1 SAMUEL
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28 - 29 - 30 - 31
TOC
Maps
There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from
the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu
son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; the name of the one
was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but
Hannah had no children. 3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his town
to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons
of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD. 4 On the day when Elkanah
sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and
daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her,
though the LORD had closed her womb. 6 Her rival used to provoke her severely,
to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by
year; as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her.
Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her,
"Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not
more to you than ten sons?" 9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah
rose and presented herself before the LORD. Now Eli the priest was sitting on
the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She was deeply
distressed and prayed to the LORD, and wept bitterly. 11 She made this vow: "O
LORD of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember
me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child,
then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He
shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head." 12
As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was
praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore
Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, "How long will you make a
drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine." 15 But Hannah answered, "No,
my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong
drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard
your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great
anxiety and vexation all this time." 17 Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; the God
of Israel grant the petition you have made to him." 18 And she said, "Let your
servant find favor in your sight." Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and
drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer. 19 They rose
early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their
house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her. 20 In
due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I
have asked him of the LORD." 21 The man Elkanah and all his household went up to
offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did
not go up, for she said to her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I will
bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the LORD, and remain there
forever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time." 23 Her husband Elkanah
said to her, "Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him;
only--may the LORD establish his word." So the woman remained and nursed her
son, until she weaned him. 24 When she had weaned him, she took him up with her,
along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She
brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh; and the child was young. 25 Then
they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said,
"Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your
presence, praying to the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD has
granted me the petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the
LORD; as long as he lives, he is given to the LORD." She left him there for the
LORD. Return to Top
Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the LORD; my
strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in
my victory. 2 "There is no Holy One like the LORD, no one besides you; there is
no Rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come
from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are
weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. 5
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were
hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many
children is forlorn. 6 The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to
Sheol and raises up. 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he
also exalts. 8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the
ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the
pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. 9 "He
will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in
darkness; for not by might does one prevail. 10 The LORD! His adversaries shall
be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends
of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his
anointed." 11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the boy remained to
minister to the LORD, in the presence of the priest Eli. 12 Now the sons of Eli
were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD 13 or for the duties of the
priests to the people. When anyone offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would
come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and
he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the
fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at
Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, before the fat was
burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing,
"Give meat for the priest to roast; for he will not accept boiled meat from you,
but only raw." 16 And if the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat first, and
then take whatever you wish," he would say, "No, you must give it now; if not, I
will take it by force." 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the
sight of the LORD; for they treated the offerings of the LORD with contempt. 18
Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19 His
mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she
went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless
Elkanah and his wife, and say, "May the LORD repay you with children by this
woman for the gift that she made to the LORD"; and then they would return to
their home. 21 And the LORD took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three
sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
22 Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel,
and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of
meeting. 23 He said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil
dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is not a good report that I
hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. 25 If one person sins against
another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the LORD; but if someone sins
against the LORD, who can make intercession?" But they would not listen to the
voice of their father; for it was the will of the LORD to kill them. 26 Now the
boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and with
the people. 27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus the LORD has
said, 'I revealed myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were
slaves to the house of Pharaoh. 28 I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel
to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before
me; and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire from the
people of Israel. 29 Why then look with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my
offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons more than me by fattening
yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?' 30
Therefore the LORD the God of Israel declares: 'I promised that your family and
the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me forever'; but now the
LORD declares: 'Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and
those who despise me shall be treated with contempt. 31 See, a time is coming
when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor's family, so
that no one in your family will live to old age. 32 Then in distress you will
look with greedy eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel;
and no one in your family shall ever live to old age. 33 The only one of you
whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his eyes and
grieve his heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword. 34
The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you--both
of them shall die on the same day. 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful
priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will
build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one
forever. 36 Everyone who is left in your family shall come to implore him for a
piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me in one of the
priest's places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.'" Return to Top
Now the boy
Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in
those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had
begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the
lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the
LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he
said, "Here I am!" 5 and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me."
But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6 The
LORD called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I
am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been
revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and
went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that
the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and
if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'"
So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood there,
calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant
is listening." 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do something
in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that
day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from
beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house
forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,
and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the
iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever."
15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the
LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and
said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." 17 Eli said, "What was it that he
told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you
hide anything from me of all that he told you." 18 So Samuel told him everything
and hid nothing from him. Then he said, "It is the LORD; let him do what seems
good to him." 19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his
words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that
Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD. 21 The LORD continued to appear at
Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the
LORD. Return to Top
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. In those days the
Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle
against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was
joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand
men on the field of battle. 3 When the troops came to the camp, the elders of
Israel said, "Why has the LORD put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let
us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, so that he may
come among us and save us from the power of our enemies." 4 So the people sent
to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts,
who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were
there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the
LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth
resounded. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said,
"What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" When they
learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were
afraid; for they said, "Gods have come into the camp." They also said, "Woe to
us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us
from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians
with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O
Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to
you; be men and fight." 10 So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and
they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there
fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured;
and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 12 A man of Benjamin ran
from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and
with earth upon his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by
the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came
into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the
sound of the outcry, he said, "What is this uproar?" Then the man came quickly
and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set, so
that he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, "I have just come from the
battle; I fled from the battle today." He said, "How did it go, my son?" 17 The
messenger replied, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also
been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and
Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." 18 When he mentioned
the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate;
and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. He had
judged Israel forty years. 19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was
pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was
captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and
gave birth; for her labor pains overwhelmed her. 20 As she was about to die, the
women attending her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son."
But she did not answer or give heed. 21 She named the child Ichabod, meaning,
"The glory has departed from Israel," because the ark of God had been captured
and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, "The glory has
departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
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When
the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to
Ashdod; 2 then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house
of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the
next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of
the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose
early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the
ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off
upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 This is why the
priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not step on the
threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 The hand of the LORD was heavy upon
the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and struck them with tumors, both in
Ashdod and in its territory. 7 And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things
were, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us; for his
hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon." 8 So they sent and gathered together
all the lords of the Philistines, and said, "What shall we do with the ark of
the God of Israel?" The inhabitants of Gath replied, "Let the ark of God be
moved on to us." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But after
they had brought it to Gath, the hand of the LORD was against the city, causing
a very great panic; he struck the inhabitants of the city, both young and old,
so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of the God of Israel
to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out,
"Why have they brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and
our people?" 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the
Philistines, and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it
return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people." For there was
a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;
12 those who did not die were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the city went
up to heaven.
