1 Samuel 23:12-22

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.

15 And David, seeing that Saul had come out to seek his soul, stayed in the woods in the wilderness of Ziph.

16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

17 And he said unto him, Do not fear, for the hand of Saul, my father, shall not find thee, and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and even my father knows this.

18 And the two made a covenant before the LORD, and David abode in the woods, and Jonathan returned to his house.

19 Then those of Ziph came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the woods in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the right hand side of the wilderness?

20 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.

21 And Saul said, Blessed are ye of the LORD, for ye have compassion on me.

22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet and know and see his place where he places his foot and who has seen him there, for it is told me that he deals with great prudence.

1 Samuel 23:12-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 23

This chapter gives an account of David's relieving Keilah, when it had like to have fallen into the hands of the Philistines, 1Sa 23:1-6; and of Saul's design to surprise him there, which David having notice of, and inquiring of the Lord, departed from thence; which when Saul heard of, he forbore to come forth, 1Sa 23:7-13; and of David's being in the wilderness of Ziph, where, in a wood there, he had an interview with Jonathan, 1Sa 23:14-18; and of the Ziphites offering to deliver him up to Saul, for which he commends them, and gives them instructions how they should behave to him in that affair, 1Sa 23:19-23; and of his seeking him in the wilderness of Maon, where David and his men were in great danger of being taken; which was prevented by the news of the Philistines invading the land coming to Saul just at the nick of time, 1Sa 23:24-29.