The First Book of Samuel
1:1Now there was a certain man of
Ramathaim Zophim, of 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: 1:2and he had two wives; the name of
the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had
children, but Hannah had no children. 1:3This man
went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to
Yahweh of Armies in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
priests to Yahweh, were there. 1:4When the day came that Elkanah
sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her
daughters, portions: 1:5but to Hannah he gave a double
portion; for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had shut up her womb. 1:6Her rival provoked her sore, to
make her fret, because Yahweh had shut up her womb. 1:7as he
did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Yahweh, so she
provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 1:8Elkanah her
husband said to her, Hannah, why weep you? and why don't you eat? and why
is your heart grieved? am I not better to you than ten sons? 1:9So Hannah rose up after they had
eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting
on his seat by the door-post of the temple of Yahweh. 1:10She was in bitterness of soul,
and prayed to Yahweh, and wept sore. 1:11She vowed a
vow, and said, Yahweh of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction
of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will
give to your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to Yahweh all the
days of his life, and there shall no razor come on his head. 1:12It happened, as she continued
praying before Yahweh, that Eli marked her mouth. 1:13Now Hannah,
she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard:
therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 1:14Eli said to
her, How long will you be drunken? put away your wine from you. 1:15Hannah answered, No, my lord, I
am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong
drink, but I poured out my soul before Yahweh. 1:16Don't count
your handmaid for a wicked woman; for out of the abundance of my complaint
and my provocation have I spoken hitherto. 1:17Then Eli
answered, Go in peace; and the God of Israel grant your petition that you
have asked of him. 1:18She said, Let your handmaid find
favor in your sight. So the woman went her way, and ate; and her facial
expression wasn't sad any more. 1:19They rose
up in the morning early, and worshiped before Yahweh, and returned, and
came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Yahweh
remembered her. 1:20It happened, when the time was
come about, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him
Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of Yahweh. 1:21The man Elkanah, and all his
house, went up to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 1:22But Hannah didn't go up; for she
said to her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned;
and then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh, and there
abide forever. 1:23Elkanah her husband said to her,
Do what seems you good; wait until you have weaned him; only Yahweh
establish his word. So the woman waited and nursed her son, until she
weaned him. 1:24When she had weaned him, she took
him up with her, with three bulls, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of
wine, and brought him to the house of Yahweh in Shiloh: and the child was
young. 1:25They killed the bull, and brought
the child to Eli. 1:26She said, Oh, my lord, as your
soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to
Yahweh. 1:27For this child I prayed; and
Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him: 1:28therefore also I have granted him
to Yahweh; as long as he lives he is granted to Yahweh. He worshiped
Yahweh there.
2:1Hannah prayed, and said:
My heart exults in Yahweh;
My horn is exalted in Yahweh;
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies;
Because I rejoice in your salvation.
2:2There is none holy as Yahweh;
For there is none besides you,
Neither is there any rock like our God.
2:3Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Don't let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For Yahweh is a God of knowledge,
By him actions are weighed.
2:4The bows of the mighty men are
broken;
Those who stumbled are girded with strength.
2:5Those who were full have hired out
themselves for bread;
Those who were hungry have ceased to hunger:
Yes, the barren has borne seven;
She who has many children languishes.
2:6Yahweh kills, and makes alive:
He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.
2:7Yahweh makes poor, and makes rich:
He brings low, he also lifts up.
2:8He raises up the poor out of the
dust,
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
Inherit the throne of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh's,
He has set the world on them.
2:9He will keep the feet of his holy
ones;
But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;
For by strength shall no man prevail.
2:10Those who strive with Yahweh
shall be broken to pieces;
Against them will he thunder in the sky:
Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth;
He will give strength to his king,
Exalt the horn of his anointed.
2:11Elkanah went to Ramah to his
house. The child did minister to Yahweh before Eli the priest. 2:12Now the sons of Eli were base
men; they didn't know Yahweh. 2:13The custom of the priests with
the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant
came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his
hand; 2:14and he struck it into the pan, or
kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest
took therewith. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came
there. 2:15Yes, before they burnt the fat,
the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh
to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of you, but
raw. 2:16If the man said to him, They will
surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as your soul desires;
then he would say, No, but you shall give it me now: and if not, I will
take it by force. 2:17The sin of the young men was very
great before Yahweh; for the men despised the offering of Yahweh. 2:18But Samuel ministered before
Yahweh, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. 2:19Moreover
his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to
year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 2:20Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife,
and said, Yahweh give you seed of this woman for the petition which was
asked of Yahweh. They went to their own home. 2:21Yahweh
visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters.
The child Samuel grew before Yahweh. 2:22Now Eli was
very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that
they lay with the women who served at the door of the tent of meeting. 2:23He said to them, Why do you such
things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people. 2:24No, my sons; for it is no good
report that I hear: you make Yahweh's people to disobey. 2:25If one man sin against another,
God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Yahweh, who shall entreat
for him? Notwithstanding, they didn't listen to the voice of their father,
because Yahweh was minded to kill them. 2:26The child
Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Yahweh, and also with
men. 2:27There came a man of God to Eli,
and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Did I reveal myself to the house of
your father, when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house?
2:28and did I choose him out of all
the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn
incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give to the house of your
father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 2:29Why kick you at my sacrifice and
at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor
your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the
offerings of Israel my people? 2:30Therefore Yahweh, the God of
Israel, says, I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father,
should walk before me forever: but now Yahweh says, Be it far from me; for
those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly
esteemed. 2:31Behold, the days come, that I
will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father's house, that there
shall not be an old man in your house. 2:32You shall
see the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which
God shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your
house forever. 2:33The man of yours, whom I
shall not cut off from my altar, shall be to consume your eyes, and
to grieve your heart; and all the increase of your house shall die in the
flower of their age. 2:34This shall be the sign to you,
that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they
shall die both of them. 2:35I will raise me up a faithful
priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my
mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my
anointed forever. 2:36It shall happen, that everyone
who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of
silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me into one of the
priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
3:1The child Samuel ministered to
Yahweh before Eli. The word of Yahweh was precious in those days; there
was no frequent vision. 3:2It happened at that time, when Eli
was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he
could not see), 3:3and the lamp of God hadn't yet
gone out, and Samuel had laid down to sleep, in the temple of
Yahweh, where the ark of God was; 3:4that Yahweh
called Samuel; and he said, Here am I. 3:5He ran to
Eli, and said, Here am I; for you called me. He said, I didn't call; lie
down again. He went and lay down. 3:6Yahweh
called yet again, Samuel. Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am
I; for you called me. He answered, I didn't call, my son; lie down again.
3:7Now Samuel didn't yet know Yahweh,
neither was the word of Yahweh yet revealed to him. 3:8Yahweh
called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said,
Here am I; for you called me. Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the
child. 3:9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go,
lie down: and it shall be, if he call you, that you shall say, Speak,
Yahweh; for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
3:10Yahweh came, and stood, and
called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for
your servant hears. 3:11Yahweh said to Samuel, Behold, I
will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it
shall tingle. 3:12In that day I will perform
against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the
beginning even to the end. 3:13For I have told him that I will
judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons
did bring a curse on themselves, and he didn't restrain them. 3:14Therefore I have sworn to the
house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with
sacrifice nor offering forever. 3:15Samuel lay
until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. Samuel
feared to show Eli the vision. 3:16Then Eli called Samuel, and said,
Samuel, my son. He said, Here am I. 3:17He said,
"What is the thing that Yahweh has spoken to you? Please don't
hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything
from me of all the things that he spoke to you." 3:18Samuel told him every whit, and
hid nothing from him. He said, It is Yahweh: let him do what seems him
good. 3:19Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with
him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 3:20All Israel from Dan even to
Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh. 3:21Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh;
for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.
4:1The word of Samuel came to all
Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and
encamped beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 4:2The Philistines put themselves in
array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was struck
before the Philistines; and they killed of the army in the field about
four thousand men. 4:3When the people were come into the
camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has Yahweh struck us today before the
Philistines? Let us get the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of Shiloh to
us, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies.
4:4So the people sent to Shiloh; and
they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Armies, who
sits above the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 4:5When the ark of the covenant of
Yahweh came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that
the earth rang again. 4:6When the Philistines heard the
noise of the shout, they said, What means the noise of this great shout in
the camp of the Hebrews? They understood that the ark of Yahweh was come
into the camp. 4:7The Philistines were afraid, for
they said, God is come into the camp. They said, Woe to us! for there has
not been such a thing heretofore. 4:8Woe to us!
who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the
gods that struck the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the
wilderness. 4:9Be strong, and behave yourselves
like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as
they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. 4:10The Philistines fought, and
Israel was struck, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was a
very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 4:11The ark of God was taken; and the
two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. 4:12There ran a
man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his
clothes torn, and with earth on his head. 4:13When he
came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his
heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city, and
told it, all the city cried out. 4:14When Eli
heard the noise of the crying, he said, What means the noise of this
tumult? The man hurried, and came and told Eli. 4:15Now Eli was
ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.