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The ark of the LORD was in the country of the
Philistines seven months. 2 Then the Philistines called for the priests and the
diviners and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us what we
should send with it to its place." 3 They said, "If you send away the ark of the
God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt
offering. Then you will be healed and will be ransomed; will not his hand then
turn from you?" 4 And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall
return to him?" They answered, "Five gold tumors and five gold mice, according
to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all
of you and upon your lords. 5 So you must make images of your tumors and images
of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps
he will lighten his hand on you and your gods and your land. 6 Why should you
harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he
had made fools of them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7 Now
then, get ready a new cart and two milch cows that have never borne a yoke, and
yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8 Take
the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart, and put in a box at its side the
figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send
it off, and let it go its way. 9 And watch; if it goes up on the way to its own
land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if
not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to
us by chance." 10 The men did so; they took two milch cows and yoked them to the
cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 They put the ark of the LORD on the
cart, and the box with the gold mice and the images of their tumors. 12 The cows
went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they
went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the
Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 Now the
people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they
looked up and saw the ark, they went with rejoicing to meet it. 14 The cart came
into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh, and stopped there. A large stone was
there; so they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt
offering to the LORD. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box
that was beside it, in which were the gold objects, and set them upon the large
stone. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and presented
sacrifices on that day to the LORD. 16 When the five lords of the Philistines
saw it, they returned that day to Ekron. 17 These are the gold tumors, which the
Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for
Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 18 also the gold mice,
according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the
five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone, beside
which they set down the ark of the LORD, is a witness to this day in the field
of Joshua of Beth-shemesh. 19 The descendants of Jeconiah did not rejoice with
the people of Beth-shemesh when they greeted the ark of the LORD; and he killed
seventy men of them. The people mourned because the LORD had made a great
slaughter among the people. 20 Then the people of Beth-shemesh said, "Who is
able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? To whom shall he go so that we may
be rid of him?" 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim,
saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take
it up to you."
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And the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took up
the ark of the LORD, and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They
consecrated his son, Eleazar, to have charge of the ark of the LORD. 2 From the
day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty
years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. 3 Then Samuel said
to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your
heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct
your heart to the LORD, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the
hand of the Philistines." 4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and
they served the LORD only. 5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and
I will pray to the LORD for you." 6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water
and poured it out before the LORD. They fasted that day, and said, "We have
sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7
When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the
lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel
heard of it they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 The people of Israel said to
Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, and pray that he
may save us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 So Samuel took a sucking lamb
and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD; Samuel cried out to the
LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the
burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel; but the LORD
thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them
into confusion; and they were routed before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel
went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as
beyond Beth-car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and
Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."
13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of
Israel; the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,
from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the
Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. 15 Samuel
judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He went on a circuit year by year to
Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he
would come back to Ramah, for his home was there; he administered justice there
to Israel, and built there an altar to the LORD.
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When Samuel became
old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was
Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 Yet
his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took
bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together
and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, "You are old and your sons do
not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other
nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to
govern us." Samuel prayed to the LORD, 7 and the LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to
the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected
you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 Just as they have
done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking
me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9 Now then, listen to
their voice; only--you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the
king who shall reign over them." 10 So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD
to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "These will be the
ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint
them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12
and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of
fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his
implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your
daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your
fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15 He
will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his
officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the
best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take
one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you
will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the
LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to
the voice of Samuel; they said, "No! but we are determined to have a king over
us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern
us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel had heard all the
words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22 The LORD said
to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and set a king over them." Samuel then said to
the people of Israel, "Each of you return home."
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There was a man of
Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of
Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 He had a son whose name was Saul, a
handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome
than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. 3 Now the donkeys of
Kish, Saul's father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the
boys with you; go and look for the donkeys." 4 He passed through the hill
country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not
find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there.
Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them. 5 When
they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the boy who was with him, "Let us
turn back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about
us." 6 But he said to him, "There is a man of God in this town; he is a man held
in honor. Whatever he says always comes true. Let us go there now; perhaps he
will tell us about the journey on which we have set out." 7 Then Saul replied to
the boy, "But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is
gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have we?" 8 The
boy answered Saul again, "Here, I have with me a quarter shekel of silver; I
will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way." 9 (Formerly in Israel,
anyone who went to inquire of God would say, "Come, let us go to the seer"; for
the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) 10 Saul said to
the boy, "Good; come, let us go." So they went to the town where the man of God
was. 11 As they went up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to
draw water, and said to them, "Is the seer here?" 12 They answered, "Yes, there
he is just ahead of you. Hurry; he has come just now to the town, because the
people have a sacrifice today at the shrine. 13 As soon as you enter the town,
you will find him, before he goes up to the shrine to eat. For the people will
not eat until he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those eat
who are invited. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately." 14 So they went
up to the town. As they were entering the town, they saw Samuel coming out
toward them on his way up to the shrine. 15 Now the day before Saul came, the
LORD had revealed to Samuel: 16 "Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a
man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my
people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I
have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me." 17
When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to
you. He it is who shall rule over my people." 18 Then Saul approached Samuel
inside the gate, and said, "Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?" 19
Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today
you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you
all that is on your mind. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago,
give no further thought to them, for they have been found. And on whom is all
Israel's desire fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?" 21 Saul
answered, "I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and
my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then
have you spoken to me in this way?" 22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant-boy
and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who
had been invited, of whom there were about thirty. 23 And Samuel said to the
cook, "Bring the portion I gave you, the one I asked you to put aside." 24 The
cook took up the thigh and what went with it and set them before Saul. Samuel
said, "See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; for it is set before you at
the appointed time, so that you might eat with the guests." So Saul ate with
Samuel that day. 25 When they came down from the shrine into the town, a bed was
spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep. 26 Then at the break of
dawn Samuel called to Saul upon the roof, "Get up, so that I may send you on
your way." Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As
they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell
the boy to go on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a
while, that I may make known to you the word of God."Return to Top
Samuel took
a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he said, "The LORD has
anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of
the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now
this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you ruler over his
heritage: 2 When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb
in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, 'The donkeys that
you went to seek are found, and now your father has stopped worrying about them
and is worrying about you, saying: What shall I do about my son?' 3 Then you
shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up
to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying
three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 They will greet
you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from them. 5 After
that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, at the place where the Philistine
garrison is; there, as you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets
coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in
front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy. 6 Then the spirit of the LORD
will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be
turned into a different person. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you
see fit to do, for God is with you. 8 And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of
me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices
of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what
you shall do." 9 As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart;
and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When they were going from there
to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed him, and
he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them. 11 When all who knew him before
saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What
has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" 12 A man of the
place answered, "And who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is
Saul also among the prophets?" 13 When his prophetic frenzy had ended, he went
home. 14 Saul's uncle said to him and to the boy, "Where did you go?" And he
replied, "To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to be found, we
went to Samuel." 15 Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you." 16
Saul said to his uncle, "He told us that the donkeys had been found." But about
the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him
anything. 17 Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah 18 and said to
them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt,
and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the
kingdoms that were oppressing you.' 19 But today you have rejected your God, who
saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, 'No!
but set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by
your tribes and by your clans." 20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel
near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of
Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot.
Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son
of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 So
they inquired again of the LORD, "Did the man come here?" and the LORD said,
"See, he has hidden himself among the baggage." 23 Then they ran and brought him
from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders
taller than any of them. 24 Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one
whom the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." And
all the people shouted, "Long live the king!" 25 Samuel told the people the
rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up
before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes. 26 Saul
also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had
touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" They
despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace. Now Nahash, king
of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites.
He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a
deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye
Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand
men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.
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About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead;
and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will
serve you." 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will
make a treaty with you, namely that I gouge out everyone's right eye, and thus
put disgrace upon all Israel." 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us
seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of
Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you."
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the
hearing of the people; and all the people wept aloud. 5 Now Saul was coming from
the field behind the oxen; and Saul said, "What is the matter with the people,
that they are weeping?" So they told him the message from the inhabitants of
Jabesh. 6 And the spirit of God came upon Saul in power when he heard these
words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them
in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by messengers,
saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to
his oxen!" Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as
one. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, those from Israel were three hundred
thousand, and those from Judah seventy thousand. 9 They said to the messengers
who had come, "Thus shall you say to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead:
'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.'" When the
messengers came and told the inhabitants of Jabesh, they rejoiced. 10 So the
inhabitants of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you
may do to us whatever seems good to you." 11 The next day Saul put the people in
three companies. At the morning watch they came into the camp and cut down the
Ammonites until the heat of the day; and those who survived were scattered, so
that no two of them were left together. 12 The people said to Samuel, "Who is it
that said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Give them to us so that we may put them
to death." 13 But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death this day, for today
the LORD has brought deliverance to Israel." 14 Samuel said to the people,
"Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship." 15 So all the people
went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There
they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the LORD, and there Saul and all
the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
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Samuel said to all Israel, "I
have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over
you. 2 See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and gray, but my sons are
with you. I have led you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify
against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or
whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or
from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against
me and I will restore it to you." 4 They said, "You have not defrauded us or
oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone." 5 He said to them, "The
LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have
not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is witness." 6 Samuel said to
the people, "The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your
ancestors up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore take your stand, so that
I may enter into judgment with you before the LORD, and I will declare to you
all the saving deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and for your
ancestors. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, then
your ancestors cried to the LORD and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought
forth your ancestors out of Egypt, and settled them in this place. 9 But they
forgot the LORD their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander
of the army of King Jabin of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and
into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10 Then they
cried to the LORD, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD,
and have served the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue us out of the hand of
our enemies, and we will serve you.' 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Barak,
and Jephthah, and Samson, and rescued you out of the hand of your enemies on
every side; and you lived in safety. 12 But when you saw that King Nahash of the
Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over
us,' though the LORD your God was your king. 13 See, here is the king whom you
have chosen, for whom you have asked; see, the LORD has set a king over you. 14
If you will fear the LORD and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against
the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you
will follow the LORD your God, it will be well; 15 but if you will not heed the
voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand
of the LORD will be against you and your king. 16 Now therefore take your stand
and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not
the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the LORD, that he may send thunder and
rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the
sight of the LORD is great in demanding a king for yourselves." 18 So Samuel
called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the
people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19 All the people said to Samuel,
"Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we may not die; for we
have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves." 20 And
Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet
do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your
heart; 21 and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save,
for they are useless. 22 For the LORD will not cast away his people, for his
great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for
himself. 23 Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the
LORD by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the
right way. 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him faithfully with all your heart;
for consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do
wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."
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Saul
was . . . years old when he began to reign; and he reigned . . . and two years
over Israel. 2 Saul chose three thousand out of Israel; two thousand were with
Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with
Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to their
tents. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba; and
the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land,
saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!" 4 When all Israel heard that Saul had defeated
the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the
Philistines, the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. 5 The
Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six
thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they
came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the
Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed),
the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in
cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul
was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 He waited
seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and
the people began to slip away from Saul. 9 So Saul said, "Bring the burnt
offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt
offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel
arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. 11 Samuel said, "What
have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away
from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the
Philistines were mustering at Michmash, 12 I said, 'Now the Philistines will
come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the LORD'; so
I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." 13 Samuel said to Saul, "You
have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God,
which he commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel
forever, 14 but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a
man after his own heart; and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over his
people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you." 15 And Samuel
left and went on his way from Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to
join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted
the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 Saul, his son
Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin;
but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. 17 And raiders came out of the camp of
the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the
land of Shual, 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company
turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the
wilderness. 19 Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of
Israel; for the Philistines said, "The Hebrews must not make swords or spears
for themselves"; 20 so all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to
sharpen their plowshare, mattocks, axes, or sickles; 21 The charge was
two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and one-third of
a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. 22 So on the day of
the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of
the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. 23
Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.
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One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man who carried his
armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side." But
he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under
the pomegranate tree that is at Migron; the troops that were with him were about
six hundred men, 3 along with Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, son of
Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, carrying an ephod. Now
the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4 In the pass, by which Jonathan
tried to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on one side
and a rocky crag on the other; the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of
the other Seneh. 5 One crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the
other on the south in front of Geba. 6 Jonathan said to the young man who
carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised;
it may be that the LORD will act for us; for nothing can hinder the LORD from
saving by many or by few." 7 His armor-bearer said to him, "Do all that your
mind inclines to. I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine." 8 Then Jonathan
said, "Now we will cross over to those men and will show ourselves to them. 9 If
they say to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our
place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then
we will go up; for the LORD has given them into our hand. That will be the sign
for us." 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the
Philistines; and the Philistines said, "Look, Hebrews are coming out of the
holes where they have hidden themselves." 12 The men of the garrison hailed
Jonathan and his armor-bearer, saying, "Come up to us, and we will show you
something." Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come up after me; for the LORD
has given them into the hand of Israel." 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his
hands and feet, with his armor-bearer following after him. The Philistines fell
before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer, coming after him, killed them. 14 In that
first slaughter Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men within an
area about half a furrow long in an acre of land. 15 There was a panic in the
camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders
trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic. 16 Saul's lookouts
in Gibeah of Benjamin were watching as the multitude was surging back and forth.
