~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ ~~~~~~1~~~~~ Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. Now he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Now that man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there. And the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, and he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had closed her womb. Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her because Yahweh had closed her womb. And so it would happen year after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of Yahweh. And she, bitter of soul, prayed to Yahweh and wept despondently. And she made a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.” Now it happened, as she multiplied her praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before Yahweh. “Do not consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and provocation.” Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” And she said, “Let your servant-woman find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and turned back and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. Now it happened in due time that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.” Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the young boy is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh and stay there forever.” And Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what is good in your eyes. Remain until you have weaned him; only may Yahweh establish His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine and brought him to the house of Yahweh in Shiloh, although the boy was young. Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the young boy to Eli. And she said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to Yahweh. “For this young boy I prayed, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of Him. “So I have also dedicated him to Yahweh; as long as he lives, he is dedicated to Yahweh.” So he worshiped Yahweh there.

~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ ~~~~~~2~~~~~ Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in Yahweh; My horn is exalted in Yahweh; My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I am glad in Your salvation. “There is no one holy like Yahweh; Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. “Do not multiply speaking so very proudly; Let arrogance not come out of your mouth; For Yahweh is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. “The bows of the mighty are shattered, But those who stumble gird on strength. “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes. “Yahweh puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. “Yahweh makes poor and rich; He brings low; He also exalts. “He raises the poor from the dust; He exalts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of glory; For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s, And He set the world on them. “He keeps the feet of His holy ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness, For not by power shall a man prevail. “Those who contend with Yahweh will be dismayed; Against them He will thunder in the heavens; Yahweh will render justice to the ends of the earth, And He will give strength to His king, And He will exalt the horn of His anointed.” Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the young boy ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were vile men; they did not know Yahweh. And this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. Thus they would do in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” Then the man would say to him, “They must surely offer up the fat in smoke first, and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would say, “No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men spurned the offering of Yahweh. Now Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a young boy girded with a linen ephod. And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to Yahweh.” And they went to their own home. Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh. Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? “No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the people of Yahweh passing about. “If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for Yahweh desired to put them to death. Now the young boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men. Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house? ‘And did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ‘Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My habitation, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now Yahweh declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be cursed. ‘Behold, the days are coming, and I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. ‘And you will look upon the distress of My habitation, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house all the days. ‘Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will be put to death in the prime of life. ‘Now this will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will be put to death. ‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before My anointed always. ‘And it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ ~~~~~~3~~~~~ Now the young boy Samuel was ministering to Yahweh before Eli. And word from Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were infrequent. And it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to fade, and he could not see well), and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God was, that Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down. Then Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call, my son; go back, lie down.” Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him. So Yahweh called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that Yahweh was calling the young boy. And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then Yahweh came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your slave is listening.” And Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. “In that day I will establish against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. “And I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew because his sons have been bringing a curse on themselves, but he did not rebuke them. “Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.” Thus Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. So all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh. And Yahweh appeared again at Shiloh, because Yahweh revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.

~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ ~~~~~~4~~~~~ Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped in Aphek. And the Philistines arranged themselves to meet Israel. Then the battle spread, and Israel was defeated before the Philistines who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield. Then the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And it happened that as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth was thrown into confusion. Then the Philistines heard the noise of the shout and said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. “Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. “Be strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, become men and fight.” So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his robes torn and dust on his head. And he came, and behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. Then Eli heard the noise of the outcry, and he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” So the man came hurriedly and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had set so that he could not see. And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?” Then the one who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” And it happened that when he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for the man was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years. Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child and about to give birth. And she heard the report that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, so she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ ~~~~~~5~~~~~ Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. Then the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But they arose early the next morning, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. Now the hand of Yahweh was glorious against the Ashdodites, and He made them desolate and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. Thus the men of Ashdod saw that it was so and said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. Now it happened after they had brought it around, that the hand of Yahweh was against the city with very great confusion; and He struck the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to put us and our people to death.” They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not put us and our people to death.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very glorious there. Now the men who did not die were struck with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ ~~~~~~6~~~~~ Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the fields of the Philistines seven months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Make us know how we shall send it to its place.” So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but you shall surely return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not turned away from you.” Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords. “So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that bring the land to ruin, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His hand from you, your gods, and your land. “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had abused them, did they not allow the people to go, and they went? “So now, take and make a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. “And take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. “See, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that smote us; it happened to us by chance.” Then the men did so and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. And they put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, as well as the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh. Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there, and a large stone was there; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Yahweh. So the five lords of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron that day. Now these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages. The large stone on which they set the ark of Yahweh is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. Then He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?” So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh; come down and take it up to you.”

