17 And he said to him, a“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. bEven my father Saul knows that.”
18 So the two of them amade a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
19 Then the Ziphites acame up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?
20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and aour part shallbe to deliver him into the king’s hand.”
21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me.
22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty.
23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the1 clans of Judah.”
24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness aof Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down1 to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon.
26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. aSo David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men bwere encircling David and his men to take them.
27aBut a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!”
28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place1 the Rock of Escape.
29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at aEn Gedi.
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us?—From the tell of Ziph a panorama of the whole surrounding district is to be seen. No wonder, then, that the Ziphites saw David and his men passing to and fro in the mountains of the wilderness. Spying him at a distance when he ventured to show himself on the hill of Hachilah, "on the right hand of the wilderness," that is, the south side of Ziph, they sent in haste to Saul, to tell him of the lurking place of his enemy [VAN DE VELDE].
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing 1 Samuel 23:19:
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