1 Samuel 23:4

4 Therefore again David counselled with the Lord; the which answered (who answered), and said to David, Rise thou up, and go into Keilah; for I shall betake [the] Philistines into thine 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 counselled (with) the Lord, and said, Whether I shall go, and smite these Philistines? (And so David counselled with the Lord, and asked, Shall I go, and strike down these Philistines?) And the Lord said to David, Go forth, and thou shalt smite the Philistines, and thou shalt save Keilah.

3 And (the) men, that were with David, said to him, Lo! we be here in Judah, and have dread (and be afraid); how much more if we shall go into Keilah against the companies of (the) Philistines.

4 Therefore again David counselled with the Lord; the which answered (who answered), and said to David, Rise thou up, and go into Keilah; for I shall betake [the] Philistines into thine hand

5 Therefore David went, and his men, into Keilah, and fought against the Philistines; and he drove away their work beasts, and smote them with [a] great wound; and David saved the dwellers of Keilah. (And so David and his men went to Keilah, and fought against the Philistines; and he took away their work beasts, and struck them down with a great slaughter; and so David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.)

6 And in that time, wherein Abiathar, [the] son of Ahimelech, fled to David into Keilah, he came down, and had with him (the) ephod, that is, the cloak of the highest priest. (And when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, joined David at Keilah, he brought the ephod with him.)