22 So David left there and slipped away to the cave at Adullam. When his brothers and other relatives found out, they went and joined him there.[ref] 2 Over time, any man who was in trouble, or in debt, or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader—some four hundred men in all.

3 From there, David went to Mitspah in Moab, and he asked the king of Moab, “Please let my parents stay here in the palace with you until I find out what God will do for me.” 4 So he took them to the king where they stayed with him the entire time that David lived in the fortress.

5 Then the prophet Gad told David, “Don’t stay in the fortress. Leave it and come back to Yehudah’s region.” So David left and went to the Heret forest in Yehudah.