Bible in Basic English
And Saul's son Jonathan went to David in Horesh, and made his hands strong in God;
And said to him, Have no fear, for Saul my father will not get you into his power; and you will be king of Israel, and I will be by your side, and my father Saul is certain of this.
And the two of them made an agreement before the Lord: and David went on living in Horesh, and Jonathan went back to his house.
Then the Ziphites came up to Gibeah to see Saul, and said, Is not David living secretly among us in the strong places in Horesh, in the hill of Hachilah to the south of the waste land?
So now, O king, have your soul's desire and come down, and we, for our part, will give him up into the king's hands.
And Saul said, The Lord's blessing will be yours, for you have had pity on me.
Go now, and take more steps, and see where he is living: for they say that he is expert in deceit.
So take care to get knowledge of all the secret places where he is taking cover, and be certain to come back to me, and I will go with you: and without doubt, if he is anywhere in the land, I will get him, among all the families of Judah.
And they went back and came to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the waste land of Maon, in the dry land south of the waste land.
And Saul and his men went in search of him. And David had word of it, so he came down to the rock in the waste land of Maon. And Saul, hearing of this, went after David into the waste land of Maon.
And Saul and his men went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men went on the other: and David's purpose was to get away as quickly as possible, for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men were making a circle round David and his men in order to take them.
But a man came to Saul saying, Be quick and come; for the Philistines have made an attack on the land.
So turning back from going after David, Saul went against the Philistines: so that place was named Sela-hammah-lekoth.
And from there, David went up and took cover in the safe place of En-gedi.
— 1 Samuel 23:16-1964, Bible in Basic English
“Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into the woods, and strengthened his hand in God. He said to him, "Don't be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; and that also Saul my father knows." They both made a covenant before Yahweh: and David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his house. Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, "Doesn't David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert? Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand." Saul said, "You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me. Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, [and] who has seen him there; for it is told me that he deals very subtly. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah." They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert. Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told, he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard [that], he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land!" So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth. David went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.”
“Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him through God. He said to him,“Don’t be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this.” When the two of them had made a covenant before the LORD, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house. Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said,“Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now at your own discretion, O king, come down. Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.” Saul replied,“May you be blessed by the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely where he is and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him among all the thousands of Judah.” So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the rift valley to the south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to look for him. But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them. But a messenger came to Saul saying,“Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!” So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. (24:1) Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.”
Then David and his men, about six hundred of them, went out of Keilah, and got away wherever they were able to go. And Saul, hearing that David had got away from Keilah, did not go there.
And David kept in the waste land, in safe places, waiting in the hill-country in the waste land of Ziph. And Saul was searching for him every day, but God did not give him up into his hands.
And David was full of fear, in the knowledge that Saul had come out to take his life; and David was in the waste land of Ziph, in Horesh.
And Saul's son Jonathan went to David in Horesh, and made his hands strong in God;
And said to him, Have no fear, for Saul my father will not get you into his power; and you will be king of Israel, and I will be by your side, and my father Saul is certain of this.
And the two of them made an agreement before the Lord: and David went on living in Horesh, and Jonathan went back to his house.
Then the Ziphites came up to Gibeah to see Saul, and said, Is not David living secretly among us in the strong places in Horesh, in the hill of Hachilah to the south of the waste land?
So now, O king, have your soul's desire and come down, and we, for our part, will give him up into the king's hands.
And Saul said, The Lord's blessing will be yours, for you have had pity on me.
Go now, and take more steps, and see where he is living: for they say that he is expert in deceit.
So take care to get knowledge of all the secret places where he is taking cover, and be certain to come back to me, and I will go with you: and without doubt, if he is anywhere in the land, I will get him, among all the families of Judah.
And they went back and came to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the waste land of Maon, in the dry land south of the waste land.
And Saul and his men went in search of him. And David had word of it, so he came down to the rock in the waste land of Maon. And Saul, hearing of this, went after David into the waste land of Maon.
And Saul and his men went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men went on the other: and David's purpose was to get away as quickly as possible, for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men were making a circle round David and his men in order to take them.
But a man came to Saul saying, Be quick and come; for the Philistines have made an attack on the land.
So turning back from going after David, Saul went against the Philistines: so that place was named Sela-hammah-lekoth.
And from there, David went up and took cover in the safe place of En-gedi.