4:16The man said to Eli, I am he who
came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. He said, How went
the matter, my son? 4:17He who brought the news answered,
Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great
slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas,
are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 4:18It
happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell
from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke,
and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty
years. 4:19His daughter-in-law, Phinehas'
wife, was with child, near to be delivered: 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 bowed herself and brought forth; for her pains came on her.
4:20About the time of her death the
women who stood by her said to her, Don't be afraid; for you have brought
forth a son. But she didn't answer, neither did she regard it. 4:21She 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. 4:22She said, The glory is departed
from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.
5:1Now the Philistines had taken the
ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 5:2The Philistines took the ark of
God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 5:3When they of Ashdod arose early on
the next day, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before
the ark of Yahweh. They took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 5:4When they arose early on the next
day morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the
ark of Yahweh; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands
lay cut off on the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was
left to him. 5:5Therefore neither the priests of
Dagon, nor any who come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of
Dagon in Ashdod, to this day. 5:6But the hand of Yahweh was heavy
on them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors,
even Ashdod and the borders of it. 5:7When the men
of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel
shall not abide with us; for his hand is sore on us, and on Dagon our god.
5:8They sent therefore and gathered
all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said, What shall we do with
the ark of the God of Israel? They answered, Let the ark of the God of
Israel be carried about to Gath. They carried the ark of the God of Israel
there. 5:9It was so, that after they had
carried it about, the hand of Yahweh was against the city with a very
great confusion: and he struck the men of the city, both small and great;
and tumors broke out on them. 5:10So they sent the ark of God to
Ekron. It happened, 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
us, to kill us and our people. 5:11They sent therefore and gathered
together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the
ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it
not kill us and our people. For there was a deadly confusion throughout
all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 5:12The men who
didn't die were struck with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to
heaven.
6:1The ark of Yahweh was in the
country of the Philistines seven months. 6:2The
Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, "What
shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Show us with which we shall send it to
its place."
6:3They said, "If you send away
the ark of the God of Israel, don't send it empty; but by all means return
him a trespass-offering: then you shall be healed, and it shall be known
to you why his hand is not removed from you."
6:4Then they said, "What shall
be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him?"
They said, "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. 6:5Therefore you shall make images of
your tumors, and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give
glory to the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off
you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6:6Why then do
you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their
hearts? When he had worked wonderfully among them, didn't they let the
people go, and they departed? 6:7Now therefore take and prepare
yourselves a new cart, and two milk cattle, on which there has come no
yoke; and tie the cattle to the cart, and bring their calves home from
them; 6:8and take the ark of Yahweh, and
lay it on the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a
trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side of it; and send it away, that
it may go. 6:9Behold; if it goes up by the way
of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he has done us this great evil:
but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it
was a chance that happened to us."
6:10The men did so, and took two milk
cattle, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home; 6:11and they put the ark of Yahweh on
the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their
tumors. 6:12The cattle took the straight way
by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they
went, and didn't turn aside to the right hand or to the left; and the
lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh. 6:13They of Beth-shemesh were reaping
their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw
the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 6:14The 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
up the cattle for a burnt offering to Yahweh. 6:15The Levites
took down the ark of Yahweh, and the coffer that was with it, in which the
jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of
Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same
day to Yahweh. 6:16When the five lords of the
Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 6:17These are the golden tumors which
the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering to Yahweh: for Ashdod
one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 6:18and 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, even to the great
stone, whereon they set down the ark of Yahweh, which stone remains
to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. 6:19He struck
of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of
Yahweh, he struck of the people fifty thousand seventy men; and the people
mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter. 6:20The men of Beth-shemesh said, Who
is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up
from us? 6:21They sent messengers to the
inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back
the ark of Yahweh; come you down, and bring it up to you.
7:1The men of Kiriath Jearim came,
and fetched up the ark of Yahweh, and brought it into the house of
Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of
Yahweh. 7:2It happened, from the day that the
ark abode in Kiriath Jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty
years: and all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh. 7:3Samuel spoke to all the house of
Israel, saying, If you do return to Yahweh with all your heart, then put
away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your
hearts to Yahweh, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the
hand of the Philistines. 7:4Then the children of Israel did
put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served Yahweh only. 7:5Samuel said, Gather all Israel to
Mizpah, and I will pray for you to Yahweh. 7:6They
gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before
Yahweh, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against
Yahweh. Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah. 7:7When the Philistines heard that
the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the
Philistines went up against Israel. When the children of Israel heard it,
they were afraid of the Philistines. 7:8The children
of Israel said to Samuel, "Don't cease to cry to Yahweh our God for
us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines." 7:9Samuel took a sucking lamb, and
offered it for a whole burnt-offering to Yahweh: and Samuel cried to
Yahweh for Israel; and Yahweh answered him. 7:10As Samuel
was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle
against Israel; but Yahweh thundered with a great thunder on that day on
the Philistines, and confused them; and they were struck down before
Israel. 7:11The men of Israel went out of
Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and struck them, until they came
under Beth Kar. 7:12Then Samuel took a stone, and set
it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying,
Hitherto has Yahweh helped us. 7:13So the Philistines were subdued,
and they came no more within the border of Israel: and the hand of Yahweh
was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 7:14The cities
which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from
Ekron even to Gath; and the border of it did Israel deliver out of the
hand of the Philistines. There was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
7:15Samuel judged Israel all the days
of his life. 7:16He went from year to year in
circuit to Bethel and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all
those places. 7:17His return was to Ramah, for
there was his house; and there he judged Israel: and he built there an
altar to Yahweh.
8:1It happened, when Samuel was old,
that he made his sons judges over Israel. 8:2Now the name
of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were
judges in Beersheba. 8:3His sons didn't walk in his ways,
but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice. 8:4Then all the elders of Israel
gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah; 8:5and they said to him, Behold, you
are old, and your sons don't walk in your ways: now make us a king to
judge us like all the nations. 8:6But the thing displeased Samuel,
when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Samuel prayed to Yahweh. 8:7Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to
the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not
rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over
them. 8:8According to all the works which
they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to
this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they
also to you. 8:9Now therefore listen to their
voice: however you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the
manner of the king who shall reign over them. 8:10Samuel told
all the words of Yahweh to the people who asked of him a king. 8:11He said, This will be the manner
of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint
them to him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run
before his chariots; 8:12and he will appoint them to him
for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will set
some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his
instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots. 8:13He will take your daughters to be
perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 8:14He will
take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive groves, even the best
of them, and give them to his servants. 8:15He will
take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his
officers, and to his servants. 8:16He will take your men-servants,
and your maid-servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and put
them to his work. 8:17He will take the tenth of your
flocks: and you shall be his servants. 8:18You shall
cry out in that day because of your king whom you shall have chosen you;
and Yahweh will not answer you in that day. 8:19But the
people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No: but we
will have a king over us, 8:20that we also may be like all the
nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight
our battles. 8:21Samuel heard all the words of the
people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of Yahweh. 8:22Yahweh said
to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and make them a king. Samuel said to the
men of Israel, Go you every man to his city.
9:1Now there was a man of Benjamin,
whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of
Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of
valor. 9:2He had a son, whose name was Saul,
an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a
better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than
any of the people. 9:3The donkeys of Kish, Saul's
father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants
with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys. 9:4He passed
through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of
Shalishah, but they didn't find them: then they passed through the land of
Shaalim, and there they weren't there: and he passed through the land of
the Benjamites, but they didn't find them. 9:5When they
had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him,
Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the donkeys,
and be anxious for us. 9:6He said to him, See now, there is
in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that
he says comes surely to pass: now let us go there; peradventure he can
tell us concerning our journey whereon we go. 9:7Then said
Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man?
for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring
to the man of God: what have we? 9:8The servant
answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part
of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our
way. 9:9(In earlier times in Israel, when
a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the
seer; for he who is now called a Prophet was before called a Seer.) 9:10Then said Saul to his servant,
Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God
was. 9:11As they went up the ascent to the
city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them,
Is the seer here? 9:12They answered them, and said, He
is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he is come today
into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place: 9:13as soon as you are come into the
city, you shall immediately find him, before he goes up to the high place
to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he does bless
the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat who are invited. Now
therefore get you up; for at this time you shall find him. 9:14They went up to the city;
and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward
them, to go up to the high place. 9:15Now Yahweh
had revealed to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, 9:16Tomorrow about this time I will
send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be
prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand
of the Philistines: for I have looked on my people, because their cry is
come to me. 9:17When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh said
to him, Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! this same shall have
authority over my people. 9:18Then Saul drew near to Samuel in
the gate, and said, Tell me, Please, where the seer's house is. 9:19Samuel answered Saul, and said, I
am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me
today: and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is
in your heart. 9:20As for your donkeys who were lost
three days ago, don't set your mind on them; for they are found. For whom
is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you, and for all your
father's house? 9:21Saul answered, Am I not 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 then speak you to
me after this manner? 9:22Samuel took Saul and his servant,
and brought them into the guest-chamber, and made them sit in the best
place among those who were invited, who were about thirty persons. 9:23Samuel said to the cook, Bring
the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, Set it by you. 9:24The cook took up the thigh, and
that which was on it, and set it before Saul. Samuel said, Behold,
that which has been reserved! set it before you and eat; because to the
appointed time has it been kept for you, for I said, I have invited the
people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 9:25When they
were come down from the high place into the city, he talked with Saul on
the housetop. 9:26They arose early: and it happened
about the spring of the day, that Samuel called to Saul on the housetop,
saying, Up, that I may send you away. Saul arose, and they went out both
of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 9:27As they
were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the
servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand you still first,
that I may cause you to hear the word of God.
