And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul: and David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain at the right hand of Jesimon.

And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul; but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of the waste.

And they rise and go to Ziph before Saul, and David and his men are in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain, at the south of the desolate place.

And they went back and came to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the waste land of Maon, in the dry land south of the waste land.

And 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 Jeshimon.

And rising up, they went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain to the right of Jeshimon.

The plain - The Arabah, the desert tract which extends along the valley of the Jordan from the Dead Sea to the Lake of Gennesareth, now called El-Ghor. The word is now given by the Arabs to the valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Akaba.

And they arose, and went to Ziph, before Saul,.... Not before his person, as if he went with them, and they before him leading the way; but they went thither before he went, to prepare things more exactly, and with more certainty, before he came, and in order to return to him again and go with him:
but David and his men were in the wilderness at Maon; for by the time the Ziphites returned home, David had intelligence of their design, and therefore removed from the wilderness of Ziph to the wilderness of Maon; which, though in the same tribe, was a distinct place; See Gill on Joshua 15:55,
in the plain on the south of Jeshimon; the same as in 1-Samuel 23:19; only David was now farther to the south of it, and in a plain, whereas before he was on an hill.

With this answer the Ziphites arose and "went to Ziph before Saul" (who would speedily follow with his warriors); but David had gone farther in the meantime, and was with his men "in the desert of Maon, in the steppe to the south of the wilderness." Maon, now Man, is about three hours and three-quarters S.S.E. of Hebron (see at Joshua 15:55), and therefore only two hours from Ziph, from which it is visible. "The table-land appears to terminate here; nevertheless the principal ridge of the southern mountains runs for a considerable distance towards the south-west, whereas towards the south-east the land falls off more and more into a lower table-land." This is the Arabah or steppe on the right of the wilderness (v. de Velde, ii. pp. 107-8).