1 Samuel

1

¹ Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.
² And he had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
³ And this man went up from his city year by year to worship and to sacrifice to Jehovah of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of Jehovah, were there.
⁴ And when the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters.
⁵ But he would give a double portion to Hannah, for it was Hannah whom he loved; but Jehovah had shut up her womb.
⁶ And her rival provoked her bitterly to irritate her, because Jehovah had shut up her womb.
⁷ And so it happened year after year; when she went up to the house of Jehovah, the other provoked her this way; and she wept and would not eat.
⁸ And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping, and why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?
⁹ Then after the eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah rose up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat at the doorpost of the temple of Jehovah.
¹⁰ And she was bitter in soul and prayed to Jehovah and wept much.
¹¹ And she made a vow and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your female servant and remember me and not forget Your female servant, but give to Your female servant a male child, then I will give him to Jehovah for all the days of his life, and no razor will come upon his head.
¹² And while she continued praying a long time before Jehovah, Eli watched her mouth.
¹³ And Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk.
¹⁴ And Eli said to her, How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you.
¹⁵ And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord. I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before Jehovah.
¹⁶ Do not take your female servant for a worthless woman; for out of the greatness of my anxiety and provocation I have been speaking all this time.
¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have requested from Him.
¹⁸ And she said, Let your servant find favor in your sight. And the woman went her way; and she ate, and her countenance was sad no more.
¹⁹ And they rose up early in the morning and worshipped before Jehovah; and they returned and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and Jehovah remembered her.
²⁰ And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son; and she called his name Samuel, For, she said, I asked for him of Jehovah.
²¹ And the man Elkanah went up with all his house to offer the yearly sacrifice to Jehovah and his vow.
²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, When the child is weaned, then I will bring him up, so that he may appear before Jehovah and stay there forever.
²³ And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what is good in your sight; stay until you have weaned him. Only, may Jehovah establish His word. So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him.
²⁴ And as soon as she weaned him, she brought him up with her, along with three bulls and one ephah of flour and a skin of wine; and she brought him to the house of Jehovah in Shiloh, although the child was young.
²⁵ And they slaughtered the bull and brought the child to Eli.
²⁶ And she said, Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here by you, praying to Jehovah.
²⁷ It was for this child that I prayed, and Jehovah has granted me my request that I requested from Him.
²⁸ Therefore I, for my part, have lent him to Jehovah; all the days that he lives, he is lent to Jehovah. And he worshipped Jehovah there.

2

¹ And Hannah prayed and said: / My heart exults in Jehovah; / My horn is exalted in Jehovah; / My mouth is enlarged against my enemies, / Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
² There is none holy like Jehovah, / For there is none besides You; / Nor is there a rock like our God.
³ Talk no more so very proudly; / Do not let arrogance go forth from your mouth; / For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, / And actions are weighed by Him.
⁴ The bows of the mighty men are broken, / And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for food, / And those who were hungry are not so any longer. / She who was barren has borne seven, / And she who had many children languishes.
⁶ Jehovah kills and makes alive; / He brings down to Sheol and brings up.
⁷ Jehovah makes poor and makes rich; / He makes low and also lifts up.
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust, / From the ash heap He lifts the needy, / That He may seat them with princes / And cause them to inherit the throne of glory. / For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s, / And He has set the world upon them.
⁹ He will keep the feet of His faithful ones, / But the wicked will be silenced in darkness; / For not by strength shall any man prevail.
¹⁰ Those who strive with Jehovah will be shattered; / Against them He will thunder in heaven. / Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; / And He will give strength to His king / And exalt the horn of His anointed.
¹¹ And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child ministered to Jehovah before Eli the priest.
¹² Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know Jehovah,
¹³ Nor did they regard the priests’ rightful due with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s attendant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the flesh was boiling,
¹⁴ And he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot; all that the fork brought up, the priest took with it. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
¹⁵ Indeed before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the man sacrificing, Give some flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not accept boiled flesh from you, but only raw.
¹⁶ And if the man said to him, Let them burn up the fat first, then take as much as your soul desires; he would say, No, but you shall give it now; otherwise, I will take it by force.
¹⁷ And the sin of the young men was very great before Jehovah, for the men despised the offering of Jehovah.
¹⁸ And Samuel ministered before Jehovah, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.
¹⁹ And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it up to him yearly when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
²⁰ And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, May Jehovah give you seed by this woman in place of the one she requested of Jehovah; and they would go back to their place.
²¹ And Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before Jehovah.
²² Now Eli was very old, and he heard of all that his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who were engaged in service at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
²³ And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.
²⁴ No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear Jehovah’s people spreading.
²⁵ If one man sins against another man, God will arbitrate for him; but if a man sins against Jehovah, who will arbitrate for him? But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for Jehovah was pleased to kill them.
²⁶ And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor both with Jehovah and with men.
²⁷ And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus says Jehovah, I revealed Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt as slaves to Pharaoh’s house.
²⁸ And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod before Me. And I gave the house of your father all the offerings by fire of the children of Israel.
²⁹ Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering, which I have commanded in My habitation, and honor your sons more than Me by making yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?
³⁰ Therefore Jehovah the God of Israel declares, I surely said that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever; but now Jehovah declares, Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who spurn Me will be lightly esteemed.
³¹ The days are now coming when I will cut off your arm and the arm of the house of your father, so that there will not be an old man in your house.
³² And you shall see the distress of My habitation in the midst of all the good that I will do to Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.
³³ And that man of yours whom I do not cut off from My altar shall be left to consume your eyes and to grieve your soul, and all the increase of your house shall die by the swords of men.
³⁴ And this will be the sign to you, which will come upon your two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas: In one day both of them shall die.
³⁵ And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in My heart and in My mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he will go before My anointed continually.
³⁶ And everyone who is left of your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and for a loaf of bread, and will say, Please put me in one of the priests’ offices that I may eat a morsel of bread.

3

¹ And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. Now the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
² And at that time Eli lay in his place, and his eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see.
³ And the lamp of God had not yet gone out. And Samuel lay in the temple of Jehovah, where the Ark of God was.
⁴ Then Jehovah called to Samuel. And he said, Here I am.
⁵ And he ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. And he said, I did not call. Go back and lie down. And he went and lay down.
⁶ And Jehovah called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel rose up and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. And he said, I did not call, my son. Go back and lie down.
⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah had not yet been revealed to him.
⁸ Then Jehovah called Samuel again, the third time. And he rose up and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that it was Jehovah calling the boy.
⁹ And Eli said to Samuel, Go and lie down, and if He calls you, you shall say, Speak, O Jehovah; for Your servant is listening. And Samuel went and lay down in his place.
¹⁰ Then Jehovah came and stood by and called as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for Your servant is listening.
¹¹ And Jehovah said to Samuel, I am about to do something in Israel which 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 judge his house forever because of the iniquity which he knew; for his sons brought the curse upon themselves, and he did not restrain them.
¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be expiated by sacrifice or by offering forever.
¹⁵ And Samuel lay down until the morning, when he opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.
¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel my son. And he said, Here I am.
¹⁷ And he said, What was the word that He spoke to you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and even more, if you hide from me any of the word which He spoke to you.
¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. And he said, He is Jehovah; let Him do what is good in His sight.
¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and Jehovah 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 had been established as a prophet of Jehovah.
²¹ And Jehovah continued to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of Jehovah.

4

¹ And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. And Israel went forth against the Philistines in battle; and they encamped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
² And the Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel; and when the battle spread, Israel was struck down before the Philistines. And they slew about four thousand men of the array in the field.
³ And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has Jehovah struck us down today before the Philistines? Let us take for ourselves the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah from Shiloh that it may come into our midst, and thus save us from the hand of our enemies.
⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they took up from there the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah of hosts who is enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God.
⁵ And when the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth resounded.
⁶ And the Philistines heard the sound of the shout and said, What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean? Then they found out that the Ark of Jehovah had come into their camp.
⁷ And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God has come into their camp. And they said, Woe to us! For there has never been such a thing as this before.
⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness.
⁹ Be strong and be men, O Philistines, lest you become servants to the Hebrews as they have been servants to you. Be men then and fight.
¹⁰ And the Philistines fought, and they struck Israel; and every man fled to his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
¹¹ And the Ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
¹² And a man of Benjamin ran from the array and came to Shiloh on the same day, with his clothes torn and earth upon his head.
¹³ And when he came, there was Eli, sitting on his seat by the roadside watching; for his heart trembled for the Ark of God. And when the man came to tell the news to the city, the whole city cried out.
¹⁴ And when Eli heard the sound of the cry, he said, What does this sound of commotion mean? And the man hurried and came and told Eli.
¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, and he could not see.
¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the array, and I fled from the array today. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?
¹⁷ And he who brought the news answered and said, Israel fled before the Philistines, and there was a great slaughter among the people; and even your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the Ark of God has been taken.
¹⁸ And when he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate. And he broke his neck and died, for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
¹⁹ And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to deliver; and when she heard the report that the Ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she bowed down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
²⁰ And around the time that she died, the women who stood around her said, Do not fear, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer or pay attention.
²¹ And she named the child Ichabod, meaning, The glory has departed from Israel, because the Ark of God had been taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
²² And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been taken.

5

¹ When the Philistines took the Ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
² And the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and they set it next to Dagon.
³ And when the Ashdodites arose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground, before the Ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
⁴ And when they arose early in the morning of the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground, before the Ark of Jehovah. And Dagon’s head and the palms of his hands were cut off, lying on the threshold; only Dagon’s trunk was left to him.
⁵ Because of this, neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter the house of Dagon tread upon Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod to this day.
⁶ But the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon the Ashdodites, and He devastated them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The Ark of the God of Israel cannot stay with us, for His hand is hard on us and on Dagon our god.
⁸ Therefore they sent for and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to themselves, and they said, What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel? And they said, Let the Ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath. And they brought the Ark of the God of Israel there.
⁹ Then after they brought it there, the hand of Jehovah was against the city, causing a very great panic. And He struck the men of the city, from small to great; and they broke out with tumors.
¹⁰ Then they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. But when the Ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.
¹¹ And they sent for and gathered all the princes of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the Ark of the God of Israel; and let it return to its place, so that it does not kill us and our people. For the panic of death was throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there,
¹² And the men who did not die were stricken with tumors. And the cry of the city went up to heaven.

6

¹ Now the Ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
² And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, What shall we do with the Ark of Jehovah? Make known to us how we should send it forth to its place.
³ And they said, If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but be sure to return Him a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be made known to you why His hand has not turned away from you.
⁴ And they said, What is the trespass offering that we should return to Him? And they said, Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was upon you all and upon your lords.
⁵ Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that devastate the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand on you and your gods and your land.
⁶ Why then should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had dealt severely with them, did they not let the people go, and they went?
⁷ So now take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which the yoke has never come, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home, away from them.
⁸ And take the Ark of Jehovah and put it on the cart; and in a box by the side of it, place the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering; and send it away that it may go.
⁹ Then watch: If it goes up toward its own border at Beth-shemesh, it is He who has done us this great harm. But if it does not, we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.
¹⁰ And the men did so and took two milch cows and tied them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.
¹¹ And they put the Ark of Jehovah on the cart with the box and the gold mice and the images of their tumors.
¹² And the cows went straight in the way toward Beth-shemesh; they went on one road, lowing as they went; and they did not turn to the right or 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. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the Ark, they rejoiced to see it.
¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite and stood still there. And there was a great stone there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to Jehovah.
¹⁵ Then the Levites took down the Ark of Jehovah and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold; and they placed them on the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered up burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Jehovah.
¹⁶ And when the five lords of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that day.
¹⁷ And these are the gold tumors that the Philistines returned to Jehovah as a trespass offering: for Ashdod, one; for Gaza, one; for Ashkelon, one; for Gath, one; for Ekron, one;
¹⁸ And the gold mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines that belonged to the five lords, both of fortified cities and country villages, as far as the great stone on which they rested the Ark of Jehovah, which is there to this day, in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite.
¹⁹ And He struck the men of Beth-shemesh because they looked into the Ark of Jehovah; and He struck seventy men among the people. And the people mourned because Jehovah struck the people with a great slaughter.
²⁰ And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who can stand before Jehovah, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?
²¹ And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have returned the Ark of Jehovah; come down and take it up to you.

7

¹ And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the Ark of Jehovah and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the Ark of Jehovah.
² And it was a long time from the day that the Ark began to abide in Kiriath-jearim, for it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah.
³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you are returning with all your heart to Jehovah, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from your midst, and direct your heart to Jehovah and serve only Him; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.
⁴ Then the children of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served only Jehovah.
⁵ And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Jehovah for you.
⁶ And they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Jehovah, and they fasted that day. And they said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.
⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel gathered themselves at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
⁸ And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Do not stop crying to Jehovah our God for us, so that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.
⁹ And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to Jehovah. And Samuel cried out to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him.
¹⁰ And while Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines approached for battle against Israel. And Jehovah thundered with a great voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into a panic; and they were struck down before Israel.
¹¹ And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and they struck them as far as below Beth-car.
¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen; and he called its name Ebenezer and said, Thus far Jehovah has helped us.
¹³ So the Philistines were subdued, and they no longer came into the territory of Israel. And the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
¹⁴ And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel rescued their territory from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
¹⁵ And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
¹⁶ And he went year by year in circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places.
¹⁷ Then he would return to Ramah, for his house was there. And he judged Israel there and built an altar to Jehovah there.

8

¹ Now when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
² And the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba.
³ But his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.
⁵ And they said to him, You are now old, and your sons do not follow in your ways. Appoint now for us a king to judge us like all the nations.
⁶ But the matter displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Then Samuel prayed to Jehovah.
⁷ And Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people according to all that they have said to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but they have rejected Me from being King over them.
⁸ Like all the deeds that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt to this very day by forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they do also to you.
⁹ Now therefore listen to their voice, but you shall solemnly warn them and declare to them the practice of the king who will reign over them.
¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of Jehovah to the people, who had asked him for a king.
¹¹ And he said, This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for himself to his chariots and as his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots;
¹² And he will appoint them for himself as captains of thousands and as captains of fifties, and to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war and the equipment for his chariots.
¹³ And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
¹⁴ And he will take your best fields and vineyards and olive groves, and give them to his servants.
¹⁵ And he will exact a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give it to his eunuchs and servants.
¹⁶ And he will take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
¹⁷ He will exact a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his servants.
¹⁸ And you will cry out in that day on account of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but Jehovah will not answer you in that day.
¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No; but there will be a king over us,
²⁰ That we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.
²¹ And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them in the hearing of Jehovah.
²² Then Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and appoint a king to them. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go, each one to his city.

9

¹ Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.
² And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man; and there was not a man among the children of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders and up he was taller than all the people.
³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take with you one of the servants, and rise up and go to search for the donkeys.
⁴ And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and he passed through the land of Shalishah; but they did not find them. Then 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 his servant who was with him, Come, and let us return; otherwise, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will worry about us.
⁶ But he said to him, There is a man of God here in this city, and he is a man held in honor; all that he says happens without fail. Let us now go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey that we have set out on.
⁷ And Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what will we bring the man? For the food is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring the man of God. What do we have?
⁸ And the servant answered Saul again and said, Here in my hand is a quarter shekel of silver, and I can give it to the man of God; then he will tell us our way.
⁹ (Formerly in Israel a man spoke this way when he went to inquire of God, Come, and let us go to the seer; for today’s prophet was formerly called a seer.)
¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.
¹¹ As they went up the ascent into the city, they found some girls coming out to draw water; and they said to them, Is the seer here?
¹² And they answered them and said, He is; there he is ahead of you. Hurry now; for he has just come to the city today, because the people have a sacrifice at the high place today.
¹³ Right when you enter the city, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he is the one who blesses the sacrifice. Right after that, those who have been invited will eat. Go up now then, for you will find him right away.
¹⁴ So they went up into the city. As they came into the midst of the city, there came Samuel out toward them, going up to the high place.
¹⁵ Now Jehovah had revealed this to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying,
¹⁶ At about this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have looked upon My people because their cry has come to Me.
¹⁷ And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah declared to him, Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. This man shall rule over My people.
¹⁸ And Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, Tell me, please, where is the seer’s house?
¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will send you away, and I will tell you all that is in your heart.
²⁰ And as for your donkeys that have now been lost three days, do not even consider them; for they have been found. And for whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?
²¹ And Saul answered and said, Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?
²² And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them to the hall, and put them in the chief place among those who had been invited; and there were about thirty men.
²³ And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion that I gave, concerning which I said to you, Set it by you.
²⁴ And the cook took up the thigh and what was attached to it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Here is what has been reserved. Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you for the appointed time, when I said I was inviting the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
²⁵ And when they came down from the high place to the city, he spoke with Saul upon the roof.
²⁶ And they rose early; and around the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, Rise up, and I will send you away. So Saul rose up, and they both went outside, he and Samuel.
²⁷ As they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to go on ahead of us — and the servant went on — but you stand here now, and I will let you hear the word of God.

10

¹ Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it upon his head, and he kissed him and said, Jehovah anoints you ruler over His inheritance.
² When you depart from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The donkeys that you went to look for have been found; and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, What shall I do about my son?
³ Then you will go on further from there and come to the terebinth of Tabor; and three men will meet you there, going up to God at Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.
⁴ And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, and you will take them from their hand.
⁵ After that you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines’ garrison is. And as you come to the city there, you will encounter a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harp and tambourine and pipe and lyre; and they will be prophesying.
⁶ And the Spirit of Jehovah will rush upon you; and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
⁷ And when these signs happen to you, do as you find occasion, for God is with you.
⁸ And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer up burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. You shall wait seven days, until I come to you; then I will make known to you what you shall do.
⁹ And so when he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs happened that day.
¹⁰ And when they came there to the hill, there was the group of prophets, coming to meet him. And the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
¹¹ And when all who had known him previously saw that now he was prophesying with the prophets, the people said one to another, What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
¹² And someone from there answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
¹³ And when he finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
¹⁴ And Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, Where did you go? And he said, To look for the donkeys; and when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.
¹⁵ And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me then what Samuel said to you.
¹⁶ And Saul said to his uncle, He told us clearly that the donkeys had been found. But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom that Samuel had spoken of.
¹⁷ Then Samuel gathered the people together to Jehovah at Mizpah.
¹⁸ And he said to the children of Israel, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.
¹⁹ But today you have rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your calamities and distresses, and have said, No; but set a king over us. And now present yourselves before Jehovah according to your tribes and according to your thousands.
²⁰ So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
²¹ And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near according to its families, and the family of Matri was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
²² Therefore they asked of Jehovah again, Is there yet another man coming here? And Jehovah said, There he is; he has hidden himself among the baggage.
²³ And they ran and took him from there. And when he stood up among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up.
²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, See him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted and said, Long live the king!
²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the practice of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book and laid it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
²⁶ And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the men of valor, whose hearts God had touched, went with him;
²⁷ But some worthless men said, How can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no present. But he kept silent.

11

¹ Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.
² And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that all your right eyes be gouged out; and I will make it a reproach upon all Israel.
³ And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers throughout all the territory of Israel. And if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.
⁴ Then the messengers went to Gibeah of Saul, and they spoke these words in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voice and wept.
⁵ And Saul was just coming from the field after the oxen, and Saul said, What is wrong with the people that they weep so? And they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh.
⁶ And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul as he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
⁷ And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by means of the messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the dread of Jehovah fell upon the people, and they came forth as one man.
⁸ And he mustered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah were thirty thousand.
⁹ And they said to the messengers who had come, Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, Tomorrow you will have deliverance by the time the sun is hot. So the messengers went and told this to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
¹⁰ And the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us all that seems good in your sight.
¹¹ And on the next day Saul put the people into three companies, and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch. And they struck Ammon until the day was hot; and those who remained were so scattered that not two of them remained together.
¹² And the people said to Samuel, Who said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death.
¹³ But Saul said, No man shall be put to death on this day, for today Jehovah has accomplished deliverance in Israel.
¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, Come and let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.
¹⁵ And all the people went to Gilgal. And there they made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal, and there they sacrificed peace offerings before Jehovah, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

12

¹ And Samuel said to all Israel, I have now listened to your voice according to all that you have said to me, and I have placed a king over you.
² And now, here is the king who goes before you. But I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you, and I have gone before you from my youth until this day.
³ Here I am; testify against me before Jehovah 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 in order to blind my eyes with it? Then I will restore it to you.
⁴ And they said, You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from anyone’s hand.
⁵ And he said to them, Jehovah 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 And Samuel said to the people, It is Jehovah who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
⁷ Now therefore stand here, that I may plead with you before Jehovah concerning all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which He did to you and to your fathers.
⁸ When Jacob went to Egypt, and your fathers cried out to Jehovah, Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron; and they brought your fathers out from Egypt and caused them to dwell in this place.
⁹ But they forgot Jehovah their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera, the captain of Hazor’s army, 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 out to Jehovah and said, We have sinned, for we have forsaken Jehovah and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but deliver us now from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.
¹¹ And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hand of your enemies all around; and you dwelt securely.
¹² And when you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, No; but a king will reign over us, though Jehovah your God was your King.
¹³ Now therefore here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. See then, Jehovah has set a king over you.
¹⁴ If you fear Jehovah and serve Him and listen to His voice and do not rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow Jehovah your God, fine.
¹⁵ But if you do not listen to the voice of Jehovah, but rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then the hand of Jehovah will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
¹⁶ Now therefore stand here and see this great thing that Jehovah will do before your eyes.
¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to Jehovah, that He send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness which you have done in the sight of Jehovah by asking for a king for yourselves is great.
¹⁸ And Samuel called to Jehovah, and Jehovah sent thunder and rain on that day. And all the people feared Jehovah and Samuel greatly.
¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, Pray to Jehovah your God for your servants that we would not die, for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for 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 away from following Jehovah, but serve Jehovah with all your heart.
²¹ And do not turn away, for your turning away would be after vain idols, which cannot profit or deliver you, for they are vanity.
²² For because of His great name Jehovah will not forsake His people, for Jehovah has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.
²³ Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I would sin against Jehovah by ceasing to pray for you, but I will instruct you in the good and right way.
²⁴ Only, fear Jehovah and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things He has done for you.
²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be consumed.

13

¹ Saul was…years old when he began to reign; and he reigned over Israel two years.
² And Saul chose three thousand men from Israel for himself; and two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.
³ And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear!
⁴ And when all Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines, the people gathered themselves behind Saul at Gilgal.
⁵ And the Philistines assembled themselves for battle with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and people like the sand that is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in distress (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in thickets and among rocks and in cellars and in pits.
⁷ And some Hebrews crossed over the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead; but Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people trembled behind him.
⁸ And he waited for seven days, until the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And the people scattered from him.
⁹ Then Saul said, Bring the burnt offering and the peace offerings to me. And he offered up the burnt offering.
¹⁰ And just as he finished offering up the burnt offering, there came Samuel; and Saul went out to meet him and greet him.
¹¹ And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, When I saw that the people were scattered from me and that you had not come at the appointed time and that the Philistines assembled themselves at Michmash,
¹² I said, Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Jehovah. Therefore I forced myself to offer up the burnt offering.
¹³ Then Samuel said to Saul, You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Jehovah your God, which He commanded you. For now Jehovah would have established your kingdom over Israel forever;
¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not continue. Jehovah has sought a man according to His heart for Himself, and Jehovah has appointed him ruler over His people; for you have not kept that which Jehovah commanded you.
¹⁵ Then Samuel rose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were with him, about six hundred men.
¹⁶ And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were with them dwelt in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
¹⁷ And the raiders came out from the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual;
¹⁸ And another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that overlooks 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 had said, Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears;
²⁰ Therefore all Israel would go down to the Philistines so that each might sharpen his plowshare or his mattock or his ax or his hoe.
²¹ And the price was two-thirds of a shekel for plowshares and for mattocks and for three-pronged forks and for axes and for setting the goads.
²² So on the day of the battle there was not a sword or spear to be found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and with Jonathan, but such were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.
²³ And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

14

¹ Now one day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, Come and let us cross over to the garrison of the Philistines that is on the other side; but he did not tell his father.
² And Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron; and the people with him were about six hundred men,
³ Including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, wearing an ephod; and the people did not know that Jonathan went.
⁴ And in the pass by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the garrison of the Philistines, there was a rocky crag on one side, and another rocky crag on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh.
⁵ The one crag rose up on the north before Michmash; and the other, on the south before Geba.
⁶ And Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Perhaps Jehovah will act on our behalf, for there is no constraint on Jehovah to save by many or by few.
⁷ And his armor bearer said to him, Do all that is in your heart. Go to it; I am here with you according to your heart.
⁸ And Jonathan said, Now we will cross over to the men and disclose ourselves to them.
⁹ If they say this to us, Wait until we come to you; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them.
¹⁰ But if they say this, Come up to us; then we will go up, for Jehovah will have delivered them into our hand, and this will be the sign of it to us.
¹¹ And both of them disclosed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, The Hebrews are now coming out of the holes that they hid themselves in.
¹² And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will show you something. Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, Come up after me, for Jehovah has delivered them into the hand of Israel.
¹³ And Jonathan went up on his hands and feet with his armor bearer behind him; and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer went behind him killing them.
¹⁴ And that first slaughter that Jonathan and his armor bearer made was of about twenty men in half a furrow of an acre of land.
¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; even the garrison and the raiders were in a panic; and the earth quaked. And there came to be a very great panic.
¹⁶ And Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and the multitude was just then melting away, and they were going here and there.
¹⁷ Then Saul said to the people who were with him, Call a muster, and see who has gone from us. And they called a muster, and Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.
¹⁸ And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring the Ark of God here; for the Ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
¹⁹ And while Saul spoke to the priest, the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase. Then Saul said to the priest, Withdraw your hand.
²⁰ And Saul and all the people who were with him gathered together and went into the battle. And each man’s sword was against his companion; the tumult was very great.
²¹ And the Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and who had gone up with them into the camp all around, they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they followed them closely in the battle.
²³ Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day, and the battle crossed over beyond Beth-aven.
²⁴ And the men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, Cursed be the man who eats any food before the evening, when I am avenged of my enemies. So none of the people even tasted food.
²⁵ And all those from the land came upon a honeycomb, and there was honey on the surface of the ground.
²⁶ And when the people came to the honeycomb, there was honey flowing; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people were afraid of the oath.
²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; and he put forth the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and he put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.
²⁸ Then someone from among the people responded and said, Your father sternly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man who eats any food today; and so the people are faint.
²⁹ Then Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land. Look how my eyes lit up because I tasted a bit of this honey.
³⁰ How much more if today the people had eaten up the spoil from their enemies, which they found, for now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.
³¹ Now they had struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people were very faint.
³² And the people flew upon the spoil; and they took sheep and oxen and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.
³³ And it was reported to Saul, saying, The people are now sinning against Jehovah by eating the spoil with the blood. And he said, You have dealt treacherously. Roll a large stone to me today.
³⁴ And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Let each man bring his ox here to me, and each his sheep; and slay them here and eat; and do not sin against Jehovah by eating these things with the blood. And all the people brought their oxen with them there that night and slew them there.
³⁵ And Saul built an altar to Jehovah; it was the first altar that he built to Jehovah.
³⁶ And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man among them. And they said, Do all that is good in your sight. But the priest said, Let us draw near to God here.
³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel? But He did not answer him that day.
³⁸ Then Saul said, Come here, all you chiefs of the people; and find out how this sin has happened today.
³⁹ For as Jehovah lives, who saves Israel, even if it is with Jonathan my son, he shall surely be put to death. But there was no one among all the people who answered him.
⁴⁰ And he said to all Israel, You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son shall be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what is good in your sight.
⁴¹ Then Saul said to Jehovah the God of Israel, Show perfectly. And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, but the people escaped.
⁴² And Saul said, Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what you have done. And Jonathan told him and said, I did indeed taste a bit of honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I must die.
⁴⁴ And Saul said, God do so to me and more so, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.
⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has executed this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As Jehovah lives, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground; for he has worked with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan so that he did not die.
⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from following the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
⁴⁷ Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies all around, against Moab and against the children of Ammon and against Edom and against the kings of Zobah and against the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he did them harm.
⁴⁸ And he performed valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hand of those who had plundered them.
⁴⁹ Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: The name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger was Michal.
⁵⁰ And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.
⁵¹ And Kish was Saul’s father; and Ner, the father of Abner, was the son of Abiel.
⁵² And there was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.

15

¹ And Samuel said to Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of the words of Jehovah.
² Thus says Jehovah of hosts, I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they set themselves against them in the way as they came up out of Egypt.
³ Go now and strike the Amalekites; and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, oxen and sheep, camel and donkey.
⁴ And Saul summoned the people and mustered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah.
⁵ And Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and set an ambush in the river valley.
⁶ And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites; otherwise, I will destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
⁷ Then Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah as you go toward Shur, which is opposite Egypt.
⁸ And he captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings, and the lambs and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but everything that was despised and worthless, this they utterly destroyed.
¹⁰ And the word of Jehovah came to Samuel, saying,
¹¹ I repent that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not fulfilled My words. And Samuel was angry, and he cried to Jehovah all night long.
¹² Then Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul went to Carmel and has now set up a monument for himself, and he has returned and passed on down to Gilgal.
¹³ And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are you of Jehovah! I have fulfilled the word of Jehovah.
¹⁴ And Samuel said, What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of oxen that I hear?
¹⁵ And Saul said, They have been brought from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to Jehovah your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop, and I will tell you what Jehovah spoke to me last night. And he said to him, Speak.
¹⁷ And Samuel said, Though you are small in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah has anointed you king over Israel.
¹⁸ And Jehovah sent you on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.
¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of Jehovah, but flew upon the spoil and did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?
²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, I surely did obey the voice of Jehovah, and I went on the journey that Jehovah sent me on. And I have brought Agag the king of the Amalekites and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
²¹ But of the spoil the people took sheep and oxen, the chief of those things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Jehovah your God in Gilgal.
²² And Samuel said, / Does Jehovah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices / As much as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? / Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, / And to heed, than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, / And insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim. / Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, / He has also rejected you from being king.
²⁴ And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
²⁵ Now therefore pardon my sin, I beg you, and return with me so that I may worship Jehovah.
²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected you from being king over Israel.
²⁷ And when Samuel turned around to go, Saul seized the corner of his cloak, and it tore.
²⁸ And Samuel said to him, Jehovah has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and has given it to an associate of yours, who is better than you.
²⁹ Moreover the Eminence of Israel does not lie nor repent, for He is not a man that He should repent.
³⁰ Then Saul said, I have sinned. Honor me now, I beg you, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me so that I may worship Jehovah your God.
³¹ So Samuel returned after Saul, and Saul worshipped Jehovah.
³² Then Samuel said, Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites near to me. And Agag came to him cheerfully, for Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death has turned.
³³ And Samuel said, Just as your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
³⁴ And Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
³⁵ And Samuel never again saw Saul unto the day of his death, though Samuel mourned for Saul. And Jehovah repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.

16

¹ And Jehovah said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, though I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have selected for Myself a king among his sons.
² And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Jehovah.
³ Then call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for Me the one whom I name to you.
⁴ So Samuel did what Jehovah said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him, and they said, Do you come peaceably?
⁵ And he said, Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to Jehovah. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
⁶ And when they came, he saw Eliab and said, Surely Jehovah’s anointed is now before Him.
⁷ But Jehovah said to Samuel, Do not regard his appearance and the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For it is not how man sees that matters; for man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart.
⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel; and Samuel said, Jehovah has not chosen this one either.
⁹ And Jesse had Shammah pass by; and he said, Jehovah has not chosen this one either.
¹⁰ And Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel; and Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these.
¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the young men you have? And he said, There is still the youngest, but he is now tending the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send for him, and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.
¹² So he sent for him and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Jehovah said, Arise; anoint him, for this is he.
¹³ And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of Jehovah rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
¹⁴ And the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah terrorized him.
¹⁵ And Saul’s servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.
¹⁶ Let our lord speak. Your servants are before you; they will seek out a man who is skilled in playing the lyre. And when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it by hand, and you will be well.
¹⁷ And Saul said to his servants, Select for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.
¹⁸ And one of the attendants answered and said, I have just seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilled in playing and a mighty man of valor and a man of war and prudent in speech and of good presence, and Jehovah is with him.
¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me David your son, who is among the sheep.
²⁰ And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul.
²¹ And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.
²² And Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, Let David enter my service, for he has found favor in my sight.
²³ So whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took his lyre and played it by hand, and Saul was refreshed and was well; and the evil spirit departed from him.

17

¹ And the Philistines assembled their armies for battle, and they assembled in Socoh, which belongs to Judah. And they encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
² And Saul and the men of Israel were assembled, and they encamped in the valley of Elah. And they set the battle in array against the Philistines.
³ And the Philistines stood on one mountain on one side, and Israel stood on another mountain on the other side; and the valley was between them.
⁴ And a champion came forth from the camps of the Philistines. His name was Goliath, from Gath, and he was six cubits and a span tall.
⁵ And there was a bronze helmet upon his head; and he was clothed with scaled armor, and the weight of the armor was five thousand bronze shekels.
⁶ And he had bronze greaves upon his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders.
⁷ And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred iron shekels; and his shield bearer went before him.
⁸ And he stood and called out to the ranks of Israel and said to them, Why do you come out to set the battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you, Saul’s servants? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
⁹ If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will be our servants and serve us.
¹⁰ And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together.
¹¹ Now when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
¹² Now David was the son of that Ephrathite from Bethlehem-judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. And the man was an old man in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.
¹³ And the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn and the second to him Abinadab and the third Shammah;
¹⁴ And David was the youngest. And the three oldest went after Saul,
¹⁵ But David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
¹⁶ And the Philistine approached morning and evening, and he presented himself forty days.
¹⁷ And Jesse said to David his son, Take an ephah of this parched grain for your brothers and these ten loaves, and take them quickly to your brothers’ camp.
¹⁸ Also bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand; and see how your brothers are doing, and take 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 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper. And he took up the goods and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the entrenchment as the army was going forth to the battle line and shouting for the battle.
²¹ And Israel and the Philistines set the battle in array, array against array.
²² And David left the things he had in the hand of the keeper of the equipment, and he ran to the array and went and greeted his brothers.
²³ And just as he was speaking with them, the champion, whose name was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he spoke according to the same words; and David heard.
²⁴ And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from before him; and they were very afraid.
²⁵ And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he comes up to defy Israel. But as for the man who strikes him down, the king will make him rich with great riches; and he will give him his daughter and make the house of his father free in Israel.
²⁶ Then David spoke to the men who were standing with him, saying, What shall be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and turns away reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the ranks of the living God?
²⁷ And the people spoke to him according to these words, saying, Thus shall it be done to the man who strikes him down.
²⁸ And Eliab his oldest brother heard him speaking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart, that you came down to see the battle.
²⁹ And David said, What have I done now? Is there no cause?
³⁰ And he turned around from him to another and spoke according to the same words, and the people responded to him according to the first words.
³¹ And when the words that David spoke were heard, they were reported to Saul; and he had him brought.
³² And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
³³ But Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth and he has been a man of war since his youth.
³⁴ And David said to Saul, Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,
³⁵ I would go out after it and strike it and deliver the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose up against me, I would seize it by its beard and strike it and kill it.
³⁶ Both the lion and the bear did your servant strike; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the ranks of the living God.
³⁷ And David said, Jehovah, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may Jehovah be with you.
³⁸ And Saul put his own garment on David, and he placed a bronze helmet on his head and put his armor on him.
³⁹ And David girded his sword over his garment and tried to go, for he had not tried the armor. Then David said to Saul, I cannot go in these because I have not tried them. And David took them off.
⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them into the shepherd’s bag that he had, that is, in his pouch; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
⁴¹ And the Philistine came on and approached David, and the man who bore the shield was before him.
⁴² And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he scorned him; for he was but a youth and ruddy and handsome in appearance.
⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
⁴⁴ And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the field.
⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied.
⁴⁶ On this day Jehovah will deliver you up into my hand, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. And I will give the corpses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth on this day. And all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel;
⁴⁷ And all this congregation will know that it is not by sword or spear that Jehovah saves, for the battle is Jehovah’s and He will deliver you into our hand.
⁴⁸ And when the Philistine rose up and came and drew near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
⁴⁹ And David put forth his hand into his bag and took a stone from there. And he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
⁵⁰ Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.
⁵¹ Then David ran and stood beside the Philistine, and he took the Philistine’s sword and drew it out of its sheath and made certain he was dead by striking off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled.
⁵² And the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted and pursued the Philistines until you come to Gai and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistines lay slain along the way to Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
⁵³ And the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camps.
⁵⁴ And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
⁵⁵ Now when Saul saw David going forth to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the captain of the army, Whose son is this youth, Abner? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.
⁵⁶ And the king said, Inquire whose son this young man is.
⁵⁷ So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul; and the Philistine’s head was in his hand.
⁵⁸ And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David said, The son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

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¹ Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan became knit with the soul of David; and Jonathan loved him like his own soul.
² And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.
³ Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him like his own soul.
⁴ And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and he gave it to David, as well as his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
⁵ And David went forth; on every mission that Saul sent him he acted prudently. Therefore Saul set him over the men of battle, and it was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
⁶ But when the men came home, as David returned from striking the Philistines, the women came out of all the towns of Israel singing and dancing to meet Saul the king, with tambourines and joyful songs and stringed instruments.
⁷ And the women sang to one another as they played, and they said,Saul has struck down his thousands; / But David, his ten thousands.
⁸ And Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. And he said, They ascribe ten thousands to David, but to me they ascribe only thousands. And what more can he have except the kingdom?
⁹ So Saul eyed David from that day on.
¹⁰ Then on the next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul; and he prophesied in the midst of the house while David played the lyre by hand, as he had day by day. And the spear was in Saul’s hand.
¹¹ Then Saul threw the spear; for he said, I will strike David even to the wall. But David fled from him twice.
¹² And Saul was afraid of David, for Jehovah was with him and had departed from Saul.
¹³ So Saul removed him from being with him and made him the captain of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.
¹⁴ And David acted prudently in all his campaigns, and Jehovah was with him.
¹⁵ And when Saul saw that he acted very prudently, he stood in awe of him.
¹⁶ And all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
¹⁷ And Saul said to David, See, my oldest daughter Merab I will give to you as wife; only be valiant for me and fight Jehovah’s battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
¹⁸ And David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be a son-in-law to the king?
¹⁹ But at the time when Merab the daughter of Saul was to be given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.
²⁰ Now Michal the daughter of Saul loved David, and it was told Saul; and the matter pleased him.
²¹ And Saul said, I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him and that the hand of the Philistines may be upon him. Therefore Saul said to David, For the second time, you may be my son-in-law today.
²² Then Saul commanded his servants, Speak to David privately, saying, See, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.
²³ And Saul’s servants spoke these words in David’s ears. And David said, Is it such a light thing in your sight for me to become a son-in-law to the king, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?
²⁴ And Saul’s servants told him, saying, This is what David said.
²⁵ Then Saul said, Thus shall you say to David, The king has no desire for a dowry but for a hundred Philistine foreskins, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies. For Saul planned to have David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
²⁶ So when his servants told David these things, David was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. And when the time had not yet expired,
²⁷ David rose up and went, he and his men; and he struck down two hundred Philistine men. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.
²⁸ And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David. And Michal the daughter of Saul loved him.
²⁹ And Saul was even more afraid of David, and Saul was David’s enemy from then on.
³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines went forth; and as often as they went forth, David succeeded more than all the servants of Saul. So his name was very highly esteemed.

19

¹ And Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, took great delight in David.
² And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father is seeking to kill you. Now therefore be on guard in the morning, and stay in some secret place, and hide yourself.
³ And I will go out and stand by my father’s side in the field where you are. And I will speak about you to my father; and if I learn anything, I will tell you.
⁴ So Jonathan spoke well about David to Saul his father and said to him, May the king not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been very good for you.
⁵ For he risked his life when he struck down the Philistine, and Jehovah accomplished a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by having David killed without cause?
⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan; and Saul swore, As Jehovah lives, he shall not be put to death.
⁷ Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
⁸ And there was war again. And David went out and fought against the Philistines. And he struck them with a great slaughter, and they fled from before him.
⁹ Then there came an evil spirit from Jehovah upon Saul, and he sat in his house with his spear in his hand while David played the lyre by hand.
¹⁰ And Saul sought to strike David even to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence. And Saul struck the wall with his spear, but David fled and escaped that night.
¹¹ Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, If you do not save your life tonight, in the morning you will be killed.
¹² So Michal let David down through the window, and he went away and fled and escaped.
¹³ Then Michal took the teraphim and laid it in the bed. And she put a net of goats’ hair on its head and covered it with clothing.
¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
¹⁵ And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me on his bed that I may kill him.
¹⁶ And when the messengers went in, there was the teraphim in the bed with a net of goats’ hair on its head.
¹⁷ Then Saul said to Michal, Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go so that he has slipped away? And Michal said to Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I kill you?
¹⁸ So David fled and slipped away and came to Samuel at Ramah, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt at Naioth.
¹⁹ Then it was told Saul, saying, David is now at Naioth in Ramah.
²⁰ So Saul sent messengers to seize David; and when they saw the company of prophets prophesying and Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied.
²¹ And it was told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul again sent messengers the third time, and they also prophesied.
²² Then he himself went to Ramah. And he came to the great well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And someone said, They are now at Naioth in Ramah.
²³ So he went there, toward Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
²⁴ And he also stripped off his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel, and he lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

20

¹ Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said to Jonathan, What have I done? What is my iniquity, or what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?
² And he said to him, Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing great or small that he does not disclose to me. So why should my father hide this matter from me? Such would not happen.
³ Then David swore again and said, Your father fully knows that I have found favor in your sight; so he says, Do not let Jonathan know about this; otherwise, he will be grieved. But truly as Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.
⁴ And Jonathan said to David, Whatever you say, I will do for you.
⁵ And David said to Jonathan, It is the new moon tomorrow, and I am to sit with the king at the meal. But let me go, and I will hide myself in the field until the following evening.
⁶ If your father misses me at all, you shall say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all his family.
⁷ If he says in this way, Fine; then your servant will have peace. But if he becomes angry at all, know that evil has been determined by him.
⁸ Deal kindly then with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Jehovah with you. But if there is any iniquity in me, you kill me. Why then should you bring me to your father?
⁹ And Jonathan said, Far be it from you! For if I knew at all that evil has been determined by my father to come upon you, would I not tell it to you?
¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, Who will tell me whether or not your father has responded to you harshly?
¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they both went out into the field.
¹² And Jonathan said to David, By Jehovah, the God of Israel: When I search out my father about this time tomorrow, or on the following day, and if he is good toward David, I will surely send word to you and disclose it to you.
¹³ May Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and even more, if it pleases my father to do you evil, and I do not disclose it to you and send you away to go in peace. And may Jehovah be with you as He was with my father.
¹⁴ And while I am still alive, do show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I may not die;
¹⁵ And never cut off your lovingkindness from my house, not even when Jehovah has cut off David’s enemies to the man from the face of the earth.
¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David’s enemies.
¹⁷ And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon; and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty.
¹⁹ And when you have waited three days, you shall go far down and come to the place where you hid yourself while all this was happening; and you shall remain at the stone Ezel.
²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to its side, as though I were shooting at a mark.
²¹ And just then I will send a boy, saying, Go; find the arrows. If I say to the boy, The arrows are there to this side of you; gather them; then come, for you have peace and there is no problem, as Jehovah lives.
²² But if I speak in this way to the young man, The arrows are there beyond you; then go, for Jehovah has sent you away.
²³ And concerning this matter that I and you have spoken of, it is Jehovah who is between me and you forever.
²⁴ So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat at the meal to eat.
²⁵ And the king sat on his seat as at other times, on his seat near the wall; and Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat down beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.
²⁶ But Saul said nothing that day about it, for he thought, Something has happened to him; he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
²⁷ And on the day after the new moon, the second day, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has the son of Jesse come neither yesterday nor today to the meal?
²⁸ And Jonathan answered Saul, David asked leave of me earnestly to go to Bethlehem.
²⁹ And he said, Let me go, I beg you; for our family has a sacrifice in that city, and my brother commanded me to be there. So now if I have found favor in your sight, let me slip away to see my brothers. Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.
³⁰ And Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and 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 is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now therefore send someone and bring him to me, for he is as good as dead.
³² And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, Why must he be put to death? What has he done?
³³ But Saul threw his spear at him in order to strike him down. So Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to put David to death.
³⁴ And Jonathan rose up from the table in burning anger and did not eat any food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved about David because his father had shamed him.
³⁵ Then in the morning Jonathan went forth to the field for the appointment with David, and a small boy was with him.
³⁶ And he said to his boy, Run and find the arrows that I am shooting. While the boy was running, he shot the arrow beyond him.
³⁷ And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called out after the boy and said, The arrow is there beyond you.
³⁸ And Jonathan called out to the boy, Hurry up quickly; do not stay there. And Jonathan’s boy gathered the arrows and came to his master.
³⁹ And the boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his equipment to his boy and said to him, Go; bring them to the city.
⁴¹ And when the boy went, David rose up from his hiding place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground; and he bowed himself three times. And they kissed each other; and they wept for each other, but David more greatly.
⁴² And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, because both of us have sworn in the name of Jehovah, saying, May Jehovah be between me and you and between my seed and your seed forever. Then David rose up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.

21

¹ And David went to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, Why are you alone, and no one with you?
² And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has charged me with some matter, and he said to me, Let no man know anything about the matter that I have sent you on and charged you with. So I have made an appointment with my young men at such and such a place.
³ Now then what do you have on hand? Give five loaves of bread into my hand, or whatever there is to be found.
⁴ And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread on hand; yet there is holy bread, but only if the young men have kept themselves from women.
⁵ And David answered the priest and said to him, Women have indeed been kept from us, as previously when I went forth; and the vessels of the young men were holy, even if it was a common journey. How much more then today will their vessels be holy!
⁶ So the priest gave him what was holy, for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which was taken from before Jehovah, to be replaced by hot bread at the time it was taken.
⁷ Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before Jehovah. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of the shepherds that belonged to Saul.
⁸ And David said to Ahimelech, And is there not a spear or a sword here on hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my equipment with me, for the king’s matter was urgent.
⁹ And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take it, take it; for there is no other here but that one. And David said, There is none like it; give it to me.
¹⁰ Then David rose up and fled that day from before Saul, and he went to Achish the king of Gath.
¹¹ But the servants of Achish said to him, Is this not David the king of the land? Is this not him of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying,Saul has struck down his thousands; / But David, his ten thousands?
¹² And David took these words to heart and feared Achish the king of Gath greatly.
¹³ So he disguised his sanity in their sight and acted like a madman before them, and he made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.
¹⁴ And Achish said to his servants, Look, you see that the man is mad. Why have you brought him to me?
¹⁵ Do I lack madmen that you have brought this one to me to be a madman before me? Shall this one come into my house?

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¹ Then David went from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard of it, they went down to him there.
² And 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. And with him were about four hundred men.
³ And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and mother go forth and be with you until I know what God will do for me.
⁴ And he brought them before the king of Moab, and they remained with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
⁵ And Gad the prophet said to David, Do not stay in the stronghold; depart and go into the land of Judah. So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
⁶ Then Saul heard that David and the men with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height; and his spear was in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.
⁷ And Saul said to his servants standing around him, Hear now, you Benjaminites: Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make every one of you captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
⁸ That every one of you has conspired against me, so that no one discloses it to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and none of you is sorry for me or discloses it to me when my son stirs up my servant against me to ambush me as on this day?
⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was set over Saul’s servants, answered and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub at Nob.
¹⁰ And he inquired of Jehovah for him and gave him provisions, and he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
¹¹ Then the king sent men to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And all of them came to the king.
¹² And Saul said, Hear now, you son of Ahitub. And he said, Here I am, my lord.
¹³ And Saul said to him, Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him food and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he rises up against me to ambush me as on this day?
¹⁴ And Ahimelech answered the king and said, And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law and has access to your council and is honored in your house?
¹⁵ Was it just today that I began to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! May the king not impute anything to his servant nor to all my father’s house, for your servant knows nothing of this matter, small or great.
¹⁶ But the king said, You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.
¹⁷ Then the king said to the runners who were standing around him, Turn, and kill the priests of Jehovah, because their hand is also with David, and because they knew that he was fleeing and they did not disclose it to me. But the king’s servants would not put forth their hand to attack the priests of Jehovah.
¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, You turn, and attack the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he attacked the priests. And on that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.
¹⁹ And he struck Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub escaped, whose name was Abiathar, and he fled after David.
²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the priests of Jehovah.
²² And 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 all the lives of your father’s house.
²³ Remain with me, and do not be afraid; for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you will be kept safe with me.

23

¹ And some told David, saying, The Philistines are now fighting against Keilah and robbing the threshing floors.
² And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go and strike these Philistines? And Jehovah said to David, Go and strike the Philistines, and save Keilah.
³ And David’s men said to him, Here we are, afraid here in Judah; how much more if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines!
⁴ So David inquired yet again of Jehovah. And Jehovah answered him and said, Rise up; go down to Keilah, for I have delivered the Philistines into your hand.
⁵ Then David and his men went to Keilah and fought against the Philistines and carried off their cattle and struck them down with a great slaughter. And David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
⁶ Now it so happened that when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.
⁷ Then it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, because he has entered a city with gates and bars.
⁸ And Saul summoned all the people to battle, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
⁹ But when David learned that Saul was planning evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod here.
¹⁰ And David said, O Jehovah the God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah in order to destroy the city on my account.
¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Jehovah the God of Israel, do tell Your servant. And Jehovah said, He will come down.
¹² And David said, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And Jehovah said, They will deliver you.
¹³ So David and his men, about six hundred men, rose up and went forth from Keilah; and they went about wherever they could. And when it was told Saul that David had slipped away from Keilah, he ceased his going forth.
¹⁴ And David remained in the wilderness in strongholds, and he remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
¹⁵ And David saw that Saul went forth to seek his life, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.
¹⁶ Then Jonathan the son of Saul rose up and went to David at Horesh, and he strengthened his hand in God.
¹⁷ And he said to him, Do not be afraid, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you; and you will become king over Israel, and I will be second to you; and even Saul my father knows that.
¹⁸ And the two of them made a covenant before Jehovah. And David remained in Horesh, and Jonathan went to his house.
¹⁹ Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, David is indeed hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of the desert!
²⁰ Now then, O king, come down, according to all your soul’s desire to come down; and we will deliver him into the hand of the king.
²¹ And Saul said, Blessed are you of Jehovah, for you have had compassion on me.
²² Go now, and make sure once more; and find out and look into his place, where he sets foot, who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.
²³ And look about and learn of all his 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 And they rose up and went to Ziph before Saul. And David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of the desert.
²⁵ And Saul and his men went to seek him. And when some told David this, he went down to the rock and remained in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard of it, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
²⁶ And Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. And David hurried to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men in order to capture them.
²⁷ Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, Hurry and come, for the Philistines have raided the land.
²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and he went to meet the Philistines; therefore they call that place the Rock of Escape.
²⁹ And David went up from there and remained in the strongholds of En-gedi.

24

¹ And when Saul returned from following the Philistines, some told him, saying, David is now in the wilderness of En-gedi.
² And Saul took three thousand choice men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
³ And he came to the sheepfolds along the way, and a cave was there. And Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost part of the cave.
⁴ And David’s men said to him, The day is here of which Jehovah said to you, I am about to give your enemy into your hand. Do then to him according to what seems good in your sight. So David rose up and cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak without being noticed.
⁵ But afterward David’s heart smote him because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak.
⁶ And he said to his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do such a thing to my lord, Jehovah’s anointed, as stretch out my hand against him; for he is Jehovah’s anointed.
⁷ So David checked his men with these words and would not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way.
⁸ Then David rose up afterward and came out of the cave. And he called after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and paid him homage.
⁹ And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to men’s words that say, David now seeks your harm?
¹⁰ Just this day your eyes have seen that Jehovah gave you into my hand today in the cave. And though some told me to kill you, I spared you and said, I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is Jehovah’s anointed.
¹¹ Now my father, look, indeed, look at the corner of your cloak in my hand; for in that I cut off the corner of your cloak and did not kill you, know and see that there is no harm or transgression in my hand. And though I have not sinned against you, you hunt after my life in order to take it.
¹² May Jehovah judge between me and you, and may Jehovah avenge me of you; but my hand will not be against you.
¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness; but my hand will not be against you.
¹⁴ After whom does the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog; a single flea.
¹⁵ May Jehovah then be Judge and decide between me and you. And may He see and plead my cause and release me through His judgment out of your hand.
¹⁶ And when David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
¹⁷ And he said to David, You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me with good, while I have repaid you with evil.
¹⁸ And you have declared today how you did good to me, because Jehovah delivered me up into your hand, but you would not kill me.
¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he send him away safely? May Jehovah therefore reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.
²⁰ And now I indeed know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.
²¹ Now therefore swear to me by Jehovah that you will not cut off my seed after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.
²² So David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.

25

¹ Then Samuel died, and all Israel gathered together and mourned for him; and they buried him at his house in Ramah. And David rose up and went down into the wilderness of Paran.
² Now there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel. And the man was very wealthy: He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And at that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
³ And the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman had good discernment and was beautiful in appearance. But the man was hard, and he was evil in his doings; and he was a Calebite.
⁴ And 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 And thus shall you say, Live long; and peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.
⁷ Now therefore I hear that you have shearers; your shepherds have now been with us, and we have not harmed them, nor has there been anything missing from them, all the time they were in Carmel.
⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let these young men find favor in your sight, for we come in a good time. Give whatever you may have on hand to your servants and to your son David.
⁹ So David’s young men went and spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David; then they waited.
¹⁰ But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, Who is David, or who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who break away from their masters.
¹¹ Shall I then take my food and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?
¹² Then David’s young men turned back on their way. And they returned and came and told him all these things.
¹³ And David said to his men, Each man gird on his sword. And each man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men. And two hundred remained with the baggage.
¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, David has just sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he shouted insultingly at them.
¹⁵ But the men were very good to us; and we were not harmed, nor did we miss anything all the time we went with them when we were in the fields.
¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and by day all the time we were with them tending the sheep.
¹⁷ Now therefore know and consider what you will do, because evil has been determined against our master and against all his house; for he is so worthless a man that no one can speak to him.
¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two skins of wine and five sheep ready dressed and five measures of parched grain and one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and she put them on her donkeys.
¹⁹ And she said to her young men, Go on before me; I am coming right behind you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
²⁰ And as she rode on her donkey and came down under the cover of the mountain, David and his men at that moment came down toward her; and she met them.
²¹ Now David had said, It was certainly in vain that I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that he has; for he has repaid me evil for good.
²² May God do so to David’s enemies, and even more, if I leave so much as a male child of all that he has until morning.
²³ And when Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from her donkey and fell on her face before David; and she bowed herself to the ground.
²⁴ And she fell at his feet and said, Upon me alone, my lord, be this iniquity; and let your female servant speak in your hearing, and hear the words of your female servant.
²⁵ May my lord not take this worthless man Nabal to heart. For as his name is, so he is: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your female servant did not see my lord’s young men, whom you sent.
²⁶ And now, my lord, as Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, since Jehovah has withheld you from entering into bloodshed and from avenging yourself by your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who seek harm against my lord be like Nabal.
²⁷ And now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.
²⁸ Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, for Jehovah will no doubt make a sure house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah; and no evil will be found in you throughout your days.
²⁹ And though men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, my lord’s life will be bound up in the bundle of the living with Jehovah your God; and the lives of your enemies He will sling out, as from the hollow of the sling.
³⁰ And when Jehovah has done to my lord according to all the good He has spoken concerning you and has appointed you ruler over Israel,
³¹ This will not be a qualm of conscience to you or a stumbling block in heart to my lord, that you shed blood without cause or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah has dealt well with my lord, may you remember your female servant.
³² And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.
³³ And blessed be your discretion; and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from entering into bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.
³⁴ For surely as Jehovah the God of Israel lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, indeed there would not have been left to Nabal even a male child until morning’s light.
³⁵ So David took from her hand what she brought to him. And he said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have listened to your voice and have accepted your person.
³⁶ And Abigail went to Nabal. And just then he was having a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, and he was extremely drunk; therefore she told him nothing, small or great, until the light of morning.
³⁷ And in the morning, when the wine had left Nabal, his wife told him these things. And his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.
³⁸ And about ten days later Jehovah struck Nabal, and he died.
³⁹ And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal and who has withheld His servant from evildoing; and Jehovah has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent men to propose to Abigail, that he might take her to himself as wife.
⁴⁰ And when David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to you, to take you to himself as wife.
⁴¹ And she rose up and fell on her face to the ground. And she said, Here is your female servant, as a slave to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.
⁴² And Abigail hurried and rose up; and she rode on a donkey, with her five young women following her. And she went after the messengers of David, and she became his wife.
⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and both of them became his wives.
⁴⁴ Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

26

¹ And the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, David is hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite the desert!
² And Saul rose up and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, with him three thousand choice men of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
³ And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite the desert, by the road. And David remained in the wilderness, but he saw that Saul had come into the wilderness after him.
⁴ And David sent spies and knew for certain that Saul had come.
⁵ So David rose up and went to the place where Saul encamped. And David looked on the place where Saul and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army, lay. Now Saul was lying within the entrenchment, and the people were encamped around him.
⁶ And David responded and spoke to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul at the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with you.
⁷ So David and Abishai went to the people by night; and there lay Saul, sleeping within the entrenchment, and his spear was stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay around him.
⁸ And Abishai said to David, God has delivered your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore let me strike him with the spear even to the ground with one stroke, and I will not do it twice.
⁹ But David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against Jehovah’s anointed and be guiltless?
¹⁰ And David said, As Jehovah lives, Jehovah will strike him down, or his day will come to die, or he will go down in battle and perish.
¹¹ Jehovah forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Jehovah’s anointed. Now therefore take the spear that is by his head and the water jug, and let us go.
¹² So David took the spear and the water jug by Saul’s head, and they went away. And no one saw it or knew about it, nor did anyone awake, for all of them were sleeping; for a deep sleep from Jehovah had fallen upon them.
¹³ And David crossed over to the other side and stood on the top of the hill far off; a great distance was between them.
¹⁴ And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Will you not answer, Abner? And Abner answered and said, Who are you that calls out to the king?
¹⁵ And David said to Abner, Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord.
¹⁶ This thing is not good that you have done. As Jehovah lives, you are as good as dead because you did not guard your lord, Jehovah’s anointed. Now therefore, see where the king’s spear and the water jug that were by his head are.
¹⁷ And Saul recognized David’s voice; and he said, Is this your voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
¹⁸ And he said, Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?
¹⁹ Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is Jehovah who has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is the sons of men, let them be cursed before Jehovah; for they have driven me out today, so that I cannot share in Jehovah’s inheritance, saying, Go, serve other gods.
²⁰ Now therefore do not let my blood fall to the ground apart from the presence of Jehovah; for the king of Israel has come forth to seek a single flea, as one might hunt a partridge in the mountains.
²¹ And Saul said, I have sinned. Return, my son David; for I will not harm you anymore, because my life was precious in your sight this day. I have indeed acted foolishly and have made a very great mistake.
²² And David answered and said, Here is the spear, O king. Let one of the young men cross over and get it.
²³ And Jehovah will repay to each man his righteousness and faithfulness: Because Jehovah has delivered you into my hand today, and I would not stretch out my hand against Jehovah’s anointed;
²⁴ Then just as great as your life was in my eyes this day, so great may my life be in Jehovah’s eyes that He would deliver me from all distress.
²⁵ And Saul said to David, Blessed are you, my son David. You shall most certainly both do and prevail. And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

27

¹ And David said in his heart, I will now one day perish at the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within all the territory of Israel. Thus I will escape from his hand.
² So David rose up and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
³ And David and his men remained with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each man with his household: David and his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the wife of Nabal, the Carmelite.
⁴ And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer sought him.
⁵ And David said to Achish, If now I have found favor in your sight, let me be given a place in one of the country towns; and I will dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?
⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.
⁷ And the length of time that David remained in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.
⁸ Now David and his men went up and attacked the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites, for they were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur and unto the land of Egypt.
⁹ And David struck the land; and he left neither man nor woman alive but took the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.
¹⁰ Then Achish said, Against whom have you conducted an attack today? And David said, Against the south of Judah and against the south of the Jerahmeelites and against the south of the Kenites.
¹¹ Now David left neither man nor woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, Perhaps they will tell of us, saying, Thus did David do. And such was his custom as long as he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
¹² And Achish trusted David, saying, He has made himself utterly odious to his people Israel; therefore he shall be my servant forever.

28

¹ Then in those days the Philistines gathered their camps together for war to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, Know assuredly that you shall go out with me into the camp, you and your men.
² And David said to Achish, This being so, you will know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore I will make you my bodyguard for life.
³ Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him; and they had buried him in Ramah, that is, in his own city. And Saul had the mediums and the soothsayers put out of the land.
⁴ And the Philistines gathered together, and they came and encamped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa.
⁵ And when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
⁶ And Saul inquired of Jehovah; but Jehovah did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
⁷ Then said Saul to his servants, Seek for me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, There is now a woman who is a medium at En-dor.
⁸ Then Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes. And he and two men with him went, and they came to the woman by night. And he said, Consult a departed spirit for me, and bring up to me the one whom I tell you.
⁹ But the woman said to him, Look, you know what Saul has done, that he has cut off the mediums and the soothsayers from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life to make me die?
¹⁰ Then Saul swore to her by Jehovah, saying, As Jehovah lives, no punishment shall happen to you for this thing.
¹¹ So the woman said, Whom shall I bring up to you? And he said, Bring up Samuel to me.
¹² Now when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.
¹³ And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. But what do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see some divine being coming up out of the earth.
¹⁴ And he said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a cloak. Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid him homage.
¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? And Saul said, I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines wage war against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, neither through the prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.
¹⁶ And Samuel said, Why then have you inquired of me? For Jehovah has turned away from you and become your adversary.
¹⁷ And Jehovah has done for Himself just as He spoke through me, for Jehovah has torn the kingdom out from your hand and given it to an associate of yours, to David.
¹⁸ Because you did not listen to the voice of Jehovah and did not execute His burning anger upon the Amalekites, therefore Jehovah has done this thing to you this day.
¹⁹ And Jehovah will also give Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me; Jehovah will also give the camp of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
²⁰ Then immediately Saul fell his full length to the ground, and he was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. And there was no strength in him, for he had not eaten food all day and all night.
²¹ And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was very troubled. And she said to him, Indeed, your servant has listened to your voice; and I have put my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me.
²² Now therefore, you listen also to the voice of your servant, and let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.
²³ But he refused and said, I will not eat. Then his servants, as well as the woman, compelled him, and he listened to their voice; and he rose up from the ground and sat on the bed.
²⁴ And the woman had a fattened calf in the house; and she hurried and killed it, and took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread with it.
²⁵ And she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. And they rose up and went away that night.

29

¹ And the Philistines gathered all their camps together at Aphek; and Israel encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel.
² And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; and David and his men passed on at the rear with Achish.
³ And the princes of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews doing here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or even these years? And I have found nothing wrong in him since the day he deserted to me to this day.
⁴ But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him. And the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man go back, that he may return to his place that you have assigned him, so that he does not go down with us into the battle and does not become our adversary in the battle. For with what might this man reconcile himself to his master? Will it not be with the heads of these men?
⁵ Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying,Saul has struck down his thousands; / But David, his ten thousands?
⁶ And Achish called David and said to him, As Jehovah lives, you are upright, and it is acceptable in my sight that you go forth and come in with me in the camp; for I have not found evil in you since the day you came to me to this day. But you are not acceptable to the lords.
⁷ Now therefore return and go in peace, so that you do not do anything displeasing to the lords of the Philistines.
⁸ And David said to Achish, But what have I done? And what wrong have you found in your servant since the day I began to be with you to this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
⁹ And Achish answered and said to David, I know that you are as acceptable to me as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us into the battle.
¹⁰ Now therefore rise up early in the morning with your master’s servants who came with you; indeed rise up early in the morning, and when you have daylight, go.
¹¹ So David rose up early, he and his men, to go in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

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¹ And when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south and upon Ziklag; and they had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.
² And they had taken the women and all who were in it captive, both small and great; they had killed none, but had carried them off, and had gone on their way.
³ And David and his men came to the city; and there it was, burned with fire. And their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive.
⁴ And David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no strength to weep.
⁵ And David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
⁶ And David was very distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for the soul of all the people was bitter, every man because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God.
⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Bring the ephod to me. So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
⁸ And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue after this band? Will I overtake them? And He said to him, Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly deliver them.
⁹ So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him; and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left stayed behind.
¹⁰ And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross over the brook Besor.
¹¹ And they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. And they gave him food, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink.
¹² And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two raisin cakes; and he ate, and his spirit returned to him; for he had eaten no food and had drunk no water for three days and three nights.
¹³ And David said to him, To whom do you belong and where are you from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amalekite man; and my master abandoned me because I fell sick three days ago.
¹⁴ We attacked the south of the Cherethites and what belongs to Judah and the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
¹⁵ And David said to him, Can you lead me down to this band? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you down to this troop.
¹⁶ And he led him down; and there they were, spread over the whole land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
¹⁷ And David struck them from twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped except for four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled.
¹⁸ And David delivered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David delivered his two wives.
¹⁹ And nothing was missed by them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken; David brought everything back.
²⁰ And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before the other cattle and of which they 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 behind at the brook Besor. And they went forth to meet David and to meet the people who were with him; and David came near to the people and greeted them.
²² And all the wicked and worthless men among the men that had gone with David responded; and they said, Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have delivered, except every man his wife and his children that they may lead them off and go away.
²³ Then said David, You shall not do so, my brothers, with that which Jehovah has given us, who has kept us and given this band that came against us into our hand.
²⁴ And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.
²⁵ And from that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
²⁶ And David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his companions, saying, Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah:
²⁷ For those in Bethel, and for those in Ramoth of the south, and for those in Jattir,
²⁸ And for those in Aroer, and for those in Siphmoth, and for those in Eshtemoa,
²⁹ And for those in Racal, and for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and for those in the cities of the Kenites,
³⁰ And for those in Hormah, and for those in Bor-ashan, and for those in Athach,
³¹ And for those in Hebron, and for all the places where David himself and his men had gone about.

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¹ Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.
² And the Philistines chased Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons.
³ And the battle bore heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers.
⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it.
⁵ And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died with him.
⁶ So Saul and his three sons and his armor bearer, as well as all his men, died that day together.
⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and who were on the other side of the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
⁸ And the next day the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
⁹ And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor; and they sent them all around, throughout the land of the Philistines in order to announce the good news in the houses of their idols and to the people.
¹⁰ And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
¹¹ And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
¹² All the valiant men rose up and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
¹³ And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.