Then Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To search [for] the female donkeys; and when we saw none, we went to Samuel."

So Saul's uncle said to him, "Please tell me, what did Samuel say to you?"

The name of Saul's wife [was] Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz, and the name of the commander of his army [was] Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.

So David came to Saul and {entered his service}. He loved him greatly and {he became Saul's armor bearer}.

{On} [the] next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing [the lyre] with his hand on [that] day {as usual}, and the spear was in Saul's hand.

{But} at the time Saul's daughter Merab [was] to be given to David, she was given [instead] to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.

Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, so they told Saul, and the matter {pleased him}.

And Saul's servants spoke these words {to David privately}. But David said, "[Is] it insignificant {in your sight} to become the son-in-law of the king, [as] I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?"

Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants about killing David, but Saul's son Jonathan {liked David very much}.

So Saul tried {to pin David to the wall with the spear}, but {he eluded Saul}, so that he struck the spear into the wall, and David fled and escaped that [same] night.

So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing [as] chief over them, then the Spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied.

Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name [was] Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

And David's men said to him, "Look, today [is] the day about which Yahweh said to you, 'See, I am giving your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him {whatever seems good to you}.'" So David got up and secretly cut the hem of Saul's robe.

{And then} afterward David {felt guilty}, because he had cut {the hem of Saul's robe}.

So David took the spear and the jar of water from [near] Saul's head, and they went [away]. {No one saw, no one knew, and no one awakened}, for all of them [were] sleeping because a deep sleep of Yahweh had fallen upon them.

But Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over [to] Mahanaim.

Now Saul's household had a servant whose name [was] Ziba, so they summoned him to David, and the king asked him, "[Are] you Ziba?" He said, "{At your service}!"

Then the king said, "But [is] there still anyone of Saul's household that I may show the loyal love of God with him?" And Ziba said to the king, "There [is] still a son of Jonathan [who is] lame in the feet."

David summoned Ziba the servant of Saul and said to him, "All that [was] Saul's and all his household I have given to the son of your master.

[Like] cold water upon a weary soul, [so too is] good news from a distant place.