1 Samuel 1:1-31:13

2He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. 3Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD . 4Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb. 7This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.

8Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

11And she made a vow, saying, “ LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 12As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk

14and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

16Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

17Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

18She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

20So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard by God. saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”

22Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.” Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”

23“Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 24After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls an ephah That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 26and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD . 27I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28So now I give him to the LORD . For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD .” And he worshiped the LORD there.

2“There is no one holy like the LORD ; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

5Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.

6“The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.

7The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.

8He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. “For the foundations of the earth are the LORD ’s; on them he has set the world.

9He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness. “It is not by strength that one prevails;

10those who oppose the LORD will be broken. The Most High will thunder from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Wicked Sons 12Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD . 13Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled 14and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

15But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” 18But Samuel was ministering before the LORD —a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text and asked from the LORD .” Then they would go home.

21And the LORD was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD .

29Why do you The Hebrew is plural. scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’ 30“Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. 31The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, 32and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. 35I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. 36Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.” ’ ”

The LORD Calls Samuel 1The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. 3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

4Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

5And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

6Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

8A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.

9So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 11And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 13For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible and he failed to restrain them.

14Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ ”

16but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 17“What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.”

18So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the LORD ; let him do what is good in his eyes.” 20And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD . 21The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

The Philistines Capture the Ark 1Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 1And Samuel’s word came to all Israel. 5When the ark of the LORD ’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

The Philistines Capture the Ark 1Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 1And Samuel’s word came to all Israel. 5When the ark of the LORD ’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

6Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?” When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid. “A god has Or “Gods have (see Septuagint) come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. 8We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

9Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!” 10So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

14Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?” The man hurried over to Eli,

16He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

17The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 19His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 21She named the boy Ichabod, Ichabod means no glory. saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” 3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD ! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD ! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 6The LORD ’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors. Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate tumors. And rats appeared in their land, and there was death and destruction throughout the city 7When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.”

8So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?” They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel. 9But after they had moved it, the LORD ’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. Or with tumors in the groin (see Septuagint) 11So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it Or he will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. 12Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel 1When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months,

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

3They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.”

4The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.

6Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way? 8Take the ark of the LORD and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 13Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD . 15The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD .

16The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron. 17These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the LORD —one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 3So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

4So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. 5Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the LORD for you.”

6When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD . On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD .” Now Samuel was serving as leader Traditionally judge; also in verse 15 of Israel at Mizpah. 8They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.”

9Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD . He cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him. 10While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.

11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar. 13So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines.

14The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15Samuel continued as Israel’s leader all the days of his life. 16From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the LORD . 2The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba.

3But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

5They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20 us, such as all the other nations have.” 6But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD . 10Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 17He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 19But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 3Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.”

7Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

9(Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.) 12“He is,” they answered. “He’s ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place.

13As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time.”

14They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place. 15Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel:

16“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.”

17When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”

21Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” 22Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number.

24So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, ‘I have invited guests.’ ” And Saul dined with Samuel that day. 26They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. 27As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us”—and the servant did so—“but you stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”

1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over his inheritance? Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate over his people Israel? You will reign over the Lord’s people and save them from the power of their enemies round about. And this will be a sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his inheritance:

2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3“Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine.

4They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them. 6The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

7Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

8“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

Saul Made King 9As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.

11When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

13After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.

14Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?” “Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”

15Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.” 17Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah 18and said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’

22So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.” 23They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others.

25Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD . Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes. 26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 4When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. 6When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger.

11The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. 15So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the LORD . There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

Samuel’s Farewell Speech 1Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. 2Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.

3Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right.”

7Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your ancestors. 9“But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’

11Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Also called Gideon Barak, Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew Bedan Jephthah and Samuel, Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac Samson and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety. 12“But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king. 14If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good!

15But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

17Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king.”

18Then Samuel called on the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. 21Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 24But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”

Samuel Rebukes Saul 1Saul was thirty A few late manuscripts of the Septuagint; Hebrew does not have thirty. years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Acts 13:21); Masoretic Text does not have forty-. two years.

2Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes. 3Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

4So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. 5The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew thirty thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven.

7Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter.

10Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

11“What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 13“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

15Then Samuel left Gilgal Hebrew; Septuagint Gilgal and went his way; the rest of the people went after Saul to meet the army, and they went out of Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.

Israel Without Weapons 16Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts Geba, a variant of Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash.

18another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness. 19Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles Septuagint; Hebrew plow points sharpened. Jonathan Attacks the Philistines 23Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.

1One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men,

3among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD ’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left. 4On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez and the other Seneh.

5One cliff stood to the north toward Mikmash, the other to the south toward Geba.

6Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”

7“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” 8Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us.

10But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.” 11So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”

14In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.

Israel Routs the Philistines 15Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. Or a terrible panic 18Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) Hebrew; Septuagint “Bring the ephod.” (At that time he wore the ephod before the Israelites.) 20Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. 21Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit.

Jonathan Eats Honey 24Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food. 25The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground. 27But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. Or his strength was renewed; similarly in verse 29 29Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey. 32They pounced on the plunder and, taking sheep, cattle and calves, they butchered them on the ground and ate them, together with the blood.

36Saul said, “Let us go down and pursue the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.” “Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied. But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.”

37So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day. 38Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. 41Then Saul prayed to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, Septuagint; Hebrew does not have “Why… at fault. respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared.

42Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.

44Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”

48He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. 50His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul’s army was Abner son of Ner, and Ner was Saul’s uncle. 2This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 4So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.

