

So Saul gathered all the people to go down and attack the city of Keilah, besieging David and his people.

David knew that Saul had plotted against him, so he said to Abiathar the priest, ‘Bring the ephod.’.

David prayed, saying, O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has truly heard that Saul is coming to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.

The people of Keira handed me over to Saul, but not to him. Saul will not come down according to what your servant has heard. O Lord, the God of Israel, teach your servant. The Lord said, Saul will come down.

David also said, The people of Keilah have given me and my followers into the hands of Saul. The Lord said, It will be delivered up.

David and about six hundred people who were with him got up and went out of Keilah to wherever they could go. Someone told Saul that David had fled from Keilah. So Saul couldn’t come out.

David lived in the fortresses of the wilderness, always in the mountains of the wilderness of Sepher. Saul searched for David every day, but God did not hand him over.

David knew that Saul had come out to seek his life. At that time, he lived in the woods of the West Wilderness.

Jonathan, the son of Saul, stood up and went to the forest to see David, so that he could rely on God to strengthen himself,

Tell him not to be afraid. My father Saul’s hand will not harm you. You will be the king of Israel, and I will be your ruler. My father Saul knows about this.

So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David still lived in the forest, and Jonathan went home.

The Sephorites went up to Gibeah and said to Saul, “Isn’t David hiding in the forest, in the fortress, in the south of the wilderness on Mount Hakilah?”?

King, please come down according to your wishes, and we will personally deliver him into the king’s hand.

Saul said, May the Lord bless you, for you have compassion on me.

Please go back and confirm his residence and whereabouts, who saw him there, because I heard people say he is very cunning.

So you need to identify his hiding place, come back and tell me truthfully, and I will go with you. If he is in the territory of Judah, I will search for him from thousands of households.

The Sephorites stood up and went to Sephora before Saul. David and his men were in Arabah, south of the wilderness of Maon.

Saul and his men went to search for David. Someone told David that he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard this, he chased after David in the wilderness of Maon.

Saul walked on this side of the mountain, while David and his men walked on the other side of the mountain. David quickly avoided Saul. Because Saul and his men surrounded David and his men on all sides to capture them.

Suddenly, an envoy came to report to Saul, saying, The Philistines have violated the border and plundered. Please hurry back, king.

So Saul did not pursue David and went back to attack the Philistines. Therefore, the name of that place is Silahamahirochel.

David went up from there and lived in the fortresses of Engedi.