17 Then Saul said to the troops that were with him, "Call the roll and see who
has gone from us." When they had called the roll, Jonathan and his armor-bearer
were not there. 18 Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here." For at that
time the ark of God went with the Israelites. 19 While Saul was talking to the
priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more; and
Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand." 20 Then Saul and all the people
who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and every sword was against
the other, so that there was very great confusion. 21 Now the Hebrews who
previously had been with the Philistines and had gone up with them into the camp
turned and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise,
when all the Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim
heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed closely after them in
the battle. 23 So the LORD gave Israel the victory that day. The battle passed
beyond Beth-aven, and the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten
thousand men. The battle spread out over the hill country of Ephraim. 24 Now
Saul committed a very rash act on that day. He had laid an oath on the troops,
saying, "Cursed be anyone who eats food before it is evening and I have been
avenged on my enemies." So none of the troops tasted food. 25 All the troops
came upon a honeycomb; and there was honey on the ground. 26 When the troops
came upon the honeycomb, the honey was dripping out; but they did not put their
hands to their mouths, for they feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard
his father charge the troops with the oath; so he extended the staff that was in
his hand, and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his
mouth; and his eyes brightened. 28 Then one of the soldiers said, "Your father
strictly charged the troops with an oath, saying, 'Cursed be anyone who eats
food this day.' And so the troops are faint." 29 Then Jonathan said, "My father
has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little
of this honey. 30 How much better if today the troops had eaten freely of the
spoil taken from their enemies; for now the slaughter among the Philistines has
not been great." 31 After they had struck down the Philistines that day from
Michmash to Aijalon, the troops were very faint; 32 so the troops flew upon the
spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground;
and the troops ate them with the blood. 33 Then it was reported to Saul, "Look,
the troops are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood." And he said,
"You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone before me here." 34 Saul said,
"Disperse yourselves among the troops, and say to them, 'Let all bring their
oxen or their sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against
the LORD by eating with the blood.'" So all of the troops brought their oxen
with them that night, and slaughtered them there. 35 And Saul built an altar to
the LORD; it was the first altar that he built to the LORD. 36 Then Saul said,
"Let us go down after the Philistines by night and despoil them until the
morning light; let us not leave one of them." They said, "Do whatever seems good
to you." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here." 37 So Saul
inquired of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into
the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him that day. 38 Saul said, "Come
here, all you leaders of the people; and let us find out how this sin has arisen
today. 39 For as the LORD lives who saves Israel, even if it is in my son
Jonathan, he shall surely die!" But there was no one among all the people who
answered him. 40 He said to all Israel, "You shall be on one side, and I and my
son Jonathan will be on the other side." The people said to Saul, "Do what seems
good to you." 41 Then Saul said, "O LORD God of Israel, why have you not
answered your servant today? If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O
LORD God of Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, give
Thummim." And Jonathan and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the people were
cleared. 42 Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan." And
Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done."
Jonathan told him, "I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was
in my hand; here I am, I will die." 44 Saul said, "God do so to me and more
also; you shall surely die, Jonathan!" 45 Then the people said to Saul, "Shall
Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As
the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground; for he has
worked with God today." So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he did not die. 46
Then Saul withdrew from pursuing the Philistines; and the Philistines went to
their own place. 47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought
against all his enemies on every side--against Moab, against the Ammonites,
against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever
he turned he routed them. 48 He did valiantly, and struck down the Amalekites,
and rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them. 49 Now the sons
of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters
were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger,
Michal. 50 The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name
of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's uncle; 51 Kish was the
father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 52 There was
hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw
any strong or valiant warrior, he took him into his service.
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Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people
Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. 2 Thus says the LORD of
hosts, 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the
Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and attack Amalek, and
utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and
woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'" 4 So Saul summoned
the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers, and
ten thousand soldiers of Judah. 5 Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and
lay in wait in the valley. 6 Saul said to the Kenites, "Go! Leave! Withdraw from
among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them; for you showed kindness
to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites
withdrew from the Amalekites. 7 Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as
far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 He took King Agag of the Amalekites
alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 Saul
and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of
the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly
destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed. 10 The
word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 "I regret that I made Saul king, for he has
turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands." Samuel was
angry; and he cried out to the LORD all night. 12 Samuel rose early in the
morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, "Saul went to Carmel, where he set up
a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal." 13 When
Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, "May you be blessed by the LORD; I have
carried out the command of the LORD." 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this
bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?" 15 Saul
said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the
best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the
rest we have utterly destroyed." 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell
you what the LORD said to me last night." He replied, "Speak." 17 Samuel said,
"Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of
Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the LORD sent you on a
mission, and said, 'Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight
against them until they are consumed.' 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of
the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight
of the LORD?" 20 Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, I
have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, I have brought Agag the king
of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But from the spoil
the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction,
to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." 22 And Samuel said, "Has the LORD
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of
the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of
rams. 23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is
like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he
has also rejected you from being king." 24 Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned;
for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I
feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray, pardon my
sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the LORD." 26 Samuel said to
Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD,
and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel." 27 As Samuel turned
to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel
said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day,
and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 Moreover the
Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that
he should change his mind." 30 Then Saul said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now
before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I
may worship the LORD your God." 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul
worshiped the LORD. 32 Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here
to me." And Agag came to him haltingly. Agag said, "Surely this is the
bitterness of death." 33 But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women
childless, so your mother shall be childless among women." And Samuel hewed Agag
in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went
up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the
day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he
had made Saul king over Israel.
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The LORD said to Samuel, "How long
will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill
your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I
have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 Samuel said, "How can I go?
If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with
you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the
sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me
the one whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to
Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you
come peaceably?" 5 He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD;
sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse
and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on
Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the LORD." 7 But
the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his
stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see;
they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 8 Then
Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has
the LORD chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said,
"Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass
before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any of these."
11 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains
yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send
and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." 12 He sent and
brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The
LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." 13 Then Samuel took the
horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of
the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and
went to Ramah. 14 Now the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil
spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, "See
now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command the
servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre;
and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will
feel better." 17 So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me someone who can
play well, and bring him to me." 18 One of the young men answered, "I have seen
a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a
warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the LORD is with
him." 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David who
is with the sheep." 20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine,
and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul,
and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.
