New International Version
1 Samuel 23:14
14David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
1 Samuel 23:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
- New Living Translation (NLT)David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.
Context of 1 Samuel 23:14
12Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will.” 13So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there. David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. 15While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. 16And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.
Read all of 1 Samuel 231 Samuel 23:14 word by word
וַיֵּ֨שֶׁב דָּוִ֤ד בַּמִּדְבָּר֙ בַּמְּצָד֔וֹת וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב בָּהָ֖ר בְּמִדְבַּר־זִ֑יף וַיְבַקְשֵׁ֤הוּ שָׁאוּל֙ כָּל־הַיָּמִ֔ים וְלֹֽא־נְתָנ֥וֹ אֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּיָדֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
- abodeיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- in the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- in strong holdsמְצָדmetsad metsâd metsâdâh · strongholdH4679
- in a mountainהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
- of Ziphזִיףzîyph · ZiphH2128
- And Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- him every dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- but Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- deliveredנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- him not into his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 23:14
- Psalms 11:1In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain.
- Joshua 15:24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
- 1 Samuel 27:1But 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.”
- Psalms 54:3Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me— people without regard for God.
- Proverbs 1:16for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood.
- Proverbs 4:16For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
- 1 Samuel 23:7Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”
- Psalms 32:7You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
- Psalms 37:32The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death;
- Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
- Jeremiah 36:26Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
- Romans 8:31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- 2 Timothy 3:11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
- 2 Timothy 4:17But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 23:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Wilderness of Ziph - Ziph was a city in the southern part of Judea, not far from Carmel.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Ziph is placed between Hebron and En-gedi (marginal references). (The “wood” 1 Samuel 23:15 is by Conder taken as a proper name, “Cheresh,” and identified with Khoreisa.)Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 David made no attempt against Saul; he kept God's way, waited God's time, and was content to secure himself in woods and wildernesses. Let it make us think the worse of this world, which often gives such bad treatment to its best men: let it make us long for that kingdom where goodness shall for ever be in glory, and holiness in honour. We find Jonathan comforting David. As a pious friend, he directed him to God, the Foundation of his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14The wilderness strongholds were natural rock formations that offered shelter. Ziph was about 16 kilometers (10 miles) southeast of Keilah (1 Samuel 23:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1514-15. David abode in the wilderness ... of Ziph--A mountainous and sequestered region was generally called a wilderness, and took its name from some large town in the district. Two miles southeast of Hebron, and in the midst of a level plain, is Tell-ziph, an isolated and conical hillock, about a hundred feet high, probably the acropolis [Van De Velde], or the ruins [Robinson] of the ancient city of Ziph, from which the surrounding wilderness was called…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 23:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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