1 Samuel 19:1-24
Saul Tries to Kill David
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David 2 and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. 3 I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I’ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.”
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. 5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?”
6 Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”
7 So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.
8 Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
9 But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, 10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.
11 Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.
14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.”
15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.” 16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?”
Michal told him, “He said to me, ‘Let me get away. Why should I kill you?’”
18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”
“Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said.
23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Saul told his son Jonathan and his officers to kill David...But Jonathan liked David very much, so he warned him...“Be careful!...Saul is looking for a chance to kill you...In the morning go into the field and hide...I will go out into the field with my father...We will stand in the field where you are hiding...I will talk to my father about you, and I will tell you what I learn.”...Jonathan talked to his father Saul...Jonathan said good things about David...He said, “You are the king...David is your servant...David hasn’t done anything wrong to you, so don’t do anything wrong to him...He has always been good to you...He risked his life when he killed the Philistine...The LORD won a great victory for all Israel...You saw it, and you were happy...Why do you want to hurt David?...He’s innocent...There is no reason to kill him.”...Saul listened to Jonathan and made a promise. He said, “As surely as the LORD lives, David won’t be put to death.”...So Jonathan called David and told him everything that was said...Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and David was with Saul as before...
Once again there was war with the Philistines, and David went out to fight...He defeated them badly, and they ran away...Later, in Saul’s house, David was playing the harp...Saul was there with his spear in his hand...Then an evil spirit from the LORD came on Saul...Saul threw his spear at David and tried to pin him to the wall...David jumped out of the way, so the spear missed him and stuck in the wall...That night, David ran away...Saul sent men to watch David’s house...They stayed there all night...They were waiting to kill David in the morning, but David’s wife Michal warned him...She said, “You must run away tonight and save your life...If you don’t, you will be killed tomorrow.”...Then Michal let David down out of a window, and he escaped and ran away...Michal took the household god, put clothes on it, and put goats’ hair on its head...Then she put the statue in the bed...Saul sent messengers to take David prisoner...But Michal said, “David is sick.”...The men went and told Saul, but he sent the messengers back to see David...Saul told these men, “Bring David to me...Bring him lying on his bed if you must, even if it kills him.”...The messengers went to David’s house...They went inside to get him, but they saw it was only a statue and that its hair was only goats’ hair...Saul said to Michal, “Why did you trick me like this?...You let my enemy escape, and now he is gone.”...Michal answered Saul, “David told me he would kill me if I didn’t help him escape.”...
David escaped and ran away to Samuel at Ramah...He told Samuel everything that Saul had done to him...Then David and Samuel went to the camps where the prophets stayed...David stayed there...Saul heard that David was there in the camps near Ramah...So he sent some men to arrest David...But when they came to the camps, there was a group of prophets prophesying...Samuel was standing there leading the group...The Spirit of God came on Saul’s messengers and they began prophesying...Saul heard about this, so he sent other messengers, but they also began prophesying...So Saul sent messengers a third time, and they also began prophesying...Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah...Saul came to the big well by the threshing floor at Seku...He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”...The people answered, “In the camps near Ramah.”...So Saul went out to the camps near Ramah...The Spirit of God came on Saul, and he also began prophesying...He prophesied all the way to the camps at Ramah...Saul even took off his clothes...He lay there naked all day and through the night...So even Saul prophesied there in front of Samuel...That is why people say, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?”...