²⁴ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon,^(A) in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.^{(B) 25} Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

¹⁵ Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat^(A) us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing.^{(B) 16} Night and day they were a wall^(C) around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.