David thought,“ Some day Saul will destroy me. So the best thing I can do is escape. I’ll go to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop looking for me everywhere in Israel. His hand won’t be able to reach me.”

大卫心里说：“必有一日我死在扫罗手里，不如逃奔非利士地去。扫罗见我不在以色列的境内，就必绝望，不再寻索我；这样我可以脱离他的手。”

大卫心里说：“总有一天我会死在扫罗手里，现在我最好逃到非利士人的地去，扫罗就会绝望，不会继续在以色列全境内寻索我了。这样，我才可以脱离他的手。”

大卫心里说：“总有一天我会死在扫罗手里，现在我最好逃到非利士人的地去，扫罗就会绝望，不会继续在以色列全境内寻索我了。这样，我才可以脱离他的手。”

大卫心里想：“终有一天，我会死在扫罗手里，我最好逃到非利士人那里。这样，扫罗就不会在以色列到处追捕我了，我便可以逃离他的手。”

大卫心里说：“总有一天，我会死在扫罗的手里，我倒不如逃奔到非利士人的国土，扫罗对我就会死心，不再在以色列全境寻索我，我就可以逃脱他的手了。”

大卫心里说：“我总有一天会死在扫罗手中，已经别无选择，只能逃到非利士人之地；这样，扫罗就会放弃，不会继续在以色列全境寻索我，我也就逃脱他的手了。”

大衛心裏說：「必有一日我死在掃羅手裏，不如逃奔非利士地去。掃羅見我不在以色列的境內，就必絕望，不再尋索我；這樣我可以脫離他的手。」

大衛心裏說：「總有一天我會死在掃羅手裏，現在我最好逃到非利士人的地去，掃羅就會絕望，不會繼續在以色列全境內尋索我了。這樣，我才可以脫離他的手。」

大衛心裏說：「總有一天我會死在掃羅手裏，現在我最好逃到非利士人的地去，掃羅就會絕望，不會繼續在以色列全境內尋索我了。這樣，我才可以脫離他的手。」

大衛心裡想：「終有一天，我會死在掃羅手裡，我最好逃到非利士人那裡。這樣，掃羅就不會在以色列到處追捕我了，我便可以逃離他的手。」

大衛心裡說：“總有一天，我會死在掃羅的手裡，我倒不如逃奔到非利士人的國土，掃羅對我就會死心，不再在以色列全境尋索我，我就可以逃脫他的手了。”

大衛心裏說：『如今看來，總有一天我會被收拾在掃羅手裏的；最好莫如逃跑到非利士人之地去；掃羅對我就必絕望、再也不在以色列全境尋索我了；這樣、我便可以逃脫他的手了。』

大衛心裡說：「我總有一天會死在掃羅手中，已經別無選擇，只能逃到非利士人之地；這樣，掃羅就會放棄，不會繼續在以色列全境尋索我，我也就逃脫他的手了。」

大衛意謂、必有一日、我亡於掃羅手、不如遁入非利士地、掃羅則絕其望、不復索我於以色列境、我乃脫於其手、

大闢慮後日為掃羅所害、不如速遁於非利士人地。掃羅見我不在以色列四境、必不索我、我可脫其手。

大衛意謂、恐後有一日、我終亡於掃羅手、不如奔非利士地、掃羅見我不在以色列境內、必絕望不復索我、我乃可脫其手、

But David thought to himself,“ One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

Then David said in his heart,“ Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”

But David kept thinking to himself,“ Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.”

David said to himself,“ One of these days I’ll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I’ll escape from him.”

Then David said to himself,“ Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to safely escape into the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”

And David said in his heart,“ Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

David said to himself,“ One of these days I’ll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape immediately to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me everywhere in Israel, and I’ll escape from him.”

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul:[ there is] nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

David thought to himself,“ One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”

David said in his heart,“ I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand.”

Family of Jacob, why do you complain,“ The Lord doesn’t notice our condition”? People of Israel, why do you say,“ Our God doesn’t pay any attention to our rightful claims”?Don’t you know who made everything? Haven’t you heard about him? The Lord is the God who lives forever. He created everything on earth. He won’t become worn out or get tired. No one will ever know how great his understanding is.He gives strength to those who are tired. He gives power to those who are weak.Even young people become worn out and get tired. Even the best of them trip and fall.But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.

It is good when people wait quietly for the Lord to save them.It is good for a man to carry a heavy load of suffering while he is young.

He said to his disciples,“ Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all yet?”

We told you in Egypt,‘ Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here in the desert!”

“ Don’t be afraid,” he said.“ My father Saul won’t harm you. You will be king over Israel. And I will be next in command. Even my father Saul knows this.”

