1 Samuel 23:12

12 Then David said, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.

1 Samuel 23:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:12

Then said David, will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men
into the hand of Saul?
&c.] That is, the lords and great men of the place, the governor of the city, and the heads of it, the chief magistrates in it:

and the Lord said, they will deliver [thee] up:
that is, provided he stayed there; for the Lord knew the dispositions and affections of their minds, that they were inclined to do it, and would do it, if he continues among them till Saul came down; which showed the great ingratitude of this people to their deliverer.

1 Samuel 23:12 In-Context

10 Then David said, O LORD God of Israel, thy slave has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down as thy slave has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy slave. And the LORD said, He will come down.

12 Then David said, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.

13 So David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah and went from one place to another. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah, and he forbare to go forth.

14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.