10:1Then Samuel took the vial of oil,
and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Isn't it that Yahweh
has anointed you to be prince over his inheritance? 10:2When you
are departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb,
in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will tell you, The donkeys
which you went to seek are found; and, behold, your father has left off
caring for the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do
for my son? 10:3Then shall you go on forward from
there, and you shall come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet you
there three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and
another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of
wine: 10:4and they will greet you, and give
you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive of their hand. 10:5After that you shall come to the
hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall
happen, when you are come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of
prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a
tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be
prophesying: 10:6and the Spirit of Yahweh will
come mightily on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be
turned into another man. 10:7Let it be, when these signs are
come to you, that you do as occasion shall serve you; for God is with you.
10:8You shall go down before me to
Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down to you, to offer burnt offerings,
and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shall you wait,
until I come to you, and show you what you shall do. 10:9It was so,
that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another
heart: and all those signs happened that day. 10:10When they
came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit
of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them. 10:11It happened, when all who knew
him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the
people said one to another, What is this that is come to the son of Kish?
Is Saul also among the prophets? 10:12One of the
same place answered, Who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb,
Is Saul also among the prophets? 10:13When he
had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 10:14Saul's uncle said to him and to
his servant, Where went you? He said, To seek the donkeys; and when we saw
that they were not found, we came to Samuel. 10:15Saul's
uncle said, Tell me, Please, what Samuel said to you. 10:16Saul said to his uncle, He told
us plainly that the donkeys were found. But concerning the matter of the
kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn't tell him. 10:17Samuel
called the people together to Yahweh to Mizpah; 10:18and he
said to the children of Israel, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, I
brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you: 10:19but you have this day rejected
your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your
distresses; and you have said to him, No, but set a king over us.
Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes, and by your
thousands. 10:20So Samuel brought all the tribes
of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 10:21He brought the tribe of Benjamin
near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul
the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be
found. 10:22Therefore they asked of Yahweh
further, Is there yet a man to come here? Yahweh answered, Behold, he has
hid himself among the baggage. 10:23They ran
and fetched him there; and when he stood among the people, he was higher
than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 10:24Samuel said to all the people,
"You see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is none like him
among all the people?"
All the people shouted, and said, Long live the king. 10:25Then Samuel told the people the
manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before
Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 10:26Saul also went to his house to
Gibeah; and there went with him the host, whose hearts God had touched. 10:27But certain worthless fellows
said, How shall this man save us? They despised him, and brought him no
present. But he held his peace.
11:1Then 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. 11:2Nahash the Ammonite said to them,
On this condition will I make it with you, that all your right eyes be put
out; and I will lay it for a reproach on all Israel. 11:3The elders
of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send
messengers to all the borders of Israel; and then, if there be none to
save us, we will come out to you. 11:4Then came
the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke these words in the ears of the
people: and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 11:5Behold, Saul came following the
oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What ails the people that they weep?
They told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 11:6The Spirit
of God came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was
kindled greatly. 11:7He took a yoke of oxen, and cut
them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the
hand of messengers, saying, Whoever doesn't come forth after Saul and
after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. The dread of Yahweh fell on
the people, and they came out as one man. 11:8He numbered
them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and
the men of Judah thirty thousand. 11:9They said
to the messengers who came, Thus shall you tell the men of Jabesh Gilead,
Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance. The
messengers came and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 11:10Therefore the men of Jabesh
said, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you shall do with us all that
seems good to you. 11:11It was so on the next day, that
Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of
the camp in the morning watch, and struck the Ammonites until the heat of
the day: and it happened, that those who remained were scattered, so that
no two of them were left together. 11:12The people
said to Samuel, Who is he who said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the
men, that we may put them to death. 11:13Saul said,
There shall not a man be put to death this day; for today Yahweh has
worked deliverance in Israel. 11:14Then said Samuel to the people,
Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 11:15All the people went to Gilgal;
and there they made Saul king before Yahweh in Gilgal; and there they
offered sacrifices of peace-offerings before Yahweh; and there Saul and
all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
12:1Samuel said to all Israel,
Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have
made a king over you. 12:2Now, behold, the king walks
before you; and I am old and gray-headed; and, behold, my sons are with
you: and I have walked before you from my youth to this day. 12:3Here I am: witness against me
before Yahweh, 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
of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes therewith? and I will
restore it you. 12:4They said, You have not defrauded
us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything of any man's hand.
12:5He said to them, Yahweh is
witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have
not found anything in my hand. They said, He is witness. 12:6Samuel said to the people, It is
Yahweh who appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out
of the land of Egypt. 12:7Now therefore stand still, that I
may plead with you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of
Yahweh, which he did to you and to your fathers. 12:8When Jacob
was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to Yahweh, then Yahweh sent
Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made
them to dwell in this place. 12:9But they forgot Yahweh their God;
and 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. 12:10They cried
to Yahweh, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Yahweh, and
have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the
hand of our enemies, and we will serve you. 12:11Yahweh
sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out
of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety. 12:12When you saw that Nahash the
king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, No, but a
king shall reign over us; when Yahweh your God was your king. 12:13Now therefore see the king whom
you have chosen, and whom you have asked for: and, behold, Yahweh has set
a king over you. 12:14If you will fear Yahweh, and
serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment
of Yahweh, and both you and also the king who reigns over you are
followers of Yahweh your God, well: 12:15but if you
will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the commandment
of Yahweh, then will the hand of Yahweh be against you, as it was against
your fathers. 12:16Now therefore stand still and
see this great thing, which Yahweh will do before your eyes. 12:17Isn't it wheat harvest today? I
will call to Yahweh, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know
and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of
Yahweh, in asking you a king. 12:18So Samuel called to Yahweh; and
Yahweh sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared
Yahweh and Samuel. 12:19All the people said to Samuel,
Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, that we not die; for we have
added to all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 12:20Samuel said to the people,
"Don't be afraid; you have indeed done all this evil; yet don't turn
aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart: 12:21and don't turn aside; for
then would you go after vain things which can't profit nor deliver,
for they are vain. 12:22For Yahweh will not forsake his
people for his great name's sake, because it has pleased Yahweh to make
you a people to himself. 12:23Moreover as for me, far be it
from me that I should sin against Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you: but I
will instruct you in the good and the right way. 12:24Only fear
Yahweh, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great
things he has done for you. 12:25But if you shall still do
wickedly, you shall be consumed, both you and your king."
13:1Saul was forty years old
when he began to reign; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 13:2Saul chose him three thousand men
of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the
Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of
Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 13:3Jonathan struck the garrison of
the Philistines that was in Geba: and the Philistines heard of it. Saul
blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 13:4All Israel heard say that Saul
had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel was had
in abomination with the Philistines. The people were gathered together
after Saul to Gilgal. 13:5The Philistines assembled
themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and
six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in
multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth
Aven. 13:6When the men of Israel saw that
they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people
did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in
coverts, and in pits. 13:7Now some of the Hebrews had gone
over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet
in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 13:8He stayed seven days, according
to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel didn't come
to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 13:9Saul said,
Bring here the burnt offering to me, and the peace-offerings. He offered
the burnt offering. 13:10It came to pass that as soon as
he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came;
and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 13:11Samuel said, What have you done?
Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that
you didn't come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines
assembled themselves together at Michmash; 13:12therefore
said I, Now will the Philistines come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven't
entreated the favor of Yahweh: I forced myself therefore, and offered the
burnt offering. 13:13Samuel said to Saul, You have
done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God,
which he commanded you: for now would Yahweh have established your kingdom
on Israel forever. 13:14But now your kingdom shall not
continue: Yahweh has sought him a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has
appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that
which Yahweh commanded you. 13:15Samuel arose, and got him up
from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul numbered the people who were
present with him, about six hundred men. 13:16Saul, and
Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, abode in Geba
of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 13:17The spoilers 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; 13:18and
another company turned the way to Beth Horon; and another company turned
the way of the border that looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the
wilderness. 13:19Now there was no smith found
throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the
Hebrews make them swords or spears: 13:20but all
the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his
plowshare, mattock, axe, and sickle; 13:21yet they
had a file for the mattocks, and for the plowshares, and for the forks,
and for the axes, and to set the goads. 13:22So it came
to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found
in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan: but with
Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. 13:23The
garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
14:1Now it fell on a day, that
Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, Come,
and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on yonder side.
