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¹ And it was tolde Dauid: Beholde, the Philistynes fight against Cegila, and spoyle the barnes.² Then Dauid axed at the LORDE, and sayde: Shal I go, & smyte these Philistynes? And the LORDE sayde vnto Dauid: Go thy waye, thou shalt smyte the Philistynes, and delyuer Cegila.³ But ye men that were with Dauid, sayde vnto him: Beholde, we are here in feare in Iewry, and shall we go to Cegila vnto the hoost of the Philistynes?⁴ The Dauid axed at the LORDE agayne. And the LORDE answered him, and sayde: Vp, get the downe to Cegila, for I wil delyuer the Philistynes in to thy hande.⁵ So Dauid wente with his men vnto Cegila, and foughte agaynst the Philistynes, & droue awaye their catell, and smote them wt a greate slaughter. Thus Dauid delyuered them of Cegila.⁶ For whan Abiathar the sonne of Ahimelech fled vnto Dauid at Cegila, he bare downe the ouerbody cote with him.

⁷ The was it tolde Saul, that Dauid was come to Cegila, and he sayde: God hath deliuered him in to my hade, for he is shut fast in, now that he is come in to a cite which is kepte wt gates and barres.⁸ And Saul caused for to call all the people downe to ye battaill vnto Cegila, yt they might besege Dauid and his men.⁹ But whan Dauid perceaued yt Saul inteded euell against him, he saide vnto Abiathar ye prest: Brynge me hither the ouerbody cote.¹⁰ And Dauid sayde: O LORDE God of Israel, thy seruaunt hath herde, that Saul goeth aboute to come for to destroye the cite of Cegila for my sake.¹¹ Shal the citysens of Cegila delyuer me ouer in to his handes? And shal Saul come downe, as thy seruaunt hath herde? Tell thy seruaunt this, O LORDE God of Israel. And the LORDE saide: He shal come downe.¹² Dauid sayde: Shall the citysens of Cegila delyuer me and my men in to Sauls handes? The LORDE sayde: Yee.¹³ The Dauid gat him vp with his me, of whom there were vpon a sixe hundreth, & walked whither they coulde. Now whan it was tolde Saul that Dauid was escaped from Cegila, he let his iourney stonde.

¹⁴ As for Dauid, he remayned in the wildernes in the castell, and abode vpon the mount in the wildernes of Siph. But Saul soughte him as longe as he lyued. Neuertheles God gaue him not in to his handes.¹⁵ And Dauid sawe, that Saul was gone forth to seke after his life. But Dauid was in the wildernes of Siph, in the wodd.¹⁶ Then Ionathas the sonne of Saul gat him vp, and wete vnto Dauid in to the wod, and strengthed his hande in God,¹⁷ and sayde vnto him: Feare not, my father Sauls hande shal not finde ye: and thou shalt be kynge ouer Israel, so will I be the nexte vnto the. And yt my father knoweth right well.¹⁸ And they made a couenaunt both together before the LORDE. And Dauid remayned in the wodd. As for Ionathas, he wente home agayne.

¹⁹ But the Siphites wente vp to Saul vnto Gibeath, and sayde: Is not Dauid hyd with vs in the castell in ye wodd, vpon mout Hachila, which lyeth on the righte hande of the wildernesse?²⁰ Let the kynge come downe now therfore acordinge to all the desyre of his hert, and we wyll delyuer him in to the kynges hande.²¹ Then sayde Saul: Blessed be ye of the LORDE, that ye haue had pytie vpon me:²² Go youre waye now therfore, and be sure, that ye maye knowe and se in what place his fete haue bene, and who hath sene him there: for it is tolde me, that he is full of sotiltye.²³ Loke well and spye out all the places, where he hydeth him, and come agayne to me, whan ye are sure, and I will go with you. Yf he be in the londe, I wyl enquere after him amonge all the thousandes in Iuda.²⁴ Then gat they them vp, and wente their waye vnto Siph before Saul. But Dauid and his men were in the wyldernes of Mao, euen in the felde on the righte hande of the wildernes.²⁵ Now whan Saul wente thither with his men to seke him, it was tolde Dauid and he gat him downe to the rocke, and abode in the wildernesse of Mahon.²⁶ Whan Saul herde that, he folowed after Dauid in the wildernesse of Mahon. And Saul with his men wente on the one syde of the hyll: Dauid wt his men on ye other syde of ye hill. But whan Dauid made haist to escape from Saul, Saul with his men compased aboute Dauid and his men, that he might take the.²⁷ Neuertheles there came a messauger vnto Saul, and sayde: Make haist and come, for the Philistynes are falle in to the londe.²⁸ The Saul turned him from chacynge of Dauid, and wente agaynst the Philstynes. Therfore is ye place called Sela Mahelkoth.²⁹ And Dauid wente vp from thence, and abode in the castell at En Gaddi.