¹Pada suatu hari orang-orang dari Zif datang kepada Saul di Gibea dan memberitahukan kepadanya bahwa Daud sedang bersembunyi di Gunung Hakhila di pinggir padang gurun Yehuda.

¹And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?

²Maka dengan segera Saul berangkat diiringi tiga ribu prajurit yang terbaik di Israel, menuju padang gurun Zif untuk mencari Daud.

²Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³Saul berkemah di tepi jalan dekat Gunung Hakhila itu. Daud yang ada di padang gurun, mendengar bahwa Saul mengikutinya sampai di padang gurun.

³And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

⁴Lalu ia pun mengirim mata-mata, dan tahulah ia dengan pasti bahwa Saul ada di situ.

⁴David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.

⁵Dengan segera Daud pergi ke perkemahan Saul dan di situ didapatinya kemah di mana Saul tidur di dekat Abner anak Ner. Kemah Saul itu ada di tengah-tengah, sedang tentaranya berkemah di sekelilingnya.

⁵And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.

⁶Kemudian Daud bertanya kepada Ahimelekh orang Het itu, dan kepada Abisai saudara Yoab (Ibu mereka adalah Zeruya), "Siapa berani masuk bersamaku ke dalam perkemahan Saul?" Abisai menjawab, "Aku!"

⁶Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

⁷Maka pada malam itu Daud dan Abisai menyelinap ke dalam perkemahan itu dan melihat Saul sedang tidur di tengah-tengah perkemahan, tombaknya tertancap di tanah dekat kepalanya. Abner dan pasukannya tidur di sekeliling Saul.

⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him.

⁸Lalu kata Abisai kepada Daud, "Allah telah menyerahkan musuhmu kepadamu pada malam ini. Izinkanlah aku menancapkan tombaknya sendiri ke badannya tembus sampai ke tanah, kubunuh dia dengan sekali tikaman, tidak usah sampai dua kali!"

⁸Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.

⁹Tetapi Daud berkata, "Jangan kauapa-apakan dia! TUHAN pasti menghukum orang yang berbuat jahat kepada raja yang dipilih-Nya.

⁹And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against Jehovah's anointed, and be guiltless?

¹⁰Demi TUHAN yang hidup, aku tahu bahwa nanti TUHAN sendiri akan membunuh Saul, jika ajalnya sudah sampai, ataupun jika ia tewas dalam pertempuran.

¹⁰And David said, As Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish.

¹¹Kiranya TUHAN mencegah aku membunuh raja yang dipilih-Nya! Ambil saja tombaknya dan kendinya, lalu kita pergi!"

¹¹Jehovah forbid that I should put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed: but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

¹²Maka Daud mengambil tombak dan kendi Saul itu dari sebelah kepala Saul, lalu pergi. Tidak seorang pun melihat hal itu atau mengetahui apa yang telah terjadi, ataupun terbangun, sebab TUHAN membuat mereka semuanya tertidur dengan nyenyak.

¹²So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they gat them away: and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Jehovah was fallen upon them.

¹³Lalu Daud menyeberang ke pinggir lembah yang lain sampai ke puncak gunung, sehingga dia jauh dari perkemahan Saul.

¹³Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them;

¹⁴Kemudian berserulah Daud kepada Abner dan tentara Saul katanya, "Abner! Dengarkah engkau suaraku?" Abner pun berseru pula, "Siapakah engkau yang berteriak-teriak itu?"

¹⁴and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?

¹⁵Jawab Daud, "Abner, bukankah engkau orang yang paling hebat di Israel? Mengapa engkau tidak menjaga tuanmu, baginda raja? Baru saja ada orang memasuki perkemahanmu untuk membunuh tuanmu.

¹⁵And David said to Abner, Art not thou a [valiant] man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.

¹⁶Engkau tidak sanggup menjalankan tugasmu, Abner! Demi TUHAN yang hidup kamu semua patut mati, karena tidak menjaga tuanmu, raja pilihan TUHAN. Coba lihat! Di manakah tombak raja? Di manakah kendi yang ada di sebelah kepalanya tadi?"

¹⁶This thing is not good that thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, Jehovah's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.

¹⁷Saul mengenal suara Daud dan berkata, "Daud, engkaukah itu, Anakku?" Jawab Daud, "Ya, Baginda."

¹⁷And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.

¹⁸Lalu katanya lagi, "Mengapa Baginda masih juga mengejar-ngejar hamba? Apakah kesalahan hamba?

¹⁸And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?

¹⁹Baginda, dengarkanlah sembah hamba ini. Andaikata TUHAN yang menyuruh Baginda supaya melawan hamba, suatu persembahan kurban akan dapat meredakan kemarahan-Nya terhadap hamba. Tetapi andaikata yang menyuruh Baginda itu adalah manusia, semoga mereka dikutuk TUHAN! Karena akibat dari perbuatan mereka itu, hamba telah diusir dari tanah milik TUHAN dan terpaksa harus pergi ke negeri lain di mana hamba harus beribadat kepada dewa-dewa asing.

¹⁹Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah: for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.

²⁰Janganlah biarkan hamba mati di tanah yang asing, jauh dari TUHAN. Apa gunanya raja Israel datang untuk membunuh seekor kutu seperti hamba ini? Apa gunanya ia memburu hamba seperti orang memburu ayam hutan?"

²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Jehovah: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

²¹Lalu Saul menjawab, "Aku telah berbuat salah. Kembalilah Daud, Anakku! Aku tak akan berbuat jahat lagi kepadamu karena engkau telah merelakan aku hidup malam tadi. Kelakuanku sungguh bodoh. Aku benar-benar telah keliru!"

²¹Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

²²Tetapi Daud menjawab, "Inilah tombak Baginda, suruhlah seorang prajurit Baginda datang ke mari untuk mengambilnya.

²²And David answered and said, Behold the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it.

²³TUHAN akan memberkati setiap orang yang setia dan jujur. Sebab meskipun pada hari ini TUHAN menyerahkan Tuanku kepada hamba, namun hamba tidak mau berbuat jahat terhadap Baginda, raja pilihan TUHAN.

²³And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as Jehovah delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed.

²⁴Jadi, seperti Baginda telah hamba relakan hidup pada hari ini, demikian juga kiranya hamba dilindungi TUHAN dan dilepaskan dari segala bahaya!"

²⁴And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of Jehovah, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.

²⁵Lalu berkatalah Saul kepada Daud, "TUHAN memberkatimu, anakku! Engkau akan berhasil dalam segala pekerjaanmu!" Lalu Daud meneruskan perjalanannya, dan Saul pun pulang ke rumahnya.

²⁵Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.