But he didn't tell his father. 14:2Saul abode in the uttermost part
of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people
who were with him were about six hundred men; 14:3and Ahijah,
the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli,
the priest of Yahweh in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. The people didn't know
that Jonathan was gone. 14:4Between the passes, by which
Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky
crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the name of
the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 14:5The one
crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south
in front of Geba. 14:6Jonathan said to the young man
who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these
uncircumcised: it may be that Yahweh will work for us; for there is no
restraint to Yahweh to save by many or by few. 14:7His armor
bearer said to him, Do all that is in your heart: turn you, behold, I am
with you according to your heart. 14:8Then said
Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will disclose
ourselves to them. 14:9If they say thus to us, Wait
until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not
go up to them. 14:10But if they say thus, Come up to
us; then we will go up; for Yahweh has delivered them into our hand: and
this shall be the sign to us. 14:11Both of them disclosed
themselves to the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said,
Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid
themselves. 14:12The men of the garrison answered
Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show
you a thing. Jonathan said to his armor bearer, Come up after me; for
Yahweh has delivered them into the hand of Israel. 14:13Jonathan
climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armor bearer after him:
and they fell before Jonathan; and his armor bearer killed them after him.
14:14That first slaughter, which
Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it
were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. 14:15There was
a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the
garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the earth quaked: so
there was an exceeding great trembling. 14:16The
watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude
melted away, and they went here and there. 14:17Then said
Saul to the people who were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from
us. When they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not
there. 14:18Saul said to Ahijah, Bring here
the ark of God. For the ark of God was there at that time with the
children of Israel. 14:19It happened, while Saul talked
to the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines
went on and increased: and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw your hand. 14:20Saul and all the people who were
with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold,
every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very
great confusion. 14:21Now the Hebrews who were with
the Philistines as before, and who went up with them into the camp,
from the country round about, even they also turned to be
with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 14:22Likewise all the men of Israel
who had hid themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard
that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the
battle. 14:23So Yahweh saved Israel that day:
and the battle passed over by Beth Aven. 14:24The men of
Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying,
Cursed be the man who eats any food until it be evening, and I be avenged
on my enemies. So none of the people tasted food. 14:25All the
people came into the forest; and there was honey on the ground. 14:26When the people were come to the
forest, behold, the honey dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth;
for the people feared the oath. 14:27But
Jonathan didn't hear when his father charged the people with the oath:
therefore he put forth the end of the rod who was in his hand, and dipped
it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were
enlightened. 14:28Then answered one of the people,
and said, Your father directly charged the people with an oath, saying,
Cursed be the man who eats food this day. The people were faint. 14:29Then said Jonathan, My father
has troubled the land. Please look how my eyes have been enlightened,
because I tasted a little of this honey. 14:30How much
more, if haply the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their
enemies which they found? for now has there been no great slaughter among
the Philistines. 14:31They struck of the Philistines
that day from Michmash to Aijalon. The people were very faint; 14:32and the people flew on the
spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and killed them on the
ground; and the people ate them with the blood. 14:33Then they
told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against Yahweh, in that they eat
with the blood. He said, you have dealt treacherously: roll a great stone
to me this day. 14:34Saul said, Disperse yourselves
among the people, and tell them, Bring me here every man his ox, and every
man his sheep, and kill them here, and eat; and don't sin against Yahweh
in eating with the blood. All the people brought every man his ox with him
that night, and killed them there. 14:35Saul built
an altar to Yahweh: the same was the first altar that he built to Yahweh.
14:36Saul said, Let us go down after
the Philistines by night, and take spoil among them until the morning
light, and let us not leave a man of them. They said, Do whatever seems
good to you. Then said the priest, Let us draw near here to God. 14:37Saul asked counsel of God, Shall
I go down after the Philistines? will you deliver them into the hand of
Israel? But he didn't answer him that day. 14:38Saul said,
Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people; and know and see in which
this sin has been this day. 14:39For, as Yahweh lives, who saves
Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there
was not a man among all the people who answered him. 14:40Then said he to all Israel, Be
you on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. The
people said to Saul, Do what seems good to you. 14:41Therefore
Saul said to Yahweh, the God of Israel, Show the right. Jonathan and Saul
were taken by lot; but the people escaped. 14:42Saul said,
Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. Jonathan was taken. 14:43Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell
me what you have done. Jonathan told him, and said, I did certainly taste
a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand; and, behold, I
must die. 14:44Saul said, God do so and more
also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan. 14:45The people
said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in
Israel? Far from it: as Yahweh lives, there shall not one hair of his head
fall to the ground; for he has worked with God this day. So the people
rescued Jonathan, that he didn't die. 14:46Then Saul
went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their
own place. 14:47Now when Saul had taken the
kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side,
against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and
against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and wherever he
turned himself, he put them to the worse. 14:48He did
valiantly, and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the
hands of those who despoiled them. 14:49Now the
sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of
his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the
name of the younger Michal: 14:50and the name of Saul's wife was
Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the captain of his host was
Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. 14:51Kish was
the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 14:52There was sore war against the
Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any
valiant man, he took him to him.
15:1Samuel said to Saul, Yahweh sent
me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore
listen you to the voice of the words of Yahweh. 15:2Thus says
Yahweh of Armies, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he
set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. 15:3Now go and strike Amalek, and
utterly destroy all that they have, and don't spare them; but kill both
man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. 15:4Saul summoned the people, and
numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand
men of Judah. 15:5Saul came to the city of Amalek,
and laid wait in the valley. 15:6Saul said to the Kenites, Go,
depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with
them; for you shown kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came
up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 15:7Saul struck the Amalekites, from
Havilah as you go to Shur, that is before Egypt. 15:8He took
Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the
people with the edge of the sword. 15:9But Saul
and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen,
and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and wouldn't
utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they
destroyed utterly. 15:10Then came the word of Yahweh to
Samuel, saying, 15:11It grieves me that I have set up
Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not
performed my commandments. Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all
night. 15:12Samuel rose early to meet Saul
in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and,
behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down
to Gilgal. 15:13Samuel came to Saul; and Saul
said to him, Blessed are you by Yahweh: I have performed the commandment
of Yahweh. 15:14Samuel said, What means then
this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I
hear? 15:15Saul said, They have brought
them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and
of the oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; and the rest we have utterly
destroyed. 15:16Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay,
and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me this night. He said to him,
Say on. 15:17Samuel said, "Though you
were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of
Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel; 15:18and Yahweh
sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the
Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.' 15:19Why then didn't you obey the
voice of Yahweh, but flew on the spoil, and did that which was evil in the
sight of Yahweh?" 15:20Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have
obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me,
and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the
Amalekites. 15:21But the people took of the
spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to
Yahweh your God in Gilgal. 15:22Samuel said, Has Yahweh as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of
Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the
fat of rams. 15:23For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have
rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king. 15:24Saul said to Samuel, I have
sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh, and your words,
because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 15:25Now therefore, please pardon my
sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh. 15:26Samuel said to Saul, I will not
return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has
rejected you from being king over Israel. 15:27As Samuel
turned about to go away, Saul laid hold on the skirt of his robe,
and it tore. 15:28Samuel said to him, Yahweh has
torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a
neighbor of yours who is better than you. 15:29Also the
Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he
should repent. 15:30Then he said, I have sinned: yet
honor me now, Please, before the elders of my people, and before Israel,
and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh your God. 15:31So Samuel turned again after
Saul; and Saul worshiped Yahweh. 15:32Then said
Samuel, Bring you here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. Agag came to
him cheerfully. Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 15:33Samuel said, As your sword has
made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.
Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal. 15:34Then Samuel went to Ramah; and
Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 15:35Samuel
came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned
for Saul: and Yahweh grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.
16:1Yahweh said to Samuel, How long
will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over
Israel? fill your horn with oil, and go: I will send you to Jesse the
Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons. 16:2Samuel said, How can I go? if
Saul hear it, he will kill me. Yahweh said, Take a heifer with you, and
say, I am come to sacrifice to Yahweh. 16:3Call Jesse
to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do: and you shall
anoint to me him whom I name to you. 16:4Samuel did
that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city
came to meet him trembling, and said, Come you peaceably? 16:5He said, Peaceably; I am come to
sacrifice to Yahweh: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the
sacrifice. He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the
sacrifice. 16:6It happened, when they had come,
that he looked at Eliab, and said, Surely Yahweh's anointed is before him.
