1st Samuel Chapter 26 verse 2 Holy Bible
Then 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.
read chapter 26 in ASV
Then Saul went down to the waste land of Ziph, taking with him three thousand of the best men of Israel, to make search for David in the waste land of Ziph.
read chapter 26 in BBE
And 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.
read chapter 26 in DARBY
Then 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.
read chapter 26 in KJV
Then 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.
read chapter 26 in WBT
Then 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.
read chapter 26 in WEB
And Saul riseth, and goeth down unto the wilderness of Ziph, and with him three thousand men, chosen ones of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
read chapter 26 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 2-4. - Three thousand chosen men. Not chosen for this expedition, but the force which Saul always kept under arms (1 Samuel 13:2). By the way. The high road which led down to Arad. David abode in the wilderness. Hebrew, "abides." Instead of fleeing in haste as before, he remains apparently on the higher ground, as he speaks in ver. 6 of going down to Saul's camp. And he saw. I.e. learned, was told. It was only when his scouts brought him their report that he knew that Saul was come in very deed, or "for a certainty" (see 1 Samuel 23:23).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph.--We assume, then, that after the marriage of David with Abigail he and his armed band returned again to his old neighbourhood in the south--in the desert of Judah--the district named after the Hill of Hachilah being, no doubt, in all respects well adapted for the permanent encampment of such a large band as David's now most certainly was. David, who had been forced on a previous occasion to leave it on account of the hot pursuit of Saul, aided by the Ziphites, who knew the country and its resources so well, probably now supposed, after the protestation of Saul at En-gedi, that he would now at least be left in peace. But he forgot with whom he had to do--forgot the state of mind of his determined foe, and how likely it was that the old mania would return with redoubled force. The Ziphites, however, who knew Saul, and the feeling respecting David which existed at the court of Saul, repeated their old tactics, and sent, as on a previous occasion, to suggest that with their help the obnoxious chieftain and his free lances could be destroyed. The temptation was too great to be resisted; so probably, with the advice of Abner, Saul took the field again. The 3,000 seem to have been the standing force which Saul kept round him in the Gibeah garrison. (See the first notice of this standing army in 1Samuel 13:2.)