Hope that is put off makes one sick at heart. But a desire that is met is like a tree of life.

The Lord says to his people,“ I comfort you because of who I am. Why are you afraid of mere human beings? They are like grass that dries up.

While David was living in Ziklag, the Philistines gathered their army together. They planned to fight against Israel. Achish said to David,“ Here is what you must understand. You and your men must march out with me and my army.”David said,“ I understand. You will see for yourself what I can do.” Achish replied,“ All right. I’ll make you my own personal guard for life.”

When I was terrified, I said to myself,“ No one tells the truth.”

The Lord and King is the Holy One of Israel. He says,“ You will find peace and rest when you turn away from your sins and depend on me. You will receive the strength you need when you stay calm and trust in me. But you do not want to do what I tell you to.You said,‘ No. We’ll escape on horses.’ So you will have to escape! You said,‘ We’ll ride off on fast horses.’ So those who chase you will use faster horses!

That day David ran away from Saul. He went to Achish, the king of Gath.But the servants of Achish spoke to him. They said,“ Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one the Israelites sing about when they dance? They sing,“‘ Saul has killed thousands of men. David has killed tens of thousands.’ ”David paid close attention to what the servants were saying. He became very much afraid of what Achish, the king of Gath, might do.So he pretended to be out of his mind when he was with them. As long as he was in Gath, he acted like a crazy person. He made marks on the doors of the city gate. He let spit run down his beard.Achish said to his servants,“ Just look at the man! He’s out of his mind! Why are you bringing him to me?Don’t I have enough crazy people around me already? So why do you have to bring this fellow here? Just look at how he’s carrying on in front of me! Why do you have to bring this man into my house?”

So Samuel got the animal horn that was filled with olive oil. He anointed David in front of his brothers. From that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David. Samuel went back to Ramah.

Why is the Lord bringing us to this land? We’re going to be killed by swords. Our enemies will capture our wives and children. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

But the prophet Gad spoke to David. He said,“ Don’t stay in your usual place of safety. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Achish would ask,“ Who did you attack today?” David would answer,“ The people who live in the Negev Desert of Judah.” Or he would answer,“ The people in the Negev Desert of Jerahmeel.” Or he would answer,“ The people in the Negev Desert of the Kenites.”David wouldn’t leave a man or woman alive to be brought back to Gath. He thought,“ They might tell on us. They might tell Achish who we really attacked.” That’s what David did as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

Right away Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.“ Your faith is so small!” he said.“ Why did you doubt me?”

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.In all your ways obey him. Then he will make your paths smooth and straight.

The Philistine rulers marched out in groups of hundreds and thousands. David and his men were marching with Achish behind the others.The commanders of the Philistines asked,“ Why are these Hebrews here?” Achish replied,“ That’s David, isn’t it? Wasn’t he an officer of Saul, the king of Israel? He has already been with me for more than a year. I haven’t found any fault in him. That’s been true from the day he left Saul until now.”But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish. They said,“ Send David back. Let him return to the town you gave him. He must not go with us into battle. If he does, he’ll turn against us during the fighting. In fact, he might even cut off the heads of our own men. What better way could he choose to win back his master’s favor?Isn’t David the one the Israelites sang about when they danced? They sang,“‘ Saul has killed thousands of men. David has killed tens of thousands.’ ”So Achish called David over to him. He said,“ You have been faithful to me. And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. I haven’t found any fault in you. That’s been true from the day you came to me until today. But the Philistine rulers aren’t pleased to have you come along.So now go back home in peace. Don’t do anything that wouldn’t please the Philistine rulers.”“ But what have I done?” asked David.“ What have you found against me from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against your enemies? After all, you are my king and master.”Achish answered,“ You have been as pleasing to me as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders have said,‘ We don’t want David to go up with us into battle.’So get up early in the morning. Take with you the men who used to serve Saul. Leave as soon as the sun begins to come up.”So David and his men got up early in the morning. They went back to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag. The Amalekites had attacked the people of the Negev Desert. They had also attacked Ziklag and burned it.They had captured the women and everyone else in Ziklag. They had taken as prisoners young people and old people alike. But they didn’t kill any of them. Instead, they carried them off as they went on their way.David and his men reached Ziklag. They saw that it had been destroyed by fire. They found out that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured.

The Lord said to Samuel,“ How long will you be filled with sorrow because of Saul? I have refused to have him as king over Israel. Fill your animal horn with olive oil and go on your way. I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

The Lord will do for you every good thing he promised to do. He’ll appoint you ruler over Israel.

When we came to Macedonia, we weren’t able to rest. We were attacked no matter where we went. We had battles on the outside and fears on the inside.