~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ ~~~~~~7~~~~~ And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and brought the ark of Yahweh up and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill and set apart Eleazar his son as holy in order to keep the ark of Yahweh. Now it happened from the day when the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh. Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and set your hearts toward Yahweh and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh alone. Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.” And they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah. Then the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah. And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. Then the sons of Israel heard it and were afraid of the Philistines. So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to Yahweh our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh; and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and Yahweh answered him. Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But Yahweh thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were defeated before Israel. So the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. Thus Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. But his return would be to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to Yahweh.
		
~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ ~~~~~~8~~~~~ And it happened when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after greedy gain and took bribes and caused justice to turn aside. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was evil in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to Yahweh. Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. “Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. “So now, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly testify to them and tell them of the custom of the king who will reign over them.” So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who had asked of him a king. And he said, “This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. “And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. “He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. “He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. “He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. “He will also take your male slaves and your female slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. “He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you in that day.” Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” So Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of Yahweh. Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ ~~~~~~9~~~~~ Now 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. Now he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now with you one of the young men, and arise, go search for the donkeys.” Thus he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. They came to the land of Zuph. And Saul said to his young man who was with him, “Come, and let us return, lest my father cease to be concerned about the donkeys and become anxious for us.” But he said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have gone.” Then Saul said to his young man, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” And the young man answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.” (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer.) Then Saul said to his young man, “Your word is good; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. As they were going up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” And they answered them and said, “He is! Behold, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. “As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. So now, go up for you will find him at once.” So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out to meet them to go up to the high place. Now a day before Saul’s coming, Yahweh had revealed this in Samuel’s hearing, saying, “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people because their cry has come to Me.” Now Samuel saw Saul, and Yahweh answered him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall restrict My people.” Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your heart. “As for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your heart on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” And Saul answered and said, “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 do you speak to me in this way?” Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the chamber and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’” Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. Then they came down from the high place into the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. And they arose early; and at the breaking of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the young man that he might pass before us and pass onwards, but you remain standing now, that I may cause you to hear the word of God.”

~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ ~~~~~~10~~~~~ Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him, and said, “Has not Yahweh anointed you a ruler over His inheritance? “When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to search for have been found. Now behold, your father has ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ “Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread. And you will take them from their hand. “Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and they will be prophesying. “Then the Spirit of Yahweh will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. “Now it will be when these signs come to you, do for yourself whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. “And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and make you know what you should do.” Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. And they came to the hill there, and behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. Now it happened that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, so the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” And a man there answered and said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” Then he finished prophesying and came to the high place. Now Saul’s uncle said to him and his young man, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys. And we saw that they were not anywhere, so we went to Samuel.” And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had said. Then Samuel called the people together to Yahweh at Mizpah; and he said to the sons of Israel, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ “But you have today rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ So now, take your stand before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.” Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but they looked for him, and he could not be found. Therefore they inquired further of Yahweh, “Has the man come here yet?” So Yahweh said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.” So they ran and took him from there, and he stood among the people. And he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!” Then Samuel spoke with the people about the legal judgments of the kingdom and wrote them in the book and placed it before Yahweh. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. Saul also went to his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. But certain vile men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and did not bring him any present. But he kept silent.

~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ ~~~~~~11~~~~~ And Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Cut a covenant with us, and we will serve you.” But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will cut it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel.” Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept. Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he burned with anger exceedingly. Then he took a pair of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of Yahweh fell on the people, and they came out as one man. And he numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have salvation.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good in your eyes.” Then the next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today Yahweh has accomplished salvation in Israel.” Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before Yahweh in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before Yahweh; and there Saul and all the men of Israel were exceedingly glad.