22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found
favor in my sight." 23 And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul,
David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and
feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
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Now the
Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which
belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul
and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks
against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one
side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between
them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named
Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of
bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat
was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and
a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was
like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron;
and his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of
Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and
are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down
to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your
servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our
servants and serve us." 10 And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of
Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together." 11 When Saul and all Israel
heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 12
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who
had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in
years. 13 The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the
names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and
next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest; the
three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed
his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward
and took his stand, morning and evening. 17 Jesse said to his son David, "Take
for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry
them quickly to the camp to your brothers; 18 also take these ten cheeses to the
commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token
from them." 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley
of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 David rose early in the morning, left
the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded
him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line,
shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army
against army. 22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage,
ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them,
the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks
of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. 24
All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much
afraid. 25 The Israelites said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely
he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills
him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel." 26
David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who
kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this
uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 27
The people answered him in the same way, "So shall it be done for the man who
kills him." 28 His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and
Eliab's anger was kindled against David. He said, "Why have you come down? With
whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption
and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle." 29
David said, "What have I done now? It was only a question." 30 He turned away
from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him
again as before. 31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated
them before Saul; and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, "Let no one's
heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
33 Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight
with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." 34
But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and
whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after
it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned
against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your
servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall
be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 David
said, "The LORD, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the
bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David,
"Go, and may the LORD be with you!" 38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put
a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David
strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was
not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am
not used to them." So David removed them. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand,
and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag,
in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41
The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front
of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he
was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to
David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed
David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give
your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field." 45 But
David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin;
but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my
hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead
bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the
wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by
sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our
hand." 48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly
toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag,
took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone
sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the
Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand. 51 Then David
ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its
sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines
saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 The troops of Israel and Judah
rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of
Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as
Gath and Ekron. 53 The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and
they plundered their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought
it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. 55 When Saul saw David go out
against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner,
whose son is this young man?" Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not
know." 56 The king said, "Inquire whose son the stripling is." 57 On David's
return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul,
with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, "Whose son are
you, young man?" And David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the
Bethlehemite."
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When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul
of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own
soul. 2 Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's
house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his
own soul. 4 Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave
it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 David
went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him
over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved. 6 As
they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the
women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King
Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. 7 And
the women sang to one another as they made merry, "Saul has killed his
thousands, and David his ten thousands." 8 Saul was very angry, for this saying
displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me
they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?" 9 So Saul
eyed David from that day on. 10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon
Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did
day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; 11 and Saul threw the spear, for he
thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice. 12 Saul was
afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 So
Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and
David marched out and came in, leading the army. 14 David had success in all his
undertakings; for the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he had great
success, he stood in awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it
was he who marched out and came in leading them. 17 Then Saul said to David,
"Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be
valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles." For Saul thought, "I will not
raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him." 18 David said to
Saul, "Who am I and who are my kinsfolk, my father's family in Israel, that I
should be son-in-law to the king?" 19 But at the time when Saul's daughter Merab
should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a
wife. 20 Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David. Saul was told, and the thing
pleased him. 21 Saul thought, "Let me give her to him that she may be a snare
for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul
said to David a second time, "You shall now be my son-in-law." 22 Saul commanded
his servants, "Speak to David in private and say, 'See, the king is delighted
with you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king's
son-in-law.'" 23 So Saul's servants reported these words to David in private.
And David said, "Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's
son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?" 24 The servants of
Saul told him, "This is what David said." 25 Then Saul said, "Thus shall you say
to David, 'The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of
the Philistines, that he may be avenged on the king's enemies.'" Now Saul
planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 When his servants
told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king's son-in-law.
Before the time had expired, 27 David rose and went, along with his men, and
killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which
were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's
son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife. 28 But when Saul
realized that the LORD was with David, and that Saul's daughter Michal loved
him, 29 Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy from that
time forward. 30 Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle; and
as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul,
so that his fame became very great.
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Saul spoke with his son
Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul's son Jonathan
took great delight in David. 2 Jonathan told David, "My father Saul is trying to
kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and
hide yourself. 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you
are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell
you." 4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, "The
king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against
you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; 5 for he took his
life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a
great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin
against an innocent person by killing David without cause?" 6 Saul heeded the
voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to
death." 7 So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan
then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. 8 Again there
was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack
on them, so that they fled before him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the LORD came
upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was
playing music. 10 Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he
eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped
that night. 11 Saul sent messengers to David's house to keep watch over him,
planning to kill him in the morning. David's wife Michal told him, "If you do
not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed." 12 So Michal let David
down through the window; he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took an idol and
laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats' hair on its head, and covered it
with the clothes. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is
sick." 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said,
"Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him." 16 When the messengers
came in, the idol was in the bed, with the covering of goats' hair on its head.
17 Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy
go, so that he has escaped?" Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go;
why should I kill you?'" 18 Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at
Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and
settled at Naioth. 19 Saul was told, "David is at Naioth in Ramah." 20 Then Saul
sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a
frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of them, the spirit of God came upon the
messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. 21 When Saul was
told, he sent other messengers, and they also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent
messengers again the third time, and they also fell into a frenzy. 22 Then he
himself went to Ramah. He came to the great well that is in Secu; he asked,
"Where are Samuel and David?" And someone said, "They are at Naioth in Ramah."
23 He went there, toward Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon him.
As he was going, he fell into a prophetic frenzy, until he came to Naioth in
Ramah. 24 He too stripped off his clothes, and he too fell into a frenzy before
Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore it is said, "Is
Saul also among the prophets?"
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David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He
came before Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is
my sin against your father that he is trying to take my life?" 2 He said to him,
"Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing either great or small
without disclosing it to me; and why should my father hide this from me? Never!"
