The men said to David, “Today is the day the Lord talked about! The Lord told you, ‘I will give your enemy to you, then you can do anything you want with your enemy.’”
But if an accident happens, and a person kills someone without planning it, then God allowed that thing to happen. I will choose some special places where people can run for safety. So that person can run to one of those places.
David left Gath. David ran away to the cave [187] of Adullam. David’s brothers and relatives heard that David was at Adullam. They went to see David there.
Jonathan told David, “Don’t be afraid. My father Saul won’t hurt you. You will become the king of Israel. And I will be second to you. Even my father knows this.”
People told Saul that David was now at Keilah. Saul said, “God has given David to me! David has trapped himself. He went into a town that has gates and bars to lock the gates.”
{I don’t want to hurt you!} You can see that with your own eyes! The Lord let me have you today in the cave. But I refused to kill you. I was merciful to you. I said, ‘I won’t hurt my master. Saul is the Lord’s chosen king!’
The Lord pays every man for the things he does—he rewards him if he does right, and he punishes him if he does wrong. The Lord let me defeat you today, but I wouldn’t hurt the Lord’s chosen king.