16:7But Yahweh said to Samuel,
"Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I
have rejected him: for Yahweh sees not as man sees; for man looks
at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." 16:8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and
made him pass before Samuel. He said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this. 16:9Then Jesse made Shammah to pass
by. He said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this. 16:10Jesse made
seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, Yahweh has
not chosen these. 16:11Samuel said to Jesse, Are here
all your children? He said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold,
he is keeping the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him; for we
will not sit down until he come here. 16:12He sent,
and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful face, and
goodly to look on. Yahweh said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he. 16:13Then Samuel took the horn of
oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of
Yahweh came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up,
and went to Ramah. 16:14Now the Spirit of Yahweh
departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him. 16:15Saul's servants said to him, See
now, an evil spirit from God troubles you. 16:16Let our
lord now command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who
is a skillful player on the harp: and it shall happen, when the evil
spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall
be well. 16:17Saul said to his servants,
Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me. 16:18Then answered one of the young
men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is
skillful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and
prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Yahweh is with him. 16:19Therefore Saul sent messengers
to Jesse, and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep. 16:20Jesse took a donkey loaded with
bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to
Saul. 16:21David came to Saul, and stood
before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer. 16:22Saul sent to Jesse, saying,
Please let David stand before me; for he has found favor in my sight. 16:23It happened, when the
evil spirit from God was on Saul, that David took the harp, and
played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil
spirit departed from him.
17:1Now the Philistines gathered
together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh,
which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in
Ephesdammim. 17:2Saul and the men of Israel were
gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle
in array against the Philistines. 17:3The
Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the
mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 17:4There went out a champion out of
the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six
cubits and a span. 17:5He had a helmet of brass on his
head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was
five thousand shekels of brass. 17:6He had
brass shin-armor on his legs, and a javelin of brass between his
shoulders. 17:7The staff of his spear was like a
weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of
iron: and his shield-bearer went before him. 17:8He stood
and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why are you come out
to set your battle in array? am I not a Philistine, and you servants to
Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 17:9If he be able to fight with me,
and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him,
and kill him, then shall you be our servants, and serve us. 17:10The Philistine said, I defy the
armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 17:11When Saul and all Israel heard
those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 17:12Now David was the son of that
Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight
sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in
years among men. 17:13The three eldest sons of Jesse
had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons who
went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and
the third Shammah. 17:14David was the youngest; and the
three eldest followed Saul. 17:15Now David went back and forth
from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 17:16The
Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty
days. 17:17Jesse said to David his son,
Take now for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten
loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; 17:18and bring these ten cheeses to
the captain of their thousand, and look how your brothers fare, and take
their pledge. 17:19Now Saul, and they, and all the
men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
17:20David rose up early in the
morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse
had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host
which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle. 17:21Israel and the Philistines put
the battle in array, army against army. 17:22David left
his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army,
and came and greeted his brothers. 17:23As he
talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of
Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke
according to the same words: and David heard them. 17:24All the
men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
17:25The men of Israel said, Have you
seen this man who is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it
shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great
riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free
in Israel. 17:26David spoke to the men who stood
by him, saying, What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine,
and takes away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised
Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 17:27The people answered him after
this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man who kills him. 17:28Eliab his eldest brother heard
when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and
he said, Why are you come down? and with whom have you left those few
sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your
heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle. 17:29David said, What have I now
done? Is there not a cause? 17:30He turned away from him toward
another, and spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him
again after the former manner. 17:31When the
words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and
he sent for him. 17:32David said to Saul, Let no man's
heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this
Philistine. 17:33Saul said to David, You are not
able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a
youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 17:34David said
to Saul, Your servant was keeping his father's sheep; and when there came
a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, 17:35I went out after him, and struck
him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I
caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him. 17:36Your servant struck both the
lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. 17:37David said, Yahweh 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. Saul said to David, Go, and
Yahweh shall be with you. 17:38Saul clad David with his
clothing, and he put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a
coat of mail. 17:39David girded his sword on his
clothing, and he tried to go; for he had not proved it. David said to
Saul, I can't go with these; for I have not proved them. David put them
off him. 17:40He took his staff in his hand,
and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the
shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his
hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 17:41The
Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man who bore the shield
went before him. 17:42When the Philistine looked
about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy,
and withal of a fair face. 17:43The Philistine said to David, Am
I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? The Philistine cursed David by
his gods. 17:44The Philistine said to David,
Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the
animals of the field. 17:45Then said David to the
Philistine, You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
javelin: but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 17:46This day
will Yahweh deliver you into my hand; and I will strike you, and take your
head from off you; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the
Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of
the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 17:47and that all this assembly may
know that Yahweh doesn't save with sword and spear: for the battle is
Yahweh's, and he will give you into our hand. 17:48It
happened, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David,
that David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 17:49David put his hand in his bag,
and took there a stone, and slang it, and struck the Philistine in his
forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to
the earth. 17:50So David prevailed over the
Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and
killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 17:51Then David ran, and stood over
the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath of it,
and killed him, and cut off his head therewith. When the Philistines saw
that their champion was dead, they fled. 17:52The men of
Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until
you come to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines
fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron. 17:53The children of Israel returned
from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 17:54David took the head of the
Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
17:55When Saul saw David go forth
against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner,
whose son is this youth? Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I can't
tell. 17:56The king said, "Inquire
whose son the young man is!"
17:57As David returned from the
slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul
with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 17:58Saul said
to him, Whose son are you, you young man? David answered, I am the son of
your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
18:1It happened, when he had made an
end of speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul
of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 18:2Saul took
him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. 18:3Then Jonathan and David made a
covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 18:4Jonathan
stripped himself of the robe that was on him, and gave it to David, and
his clothing, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his sash. 18:5David went out wherever Saul sent
him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of
war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight
of Saul's servants. 18:6It happened as they came, when
David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came
out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul,
with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of music. 18:7The women sang one to another as
they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten
thousands. 18:8Saul was very angry, and this
saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten
thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he
have more but the kingdom? 18:9Saul eyed David from that day and
forward. 18:10It happened on the next day,
that an evil spirit from God came mightily on Saul, and he prophesied in
the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by
day. Saul had his spear in his hand; 18:11and Saul
cast the spear; for he said, I will strike David even to the wall. David
avoided out of his presence twice. 18:12Saul was
afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, and was departed from Saul.
18:13Therefore Saul removed him from
him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in
before the people. 18:14David behaved himself wisely in
all his ways; and Yahweh was with him. 18:15When Saul
saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him. 18:16But all Israel and Judah loved
David; for he went out and came in before them. 18:17Saul said
to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give you as wife:
only be valiant for me, and fight Yahweh's battles. For Saul said, Don't
let my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him. 18:18David 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? 18:19But it happened at the time when
Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was
given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. 18:20Michal,
Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased
him. 18:21Saul said, I will give her to
him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines
may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David, You shall this day be my
son-in-law a second time. 18:22Saul commanded his servants,
saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has
delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king's
son-in-law. 18:23Saul's servants spoke those
words in the ears of David. David said, Seems it to you a light thing to
be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly
esteemed? 18:24The servants of Saul told him,
saying, On this manner spoke David. 18:25Saul said,
Thus shall you tell David, The king desires no dowry except one hundred
foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now
Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 18:26When his servants told David
these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. The days
were not expired; 18:27and David arose and went, he and
his men, and killed of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought
their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he
might be the king's son-in-law. Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.
18:28Saul saw and knew that Yahweh
was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. 18:29Saul was yet the more afraid of
David; and Saul was David's enemy continually. 18:30Then the
princes of the Philistines went forth: and it happened, as often as they
went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants
of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
19:1Saul spoke to Jonathan his son,
and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's
son, delighted much in David. 19:2Jonathan told David, saying, Saul
my father seeks to kill you: now therefore, please take care of yourself
in the morning, and live in a secret place, and hide yourself: 19:3and I will go out and stand
beside my father in the field where you are, and I will commune with my
father of you; and if I see anything, I will tell you. 19:4Jonathan spoke good of David to
Saul his father, and said to him, Don't let the king sin against his
servant, against David; because he has not sinned against you, and because
his works have been very good toward you: 19:5for he put
his life in his hand, and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great
victory for all Israel: you saw it, and did rejoice; why then will you sin
against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause? 19:6Saul listened to the voice of
Jonathan: and Saul swore, As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.
19:7Jonathan called David, and
Jonathan showed him all those things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and
he was in his presence, as before. 19:8There was
war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and killed
them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him. 19:9An evil spirit from Yahweh was on
Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was
playing with his hand. 19:10Saul sought to strike David even
to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence,
and he struck the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that
night. 19:11Saul sent messengers to David's
house, to watch him, and to kill him in the morning: and Michal, David's
wife, told him, saying, If you don't save your life tonight, tomorrow you
will be slain. 19:12So Michal let David down through
the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 19:13Michal
took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats'
hair at the head of it, and covered it with the clothes. 19:14When Saul sent messengers to
take David, she said, He is sick. 19:15Saul sent
the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I
may kill him. 19:16When the messengers came in,
behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' hair
at the head of it. 19:17Saul said to Michal, Why have
you deceived me thus, and let my enemy go, so that he is escaped? Michal
answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I kill you? 19:18Now David fled, and escaped, and
came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He
and Samuel went and lived in Naioth. 19:19It was
told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 19:20Saul sent messengers to take
David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and
Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came on the
messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 19:21When it
was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Saul
sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 19:22Then went he also to Ramah, and
came to the great well that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are
Samuel and David? One said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah. 19:23He went there to Naioth in
Ramah: and the Spirit of God came on him also, and he went on, and
prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 19:24He also
stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay
down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is
Saul also among the prophets?"
