¹ The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.

² Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward;

³ and it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh Barnea, and passed along by Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka;

⁴ and it passed along to Azmon, went out at the brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border.

⁵ The east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border of the north quarter was from the bay of the Sea at the end of the Jordan.

⁶ The border went up to Beth Hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

⁷ The border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river. The border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at En Rogel.

⁸ The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite southward (the same is Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of Rephaim northward.

⁹ The border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border extended to Baalah (the same is Kiriath Jearim);

¹⁰ and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (the same is Chesalon), and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed along by Timnah;

¹¹ and the border went out to the side of Ekron northward; and the border extended to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

¹² The west border was to the shore of the great sea. This is the border of the children of Judah according to their families.

¹³ To Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron).

¹⁴ Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

¹⁵ He went up against the inhabitants of Debir: now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher.

¹⁶ Caleb said, "He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife."

¹⁷ Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

¹⁸ It happened, when she came, that she had him ask her father fore a field. She got off of her donkey, and Caleb said, "What do you want?"

¹⁹ She said, "Give me a blessing. Because you have set me in the land of the South, Give me also springs of water." He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

²⁰ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.

²¹ The farthest cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,

²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,

²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

²⁵ Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (the same is Hazor),

²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah,

²⁷ Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet,

²⁸ Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,

²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem,

³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,

³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,

³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. All the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

³³ In the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,

³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,

³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,

³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim); fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,

³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,

⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish,

⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan,

⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,

⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

⁴⁵ Ekron, with its towns and its villages;

⁴⁶ from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

⁴⁷ Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea with its coastline.

⁴⁸ In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,

⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (which is Debir),

⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,

⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan,

⁵³ Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah,

⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Jutah,

⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,

⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor,

⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.

⁶⁰ Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

⁶¹ In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah,

⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³ As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn't drive them out; but the Jebusites live with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

¹ David was told, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing floors."

² Therefore David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" Yahweh said to David, "go strike the Philistines, and save Keilah."

³ David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?"

⁴ Then David inquired of Yahweh yet again. Yahweh answered him, and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."

⁵ David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their livestock, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶ It happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷ It was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars."

⁸ Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

⁹ David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."

¹⁰ Then David said, "O Yahweh, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Yahweh, the God of Israel, I beg you, tell your servant." Yahweh said, "He will come down."

¹² Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" Yahweh said, "They will deliver you up."

¹³ Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. It was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he gave up going there.

¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn't deliver him into his hand.

¹⁵ David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.

¹⁶ Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into the woods, and strengthened his hand in God.

¹⁷ He said to him, "Don't be afraid; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you; and that also Saul my father knows."

¹⁸ They both made a covenant before Yahweh: and David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, "Doesn't David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert?

²⁰ Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand."

²¹ Saul said, "You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me.

²² Please go make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, [and] who has seen him there; for it is told me that he deals very subtly.

²³ See 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: and it shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah."

²⁴ They arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert.

²⁵ Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told, he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard [that], he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

²⁶ Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.

²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land!"

²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.

²⁹ David went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.