3 But David also swore, "Your father knows well that you like me; and he thinks,
'Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.' But truly, as the LORD
lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death." 4
Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you say, I will do for you." 5 David said
to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the
king at the meal; but let me go, so that I may hide in the field until the third
evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked
leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there
for all the family.' 7 If he says, 'Good!' it will be well with your servant;
but if he is angry, then know that evil has been determined by him. 8 Therefore
deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred
covenant with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself; why should you
bring me to your father?" 9 Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! If I knew that
it was decided by my father that evil should come upon you, would I not tell
you?" 10 Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers
you harshly?" 11 Jonathan replied to David, "Come, let us go out into the
field." So they both went out into the field. 12 Jonathan said to David, "By the
LORD, the God of Israel! When I have sounded out my father, about this time
tomorrow, or on the third day, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not
then send and disclose it to you? 13 But if my father intends to do you harm,
the LORD do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and
send you away, so that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has
been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the
LORD; but if I die, 15 never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if
the LORD were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the
earth." 16 Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May
the LORD seek out the enemies of David." 17 Jonathan made David swear again by
his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life. 18 Jonathan said to
him, "Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, because your place will be
empty. 19 On the day after tomorrow, you shall go a long way down; go to the
place where you hid yourself earlier, and remain beside the stone there. 20 I
will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 Then I
will send the boy, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the boy, 'Look,
the arrows are on this side of you, collect them,' then you are to come, for, as
the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to
the young man, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go; for the LORD has sent
you away. 23 As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the LORD is
witness between you and me forever." 24 So David hid himself in the field. When
the new moon came, the king sat at the feast to eat. 25 The king sat upon his
seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood, while Abner
sat by Saul's side; but David's place was empty. 26 Saul did not say anything
that day; for he thought, "Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely
he is not clean." 27 But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's
place was empty. And Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has the son of Jesse
not come to the feast, either yesterday or today?" 28 Jonathan answered Saul,
"David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem; 29 he said, 'Let me go;
for our family is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded
me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, let me get away,
and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table." 30
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan. He said to him, "You son of a
perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse
to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 31 For as long
as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be
established. Now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die." 32 Then
Jonathan answered his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he
done?" 33 But Saul threw his spear at him to strike him; so Jonathan knew that
it was the decision of his father to put David to death. 34 Jonathan rose from
the table in fierce anger and ate no food on the second day of the month, for he
was grieved for David, and because his father had disgraced him. 35 In the
morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with
him was a little boy. 36 He said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows that I
shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy came to the
place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called after the boy and said,
"Is the arrow not beyond you?" 38 Jonathan called after the boy, "Hurry, be
quick, do not linger." So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his
master. 39 But the boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the
arrangement. 40 Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said to him, "Go and
carry them to the city." 41 As soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside
the stone heap and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He bowed
three times, and they kissed each other, and wept with each other; David wept
the more. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since both of us have
sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD shall be between me and you,
and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.'" He got up and left;
and Jonathan went into the city.
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David came to Nob to the priest
Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, "Why are you
alone, and no one with you?" 2 David said to the priest Ahimelech, "The king has
charged me with a matter, and said to me, 'No one must know anything of the
matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.' I have made
an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what
have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here." 4 The
priest answered David, "I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy
bread--provided that the young men have kept themselves from women." 5 David
answered the priest, "Indeed women have been kept from us as always when I go on
an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common
journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?" 6 So the priest gave
him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the
Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on
the day it is taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there
that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of
Saul's shepherds. 8 David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no spear or sword here
with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king's
business required haste." 9 The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the
Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth
behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except
that one." David said, "There is none like it; give it to me." 10 David rose and
fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath. 11 The servants of
Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing
to one another of him in dances, 'Saul has killed his thousands, and David his
ten thousands'?" 12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of
King Achish of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to
be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and
let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Achish said to his servants, "Look, you
see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen,
that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this
fellow come into my house?"
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David left there and escaped to the
cave of Adullam; when his brothers and all his father's house heard of it, they
went down there to him. 2 Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in
debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain
over them. Those who were with him numbered about four hundred. 3 David went
from there to Mizpeh of Moab. He said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father
and mother come to you, until I know what God will do for me." 4 He left them
with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in
the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not remain in the
stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah." So David left, and went into
the forest of Hereth. 6 Saul heard that David and those who were with him had
been located. Saul was sitting at Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height,
with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. 7
Saul said to his servants who stood around him, "Hear now, you Benjaminites;
will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make
you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8 Is that why all of
you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a league
with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my
son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today."
9 Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's servants, answered, "I saw the
son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub; 10 he inquired of the
LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the
Philistine." 11 The king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all
his father's house, the priests who were at Nob; and all of them came to the
king. 12 Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." He answered, "Here I am, my
lord." 13 Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son
of Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so
that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today?" 14 Then
Ahimelech answered the king, "Who among all your servants is so faithful as
David? He is the king's son-in-law, and is quick to do your bidding, and is
honored in your house. 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God
for him? By no means! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to
any member of my father's house; for your servant has known nothing of all this,
much or little." 16 The king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all
your father's house." 17 The king said to the guard who stood around him, "Turn
and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David; they
knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me." But the servants of the king
would not raise their hand to attack the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king
said to Doeg, "You, Doeg, turn and attack the priests." Doeg the Edomite turned
and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen
ephod. 19 Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; men and women,
children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword. 20 But one
of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after
David. 21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22
David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there,
that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the lives of all your
father's house. 23 Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my
life seeks your life; you will be safe with me."
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Now they told
David, "The Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the
threshing floors." 2 David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack these
Philistines?" The LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save
Keilah." 3 But David's men said to him, "Look, 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 the LORD again. The LORD answered him, "Yes, go down to
Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into your hand." 5 So David and his men
went to Keilah, fought with the Philistines, brought away their livestock, and
dealt them a heavy defeat. Thus David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 When
Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in
his hand. 7 Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said,
"God has given him into my hand; for he has shut himself in by entering 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 When David learned that Saul was
plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, "Bring the ephod
here." 10 David said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that
Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 And now,
will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, I
beseech you, tell your servant." The LORD said, "He will come down." 12 Then
David said, "Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of
Saul?" The LORD said, "They will surrender you." 13 Then David and his men, who
were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they
could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the
expedition. 14 David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill
country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the LORD did
not give him into his hand. 15 David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh
when he learned that Saul had come out to seek his life. 16 Saul's son Jonathan
set out and came to David at Horesh; there he strengthened his hand through the
LORD. 17 He said to him, "Do not be afraid; for the hand of my father Saul shall
not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my
father Saul also knows that this is so." 18 Then the two of them made a covenant
before the LORD; David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home. 19 Then some
Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "David is hiding among us in the
strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon. 20
Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so; and our part will be to
surrender him into the king's hand." 21 Saul said, "May you be blessed by the
LORD for showing me compassion! 22 Go and make sure once more; find out exactly
where he is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.
23 Look around and learn all the hiding places where he lurks, and come back to
me with sure information. Then I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I
will search him out among all the thousands of Judah." 24 So they set out and
went to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in
the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 Saul and his men went to search for him.