20:1David fled from Naioth in Ramah,
and came and said before Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my
iniquity?" and "What is my sin before your father, that he seeks
my life?"
20:2He said to him, "Far from
it; you shall not die: behold, my father does nothing either great or
small, but that he discloses it to me; and why should my father hide this
thing from me? It is not so."
20:3David swore moreover, and said,
Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes; and he says,
Don't let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as Yahweh
lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.
20:4Then said Jonathan to David,
Whatever your soul desires, I will even do it for you. 20:5David said to Jonathan, Behold,
tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at
meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day
at evening. 20:6If your father miss me at all,
then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem
his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 20:7If he says, 'It is well;' your
servant shall have peace: but if he be angry, then know that evil is
determined by him. 20:8Therefore deal kindly with your
servant; for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with
you: but if there be in me iniquity, kill me yourself; for why should you
bring me to your father? 20:9Jonathan said, Far be it from
you; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to
come on you, then wouldn't I tell you that? 20:10Then said
David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance your father answer you
roughly? 20:11Jonathan said to David, Come,
and let us go out into the field. They went out both of them into the
field. 20:12Jonathan said to David, Yahweh,
the God of Israel, be witness: when I have sounded my father about
this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good
toward David, shall I not then send to you, and disclose it to you? 20:13Yahweh do so to Jonathan, and
more also, should it please my father to do you evil, if I don't disclose
it to you, and send you away, that you may go in peace: and Yahweh be with
you, as he has been with my father. 20:14You shall
not only while yet I live show me the loving kindness of Yahweh, that I
not die; 20:15but also you shall not cut off
your kindness from my house forever; no, not when Yahweh has cut off the
enemies of David everyone from the surface of the earth. 20:16So Jonathan made a covenant with
the house of David, saying, Yahweh will require it at the hand of
David's enemies. 20:17Jonathan caused David to swear
again, for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his
own soul. 20:18Then Jonathan said to him,
Tomorrow is the new moon: and you will be missed, because your seat will
be empty. 20:19When you have stayed three days,
you shall go down quickly, and come to the place where you did hide
yourself when the business was in hand, and shall remain by the stone
Ezel. 20:20I will shoot three arrows on the
side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 20:21Behold, I
will send the boy, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I tell the boy,
Behold, the arrows are on this side of you; take them, and come; for there
is peace to you and no hurt, as Yahweh lives. 20:22But if I
say thus to the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond you; go your way; for
Yahweh has sent you away. 20:23As touching the matter which you
and I have spoken of, behold, Yahweh is between you and me forever. 20:24So David hid himself in the
field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food.
20:25The king sat on his seat, as at
other times, even on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and
Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty. 20:26Nevertheless Saul didn't say
anything that day: for he thought, Something has happened to him. He is
not clean. Surely he is not clean. 20:27It
happened on the next day after the new moon, which was the second
day, that David's place was empty: and Saul said to Jonathan his
son, Why doesn't the son of Jesse come to meat, neither yesterday, nor
today? 20:28Jonathan answered Saul, David
earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: 20:29and he
said, Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city; and my
brother, he has commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found
favor in your eyes, let me get away, I pray you, and see my brothers.
Therefore he is not come to the king's table. 20:30Then
Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of
a perverse rebellious woman, don't I know that you have chosen the son of
Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 20:31For as long as the son of Jesse
lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom.
Therefore now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.
20:32Jonathan answered Saul his
father, and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he
done?"
20:33Saul cast his spear at him to
strike him. By this Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put
David to death. 20:34So Jonathan arose from the table
in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month; for he was
grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 20:35It happened in the morning, that
Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a
little boy with him. 20:36He said to his boy, Run, find
now the arrows which I shoot. As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
20:37When the boy was come to the
place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the boy,
and said, Isn't the arrow beyond you? 20:38Jonathan
cried after the boy, Go fast! Hurry! Don't delay! Jonathan's boy gathered
up the arrows, and came to his master. 20:39But the
boy didn't know anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 20:40Jonathan gave his weapons to his
boy, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city. 20:41As soon as
the boy was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and
fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they
kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 20:42Jonathan said to David, Go in
peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of Yahweh, saying,
Yahweh shall be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed,
forever. He arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
21:1Then came David to Nob to
Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said
to him, Why are you alone, and no man with you? 21:2David said
to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commanded me a business, and has
said to me, Let no man know anything of the business about which I send
you, and what I have commanded you: and I have appointed the young men to
such and such a place. 21:3Now therefore what is under your
hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever there is
present. 21:4The priest answered David, and
said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if
only the young men have kept themselves from women. 21:5David
answered the priest, and said to him, Of a truth women have been kept from
us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men
were holy, though it was but a common journey; how much more then today
shall their vessels be holy? 21:6So the priest gave him holy
bread; for there was no bread there but the show bread, that was
taken from before Yahweh, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken
away. 21:7Now a certain man of the servants
of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg
the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul. 21:8David said to Ahimelech, Isn't
there here under your hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my
sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
21:9The priest said, The sword of
Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it
is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if you will take that, take
it; for there is no other except that here. David said, There is none like
that; give it me. 21:10David arose, and fled that day
for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 21:11The servants of Achish said to
him, "Isn't this David the king of the land? Didn't they sing one to
another about him in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, David
his ten thousands?'" 21:12David laid up these words in his
heart, and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 21:13He changed his behavior before
them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors
of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard. 21:14Then said Achish to his
servants, Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to
me? 21:15Do I lack madmen, that you have
brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow
come into my house?
22:1David therefore departed there,
and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brothers and all his
father's house heard it, they went down there to him. 22:2Everyone who was in distress, and
everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered
themselves to him; and he became captain over them: and there were with
him about four hundred men. 22:3David went there to Mizpeh 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.
22:4He brought them before the king
of Moab: and they lived with him all the while that David was in the
stronghold. 22:5The prophet Gad said to David,
Don't stay in the stronghold; depart, and get you into the land of Judah.
Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth. 22:6Saul heard that David was
discovered, and the men who were with him: now Saul was sitting in Gibeah,
under the tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his
servants were standing about him. 22:7Saul said
to his servants who stood about him, Hear now, you Benjamites; will the
son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards, will he make you
all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, 22:8that all of
you have conspired against me, and there is none who discloses to me when
my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who
is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant
against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 22:9Then
answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, and said, I
saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 22:10He inquired of Yahweh for him,
and gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 22:11Then the king sent to call
Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the
priests who were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. 22:12Saul said, Hear now, you son of
Ahitub. He answered, Here I am, my lord. 22:13Saul said
to him, Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in
that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have inquired of God for
him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 22:14Then Ahimelech answered the
king, and said, Who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who
is the king's son-in-law, and is taken into your council, and is honorable
in your house? 22:15Have I today begun to inquire of
God for him? be it far from me: don't let the king impute anything to his
servant, nor to all the house of my father; for your servant knows nothing
of all this, less or more. 22:16The king said, You shall surely
die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father's house. 22:17The king
said to the guard who stood about him, Turn, and kill the priests of
Yahweh; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that
he fled, and didn't disclose it to me. But the servants of the king
wouldn't put forth their hand to fall on the priests of Yahweh. 22:18The king said to Doeg, Turn you,
and fall on the priests. Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell on the
priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore a linen
ephod. 22:19Nob, the city of the priests,
struck he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and
nursing babies, and oxen and donkeys and sheep, with the edge of the
sword. 22:20One of the sons of Ahimelech,
the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 22:21Abiathar told David that Saul
had slain Yahweh's priests. 22:22David said to Abiathar, I knew
on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell
Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your
father's house. 22:23Abide you with me, don't be
afraid; for he who seeks my life seeks your life: for with me you shall be
in safeguard.
23:1They told David, saying, Behold,
the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing
floors. 23:2Therefore David inquired of
Yahweh, saying, Shall I go and strike these Philistines? Yahweh said to
David, Go, and strike the Philistines, and save Keilah. 23:3David's men said to him, Behold,
we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against
the armies of the Philistines? 23:4Then David inquired of Yahweh yet
again. Yahweh answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will
deliver the Philistines into your hand. 23:5David and
his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away
their cattle, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the
inhabitants of Keilah. 23:6It happened, when Abiathar the
son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod
in his hand. 23:7It was told Saul that David was
come to Keilah. Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand; for he is
shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars. 23:8Saul summoned all the people to
war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 23:9David knew that Saul was devising
mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring here the
ephod. 23:10Then said David, O Yahweh, the
God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to
Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 23:11Will the
men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as your
servant has heard? Yahweh, the God of Israel, I beg you, tell your
servant. Yahweh said, He will come down. 23:12Then said
David, Will the men of Keilah deliver up to me and my men into the hand of
Saul? Yahweh said, They will deliver you up. 23:13Then David
and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah,
and went wherever they could go. It was told Saul that David was escaped
from Keilah; and he gave up going there. 23:14David
abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the
hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God
didn't deliver him into his hand. 23:15David saw
that Saul had come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness
of Ziph in the wood. 23:16Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and
went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 23:17He said to him, Don't be afraid;
for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you; and you shall be king
over Israel, and I shall be next to you; and that also Saul my father
knows. 23:18They two made a covenant before
Yahweh: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. 23:19Then came up the Ziphites to
Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doesn't David hide himself with us in the
strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of
the desert? 23:20Now therefore, O king, come
down, according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part
shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand. 23:21Saul said,
Blessed be you of Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me. 23:22Please go make yet more sure,
and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him
there; for it is told me that he deals very subtly. 23:23See
therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hides
himself, and come you again to me of a certainty, and I will go with you:
and it shall happen, if he be in the land, that I will search him out
among all the thousands of Judah. 23:24They
arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the
wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of the desert. 23:25Saul and his men went to seek
him. They told David: why he came down to the rock, and abode in the
wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued after David in
the wilderness of Maon. 23:26Saul went on this side of the
mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David
made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed
David and his men round about to take them. 23:27But there
came a messenger to Saul, saying, Haste you, and come; for the Philistines
have made a raid on the land. 23:28So Saul returned from pursuing
after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that
place Sela Hammahlekoth. 23:29David went up from there, and
lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.
