1 Samuel 23:4

4 Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, "Arise, go down to Kei'lah; for I will give the Philistines into your hand.

1 Samuel 23:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:4

Then David inquired of the Lord yet again
Not for his own sake, who firmly believed it was the will of God he should go and succeed, but for the sake of his men, and to remove the doubts and fears that hung on their minds:

and the Lord answered him, and said, arise, go down to Keilah;
immediately, make no stay, nor hesitate about it, but go with all haste to the relief of the place:

for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hands;
which is still more explicit, and is a promise not only of delivering Keilah out of the hands of the Philistines, but of delivering them into David's hands, and so of an entire: victory; and therefore none of David's men had anything to fear after such a declaration of the will of God.

1 Samuel 23:4 In-Context

2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Kei'lah."
3 But David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Kei'lah against the armies of the Philistines?"
4 Then David inquired of the LORD again. And the LORD answered him, "Arise, go down to Kei'lah; for I will give the Philistines into your hand.
5 And David and his men went to Kei'lah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and made a great slaughter among them. So David delivered the inhabitants of Kei'lah.
6 When Abi'athar the son of Ahim'elech fled to David to Kei'lah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.