When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of
Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon. 26
Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side
of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his
men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. 27 Then a messenger
came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on
the land." 28 So Saul stopped pursuing David, and went against the Philistines;
therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. 29 David then went up from
there, and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
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When Saul returned
from following the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the wilderness of
En-gedi." 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went
to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3
He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went
in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts
of the cave. 4 The men of David said to him, "Here is the day of which the LORD
said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as
it seems good to you.'" Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of
Saul's cloak. 5 Afterward David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off
a corner of Saul's cloak. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should
do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to raise my hand against him; for
he is the Lord's anointed." 7 So David scolded his men severely and did not
permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his
way. 8 Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after
Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face
to the ground, and did obeisance. 9 David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to
the words of those who say, 'David seeks to do you harm'? 10 This very day your
eyes have seen how the LORD gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me
to kill you, but I spared you. I said, 'I will not raise my hand against my
lord; for he is the Lord's anointed.' 11 See, my father, see the corner of your
cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and
did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in
my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my
life. 12 May the LORD judge between me and you! May the LORD avenge me on you;
but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the ancient proverb says, 'Out of
the wicked comes forth wickedness'; but my hand shall not be against you. 14
Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A
single flea? 15 May the LORD therefore be judge, and give sentence between me
and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you." 16
When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is this your
voice, my son David?" Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David,
"You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have
repaid you evil. 18 Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in
that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. 19 For who has
ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the LORD reward you
with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 Now I know that you shall
surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your
hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my
descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father's
house." 22 So David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but David and his
men went up to the stronghold.
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Now Samuel died; and all Israel
assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David
got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 There was a man in Maon,
whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep
and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the
man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and
beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in
the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men;
and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet
him in my name. 6 Thus you shall salute him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to
your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers;
now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed
nothing, all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will
tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight; for we have come
on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to
your son David.'" 9 When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in
the name of David; and then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David's servants,
"Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are
breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and the
meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I
do not know where?" 12 So David's young men turned away, and came back and told
him all this. 13 David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!" And
every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and
about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the
baggage. 14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent
messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at
them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never
missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them; 16
they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them
keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do;
for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so
ill-natured that no one can speak to him." 18 Then Abigail hurried and took two
hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of
parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs.
She loaded them on donkeys 19 and said to her young men, "Go on ahead of me; I
am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 As she rode on
the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came
down toward her; and she met them. 21 Now David had said, "Surely it was in vain
that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was
missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good. 22 God
do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all
who belong to him." 23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the
donkey, fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground. 24 She fell at his
feet and said, "Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant
speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 My lord, do not take
seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is
his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men
of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as you
yourself live, since the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking
vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil
to my lord be like Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has
brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please
forgive the trespass of your servant; for the LORD will certainly make my lord a
sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD; and evil shall
not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If anyone should rise up to pursue
you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of
the living under the care of the LORD your God; but the lives of your enemies he
shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 When the LORD has done to my
lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has
appointed you prince over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief, or
pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved
himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your
servant." 32 David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who
sent you to meet me today! 33 Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you,
who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand!
34 For as surely as the LORD the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from
hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there
would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male." 35 Then David received
from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, "Go up to your house in
peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition." 36
Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a
king. Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him
nothing at all until the morning light. 37 In the morning, when the wine had
gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within
him; he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later the LORD struck Nabal, and
he died. 39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD
who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me, and has kept back his servant
from evil; the LORD has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head." Then
David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife. 40 When David's servants
came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, "David has sent us to you to take
you to him as his wife." 41 She rose and bowed down, with her face to the
ground, and said, "Your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of
my lord." 42 Abigail got up hurriedly and rode away on a donkey; her five maids
attended her. She went after the messengers of David and became his wife. 43
David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel; both of them became his wives. 44 Saul
had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from
Gallim.
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Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "David
is in hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon." 2 So Saul
rose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, with three thousand chosen men of
Israel, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. 3 Saul encamped on the hill of
Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon beside the road. But David remained in the
wilderness. When he learned that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4
David sent out spies, and learned that Saul had indeed arrived. 5 Then David set
out and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where
Saul lay, with Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying
within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him. 6 Then David said
to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, "Who
will go down with me into the camp to Saul?" Abishai said, "I will go down with
you." 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night; there Saul lay sleeping
within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner
and the army lay around him. 8 Abishai said to David, "God has given your enemy
into your hand today; now therefore let me pin him to the ground with one stroke
of the spear; I will not strike him twice." 9 But David said to Abishai, "Do not
destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be
guiltless?" 10 David said, "As the LORD lives, the LORD will strike him down; or
his day will come to die; or he will go down into battle and perish. 11 The LORD
forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord's anointed; but now take the
spear that is at his head, and the water jar, and let us go." 12 So David took
the spear that was at Saul's head and the water jar, and they went away. No one
saw it, or knew it, nor did anyone awake; for they were all asleep, because a
deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them. 13 Then David went over to the
other side, and stood on top of a hill far away, with a great distance between
them. 14 David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, saying, "Abner! Will
you not answer?" Then Abner replied, "Who are you that calls to the king?" 15
David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then
have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in
to destroy your lord the king. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As
the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your
lord, the Lord's anointed. See now, where is the king's spear, or the water jar
that was at his head?" 17 Saul recognized David's voice, and said, "Is this your
voice, my son David?" David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king." 18 And he
added, "Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What guilt is
on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his
servant. If it is the LORD who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an
offering; but if it is mortals, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they
have driven me out today from my share in the heritage of the LORD, saying, 'Go,
serve other gods.' 20 Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the ground,
away from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel has come out to seek
a single flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains." 21 Then Saul
said, "I have done wrong; come back, my son David, for I will never harm you
again, because my life was precious in your sight today; I have been a fool, and
have made a great mistake." 22 David replied, "Here is the spear, O king! Let
one of the young men come over and get it. 23 The LORD rewards everyone for his
righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD gave you into my hand today,
but I would not raise my hand against the Lord's anointed. 24 As your life was
precious today in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the LORD,
and may he rescue me from all tribulation." 25 Then Saul said to David, "Blessed
be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them." So
David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
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David said in
his heart, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing
better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will
despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall
escape out of his hand." 2 So David set out and went over, he and the six
hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath. 3 David
stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and
David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's
widow. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer sought for
him. 5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your sight, let a
place be given me in one of the country towns, so that I may live there; for why
should your servant live in the royal city with you?" 6 So that day Achish gave
him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7
The length of time that David lived in the country of the Philistines was one
year and four months. 8 Now David and his men went up and made raids on the
Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for these were the landed
settlements from Telam on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt. 9 David
struck the land, leaving neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep,
the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and came back to Achish. 10
When Achish asked, "Against whom have you made a raid today?" David would say,
"Against the Negeb of Judah," or "Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites," or,
"Against the Negeb of the Kenites." 11 David left neither man nor woman alive to
be brought back to Gath, thinking, "They might tell about us, and say, 'David
has done so and so.'" Such was his practice all the time he lived in the country
of the Philistines. 12 Achish trusted David, thinking, "He has made himself
utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my
servant."