24:1It happened, when Saul was
returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying,
Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. 24:2Then Saul
took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David
and his men on the rocks of the wild goats. 24:3He came to
the sheep pens by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve
himself. Now David and his men were abiding in the innermost parts of the
cave. 24:4The men of David said to him,
Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, Behold, I will deliver your
enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to
you. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly. 24:5It happened afterward, that
David's heart struck him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. 24:6He said to his men, Yahweh forbid
that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh's anointed, to put forth my
hand against him, seeing he is Yahweh's anointed. 24:7So David
checked his men with these words, and didn't allow them to rise against
Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 24:8David also arose afterward, and
went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. When
Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did
obeisance. 24:9David said to Saul, Why listen
you to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeks your hurt? 24:10Behold, this day your eyes have
seen how that Yahweh had delivered you today into my hand in the cave: and
some bade me kill you; but my eye spared you; and I said, I will
not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Yahweh's anointed. 24:11Moreover, my father, behold,
yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the
skirt of your robe, and didn't kill you, know you and see that there is
neither evil nor disobedience in my hand, and I have not sinned against
you, though you hunt after my life to take it. 24:12Yahweh
judge between me and you, and Yahweh avenge me of you; but my hand shall
not be on you. 24:13As says the proverb of the
ancients, Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness; but my hand shall not
be on you. 24:14After whom is the king of Israel
come out? after whom do you pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 24:15Yahweh therefore be judge, and
give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver
me out of your hand. 24:16It came to pass, when David had
made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this your
voice, my son David? Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 24:17He said to David, You are more
righteous than I; for you have rendered to me good, whereas I have
rendered to you evil. 24:18You have declared this day how
that you have dealt well with me, because when Yahweh had delivered me up
into your hand, you didn't kill me. 24:19For if a
man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may
Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me this day. 24:20Now, behold, I know that you
shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established
in your hand. 24:21Swear now therefore to me by
Yahweh, that you will not cut off my seed after me, and that you will not
destroy my name out of my father's house. 24:22David
swore to Saul. Saul went home; but David and his men got them up to the
stronghold.
25:1Samuel died; and all Israel
gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his
house at Ramah. David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 25:2There was a man in Maon, whose
possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three
thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in
Carmel. 25:3Now the name of the man was
Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good
understanding, and of a beautiful face: but the man was churlish and evil
in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. 25:4David heard
in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 25:5David sent
ten young men, and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to
Nabal, and greet him in my name: 25:6and thus
shall you tell him who lives in prosperity, Peace be to you, and
peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 25:7Now I have heard that you have
shearers: your shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt,
neither was there anything missing to them, all the while they were in
Carmel. 25:8Ask your young men, and they will
tell you: therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes; for we come
in a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants,
and to your son David. 25:9When David's young men came, they
spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and
ceased. 25:10Nabal answered David's servants,
and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many
servants now-a-days who break away every man from his master. 25:11Shall I then take my bread, and
my water, and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to
men who I don't know where they come from? 25:12So David's
young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him
according to all these words. 25:13David said to his men, Gird you
on every man his sword. They girded on every man his sword; and David also
girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men;
and two hundred abode by the baggage. 25:14But one of
the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent
messengers out of the wilderness to Greet our master; and he railed at
them. 25:15But the men were very good to
us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went
with them, when we were in the fields: 25:16they were
a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them
keeping the sheep. 25:17Now therefore know and consider
what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against
all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow that one can't speak to
him. 25:18Then Abigail made haste, and
took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready
dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and one hundred clusters of
raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 25:19She said to her young men, Go on
before me; behold, I come after you. But she didn't tell her husband,
Nabal. 25:20It was so, as she rode on her
donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David
and his men came down toward her; and she met them. 25:21Now David
had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the
wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him: and
he has returned me evil for good. 25:22God do so
to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to
him by the morning light so much as one man-child. 25:23When
Abigail saw David, she hurried, and alighted from her donkey, and fell
before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. 25:24She fell at his feet, and said,
On me, my lord, on me be the iniquity; and please let your handmaid speak
in your ears. Hear the words of your handmaid. 25:25Please
don't let my lord regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his
name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I your
handmaid didn't see the young men of my lord, whom you did send. 25:26Now therefore, my lord, as
Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, seeing Yahweh has withheld you from
blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now
therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as
Nabal. 25:27Now this present which your
servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who
follow my lord. 25:28Please forgive the trespass of
your handmaid: for Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house,
because my lord fights the battles of Yahweh; and evil shall not be found
in you all your days. 25:29Though men be risen up to pursue
you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the
bundle of life with Yahweh your God; and the souls of your enemies, them
shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. 25:30It shall
come to pass, when Yahweh shall have done to my lord according to all the
good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you
prince over Israel, 25:31that this shall be no grief to
you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood
without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When Yahweh shall have
dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid. 25:32David said to Abigail, Blessed
be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me: 25:33and blessed be your discretion,
and blessed be you, that have kept me this day from blood guiltiness, and
from avenging myself with my own hand. 25:34For in
very deed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from
hurting you, except you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there
wouldn't have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one
man-child. 25:35So David received of her hand
that which she had brought him: and he said to her, Go up in peace to your
house; behold, I have listened to your voice, and have accepted your
person. 25:36Abigail came to Nabal; and,
behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and
Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: therefore she
told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. 25:37It happened in the morning, when
the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and
his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 25:38It happened about ten days
after, that Yahweh struck Nabal, so that he died. 25:39When David
heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Yahweh, who has pleaded the
cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant
from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal has Yahweh returned on his own
head. David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him as wife.
25:40When the servants of David were
come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to
you, to take you to him as wife. 25:41She arose,
and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, your
handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 25:42Abigail hurried, and arose, and
rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went
after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 25:43David also
took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives. 25:44Now Saul had given Michal his
daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
26:1The Ziphites came to Saul to
Gibeah, saying, Doesn't David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which
is before the desert? 26:2Then 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. 26:3Saul
encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way.
But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him
into the wilderness. 26:4David therefore sent out spies,
and understood that Saul was come of a certainty. 26:5David
arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the
place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host:
and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped
round about him. 26:6Then answered David and said to
Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab,
saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? Abishai said, I will
go down with you. 26:7So David and Abishai came to the
people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the
wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the
people lay round about him. 26:8Then said Abishai to David, God
has delivered up your enemy into your hand this day: now therefore please
let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will
not strike him the second time. 26:9David said
to Abishai, Don't destroy him; for who can put forth his hand against
Yahweh's anointed, and be guiltless? 26:10David
said, As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will strike him; or his day shall come to
die; or he shall go down into battle and perish. 26:11Yahweh
forbid that I should put forth my hand against Yahweh's anointed: but now
please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let
us go. 26:12So David took the spear and the
jar of water from Saul's head; and they got them away: and no man saw it,
nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a
deep sleep from Yahweh was fallen on them. 26:13Then David
went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar
off; a great space being between them; 26:14and David
cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Don't you
answer, Abner? Then Abner answered, Who are you who cries to the king? 26:15David said to Abner, Aren't you
a valiant man? and who is like you in Israel? why then have you not
kept watch over your lord, the king? for there came one of the people in
to destroy the king your lord. 26:16This thing
isn't good that you have done. As Yahweh lives, you are worthy to die,
because you have not kept watch over your lord, Yahweh's anointed. Now see
where the king's spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head. 26:17Saul knew David's voice, and
said, Is this your voice, my son David? David said, It is my voice, my
lord, O king. 26:18He said, Why does my lord pursue
after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? 26:19Now therefore, please let my
lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Yahweh that has
stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the
children of men, cursed be they before Yahweh: for they have driven me out
this day that I shouldn't cling to Yahweh's inheritance, saying, Go, serve
other gods. 26:20Now therefore, don't let my
blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Yahweh: for the king of
Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one does hunt a partridge in
the mountains. 26:21Then said Saul, I have sinned:
return, my son David; for I will no more do you harm, because my life was
precious in your eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have
erred exceedingly. 26:22David answered, Behold the
spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and get it. 26:23Yahweh will render to every man
his righteousness and his faithfulness; because Yahweh delivered you into
my hand today, and I wouldn't put forth my hand against Yahweh's anointed.
26:24Behold, as your life was much
set by this day in my eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of
Yahweh, and let him deliver me out of all oppression. 26:25Then Saul said to David, Blessed
be you, my son David: you shall both do mightily, and shall surely
prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
27:1David said in his heart, I shall
now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me
than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will
despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall
I escape out of his hand. 27:2David arose, and passed over, he
and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch,
king of Gath. 27:3David lived with Achish at Gath,
he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two
wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's
wife. 27:4It was told Saul that David was
fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him. 27:5David said
to Achish, If now I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a
place in one of the cities in the country, that I may dwell there: for why
should your servant dwell in the royal city with you? 27:6Then Achish gave him Ziklag that
day: why Ziklag pertains to the kings of Judah to this day. 27:7The number of the days that David
lived in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
27:8David and his men went up, and
made a raid on the Geshurites, and the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for
those nations were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as
you go to Shur, even to the land of Egypt. 27:9David
struck the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive, and took away the
sheep, and the oxen, and the donkeys, and the camels, and the clothing;
and he returned, and came to Achish. 27:10Achish
said, Against whom have you made a raid today? David said, Against the
South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against
the South of the Kenites. 27:11David saved neither man nor
woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell of us,
saying, So did David, and so has been his manner all the while he has
lived in the country of the Philistines. 27:12Achish
believed David, saying, He has made his people Israel utterly to abhor
him; therefore he shall be my servant forever.
28:1It happened in those days, that
the Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with
Israel. Achish said to David, Know you assuredly, that you shall go out
with me in the host, you and your men. 28:2David said
to Achish, Therefore you shall know what your servant will do. Achish said
to David, Therefore will I make you keeper of my head for ever. 28:3Now Samuel was dead, and all
Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city.
Saul had put away those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of
the land. 28:4The Philistines gathered
themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem: and Saul gathered
all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. 28:5When Saul
saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled
greatly. 28:6When Saul inquired of Yahweh,
Yahweh didn't answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
28:7Then said Saul to his servants,
Seek me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and
inquire of her. His servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has
a familiar spirit at En-dor. 28:8Saul disguised himself, and put
on other clothing, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the
woman by night: and he said, Please divine to me by the familiar spirit,
and bring me up whoever I shall name to you. 28:9The woman
said to him, Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those
who have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: why then lay
you a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 28:10Saul swore
to her by Yahweh, saying, As Yahweh lives, there shall no punishment
happen to you for this thing. 28:11Then said the woman, Whom shall
I bring up to you? He said, Bring me up Samuel. 28:12When the
woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to
Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? for you are Saul. 28:13The king said to her, Don't be
afraid: for what do you see? The woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up
out of the earth. 28:14He said to her, What form is he
of? She said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a robe. Saul
perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground,
and did obeisance. 28:15Samuel said to Saul, Why have
you disquieted me, to bring me up? Saul answered, I am sore distressed;
for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and
answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have
called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do. 28:16Samuel said, Why then do you ask
of me, seeing Yahweh is departed from you, and is become your adversary?
28:17Yahweh has done to you, as he
spoke by me: and Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given
it to your neighbor, even to David. 28:18Because
you didn't obey the voice of Yahweh, and didn't execute his fierce wrath
on Amalek, therefore has Yahweh done this thing to you this day. 28:19Moreover Yahweh will deliver
Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow shall
you and your sons be with me: Yahweh will deliver the host of Israel also
into the hand of the Philistines. 28:20Then Saul
fell immediately his full length on the earth, and was sore afraid,
because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he
had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. 28:21The woman
came to Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said to him, Behold,
your handmaid has listened to your voice, and I have put my life in my
hand, and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 28:22Now therefore, please listen
also to the voice of your handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread
before you; and eat, that you may have strength, when you go on your way.
28:23But he refused, and said, I will
not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and
he listened to their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat on the
bed. 28:24The woman had a fattened calf in
the house; and she hurried, and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded
it, and did bake unleavened bread of it: 28:25and she
brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate. Then they
rose up, and went away that night.
29:1Now the Philistines gathered
together all their hosts to Aphek: and the Israelites encamped by the
spring which is in Jezreel. 29:2The lords of the Philistines
passed on by hundreds, and by thousands; and David and his men passed on
in the rearward with Achish. 29:3Then said the princes of the
Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? Achish said to the
princes of the Philistines, Isn't this David, the servant of Saul the king
of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years,
and I have found no fault in him since he fell away to me to this
day? 29:4But the princes of the
Philistines were angry with him; and the princes of the Philistines said
to him, Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you
have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the
battle he become an adversary to us: for with what should this
fellow reconcile himself to his lord? should it not be with the
heads of these men? 29:5Is not this David, of whom they
sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, David
his ten thousands? 29:6Then Achish called David, and
said to him, As Yahweh lives, you have been upright, and your going out
and your coming in with me in the host is good in my sight; for I have not
found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day:
nevertheless the lords don't favor you. 29:7Therefore
now return, and go in peace, that you not displease the lords of the
Philistines. 29:8David said to Achish, But what
have I done? and what have you found in your servant so long as I have
been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the
enemies of my lord the king? 29:9Achish answered David, I know
that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the
princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the
battle. 29:10Therefore now rise up early in
the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you; and as
soon as you are up early in the morning, and have light, depart. 29:11So David rose up early, he and
his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the
Philistines. The Philistines went up to Jezreel.
30:1It happened, when David and his
men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a
raid on the South, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it
with fire, 30:2and had taken captive the women
and all who were therein, both small and great: they didn't kill
any, but carried them off, and went their way. 30:3When David
and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their
wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive. 30:4Then David and the people who
were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power
to weep. 30:5David's two wives were taken
captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the
Carmelite. 30:6David was greatly distressed; for
the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was
grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David
strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. 30:7David said
to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Please bring me here the
ephod. Abiathar brought there the ephod to David. 30:8David
inquired of Yahweh, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake
them? He answered him, Pursue; for you shall surely overtake them,
and shall without fail recover all. 30:9So David
went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook
Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 30:10But David
pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were
so faint that they couldn't go over the brook Besor. 30:11They found an Egyptian in the
field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they
gave him water to drink. 30:12They gave him a piece of a cake
of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit
came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three
days and three nights. 30:13David said to him, To whom
belong you? and whence are you? 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. 30:14We made a raid on the South of
the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the South of
Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 30:15David said
to him, Will you bring me down to this troop? He said, Swear to me by God,
that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my
master, and I will bring you down to this troop. 30:16When he
had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground,
eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they
had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of
Judah. 30:17David struck them from the
twilight even to the evening of the next day: and there not a man of them
escaped, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled. 30:18David recovered all that the
Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. 30:19There was nothing lacking to
them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil,
nor anything that they had taken to them: David brought back all. 30:20David took all the flocks and
the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and
said, This is David's spoil. 30:21David came to the two hundred
men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they
had made to abide at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet David,
and to meet the people who were with him: and when David came near to the
people, he greeted them. 30:22Then answered all the wicked men
and base fellows, of those who went with David, and said, Because they
didn't go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we
have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that he may
lead them away, and depart. 30:23Then said David, You shall not
do so, my brothers, with that which Yahweh has given to us, who has
preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
30:24Who will listen to you in this
matter? for as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his
share be who tarries by the baggage: they shall share alike. 30:25It was so from that day forward,
that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. 30:26When David came to Ziklag, he
sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying,
Behold, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh: 30:27To those who were in Bethel, and
to those who were in Ramoth of the South, and to those who were in Jattir,
30:28and to those who were in Aroer,
and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, 30:29and to those who were in Racal,
and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who
were in the cities of the Kenites, 30:30and to
those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Borashan, and to those
who were in Athach, 30:31and to those who were in Hebron,
and to all the places where David himself and his men used to stay.
31:1Now the Philistines fought
against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines,
and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. 31:2The
Philistines followed hard on Saul and on his sons; and the Philistines
killed Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 31:3The battle went sore against
Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by
reason of the archers. 31:4Then said Saul to his armor
bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these
uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor
bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword,
and fell on it. 31:5When his armor bearer saw that
Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died with him. 31:6So Saul died, and his three sons,
and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together. 31:7When the men of Israel who were
on the other side of the valley, and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw
that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they
forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
31:8It happened on the next day, when
the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his
three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 31:9They cut
off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the
Philistines round about, to carry the news to the house of their idols,
and to the people. 31:10They put his armor in the house
of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 31:11When the inhabitants of Jabesh
Gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul,
31:12all the valiant men arose, and
went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from
the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. 31:13They took their bones, and
buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
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