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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>1 Samuel 23 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_samuel/23.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_samuel/23-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > 1 Samuel 23</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_samuel/22.htm" title="1 Samuel 22">◄</a> 1 Samuel 23 <a href="../1_samuel/24.htm" title="1 Samuel 24">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/1_samuel/23.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">David Protects the Town of Keilah</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>One day news came to David that the Philistines were at Keilah stealing grain from the threshing floors. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>David asked the LORD, “Should I go and attack them?”</p><p class="reg">“Yes, go and save Keilah,” the LORD told him.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>So David asked the LORD again, and again the LORD replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he brought the ephod with him.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. “Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the LORD what he should do. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then David prayed, “O LORD, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him?<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell me.”</p><p class="reg">And the LORD said, “He will come.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Again David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah betray me and my men to Saul?”</p><p class="reg">And the LORD replied, “Yes, they will betray you.”</p><p class="hdg">David Hides in the Wilderness</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the LORD. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. “We know where David is hiding,” they said. “He is in the strongholds of Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is in the southern part of Jeshimon. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Come down whenever you’re ready, O king, and we will catch him and hand him over to you!”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“The LORD bless you,” Saul said. “At last someone is concerned about me! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Discover his hiding places, and come back when you are sure. Then I’ll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I’ll track him down, even if I have to search every hiding place in Judah!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>So the men of Ziph returned home ahead of Saul.</p><p class="reg">Meanwhile, David and his men had moved into the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him in the wilderness.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/23-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span><a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a>David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">23:11 </span><span class="ft">Some manuscripts lack the first sentence of 23:11.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">23:28 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="it">Sela-hammahlekoth.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">23:29 </span><span class="ft">Verse 23:29 is numbered 24:1 in Hebrew text.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. 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