David among the Philistines

¹David said to himself, “One of these days Saul will kill me. The best thing for me to do is to escape to Philistia. Then Saul will give up looking for me in Israel, and I will be safe.”

²So David and his six hundred men went over at once to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³David and his men settled there in Gath with their families. David had his two wives with him, Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel.

⁴When Saul heard that David had fled to Gath, he gave up trying to find him.

⁵David said to Achish, “If you are my friend, let me have a small town to live in. There is no need, sir, for me to live with you in the capital city.”

⁶So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag, and for this reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.

⁷David lived in Philistia for sixteen months.

⁸During that time David and his men would attack the people of Geshur, Girzi, and Amalek, who had been living in the region a very long time. He would raid their land as far as Shur, all the way down to Egypt,

⁹killing all the men and women and taking the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and even the clothes. Then he would come back to Achish,

¹⁰who would ask him, “Where did you go on a raid this time?” and David would tell him that he had gone to the southern part of Judah or to the territory of the clan of Jerahmeel or to the territory where the Kenites lived.

¹¹David would kill everyone, men and women, so that no one could go back to Gath and report what he and his men had really done. This is what David did the whole time he lived in Philistia.

¹²But Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He is hated so much by his own people the Israelites that he will have to serve me all his life.”

¹Some time later the Philistines gathered their troops to fight Israel, and Achish said to David, “Of course you understand that you and your men are to fight on my side.”

²“Of course,” David answered. “I am your servant, and you will see for yourself what I can do.” Achish said, “Good! I will make you my permanent bodyguard.”

Saul Consults a Medium

³Now Samuel had died, and all the Israelites had mourned for him and had buried him in his hometown of Ramah. Saul had forced all the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel.

⁴The Philistine troops assembled and camped near the town of Shunem; Saul gathered the Israelites and camped at Mount Gilboa.

⁵When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was terrified,

⁶and so he asked the Lord what to do. But the Lord did not answer him at all, either by dreams or by the use of Urim and Thummim or by prophets.

⁷Then Saul ordered his officials, “Find me a woman who is a medium, and I will go and consult her.” “There is one in Endor,” they answered.

⁸So Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his men to see the woman. “Consult the spirits for me and tell me what is going to happen,” he said to her. “Call up the spirit of the man I name.”

⁹The woman answered, “Surely you know what King Saul has done, how he forced the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel. Why, then, are you trying to trap me and get me killed?”

¹⁰Then Saul made a sacred vow. “By the living Lord I promise that you will not be punished for doing this,” he told her.

¹¹“Whom shall I call up for you?” the woman asked. “Samuel,” he answered.

¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul, “Why have you tricked me? You are King Saul!”

¹³“Don't be afraid!” the king said to her. “What do you see?” “I see a spirit coming up from the earth,” she answered.

¹⁴“What does it look like?” he asked. “It's an old man coming up,” she answered. “He is wearing a cloak.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed to the ground in respect.

¹⁵Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me? Why did you make me come back?” Saul answered, “I am in great trouble! The Philistines are at war with me, and God has abandoned me. He doesn't answer me any more, either by prophets or by dreams. And so I have called you, for you to tell me what I must do.”

¹⁶Samuel said, “Why do you call me when the Lord has abandoned you and become your enemy?

¹⁷The Lord has done to you what he told you through me: he has taken the kingdom away from you and given it to David instead.

¹⁸You disobeyed the Lord's command and did not completely destroy the Amalekites and all they had. That is why the Lord is doing this to you now.

¹⁹He will give you and Israel over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will join me, and the Lord will also give the army of Israel over to the Philistines.”

²⁰At once Saul fell down and lay stretched out on the ground, terrified by what Samuel had said. He was weak, because he had not eaten anything all day and all night.

²¹The woman went over to him and saw that he was terrified, so she said to him, “Please, sir, I risked my life by doing what you asked.

²²Now please do what I ask. Let me fix you some food. You must eat so that you will be strong enough to travel.”

²³Saul refused and said he would not eat anything. But his officers also urged him to eat. He finally gave in, got up from the ground, and sat on the bed.

²⁴The woman quickly killed a calf which she had been fattening. Then she took some flour, prepared it, and baked some bread without yeast.

²⁵She set the food before Saul and his officers, and they ate it. And they left that same night.

In Praise of God's Goodness

¹I will always thank the Lord; I will never stop praising him.

²I will praise him for what he has done; may all who are oppressed listen and be glad!

³Proclaim with me the Lord's greatness; let us praise his name together!

⁴I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me; he freed me from all my fears.

⁵The oppressed look to him and are glad; they will never be disappointed.

⁶The helpless call to him, and he answers; he saves them from all their troubles.

⁷His angel guards those who honor the Lord and rescues them from danger.

⁸Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Happy are those who find safety with him.

⁹Honor the Lord, all his people; those who obey him have all they need.

¹⁰Even lions go hungry for lack of food, but those who obey the Lord lack nothing good.

¹¹Come, my young friends, and listen to me, and I will teach you to honor the Lord.

¹²Would you like to enjoy life? Do you want long life and happiness?

¹³Then keep from speaking evil and from telling lies.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good; strive for peace with all your heart.

¹⁵The Lord watches over the righteous and listens to their cries;

¹⁶but he opposes those who do evil, so that when they die, they are soon forgotten.

¹⁷The righteous call to the Lord, and he listens; he rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope.

¹⁹Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all;

²⁰the Lord preserves them completely; not one of their bones is broken.

²¹Evil will kill the wicked; those who hate the righteous will be punished.

²²The Lord will save his people; those who go to him for protection will be spared.