23:1
The Deliverance of Keilah and the Treachery of the Matrix
Then they told Dawid, saying, "Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors."
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1 Shamu'al 23
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Therefore Dawid inquired of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, saying, "Shall I go and smite these Philistines?" And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said unto Dawid, "Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah."
23:3
And Dawid's men said unto him, "Behold, we be afraid here in Yahudah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?"
23:4
Then Dawid inquired of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 yet again. And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand."
23:5
So Dawid and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So Dawid saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
23:6
The Arrival of the Ephod
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelek fled to Dawid to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
23:7
The Paranoia of Shaul
And it was told Shaul that Dawid was come to Keilah. And Shaul said, "Alahiym 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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And Shaul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege Dawid and his men.
23:9
The Inquiry of the Oracle
And Dawid knew that Shaul secretly practiced mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring hither the ephod."
23:10
Then said Dawid, "O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 Alahiym of Yashar'al, thy servant hath certainly heard that Shaul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake."
23:11
"Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Shaul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 Alahiym of Yashar'al, I beseech thee, tell thy servant." And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said, "He will come down."
23:12
Then said Dawid, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Shaul?" And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 said, "They will deliver thee up."
23:13
The Flight to the Wilderness
Then Dawid and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Shaul that Dawid was escaped from Keilah; and he forbore to go forth.
23:14
And Dawid abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Shaul sought him every day, but Alahiym delivered him not into his hand.
23:15
The Secret Visit of Yonathan
And Dawid saw that Shaul was come out to seek his life: and Dawid was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.
23:16
And Yonathan Shaul's son arose, and went to Dawid into the wood, and strengthened his hand in Alahiym.
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And he said unto him, "Fear not: for the hand of Shaul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Yashar'al, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Shaul my father knoweth."
23:18
And they two made a covenant before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄: and Dawid abode in the wood, and Yonathan went to his house.
23:19
The Betrayal of the Ziphites
Then came up the Ziphites to Shaul to Gibeah, saying, "Doth not Dawid hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Yeshimon?"
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"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."
23:21
And Shaul said, "Blessed be ye of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄; for ye have compassion on me."
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."
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 be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Yahudah."
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The Pursuit in the Wilderness of Maon
And they arose, and went to Ziph before Shaul: but Dawid and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Yeshimon.
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Shaul also and his men went to seek him. And they told Dawid: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Shaul heard that, he pursued after Dawid in the wilderness of Maon.
23:26
And Shaul went on this side of the mountain, and Dawid and his men on that side of the mountain: and Dawid made haste to get away for fear of Shaul; for Shaul and his men compassed Dawid and his men round about to take them.
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The Celestial Override: Sela-hammahlekoth
But there came a messenger unto Shaul, saying, "Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land."
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Wherefore Shaul returned from pursuing after Dawid, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth.
23:29
And Dawid went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi.