1

1 The Birth of Samuel Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim Zuphim, in 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 Ephraimite.

2 And he had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 This man went up out of his city annually to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts in Shiloh. And there the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord.

4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters.

5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb.

6 Now her rival provoked her greatly, making her miserable because the Lord had closed her womb.

7 Thus it was yearly, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her. So Hannah wept and did not eat.

8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? And why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

9 So Hannah arose after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a seat by the door of the tabernacle of the Lord.

10 And she was bitter, and prayed to the Lord, and wept severely.

11 So she made a vow and said, “O Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant, and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give to Your maidservant a baby boy, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 And as she was praying before the Lord, Eli watched her mouth.

13 Now Hannah was speaking in her heart. Her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

14 So 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 of sorrow. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.

16 Do not consider your handmaid to be a sinful woman, for out of the abundance of my concern and provocation I have spoken until now.”

17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant you your request that you have asked of Him.”

18 And she said, “Let your handmaid find grace in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was not sad as before.

19 They rose up in the morning early and worshipped before the Lord. And they returned and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

20 And it came to pass that Hannah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord.”

21 The Dedication of Samuel Then the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow.

22 But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and live there forever.”

23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish His word.” So the woman remained, and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24 When she had weaned him, she took him up with her with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine. And she brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, though the boy was young.

25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and they brought the boy to Eli.

26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman that stood by you here praying to the Lord.

27 For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him.

28 Therefore also I have let the Lord have him. As long as he lives he will be dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshipped the Lord there.

2

1 The Prayer of Hannah Hannah prayed, saying: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is bold against my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

2 “There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none besides You, and there is no rock like our God.

3 “Do not multiply proud speech, nor let arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by Him actions are examined.

4 “The bows of the mighty are broken, but those who stumbled are girded with strength.

5 Those that were full have hired out themselves for bread, and those that were hungry ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she that has many children wastes away.

6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.

7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

8 He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the oppressed from the dunghill to make them sit with princes and inherit a throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth belong to the Lord, and He has set the world upon them.

9 He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked will be silent in darkness. “For by strength shall no man prevail.

10     The adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces; He will thunder against them out of heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king and exalt the horn of His anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

12 Wicked Sons of Eli Now the sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord.

13 The priest’s custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the flesh was cooking with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot, and all that the fork brought up the priest took for himself. This they did in Shiloh to all the children of Israel who came there.

15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast. For he will not take boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

16 If any man said to him, “Let them first burn the fat and then take as much as you wish,” then he would answer him, “No, but you will give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.”

17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord. For the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

18 God Blesses Hannah But Samuel ministered before the Lord, as a boy, wearing a linen ephod.

19 Now his mother would make him a little coat and brought it to him every year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “The Lord give you offspring from this woman for the sake of the request which was made to the Lord.” Then they would return to their home.

21 The Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

22 Eli Confronts Hophni and Phinehas Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, even that they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

23 He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? For I am hearing of your evil dealings from all these people.

24 No, my sons! Truly, it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading.

25 If one man sins against another, God will judge him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.

26 Now the boy Samuel was growing both in stature and favor with the Lord and also with men.

27 God’s Case Against the House of Eli A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not plainly reveal Myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

28 And choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And I gave to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel?

29 Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering, which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’

30 “Therefore the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I surely said that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before Me forever,’ but now the Lord says, ‘Far be it from Me to do so, for those who honor Me, I will honor, and those that despise Me will be humbled.

31 The days are coming when I will cut off your authority and the strength of your father’s house, so there shall not be an old man in your house.

32 You shall see the distress of My dwelling, despite all the good which will be done for Israel. And there shall not be an elderly man in your house perpetually.

33 Yet the one I do not cut off from My altar will be spared so your eyes will not stop weeping or your soul grieving. All the increase of your house will die in their prime.

34 “ ‘This will be the sign to you which will come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: In one day, they will both die.

35 And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest; what is in My heart and in My soul he will do it. And I will build him a sure house, and it will walk before My anointed forever.

36 But it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and will say, Please attach me to one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.’ ”

3

1 God Calls Samuel Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no vision coming forth.

2 At that time, Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow weak that he could not see),

3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”

5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called to me.” And he said, “I did not call. Return, lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

6 The Lord called Samuel again. So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he answered, “I did not call, my son. Return, lie down again.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord been revealed to him.

8 The Lord again called Samuel a third time. So he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling to the boy.

9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. And it will be, if He calls you, that you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant listens.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood, and He called as at other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant listens.”

11 The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am doing something in Israel which will make both ears ring of every one that hears it.

12 In that day I will bring about against Eli everything which I have spoken with regard to his house, from beginning to end.

13 For I told him that I will judge his house forever, for the guilt which he knew, because his sons are cursed, and he did not rebuke them.

14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for with sacrifice nor offering forever.”

15 Samuel lay until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Now Samuel feared to report the vision to Eli.

16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he answered, “Here I am.”

17 He said, “What is the thing that the Lord has spoken to you? Do not hide it from me. Thus may God do so to you, and more also, if you hide from me a word out of all the things that He spoke to you.”

18 Samuel told him everything, and did not hide from him a thing. And he said, “It is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground.

20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was proven to be a prophet of the Lord.

21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

4

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. The Ark of God Captured And Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and they made camp beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

2 The Philistines arrayed themselves in a battle line against Israel, and when the battle was over, Israel was beaten before the Philistines, who struck down on the field of battle about four thousand men.

3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord struck us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh to us, that it might come among us and rescue us out of the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells above the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the ground was in an uproar.

6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What does this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.

7 The Philistines were afraid, when they said, “God is come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For this has never happened to us before.

8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

9 Be strong and be men, O Philistines, lest you be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Now be men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was beaten. And they fled every man into his tent. It was a very great defeat, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11 Now the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12 There ran a man of Benjamin from the battle line, and he came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and with dust upon his head.

13 When he came, Eli was sitting on a seat by the wayside watching. For his heart feared for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out.

14 When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?” And the man hurriedly came and told Eli.

15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see.

16 The man said to Eli, “I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the battle line.” And he said, “What is the word, my son?”

17 The messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there also has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the ark of God is taken.”

18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate. And his neck broke and he died, for he was an old and heavy man. And he had judged Israel forty years.

19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.

20 About the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or regard it.

21 She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory is departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

22 She said, “The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.”

5

1 The Philistines and the Ark Now the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.

3 When the Ashdodites arose early in the morning, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again.

4 When they arose early on the next morning, again Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold. Only the torso of Dagon was left to him.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any coming into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites. He desolated them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its territories.

7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel cannot remain with us. For His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.”

8 So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried around to Gath.” And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there.

9 It happened that after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, both small and great. And tumors broke out on them.

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came about that as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to slay us and our people.”

11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to His own place that He might not kill me and my people,” for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there.

12 The men that did not die were plagued with the tumors. And the cry of the city went up to heaven.

6

1 The Ark Returned to Israel Now the ark of the Lord had been in the country of the Philistines seven months.

2 The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”

3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty. But return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

4 Then said they, “What will be the guilt offering which we will return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

5 Therefore you will make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land. And you will give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you, even from off your gods and from off your land.

6 Why then do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He dealt severely with them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

7 “Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milk cows on which there has never been a yoke. Then tie the cows to the cart and bring their calves home, away from them.

8 Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart. And put the images of gold, which you return to Him for a guilt offering, in a box by the side. And send it away, that it may go.

9 See, if it goes up by the way of His own territory to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it is not His hand that struck us; it was by chance that it happened to us.”

10 The men did so. And they took two milk cows, tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, as well as the box with the mice of gold and the images of their tumors.

12 Then the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went. They did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left with the lords of the Philistines walking after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 Now Beth Shemesh was reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and they rejoiced to see it.

14 The cart came into the field of Joshua, the Beth Shemite, and stood there where there was a great stone. And they split the wood of the cart, and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was with it, where the articles of gold were, and put them on the great stone. And the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord.

16 When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the Lord: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one.

18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities, and of country villages. And the great stone, where they set the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth Shemite.

19 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men. And the people lamented, because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.

20 The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom will He go up from us?”

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord. Come down, and take it up to you.”

7

1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. And they brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

2 And from the day the ark resided in Kiriath Jearim, the days increased to twenty years. Samuel Judges Israel And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

3 Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. And make firm your hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only. Then He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served the Lord only.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

6 They gathered together to Mizpah. And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.

7 When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

8 The children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying unto the Lord our God for us, that He might save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”

9 Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering unto the Lord. And Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord heard him.

10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines, and confused them. So they were beaten before Israel.

11 Israel’s fighting men went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and struck them, as far as below Beth Kar.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. And he called its name Ebenezer saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not again come into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath. And Israel rescued their territory out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 So Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

16 He went annually in a circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all those places.

17 But his return was to Ramah, for his house was there and there he judged Israel. And there he built an altar to the Lord.

8

1 Israel Demands a King And it came about when Samuel was old, that he installed his sons as judges for Israel.

2 Now the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judging in Beersheba.

3 But his sons did not walk in his way, for they followed after unlawful gain, and they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

4 And all the elders of Israel gathered together and they came to Samuel at Ramah.

5 They said to him, “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now, install for us a king to govern us like all the nations.”

6 But the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, because they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in relation to all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but Me they have rejected from reigning over them.

8 Just as all the deeds which they have done to Me, from the day I brought them up from Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken Me and have served other gods, so they are doing also to you now.

9 Now then, obey their voice. Only you will testify against them and proclaim to them the judgment concerning the king who will reign over them.”

10 So Samuel said all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking from him a king.

11 And he said, “This will be the judgment concerning the king who will reign over you: Your sons he will take in order to place them for himself in his chariots and as his horsemen, and they will run before his chariot,

12 and in order to assign for himself captains of thousands and captains of fifties, and to plow his ground, and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and the equipment of his chariots.

13 And your daughters he will take for perfumers, and cooks, and bakers.

14 And your choicest fields, and vineyards, and olive groves he will take and give them to his servants.

15 And of your seed fields and your vineyards he will take a tenth of their harvest and will give it to his high officials and to his servants.

16 And your menservants and your maidservants, and the best of your young men and asses he will take and make do his work.

17 Your flocks he will take a tenth of, but you will be his for slaves.

18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But surely a king will be over us!

20 So that we also will be like all the nations! And so that our king will govern us, and will go out before us, and will fight our battles.”

21 And after Samuel heard all the words of the people, he spoke them in the hearing of the Lord.

22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice, and make for them a king.” So Samuel said to Israel’s fighting men, “Go every man to his city.”

9

1 Samuel Anoints Saul Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

2 He had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a better looking man among the children of Israel. From his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, the father of Saul, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go find the donkeys.”

4 He passed through the mountains of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, “Come, and let us return lest my father stop caring about the donkeys and worry about us.”

6 He said to him, “Look, there is in this city a man of God, and he is highly respected. All that he speaks surely comes about. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”

7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But listen, if we go, what will we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our satchels, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, “Look, I have here in my hand a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way.”

9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, “Come, and let us go to the seer.” For he that is now called a 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 hill to the city, they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”

12 And they answered them and said, “He is. See, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for today he came to the city, because there is a sacrifice for the people in the high place today.

13 As soon as you come into 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 must bless the sacrifice. Afterwards those invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time of the day you will find him there.”

14 So they went up into the city. And when they entered, Samuel was coming toward them to go up to the high place.

15 Now the Lord had revealed in the ear of Samuel one day before Saul came, saying,

16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin. And you will anoint him to be leader over My people Israel, that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come unto Me.”

17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! This one will rule over My people.”

18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, please, where is the seer’s house?”

19 Samuel answered Saul, and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you will eat with me today. And tomorrow I will let you go, and will tell you then all that is in your heart.

20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not your worry about them for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”

21 And Saul answered and said, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me this way?”

22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those invited, which were about thirty men.

23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’ ”

24 Then the cook took up the thigh and what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what was set aside. Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until this time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul up on the roof.

26 They arose early, and it was at the rising of the dawn that Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went to the street.

27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us.” So he passed on. “But you stand still and I will proclaim to you the word of God.”

10

1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head. And he kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you over His inheritance as ruler?

2 When you have departed 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 which you went to look for have been found. And now, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys, and worries for you, saying, “What will I do for my son?” ’

3 “Then you will go forward from there, and you will come to the plain of Tabor. And there you will meet three men going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.

4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will receive from their hands.

5 “After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. And when you come there to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre before them. And they will prophesy.

6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them. And you will be turned into another man.

7 And it will be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires; for God is with you.

8 “Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. And listen, I will be coming down to you, in order to offer burnt offerings, and to offer sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you will wait, until I come to you. Then I will make known to you what you will do.”

9 And it happened, that when he turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day.

10 When they came to the hill, a group of prophets met him. And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11 So when all who previously knew him saw that he prophesied among the prophets, the people said one to another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

12 And a man from there answered and said, “But who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 And Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere around, we went to Samuel.”

15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not mention.

17 Saul Proclaimed King Therefore Samuel called the people together unto the Lord at Mizpah.

18 And he said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you.’

19 But you have today rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and your distresses. And you have said to Him, ‘No, but set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your clans.”

20 So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin by its families. And the family of Matri was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

22 Therefore they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord answered, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.”

23 So they ran and took him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Truly there is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king.”

25 Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in a book, and laid them up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26 Saul also went home to Gibeah. And there went with him a band of valiant men whose hearts God had touched.

27 But some worthless men said, “How will this man save us?” And they despised him, and did not bring him a present. But he remained silent.

11

1 Saul Rescues Jabesh Gilead Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

2 Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may pluck out all your right eyes. So I will inflict it as a reproach upon all Israel.”

3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then if there is no one to rescue us, we will come out to you.”

4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke the words in the ears of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.

5 Now Saul was coming out of the field after the cattle, and Saul said, “Why are the people weeping?” And they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

6 The Spirit of God came strongly upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry.

7 He took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces. And he sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man.

8 When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

9 They said to the messengers that came, “Thus will you say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have help.’ ” And the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh and they were glad.

10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us all that seems good to you.”

11 On the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those surviving were scattered, so that even two of them were not left together.

12 Saul Confirmed as King The people said to Samuel, “Who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”

13 Saul said, “There will not be a man put to death this day. For today the Lord has worked deliverance in Israel.”

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.”

15 All the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. And there they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord. And there Saul and all Israel’s fighting men rejoiced greatly.

12

1 Samuel’s Farewell Address Then Samuel said to all Israel: “I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.

2 And now, see, the king walks before you, but I am old and gray-headed. As for my sons, they are with you. But I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

3 Behold, here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with? Indeed I will restore it you.”

4 They said, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us. Neither have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”

5 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”

6 Samuel said to the people: “It is the Lord that prepared Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

7 Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord, concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which He did for you and your fathers.

8 “When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

9 “When they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them.

10 They cried to the Lord, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’

11 The Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel. And He delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you dwelled in safety.

12 “When you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king will reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.

13 Now therefore, look at the king whom you have chosen and for whom you have asked! And see that the Lord has set a king over you.

14 If you will fear the Lord, and serve Him, and obey His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king that reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.

15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then will the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

16 “Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is doing before your eyes.

17 Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord. And He will send thunder and rain, that you may know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.”

18 So Samuel called to the Lord. And the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we will not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”

20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness, only do not turn aside from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart.

21 But do not turn aside, for then you would be going after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.

22 As befits His great name, the Lord will not abandon His people. For it has pleased the Lord to make you His people.

23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. But I will teach you the good and the right way.

24 Fear the Lord; serve Him in truth with all your heart, and consider what great things He has done for you.

25 But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.”

13

1 Saul Fails His Commission Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty-two years over Israel.

2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Mikmash and in mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent each to his tent.

3 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 All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

5 The Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, with people like the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and camped in Mikmash, east of Beth Aven.

6 When Israel’s fighting men saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in hollows, among rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

7 Some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.

8 He waited seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.

9 Saul said, “Bring here to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering.

10 When he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him to greet him.

11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come to the appointed assembly days, and the Philistines are gathering themselves together at Mikmash,

12 therefore I said, ‘The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not yet appeased the face of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”

13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. Truly now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

14 But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people, because you have not kept that which the Lord commanded you.”

15 Samuel arose, and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.

16 Israel Unarmed Now Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were with them, were staying in Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Mikmash.

17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual.

18 And another company turned the way to Beth Horon. And another company turned to the way of the border that looks to the Valley of Zeboyim toward the wilderness.

19 Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make for themselves swords or spears.”

20 So all the children of Israel went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his plow-point, his axe, his adze and his hoe.

21 The sharpening charge was two-thirds of a shekel for plow-points, axes, pitchforks, and adzes, and to fix an ox-goad.

22 So it came to pass on the day of battle, that neither sword nor spear were found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found in the hand of Saul and Jonathan his son.

23 And the garrison of the Philistines had marched out to the ravine of Mikmash.

14

1 Jonathan Defeats the Philistines A day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man that bore his armor, “Come, and let us cross over to the Philistine garrison which is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

2 Now Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people that were with him were about six hundred men.

3 And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

4 Between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

5 The crag of the one rose north opposite Mikmash, and the other faced southward opposite Geba.

6 Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Perhaps the Lord will work for us. For the Lord is not limited to save by many or by few.”

7 His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Turn yourself, and I will be with you according to your heart.”

8 Then Jonathan said, “Now we will cross over to these men, and we will reveal ourselves to them.

9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.

10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

11 So the two of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the caves where they have hidden themselves.”

12 The men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will teach you something.” So Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me. For the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”

13 Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet with his armor bearer behind him. And they fell before Jonathan. And his armor bearer was dealing death blows after him.

14 That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men within about a half-acre field.

15 There was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled, and the ground quaked. It was the fear of God.

16 The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went even here and there.

17 Then Saul said to the people that were with him, “Number now, and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, Jonathan nor his armor bearer were there.

18 Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring here the ark of God.” For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.

19 It came to pass, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

20 Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle. And every man’s sword was against his fellow, so that there was very great confusion.

21 Even the Hebrews who were with the Philistines the days before, who went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the children of Israel that were with Saul and Jonathan.

22 Also all of Israel’s fighting men, who had hidden themselves in mountains of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines fled, and even they followed hard after them in the battle.

23 So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed beyond Beth Aven.

24 Saul’s Rash Oath Now Israel’s fighting men were distressed that day. For Saul had placed the people under a curse, saying, “Cursed is the man that eats any food before it is evening, and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted any food.

25 All the people of the land came to the forest, and there was honey on the ground.

26 When the people came into the forest there was flowing honey. But no man put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath.

27 But Jonathan had not heard when his father made the people swear. Therefore he put forward the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were brightened.

28 Then one of the people answered, and said, “Your father surely made the people swear, saying, ‘Cursed is the man that eats any food this day.’ ” And the people were weary.

29 Then said Jonathan, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

30 How much more, if the people had surely eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? But now the defeat of the Philistines has not been great.”

31 And they struck the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Aijalon, and the people were very weary.

32 The people rushed upon the spoil; they took sheep, oxen, and calves and slew them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood.

33 Then they reported to Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt faithlessly. Roll a great stone to me this day.”

34 Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring to me here every man his ox or sheep. And slaughter them here, and eat. But you shall not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ ” And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.

35 And Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

36 Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light. And let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near here to God.”

37 Saul asked 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 Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and observe and see how this sin has come about this day.

39 For, as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in Jonathan my son, he will surely die.” But there was not one who answered him from among all the people.

40 Then he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”

41 Therefore Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped.

42 Saul said, “Cast lots 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 indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am. I must die.”

44 Saul said, “May God do so to me and more also, for you will surely die, Jonathan.”

45 The people said to Saul, “Will Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? God forbid. As the Lord lives, there will not one hair of his head fall to the ground. For he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the Ammonites, against Edom and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Whatever place he turned himself, he defeated them.

48 He gathered an army, and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hand of its plunderers.

49 Saul’s Family Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. And the names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the youngest.

50 And the name of the wife of Saul was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, the uncle of Saul.

51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

52 There was strong war against the Philistines all the days of Saul, and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.

15

1 The Lord Rejects Saul Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of the words of the Lord.

2 Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

3 Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not have compassion on them but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

4 So Saul summoned the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.

5 Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and laid an ambush in the valley.

6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

7 Then Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, which is near Egypt.

8 He took 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, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. And of all that was good, they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But everything that was despised and weak, that they completely destroyed.

10 Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying,

11 “I regret that I have set up Saul to be king because he has turned back from following Me, and he has not carried out My words.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried to the Lord all night.

12 When Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel and set himself up a monument. Then he turned and has passed on down to Gilgal.”

13 Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the word of the Lord.”

14 Samuel said, “Then what is the sound of this flock of sheep in my ears? And the sound of the cattle which I am hearing?”

15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and I will tell you what the Lord spoke to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 Samuel said, “When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel?

18 And the Lord sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.’

19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? And why did you rush upon the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And I have followed in the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 But the people took from the plunder sheep and oxen, the first fruits of the banned things to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

22 Samuel said, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, a listening ear than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. For I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

27 As Samuel turned about to go, he seized the edge of his robe and it tore.

28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.

29 Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent.”

30 Then he said, “I have sinned, yet please honor me before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.”

31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him reluctantly. But Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

33 Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

35 Now Samuel did not see Saul up to the day of his death. But Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16

1 Samuel Anoints David as King The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”

2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

3 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”

4 Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”

5 And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”

9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”

10 So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

14 David Serves Saul Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him.

15 So the servants of Saul said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God troubles you.

16 Let our lord now tell your servants, who are before you, that they might seek out a man experienced in playing the lyre. And it will come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he will play with his hand, and you will be well.”

17 Saul said to his servants, “Find me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”

18 Then one from the servants answered, and said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is experienced in playing music, a mighty man of valor, a man of battle, and skillful in words, even a man of fine appearance. And the Lord is with him.”

19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”

20 Jesse took a donkey laden with bread, a bottle of wine, and a young goat and he sent them with his son David to Saul.

21 David came to Saul, and stood before him. And Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer.

22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

23 It happened that when the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

17

1 David and Goliath Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle, and were gathered at Sokoh, which belongs to Judah. And they camped between Sokoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim.

2 Saul and Israel’s fighting men were gathered, and they camped in the Valley of Elah. And they drew up in battle order to meet the Philistines.

3 Now the Philistines were standing at the base of the mountain on the one side, and Israel was standing at the base of the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.

4 There went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, Goliath was his name, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. Now the weight of the bronze coat was five thousand shekels.

6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.

7 The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. His iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels. And a shield-bearer was walking before him.

8 He stood and called out to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am not I the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man and let him come down to me.

9 If he is able to fight with me and to strike me down, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you will be our servants and will serve us.”

10 The Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together.”

11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were filled with terror and were greatly afraid.

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah whose name was Jesse, who had eight sons. And the man was old in the days of Saul and advanced in years.

13 The three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.

14 As for David, he was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,

15 but David would go back and forth from Saul to shepherd his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

16 The Philistine stepped forward morning and evening and took his stand daily for forty days.

17 Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers.

18 Carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and look into your brothers’ health, and bring back news of them.”

19 Now Saul, and they, and all Israel’s fighting men were in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.

20 So David rose up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper. And he carried away the food and went as Jesse had commanded him. And when he came to the encampment, the army was going out to the battle line, and they shouted a war cry.

21 And Israel and the Philistines ordered themselves in battle lines, army against army.

22 David left his things with the keeper of the equipment, and he ran to the battle line. And he went and greeted his brothers.

23 As he was speaking with them, the champion, Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was going up from the battle line of the Philistines. And he spoke these same words and David heard them.

24 When all Israel’s fighting men saw the man, they fled from him, and were very afraid.

25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel, and it will be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house exempt from taxes in Israel.”

26 David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, “What will be done for the man that kills this Philistine and takes away this reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

27 And the people answered him in the same way, saying, “So will it be done to the man who kills him.”

28 Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart. For you have come down that you might see the battle.”

29 David said, “What have I done now? Was it not only a word?”

30 And he turned from him toward another and spoke in the same way. And the people answered him again as at the first.

31 When the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul and he sent for him.

32 David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

34 David said to Saul, “Your servant was a shepherd for my father’s flock, and the lion came and the bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.

35 And I went out after him, and struck him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I took hold of his beard, struck him, and killed him.

36 Your servant slew both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them, because he has reviled the armies of the living God.”

37 David said, “The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

38 Saul clothed David with his armor. And he put a helmet of bronze on his head. He also clothed him with a coat of mail.

39 David secured his sword to his armor and tried to walk, but he was not used to it, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

40 He took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook. And he put them in his shepherd’s bag, even in a pouch. And his sling was in his hand. Then he drew near to the Philistine.

41 The Philistine came walking and drew near to David, and the man bearing the shield went before him.

42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him. For he was a youth and ruddy with a handsome appearance.

43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the field.”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have reviled.

46 This day will the Lord deliver you into my hand. And I will strike you down and cut off your head. Then I will give the corpses of the Philistine camp this day to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 And then all this assembly will know that it is not by sword and spear that the Lord saves. For the battle belongs to the Lord, and He will give you into our hands.”

48 When the Philistine arose and came near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

49 David put his hand in his bag and took from there a stone. And he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead. Therefore the stone sunk into his forehead and he fell upon his face to the ground.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone. And he struck down the Philistine and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David.

51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine. Then he took his sword and drew it from out of its sheath, and he finished him off and he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

52 And the fighting men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted. And they pursued the Philistines from the entrance of the Valley of Elah as far as the gates of Ekron. So the Philistine dead lay slain on the road to Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.

53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines and they plundered their tents.

54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

56 The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is.”

57 So when David returned from slaying the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand.

58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

18

1 Saul Fears David When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, so that Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

2 And Saul took him that day and would not permit him to return home to his father’s house.

3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.

4 So Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, even his garments, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

5 David went out wherever Saul sent him, and he was successful. So Saul set him over the men of war, and it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of the servants of Saul.

6 When they came home, as David was returning from slaying the Philistine, the women came out from all cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.

7 The dancing women sang and said, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”

8 Saul became very angry, and this saying was displeasing to him. Therefore he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what remains for him to have but the kingdom?”

9 So Saul was suspicious of David from that day and forward.

10 It came to pass the following day, that an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, so that he raved in the midst of the house. And David was playing the lyre, as at other times. Now there was a spear in Saul’s hand.

11 And Saul threw the spear. For he said, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David avoided him two times.

12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.

13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and placed him as his captain over a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.

14 David was successful in all his ways and the Lord was with him.

15 When Saul saw that he was very successful, he was afraid of him.

16 Now all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

17 David Marries Michal Saul said to David, “Behold my elder daughter Merab, I will give her to you as your wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul said, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I? And what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?”

19 So when it was time that Merab, daughter of Saul, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

20 Now Michal, daughter of Saul, loved David and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

21 Saul said, “I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him, and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time, you may be my son-in-law today.”

22 Saul commanded his servants, saying, “Speak to David in secret saying, ‘Listen, the king delights in you and all his servants love you. Now therefore become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

23 So the servants of Saul spoke these words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?”

24 And the servants of Saul reported to him saying, “According to these words, David spoke.”

25 Saul said, “Thus will you say to David, ‘The king does not desire any dowry but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

26 When his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. Now the days had not expired;

27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins and they gave them in full to the king, that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife.

28 When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, his daughter, loved him,

29 Saul was yet the more afraid of David, and Saul became the enemy of David continually.

30 Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to make war. And when they went out David was more successful than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly honored.

19

1 Saul Tries to Kill David And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted very much in David.

2 Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore, be on guard in the morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. Then I will speak about you to my father, and what I observe I will report to you.”

4 Jonathan spoke positively of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been very good toward you.

5 For he took his life in his hand and struck down the Philistine, and the Lord made a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Now why then would you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without cause?”

6 So Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, he will not be killed.”

7 Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as previously.

8 Then there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines. He slew them with a great slaughter and they fled from him.

9 Now an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.

10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence. He struck the spear into the wall. But David fled and escaped that night.

11 Saul also sent messengers to the house of David, to watch him and to slay him in the morning. But Michal, wife of David, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead.”

12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled to safety.

13 Michal took an idol and laid it in the bed, and put a braided goat hair pillow for its head and covered it with clothes.

14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

15 Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.”

16 When the messengers came in, there was the idol in the bed with a goat hair pillow for its head.

17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’ ”

18 Now David fled, and he escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah. And he reported to him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

19 It was told Saul, saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel taking his stand over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied.

21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent other messengers. And they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again a third time, and they too prophesied.

22 Then he also went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Seku. And he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.

23 He went there to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him also. And he went on and he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 He stripped off his clothes and he also prophesied before Samuel. And he lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

20

1 David and Jonathan David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my offense? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Look, my father does nothing either great or small that he does not reveal to me. Why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.”

3 David vowed again and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight. And he says, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be distressed.’ However, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do it for you.”

5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the field until the evening of the third day.

6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David asked for leave from me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’

7 If he says, ‘Good,’ it will be well for your servant. But if he gets angry, know that evil is determined by him.

8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is any guilt in me, kill me yourself. For why should you bring me to your father?”

9 Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you. For if I indeed knew that my father had determined evil against you, would I not tell it you?”

10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me? Or what if your father answers you roughly?”

11 So Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” And the two of them went out to the field.

12 Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is witness. When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or by the third day, and if he is favorable toward David, then will I not send and reveal it to you?

13 May the Lord do so to Jonathan and much more. If it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will reveal it you and send you away that you may go in peace. And may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father.

14 And if I live, not only will you show me the kindness of the Lord, that I shall not die,

15 but you will not cut off your faithfulness from my house forever, even when the Lord has cut off each one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, “May the Lord require it at the hand of the enemies of David.”

17 Jonathan made David swear again, because he loved him. For he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

19 When you have stayed three days, you will surely go down and come to the place where you hid yourself on the day this happened, and wait there beside the stone Ezel.

20 And I will shoot three arrows to its side, as though I shot at a target.

21 Then I will send a boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then come, for it will be safe for you. And as the Lord lives, it is nothing of concern.

22 But if I say to the young man, ‘See, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the Lord has sent you away.

23 As for the matter upon which you and I have spoken, the Lord is between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid himself in the field. And when the New Moon appeared, the king sat down over food to eat.

25 Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on a seat by the wall. Then Jonathan arose and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.

26 Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day. For he thought, “Something has happened. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.”

27 It happened on the following day, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place remained empty. So Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat food either yesterday or today?”

28 And Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave from me to go to Bethlehem.

29 And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has commanded me to come. Now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me leave and see my brothers.’ This is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Then Saul was angry with Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse rebellious woman, do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now, send and bring him to me, for he is a dead man.”

32 Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?”

33 So Saul cast a spear at him to strike him. Therefore Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

34 And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat food on the second day of the month. For he was grieved for David, because his father had dishonored him.

35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time appointed with David, and a little boy was with him.

36 And he said to his boy, “Run, find the arrows which I shoot.” He ran, and he shot the arrow over him.

37 When the boy came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”

38 Then Jonathan cried after the boy, “Hurry quickly! Do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrow and came to his master.

39 But the boy did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

40 Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”

41 When the boy had gone, David arose from the south side of the stone, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more.

42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since the two of us swore in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, but Jonathan went into the city.

21

1 David at Nob Then David came to Nob to Ahimelek the priest. And Ahimelek trembled coming to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no man is with you?”

2 And David said to Ahimelek the priest, “The king commanded me a matter and said to me, ‘Let no man know anything of the business which I am sending you and what I have commanded you.’ But to the young men I made known a certain place to meet.

3 Now therefore what is in your hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

4 The priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread at hand. But there is holy bread, if the young men have indeed been kept from women.”

5 David answered the priest and said to him, “Indeed women have been kept from us. As previously, when I went out the vessels of the young men were holy even if it was an ordinary journey. How much more then today will their vessels be holy?”

6 So the priest gave him holy bread. For there was no bread there but the showbread that was removed from before the Lord, in order to place hot bread there on the day when it was taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. And his name was Doeg, the Edomite, chief of the shepherds of Saul.

8 David said to Ahimelek, “Is there not a spear or a sword here at hand? For neither my sword nor my weapons did I bring with me, because the king’s business was urgent.”

9 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 that, take it. For there is none other but that here.” And David said, “There is none like it. Give it me.”

10 David Flees to Gath David arose and fled that day from Saul. And he went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing with dances for him, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’? ”

12 And David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish the king of Gath.

13 Therefore he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands. And he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.

14 Then said Achish to his servants, “You see the man is acting like a madman. Why then have you brought him to me?

15 Am I one who lacks lunatics, that you brought this one to behave as a madman in my presence? Will this man come into my house?”

22

1 David Protects His Parents David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down to him there.

2 There gathered to him every one that was in distress, and every one in debt, and every one that was discontented. So he became captain over them. Now there were with him about four hundred men.

3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come forth and be with you until I know what God will do for me.”

4 He brought them before the king of Moab, and they lived with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.

5 The prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David went and came to the forest of Hereth.

6 Saul Kills the Priests of Nob When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were discovered, Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the hill with his spear in his hand. And all his servants were standing about him.

7 Saul said to his servants that stood about him, “Hear now, Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he appoint you all as captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?

8 You have all conspired against me, and no one revealed to me that my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse. And not one of you is grieved for me and revealed it to me that my son raised up my servant against me to ambush me as at this day.”

9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who was chief over the servants of Saul, answered and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelek the son of Ahitub.

10 And he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. And he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 So the king sent to summon Ahimelek the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob. And they all came to the king.

12 Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you gave him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me to ambush me, as at this day?”

14 Then Ahimelek answered the king and said, “And who is as faithful among all your servants as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, chief of your bodyguard, and is honored in your house?

15 Did I just today begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king assign any blame to his servant, or to all the house of my father. For your servant has known nothing of all this matter, whether small or great.”

16 The king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and all your father’s house.”

17 The king said to the guards standing near him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand is with David. And because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to attack the priests of the Lord.

18 The king said to Doeg, “You turn and fall upon the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.

19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword. Both men and women, children and babies, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he struck with the edge of the sword.

20 David, Protector of the Priestly Line But one of the sons of Ahimelek the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

21 Abiathar reported to David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord.

22 David said to Abiathar, “I knew it that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house.

23 Remain with me. Do not fear. For the one who seeks my life seeks your life, but you are safe with me.”

23

1 David Saves Keilah Then they told David, “Listen, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are looting the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and rescue Keilah.”

3 The men of David said to him, “We are afraid here in Judah. How much more then, if we go down to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

4 Then David again inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah because I am giving the Philistines into your hand.”

5 Then David and his men went to Keilah. He fought with the Philistines and carried off their livestock, and he struck them with a great slaughter. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 When Abiathar the son of Ahimelek fled to David at Keilah, he came down with the ephod in his hand.

7 Saul Pursues David It was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand. For he is shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars.”

8 Then Saul summoned all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 David found out that Saul was planning evil against him. So he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod near.”

10 And David said, “O Lord, God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on account of me.

11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.”

12 Then said David, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”

13 So David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and left Keilah. And they went wherever they could go. Now it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah. So he halted the expedition.

14 And David remained in the wilderness in strongholds, and dwelled in mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

15 Now David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh.

16 Jonathan, the son of Saul, arose and went to David at Horesh. And he strengthened his hand in God.

17 He said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you. Saul my father knows this.”

18 The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.

19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul to Gibeah saying, “Is David not hiding himself with us in strongholds in Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, which is south of Jeshimon?

20 Now, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down. And our part will be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

21 Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord. For you have had compassion on me.

22 Please go, make sure again. Investigate and see the place where his foot rests, and who has seen him there. For it has been said to me that he is very cunning.

23 So look and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself. And come to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it will be that if he is in the land, then I will track him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the desert south of Jeshimon.

25 Saul and his men went to seek him, but they told David. Therefore he came down to the Rock, and lived in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the Wilderness of Maon.

26 Saul went on this side of the mountain and David and his men on that side of the mountain. And David hurried to get away from Saul. Now Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.

27 But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Hurry and go! For the Philistines have invaded the land.”

28 So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and he went against the Philistines. Therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape.

29 David then went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

24

1 David Spares Saul’s Life When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, it was reported to him, saying, “David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”

2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the rocks of the wild goats.

3 He came to the sheep pens by the way and a cave was there. And Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the rear of the cave.

4 The men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘I am giving your enemy into your hand. You may do with him as seems good in your eyes.’ ” Then David arose and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Afterward David’s heart troubled him because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him. For he is anointed of the Lord.”

7 So David dispersed his men by these words and did not let them rise against Saul. And Saul arose from the cave and went on his way.

8 David arose afterward and went out from the cave. And he called after Saul saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David had bowed down with his face to the ground and paid homage.

9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men saying, ‘David seeks your harm’?

10 This day you have seen with your own eyes that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave. So that some said to kill you, but my eye had compassion on you. And I said, ‘I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is anointed of the Lord.’

11 See, my father! Look at the corner of your robe in my hand. Indeed, I cut off the corner of your robe, but I did not kill you. Observe and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I have not sinned against you, but you are lying in wait for my life to take it.

12 The Lord will judge between me and you, and the Lord will avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you.

13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘From the wicked comes forth wickedness,’ but my hand will not be against you.

14 “After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? A single flea?

15 May the Lord be judge, and decide between me and you. And may He see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

16 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 rewarded me with good, while I have rewarded you with evil.

18 And you have shown today that you have dealt well with me, when the Lord delivered me into your hand and you did not kill me.

19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him safely go away? Therefore may the Lord reward you well for what you have done for me this day.

20 Now, listen, I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

21 Therefore swear to me now by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s household.”

22 So David swore to Saul and Saul went home. But David and his men went up to the stronghold.

25

1 Death of Samuel Now Samuel died. And all the children of Israel gathered together and mourned him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

2 David, Nabal, and Abigail Now there was a man in Maon whose work was in Carmel. He was a rich man with three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 The man’s name was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail. She was a woman of good understanding and beautiful, but the man was harsh and evil in his actions and he was a Calebite.

4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

5 So David sent out 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 you will you say to him who lives in prosperity, ‘Peace be to you and peace to your house, and to all that you have, peace.

7 “ ‘I have heard that you have shearers. Now your shepherds were with us. We did not harm them nor did they miss anything all the days they were in Carmel.

8 Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a good day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants, and to your son David.’ ”

9 When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, then they waited.

10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today many servants are breaking away each one from his master.

11 Should I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat, that which I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men whose origins are unknown?”

12 So David’s young men turned themselves around and went back. And they came and reported to him all these words.

13 David said to his men, “Each man strap on his sword.” And each man strapped on his sword. David also put on his sword, and four hundred men went up after David. But two hundred stayed with the baggage.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Listen, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he railed against them.

15 But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did we miss anything, all the days we went about with them in the field.

16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the days we were with them keeping the flocks.

17 Now therefore know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household. He is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

18 Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five prepared sheep, five measures of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys.

19 And she said to her servants, “Go on before me. See, I will be coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 And as she was riding on the donkey and going down into the cover of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her and she met them.

21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him. And he has returned me evil for good.

22 So may God do unto the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurriedly got down from the donkey and fell before David upon her face. And she bowed herself to the ground.

24 So she fell at his feet and said, “Against me alone, my lord, is the guilt. Please let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid.

25 Please do not let my lord set his heart against this worthless man, against Nabal. For as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.

26 Now my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from coming in bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those seeking to do evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

27 Now let this blessing which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.

28 “Please forgive the transgression of your handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days.

29 Even if a man rises to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord will be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies He will sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.

30 It will be, when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you and has appointed you ruler over Israel,

31 that this will be no grief to you, nor an offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid.”

32 David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me.

33 And blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you who have kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with my own hand.

34 For as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from injuring you, if you had not hurried to come and meet me, surely there would not have been left even one male to Nabal by the morning light.”

35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and have granted your request.”

36 Abigail came to Nabal, and he was feasting in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light.

37 But in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things. And his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

38 And about ten days after that, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is the Lord, who has defended the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.” And David sent and spoke with Abigail, to take her as his wife.

40 When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.”

41 She arose, and bowed herself on her face to the ground, and said, “Here is your handmaid, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

42 Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five young women who attended her. And she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. So both of them were his wives.

44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Paltiel the son of Laish who was from Gallim.

26

1 David Again Spares Saul’s Life Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding himself on the hill of Hakilah, which is before Jeshimon?”

2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.

3 Saul camped on the hill of Hakilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, when he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

4 And David sent out spies and knew that Saul had certainly come.

5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul was lying down and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying down in the encampment, while the people encamped around him.

6 Then David answered and said to Ahimelek the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night while Saul lay sleeping within the circle of the camp. And his spear was stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the people were lying all around him.

8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has today delivered your enemy into your hand. Now please let me strike him with the spear through to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him a second time.”

9 David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him. For who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and remain unpunished?”

10 David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.

11 The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed, but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

12 So David took the spear and the jug of water from Saul’s head and they went away. No one saw, no one knew, and no one awoke, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill at a distance. A great space was between them.

14 And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you that calls to the king?”

15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like to 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 which you have done. As the Lord lives, you are worthy of death because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now, see where is the king’s spear? And the jug of water that was at his head?”

17 Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord king.”

18 He said, “Why is my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

19 Now please let my lord king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it was the sons of men, cursed are they before the Lord. For they have driven me today from having a share in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

20 Now do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord. Truly the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, as when one pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then said Saul, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again, because my soul was precious in your eyes this day. I have acted foolishly and have seriously gone astray.”

22 David answered and said, “See, the king’s spear! Let one of the young men come over and get it.

23 The Lord requites to every man his right conduct and loyalty. So the Lord gave you into my hand today, but I am not willing to stretch my hand against the Lord’s anointed.

24 As your life was highly valued in my eyes this day, so may my life be highly valued in the eyes of the Lord, and may He rescue me out of all distress.”

25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed are you, my son David. You will do great things, and will surely prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

27

1 David With the Philistines Then David said in his heart, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of continually seeking me within all the territory of Israel. So will I escape out of his hand.”

2 David arose and passed over with the six hundred men that were with him to Achish, the son of Maok, king of Gath.

3 And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.

4 It was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer sought him.

5 David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the countryside, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

8 David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For they were inhabitants of the land from of old, as you come to Shur, even to the land of Egypt.

9 So David would strike the land and would not leave either man or woman alive. And he would take the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments. And then he came back to Achish.

10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah,” or “Against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.”

11 Now David would leave neither a man nor a woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, “Lest they should tell on us, saying, ‘Thus David has done.’ ” This was his practice all the days which he lived in the country of the Philistines.

12 And Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely become a stench to his people Israel. Therefore he will be my servant forever.”

28

1 And it came about in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

2 David said to Achish, “Surely you will know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will appoint you my bodyguard for life.”

3 The Medium of Endor Now Samuel died and all Israel mourned him, and they buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and the necromancers from the land.

4 Then the Philistines gathered themselves together. And they came and camped in Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in Gilboa.

5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams, or by lots, or by 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 woman medium in Endor.”

8 So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and he went with two of his men. And they came to the woman by night and he said, “Please divine for me by a spirit, and bring up for me whom I will name to you.”

9 The woman said to him, “Listen, you know what Saul has done, how he has eliminated the mediums and necromancers from the land. Now why are you laying a trap for my life to cause my death?”

10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment will happen to you for this thing.”

11 Then said the woman, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.”

13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a divine being ascending out of the earth.”

14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a robe.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. And he kneeled with his face to the ground and bowed himself.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you roused me to bring me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me any longer by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have called you that you might make known to me what I should do.”

16 Then said Samuel, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy?

17 The Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, David.

18 As you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out His fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

19 And moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

20 Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground because he greatly feared the words of Samuel. Also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day and all night.

21 The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified. And she said to him, “Listen, your handmaid has obeyed your voice. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me.

22 Now therefore you also, please obey the voice of your maidservant and let me set before you a piece of bread, and eat so that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, and also the woman, urged him and he listened to them. So he arose from the ground and sat on the bed.

24 Now 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 from it.

25 She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.

29

1 Philistines Reject David Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, and the children of Israel were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel.

2 The lords of the Philistines were advancing by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were advancing in the rear with Achish.

3 Then 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, king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years? And I have found no fault in him since the day of his desertion to this day.”

4 But the princes of the Philistines became angry with him. And the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this man return and let him go again to his place which you have appointed him. He will not go down with us in battle, lest he might be an adversary to us in the battle. For with what could he make himself acceptable to his master, if not with the heads of these men?

5 Is this not David, whom they sing for in dances saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’? ”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp has been pleasing in my sight. For I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. However, you are not acceptable in the eyes of the lords.

7 Therefore now, return and go in peace, that you do not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8 David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant, from the day which I came before you to this day, that I may not come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 And Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight like an angel of God. However the lords of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us in battle.’

10 Therefore rise up early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And when you have risen early in the morning and it is light, then depart.”

11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning and return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

30

1 David Defeats the Amalekites Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the south as far as Ziklag. They had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.

2 They had taken as captives all the women who were there. They did not kill anyone, but carried them off and went on their way.

3 David and his men came to the city, and they found it burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters taken captive.

4 So David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no strength in them to weep.

5 Now David’s two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6 David was greatly distressed, for the people talked of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit, each over his sons and daughters. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Please bring the ephod to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8 David inquired at the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue after this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue them, for you will surely overtake them and will surely recover all.”

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him. And they came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind remained.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross over the brook Besor remained behind.

11 They found an Egyptian in the field and took him to David. He gave him bread and he ate, and they made him drink water.

12 And they gave him a part of a cake of figs and two cakes of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came back to him, for he had not eaten bread or drunk any water for three days and nights.

13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite. And my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.

14 We raided the south of the Kerethites, the south of Judah, and the south of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag with fire.”

15 David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this raiding party?” 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 bring you down to this raiding party.”

16 When he brought him down, they were spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

17 David struck them from twilight until the evening of the next day, and no man escaped except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.

19 Now there was nothing missing, from the smallest thing to the greatest, neither sons, nor daughters, or plunder, or anything which they had taken. David brought back all of it.

20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before the other livestock. And they said, “This is David’s spoil.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men, who were too exhausted to follow David, whom they left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people, he greeted them.

22 Then all the wicked and worthless ones from the men who went with David answered and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything from the spoil that we have rescued, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.”

23 Then David said, “You will not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, for He has preserved us, and has delivered into our hand the raiding party that came against us.

24 And who will listen to you in this matter? Indeed as the share is of the one going down to battle, so will be the share of the one staying with the equipment. They will share equally.”

25 So it was so from that day forward, that he set it as a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift to you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord”:

27 to those who were in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negev, and in Jattir;

28 to those who were in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,

29 and in Rakal; to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites;

30 to those who were in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak

31 and in Hebron; and to those who were in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.

31

1 The House of Saul, Dead and Buried Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and Israel’s fighting men fled before the Philistines and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul’s sons.

3 The battle was heavy against Saul. The archers found him, and he was severely 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. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell upon it.

5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.

6 So Saul died with his three sons and his armor bearer, together with all his men on that same day.

7 When Israel’s fighting men who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that Israel’s fighting men fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 The following day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9 They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent them into the land of the Philistines round about, to make it known in the house of their idols and among their people.

10 They put his armor in the house of Ashtoreth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

11 When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 all the valiant men arose and went all night, and they 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 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they mourned, fasting seven days.