1The men of Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which faces Jeshimon?"
2So Saul set out and went down to the wilderness of Ziph. He took three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to look for David in the wilderness of Ziph.
3Saul camped on the hill of Hachilah, which faces Jeshimon, beside the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul had come after him into the wilderness.
5Then David got up and came to the place where Saul had camped. David saw the place where Saul was lying, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army. Saul was lying inside the camp, and the people were camped all around him.
6Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" Abishai said, "I will go down with you."
7So David and Abishai came to the people by night. Look, Saul lay sleeping inside the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the people lay all around him.
8Then Abishai said to David, "God has handed your enemy over to you today. So let me strike him with the spear, please. I will pin him to the ground with one blow, and I will not need to strike him a second time."
9But David said to Abishai, "Do not kill him. Who can raise his hand against the LORD's anointed one and not be guilty?"
10David said more: "As the LORD lives, the LORD himself will strike him. Or his day will come and he will die. Or he will go down into battle and be killed."
11"The LORD forbid that I should raise my hand against the LORD's anointed one. But please, take the spear that is by his head, and the jar of water, and let us go."
12So David took the spear and the jar of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away. No one saw it. No one knew it. No one woke up. They were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill far away. There was a wide space between them.
14David called out to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner: "Will you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered, "Who are you, calling out to the king?"
15David said to Abner, "Are you not a brave man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For someone came in among the people to kill the king your lord."
16"What you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD's anointed one. Now look and see where the king's spear is, and the jar of water that was by his head."
17Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king."
18And he said, "Why does my lord chase after his servant like this? What have I done? What evil is in my hand?"
19"So now, please, let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. But if it is men who have done it, may they be cursed before the LORD. For they have driven me out today, so that I have no share in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.'"
20"So now, do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to look for a flea, as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."
21Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I will do you no more harm, because my life was precious in your eyes today. Look, I have acted like a fool, and I have been very wrong."
22David answered, "Look, here is the king's spear. Let one of the young men come over and fetch it."
23"May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness. The LORD handed you over to me today, but I would not raise my hand against the LORD's anointed one."
24"Look, as your life was of great value in my eyes today, so may my life be of great value in the eyes of the LORD, and may he rescue me out of all trouble."