So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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.
- BSB So Saul, accompanied by three thousand chosen men of Israel, went down to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB So Saul set out and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, taking with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul takes three thousand chosen men to hunt David in the wilderness of Ziph. The vast force shows his relentless obsession with destroying David.
Overview
Saul mobilizes an elite army of three thousand to seek out a single fugitive, revealing how completely his hostility has consumed him. The huge disproportion recalls David's earlier protest that the king was chasing a flea. The renewed campaign demonstrates Saul's hardened heart and frames the coming scene in which God will again deliver him into David's power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Sam 24:2Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
- 1 Sam 24:17He said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have done good to me, whereas I have done evil to you.
- 1 Sam 23:23–25See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you. It shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
- Ps 140:4–9Yahweh, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet.
- Ps 38:12They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
- 1 Sam 13:2Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 26:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.