9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

12Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

15Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” 18And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’

19Why did you not obey the LORD ? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD ?”

22But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the LORD ’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.

25Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD .”

26But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!” 28Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.

29He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

32Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him in chains. The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

33But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the LORD at Gilgal. 35Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel Anoints David 1The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

4Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

5Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD . Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.”

12So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

16Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.”

17So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”

18One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him.”

20So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. 2Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 6on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.

7His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 13Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah.

16For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. 17Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance Or some token; or some pledge of spoils from them. 20Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.

24Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.

25Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”

26David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 29“Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.

33Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

37The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

39David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 41Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 45David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

49Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

50So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

51David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew of a valley and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

54David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.

55As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”

57As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head. 58“Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

Saul’s Growing Fear of David 1After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 8Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?”

9And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. 10The next day an evil Or a harmful spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand

11and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. 13So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him.

17Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the LORD .” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!” 18But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?”

19So Or However, when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah. 20Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 26When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed,

27David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. 28When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David,

29Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. 2and warned him, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there.

3I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I’ll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out.” 4Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly.

6Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.” 11Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” 12So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.

13Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.

17Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?” Michal told him, “He said to me, ‘Let me get away. Why should I kill you?’ ” 20so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came on Saul’s men, and they also prophesied.

22Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Seku. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. 23So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even on him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24He stripped off his garments, and he too prophesied in Samuel’s presence. He lay naked all that day and all that night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan 1Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?”

2“Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”

3But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”

4Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.” 6If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’

8As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD . If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”

11“Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together. 14But show me unfailing kindness like the LORD ’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed,

15and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.” 16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account.”

17And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself. 19The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 21Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the LORD lives, you are safe; there is no danger. 22But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because the LORD has sent you away. 24So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat.

27But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem.

29He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.” 30Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? 32“Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” Jonathan asked his father.

33But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

34Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David. 38Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39(The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.)

40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”

David at Nob 1In Hebrew texts 21:1-15 is numbered 21:2-16. David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” 2David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.

3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

4But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.” 5David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever Or from us in the past few days since I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!”

7Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD ; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd.

8David asked Ahimelek, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s mission was urgent.”

David at Gath 10That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

13So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. 14Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me?

David at Adullam and Mizpah 1David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.

2All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. 3From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”

5But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Saul Kills the Priests of Nob 6Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side.

8Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.” 14Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?

15Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”

16But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.”

17Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.” But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD .

19He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.

David Saves Keilah 1When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,”

2he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 4Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.

Saul Pursues David 7Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 9When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10David said, “ LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me.

11Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will.”

12Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will.”

14David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. 15While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Or he was afraid because Saul had come out to take his life. 16And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.

18The two of them made a covenant before the LORD . Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

20Now, Your Majesty, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for giving him into your hands.” 21Saul replied, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me. 22Go and get more information. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty.

23Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.” 24So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 27a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” 28Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth. Sela Hammahlekoth means rock of parting. 29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi. In Hebrew texts this verse (23:29) is numbered 24:1.

David Spares Saul’s Life 1In Hebrew texts 24:1-22 is numbered 24:22-23. After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.”

2So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 3He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.

4The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said Or “Today the Lord is saying to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD ’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD .”

7With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. 8Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 11See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

13As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you. 14“Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 16When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17“You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.

21Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” 22So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

3His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite. 4While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.

6Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!

8Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’ ”

11Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” 12David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word.

13David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies. 14One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. 15Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. 16Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. 18Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs That is, probably about 60 pounds or about 27 kilograms of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 20As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. 23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. 26And now, my lord, as surely as the LORD your God lives and as you live, since the LORD has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal.

27And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you. 28“Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The LORD your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the LORD ’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. 29Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.

31my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.” 33May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.

34Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”

35Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.” 37Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.

38About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the LORD, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.

40His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.” 41She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with David’s messengers and became his wife. 43David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives. 44But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel Hebrew Palti, a variant of Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

4he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived.

6David then asked Ahimelek the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?” “I’ll go with you,” said Abishai.

8Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.” 9But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD ’s anointed and be guiltless?

11But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD ’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.” 13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them.

14He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Aren’t you going to answer me, Abner?” Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15David said, “You’re a man, aren’t you? And who is like you in Israel? Why didn’t you guard your lord the king? Someone came to destroy your lord the king.

16What you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, you and your men must die, because you did not guard your master, the LORD ’s anointed. Look around you. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were near his head?”

17Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is that your voice, David my son?” David replied, “Yes it is, my lord the king.” 18And he added, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of?

20Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD . The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea—as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.” 22“Here is the king’s spear,” David answered. “Let one of your young men come over and get it.

24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble.” 25Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, David my son; you will do great things and surely triumph.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

David Among the Philistines 1But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” 2So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. 3David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

4When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

7David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months. 8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)

9Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish. 10When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.”

1In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”

2David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.” Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.” 4The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. 5When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

8So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

10Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this.”

15Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.” 16Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has departed from you and become your enemy? 18Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today.

19The LORD will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

20Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night. 21When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do.

23He refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch. 24The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast.

Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag 1The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 4But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men?

5Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances: “ ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” 6So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. 11So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

2and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. 3When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.

6David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. 7Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him,

10Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit. 11They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat—

13David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?” He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago.

15David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?” He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.” 16He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.

20He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”

22But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.” 23David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.

25David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

26When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD ’s enemies.” 27David sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; 29and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; 30to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athak 31and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.

Saul Takes His Life 1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.

4Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.

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

7When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them. 8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.

10They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.