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He said, "May Adonai bless you, my daughter. Your latest kindness is even greater than your first, in that you didn't go after the young men, neither the rich ones nor the poor.

Then the women said to Na‘omi, "Blessed be Adonai , who today has provided you a redeemer! May his name be renowned in Isra'el.

‘Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May Adonai give you children from this woman because of the boy you have loaned to Adonai "; then they would go home.

Find him as soon as you enter the city, before he goes up to the high place to eat; because the people won't eat until he comes and blesses the sacrifice. Afterwards, the ones invited will eat. So go on up, because this is when you will find him."

Sh'mu'el went to Sha'ul; Sha'ul said to him, "May Adonai bless you! I have done what Adonai ordered."

Sha'ul said, "May Adonai bless you for showing me compassion!

David was told, "The P'lishtim are fighting Ke‘ilah and plundering the threshing-floors." David consulted Adonai , asking, "Should I go and attack these P'lishtim?" Adonai answered David, "Go, and attack the P'lishtim, and save Ke‘ilah." David's men said to him, "Look, we're already afraid here in Y'hudah. How much more, then, if we go to Ke‘ilah to fight the armies of the P'lishtim!" David consulted Adonai again; and Adonai answered him, "Set out, and go down to Ke‘ilah, because I will hand the P'lishtim over to you." David and his men went to Ke‘ilah and fought the P'lishtim. They defeated them in a great slaughter and led away their livestock. Thus David saved the inhabitants of Ke‘ilah. When Avyatar the son of Achimelekh fled to David in Ke‘ilah, he had brought a ritual vest with him. Now Sha'ul, on being informed that David had gone to Ke‘ilah, had said, "God has put him into my hands. He's trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars." So Sha'ul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Ke‘ilah and besiege David and his men. David knew that Sha'ul was plotting something against him, so he told Avyatar the cohen, "Bring the ritual vest here." Then David said, " Adonai God of Isra'el, your servant has certainly heard that Sha'ul intends to come to Ke‘ilah and destroy the city just to get me. Will the men of Ke‘ilah turn me over to him? Will Sha'ul come down, as your servant has heard? Adonai God of Isra'el, please tell your servant!" Adonai said, "He will come down." Then David asked, "Will the men of Ke‘ilah hand me and my men over to Sha'ul?" Adonai said, "They will hand you over." So David and his men, now around six hundred, got up, left Ke‘ilah and went wherever they could. It was told Sha'ul that David had escaped from Ke‘ilah, so he called off the expedition. David stayed in the desert strongholds, remaining in the hills of the Zif Desert. Sha'ul kept trying to find him, but God did not hand him over to him. David saw that Sha'ul had mounted another expedition to seek his life. David was then at Horesh in the Zif Desert. Y'honatan Sha'ul's son set out and went to David at Horesh to encourage him in God. He said to him, "Don't be afraid, because my father's forces will not find you; you will be king over Isra'el, and I will be second to you. Sha'ul my father knows this, too." Then the two of them made a covenant in the presence of Adonai , after which David stayed at Horesh and Y'honatan returned home. The people of Zif came to Sha'ul in Giv‘ah and said, "David is hiding himself with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on Hakhilah Hill, south of Yeshimon. So now, king, since you've wanted so much to come down, come down! Our part will be to turn him over to you." Sha'ul said, "May Adonai bless you for showing me compassion! Please go and make still more certain exactly where he is and who has seen him there, because I've been told that he's very tricky. So look closely, find out where all his hiding-places are, and come back when you're sure. Then I will go with you, and if he is there in that territory, I'll search till I find him among all the thousands of Y'hudah." They set out and went to Zif before Sha'ul. But David and his men had gone on to the Ma‘on Desert, in the ‘Aravah south of Yeshimon. Sha'ul and his men went searching for him. David was told, so he came down to the rock and stayed in the Ma‘on Desert. When Sha'ul heard that, he pursued David in the Ma‘on Desert. Sha'ul went along one side of the mountain, while David and his men went along the other. David was hurrying to get away from Sha'ul, while Sha'ul and his men were trying to surround David and his men in order to capture them. But then a messenger came to Sha'ul, saying, "Hurry, come, because the P'lishtim are invading the country!" So Sha'ul stopped chasing David and went to fight the P'lishtim. Therefore they called that place Sela-Hamachlekot [rock of divisions].

David said to Avigayil, "Blessed be Adonai the God of Isra'el, who sent you today to meet me;

and blessed be your tactfulness, and blessed be yourself for having kept me today from the guilt of shedding blood and taking vengeance into my own hands.

When David heard that Naval was dead, he said, "Blessed be Adonai for having taken my side in the matter of Naval's insult and for having prevented his servant from doing anything bad. On the contrary, Adonai has caused Naval's bad deeds to return on his own head." Then David sent a message that he wanted to make Avigayil his own wife.

Sha'ul answered David, "Blessings on you, my son David! No question that you will accomplish everything you set out to do!" So David went on his way, and Sha'ul returned to his place.

So David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad with this message: "May you be blessed by Adonai , because you showed this kindness to your lord, Sha'ul, and buried him.

The ark of Adonai stayed in the house of ‘Oved-Edom the Gitti for three months; and Adonai blessed ‘Oved-Edom and all his household.

King David was told, " Adonai has blessed the house of ‘Oved-Edom and everyone who belongs to him, thanks to the ark of God." So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David.

When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai -Tzva'ot.

When David returned to bless his household, Mikhal the daughter of Sha'ul came out to meet him and said, "Such honor the king of Isra'el earned for himself today — exposing himself before his servants' slave-girls like some vulgar exhibitionist!"

So may it please you to bless the family of your servant and thereby cause it to continue forever in your presence. For you, Adonai Elohim , have said it. May your servant's family be blessed forever by your blessing."

The king replied to Avshalom, "No, my son, let's not all go — we don't want to be a burden to you." Avshalom pressed him, but he wouldn't go; however he gave him his blessing.

Yo'av fell to the ground on his face, prostrating himself, and blessed the king; Yo'av said, "Today your servant knows that I have won your favor, my lord, king, because the king has done what your servant requested."

Achima‘atz called to the king, "Shalom," prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground and said, "Blessed be Adonai your God, who has handed over the men who rebelled against my lord the king."