So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death;
Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.
Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.
So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand select Israelite troops, to search there for David.