David’s Four Hundred Men^(A)

22 David therefore departed from there and ^(B)escaped ^(C)to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. ^2 (D)And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was ^[a]discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about ^(E)four hundred men with him.

³ Then David went from there to Mizpah of ^(F)Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

⁵ Now the prophet ^(G)Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Saul Murders the Priests

⁶ When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in ^(H)Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him— ⁷ then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse ^(I)give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? ⁸ All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that ^(J)my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”

⁹ Then answered ^(K)Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to ^(L)Ahimelech the son of ^(M)Ahitub. ^10 (N)And he inquired of the Lord for him, ^(O)gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. ¹² And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”

He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

¹³ Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”

¹⁴ So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as ^(P)faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? ¹⁵ Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

¹⁶ And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all ^(Q)your father’s house!” ¹⁷ Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king ^(R)would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and ^[b]struck the priests, and ^(S)killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. ^19 (T)Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

^20 (U)Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^(V)escaped and fled after David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. ²² So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s ^[c]house. ²³ Stay with me; do not fear. ^(W)For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

²⁰ Judah and Israel were as numerous ^(A)as the sand by the sea in multitude, ^(B)eating and drinking and rejoicing. ²¹ So ^(C)Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from ^(D)the^[a] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. ^(E)They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

^22 (F)Now Solomon’s ^[b]provision for one day was thirty ^[c]kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, ²³ ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

²⁴ For he had dominion over all the region on this side of ^[d]the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over ^(G)all the kings on this side of the River; and ^(H)he had peace on every side all around him. ²⁵ And Judah and Israel ^(I)dwelt^[e] safely, ^(J)each man under his vine and his fig tree, ^(K)from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

^26 (L)Solomon had ^[f]forty thousand stalls of ^(M)horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷ And ^(N)these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. ²⁸ They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

²⁹ And ^(O)God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men ^(P)of the East and all ^(Q)the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ For he was ^(R)wiser than all men—^(S)than Ethan the Ezrahite, ^(T)and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ^32 (U)He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his ^(V)songs were one thousand and five. ³³ Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. ³⁴ And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, ^(W)came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.