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In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for
war, to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "You know, of course, that
you and your men are to go out with me in the army." 2 David said to Achish,
"Very well, then you shall know what your servant can do." Achish said to David,
"Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life." 3 Now Samuel had died, and
all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. Saul had
expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land. 4 The Philistines assembled,
and came and encamped at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at
Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his
heart trembled greatly. 6 When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not
answer him, not by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his
servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and
inquire of her." His servants said to him, "There is a medium at Endor." 8 So
Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went there, he and two men
with him. They came to the woman by night. And he said, "Consult a spirit for
me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you." 9 The woman said to him,
"Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the
wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring
about my death?" 10 But Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As the LORD lives, no
punishment shall come upon you for this thing." 11 Then the woman said, "Whom
shall I bring up for you?" He answered, "Bring up Samuel for me." 12 When the
woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul,
"Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" 13 The king said to her, "Have no
fear; what do you see?" The woman said to Saul, "I see a divine being coming up
out of the ground." 14 He said to her, "What is his appearance?" She said, "An
old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe." So Saul knew that it was Samuel,
and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. 15 Then Samuel said
to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in
great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned
away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have
summoned you to tell me what I should do." 16 Samuel said, "Why then do you ask
me, since the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has
done to you just as he spoke by me; for the LORD has torn the kingdom out of
your hand, and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the
voice of the LORD, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek,
therefore the LORD has done this thing to you today. 19 Moreover the LORD will
give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you
and your sons shall be with me; the LORD will also give the army of Israel into
the hands of the Philistines." 20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the
ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel; and there was no
strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 The woman
came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, "Your
servant has listened to you; I have taken my life in my hand, and have listened
to what you have said to me. 22 Now therefore, you also listen to your servant;
let me set a morsel of bread before you. Eat, that you may have strength when
you go on your way." 23 He refused, and said, "I will not eat." But his
servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he listened to their words. So
he got up from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fatted calf
in the house. She quickly slaughtered it, and she took flour, kneaded it, and
baked unleavened cakes. 25 She put them before Saul and his servants, and they
ate. Then they rose and went away that night.
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Now the Philistines
gathered all their forces at Aphek, while the Israelites were encamped by the
fountain that is in Jezreel. 2 As the lords of the Philistines were passing on
by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear
with Achish, 3 the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews
doing here?" Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not
David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for days and
years? Since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day." 4 But
the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him; and the commanders of the
Philistines said to him, "Send the man back, so that he may return to the place
that you have assigned to him; he shall not go down with us to battle, or else
he may become an adversary to us in the battle. For how could this fellow
reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? 5
Is this not David, of whom they sing to one another in dances, 'Saul has killed
his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" 6 Then Achish called David and
said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right
that you should march out and in with me in the campaign; for I have found
nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me until today. Nevertheless
the lords do not approve of you. 7 So go back now; and go peaceably; do nothing
to displease the lords of the Philistines." 8 David said to Achish, "But what
have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your
service until now, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord
the king?" 9 Achish replied to David, "I know that you are as blameless in my
sight as an angel of God; nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have
said, 'He shall not go up with us to the battle.' 10 Now then rise early in the
morning, you and the servants of your lord who came with you, and go to the
place that I appointed for you. As for the evil report, do not take it to heart,
for you have done well before me. Start early in the morning, and leave as soon
as you have light." 11 So David set out with his men early in the morning, to
return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
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Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the
Amalekites had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag,
burned it down, 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small
and great; they killed none of them, but carried them off, and went their way. 3
When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down, and their
wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were
with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail
the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was in great danger; for the people spoke
of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and
daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. 7 David said to
the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought
the ephod to David. 8 David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this band?
Shall I overtake them?" He answered him, "Pursue; for you shall surely overtake
and shall surely rescue." 9 So David set out, he and the six hundred men who
were with him. They came to the Wadi Besor, where those stayed who were left
behind. 10 But David went on with the pursuit, he and four hundred men; two
hundred stayed behind, too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor. 11 In the open
country they found an Egyptian, and brought him to David. They gave him bread
and he ate, they gave him water to drink; 12 they also gave him a piece of fig
cake and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit revived; for he
had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then
David said to him, "To whom do you belong? Where are you from?" He said, "I am a
young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite. My master left me behind because I
fell sick three days ago. 14 We had made a raid on the Negeb of the Cherethites
and on that which belongs to Judah and on the Negeb of Caleb; and we burned
Ziklag down." 15 David said to him, "Will you take me down to this raiding
party?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me, or hand me over
to my master, and I will take you down to them." 16 When he had taken him down,
they were spread out all over the ground, eating and drinking and dancing,
because of the great amount of spoil they had taken from the land of the
Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 David attacked them from twilight
until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except four hundred
young men, who mounted camels and fled. 18 David recovered all that the
Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing,
whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been
taken; David brought back everything. 20 David also captured all the flocks and
herds, which were driven ahead of the other cattle; people said, "This is
David's spoil." 21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too
exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the Wadi Besor. They went
out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. When David drew near
to the people he saluted them. 22 Then all the corrupt and worthless fellows
among the men who had gone with David said, "Because they did not go with us, we
will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man
may take his wife and children, and leave." 23 But David said, "You shall not do
so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us; he has preserved us and handed
over to us the raiding party that attacked us. 24 Who would listen to you in
this matter? For the share of the one who goes down into the battle shall be the
same as the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike."
25 From that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel; it
continues to the present day. 26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the
spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, "Here is a present for you
from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD"; 27 it was for those in Bethel, in
Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir, 28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, 29 in
Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, in the towns of the Kenites, 30 in
Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in Hebron, all the places where David and
his men had roamed.
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Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and
the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell on Mount Gilboa. 2
The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan
and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard upon
Saul; the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by them. 4 Then Saul said
to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that
these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me."
But his armor-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own
sword and fell upon it. 5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also
fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his
armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day. 7 When the men of
Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw
that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they
forsook their towns and fled; and the Philistines came and occupied them. 8 The
next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his
three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head, stripped off his
armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the
good news to the houses of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor
in the temple of Astarte; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done
to Saul, 12 all the valiant men set out, traveled all night long, and took the
body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to
Jabesh and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them
under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
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