9 David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, i“Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, j“They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, kwho were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went lwherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country mof the wilderness of nZiph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
Saul Pursues David
15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. oSaul my father also knows this.” 18 pAnd the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
19 qThen the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of rJeshimon? 20 Now come down, O king, according to all your heart’s desire to come down, sand our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21 And Saul said, t“May you be blessed by the Lord, ufor you have had compassion on me. 22 Go, make yet more sure. Know and see the place where his foot is, and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he is very cunning. 23 See therefore and take note of all the lurking places where he hides, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” 24 And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
Now David and his men were vin the wilderness of Maon, win the Arabah to the south of rJeshimon.
The Lord Upholds My Life
To the choirmaster: with tstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David, uwhen the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”
1 O God, save me by your vname,
and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, whear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 xFor ystrangers2 have risen against me;
ruthless men zseek my life;
they do not set God before themselves. Selah
4 Behold, aGod is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5 He will return the evil to my enemies;
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, dfor it is good.
7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has elooked in triumph on my enemies.
The Faithful Have Vanished
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.1 A Psalm of David.
1 Save, O Lord, for mthe godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone nutters lies to his neighbor;
3 May the Lord cut off all oflattering lips,
the tongue that makes qgreat boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because rthe poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
sI will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the tsafety for which he longs.”
6 uThe words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us2 from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
25 And Saul and his men went to seek him. And David was told, so he went down to the rock and lived in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
In the Shadow of Your Wings
A fPrayer of David.
1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; gattend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence hlet my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
3 You have itried my heart, you have jvisited me by knight,
you have ltested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have mheld fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
6 I ncall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
oincline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 pWondrously show1 your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from qtheir adversaries at your right hand.
8 Keep me as rthe apple of your eye;
hide me in sthe shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who tsurround me.
10 uThey close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they vspeak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our wsteps;
they set their eyes to xcast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion ylurking in ambush.
13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O Lord,
from zmen of the world whose aportion is in this life.2
You fill their womb with treasure;3
they are satisfied with bchildren,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
15 As for me, I shall cbehold your face in righteousness;
The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield
Of David.
1 To you, O Lord, I call;
jmy rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you kbe silent to me,
I become like those who lgo down to the pit.
2 mHear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I nlift up my hands
3 Do not pdrag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
qwho speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 rGive to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
srender them their due reward.
5 Because they tdo not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has uheard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and vmy shield;
in him my heart wtrusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my xsong I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;2
he is ythe saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless zyour heritage!
26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And David was hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid against the land.” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.1 29 2 And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of xEngedi.
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to iDo Not Destroy. A jMiktam1 of David, when he fled from Saul, in kthe cave.
1 lBe merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul mtakes refuge;
in nthe shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
otill the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who pfulfills his purpose for me.
3 qHe will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame rhim who tramples on me. Selah
sGod will send out this steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of ulions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose vteeth are spears and arrows,
whose wtongues are sharp swords.
5 xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set ya net for my steps;
my soul was zbowed down.
They adug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 bMy heart is csteadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
Awake, fO harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your gsteadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