~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ ~~~~~~12~~~~~ Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I have appointed a king over you. “So now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and behold, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. “Here I am; bear witness against me before Yahweh and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” And they said, “You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” So he said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.” Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. “So now, take your stand, that I may judge you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh which He did for you and your fathers. “When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to Yahweh, then Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. “But they forgot Yahweh their God, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. “And they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ “Then Yahweh sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. “But you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although Yahweh your God was your king. “So now, behold, the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, Yahweh has set a king over you. “If you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God. “But if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the command of Yahweh, then the hand of Yahweh will be against you, as it was against your fathers. “Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which Yahweh will do before your eyes. “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to Yahweh, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the eyes of Yahweh by asking for yourselves a king.” So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel. Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart. “And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after meaningless things which cannot profit and cannot deliver, because they are meaningless. “For Yahweh will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because Yahweh has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and upright way. “Only fear Yahweh and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for see what great things He has done for you. “But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.”

~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ ~~~~~~13~~~~~ Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty-two years over Israel. And Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent. And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” Then all Israel heard the news that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned to Saul at Gilgal. Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven. Now the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were hard-pressed). Then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in cliffs, in cellars, and in pits. Also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. So he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring near to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. And as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Yahweh.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, for now Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. “But now your kingdom shall not endure. Yahweh has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as ruler over His people because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you.” Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. Now Saul and his son Jonathan and the people who were present with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines camped at Michmash. And the raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, and another company turned to the way of Beth-horon, and another company turned to the way of the border which overlooks the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his goad. And the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the goad. So it happened on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ ~~~~~~14~~~~~ Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. And Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about six hundred men, and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. Now between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba. Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps Yahweh will work for us, for Yahweh is not restrained to save by many or by few.” And his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your heart.” Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. “If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. “But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for Yahweh has given them into our hands; and this shall be the sign to us.” So both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, “Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” So the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will make you know something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for Yahweh has given them into the hands of Israel.” Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land. And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling. Then Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there. So Saul said to the people who were with him, “Number now and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. And it happened that while Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Now all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, and they pursued them closely in the battle. So Yahweh saved Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven. Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day. And Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. Now all the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. So the people entered the forest, and behold, there was a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the sworn oath. But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under a sworn oath; therefore, he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. Then one of the people answered and said, “Your father strictly put the people under a sworn oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’” And the people were weary. Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. “How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.” Then they struck among the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very weary. So the people rushed greedily upon the spoil, and they took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood. Then they told Saul, saying, “Behold, the people are sinning against Yahweh by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have acted treacherously; roll a great stone to me today.” And Saul said, “Scatter yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against Yahweh by eating with the blood.’” So all the people that night brought each one his ox with him and slaughtered it there. And Saul built an altar to Yahweh; it was the first altar that he built to Yahweh. Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good in your eyes.” So the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” And Saul asked of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him on that day. And Saul said, “Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see how this sin has happened today. “For as Yahweh lives, who saves Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not one of all the people answered him. Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good in your eyes.” Therefore, Saul said to Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. And Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken. Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him and said, “I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I must die!” And Saul said, “May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.” But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, who has brought about this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people redeemed Jonathan, and he did not die. Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place. Now Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, and he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. And he acted valiantly and struck down the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger Michal. And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and Saul would see any mighty man or any man of valor and would gather him to his staff.

~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ ~~~~~~15~~~~~ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; so now, obey the voice of the words of Yahweh. “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” Then Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. And Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; you showed lovingkindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. So Saul struck the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he seized Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and they were not willing to devote them to destruction; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not established My words.” And Samuel became angry and cried out to Yahweh all night. Then Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of Yahweh! I have established the word of Yahweh.” But Samuel said, “What then is this sound of the sheep in my ears and the sound of the oxen which I am hearing?” And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; but the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what Yahweh spoke to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!” And Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Yahweh anointed you king over Israel, and Yahweh sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ “Why then did you not obey the voice of Yahweh, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh?” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of Yahweh and went on the way on which Yahweh sent me and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek and have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. “But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal.” And Samuel said, “Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, He has also rejected you from being king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed trespassed against the command of Yahweh and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. “So now, please forgive my sin and return with me, that I may worship Yahweh.” But Samuel 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.” Then Samuel turned to go, but Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. “Also the Eternal One of Israel will not lie or have regret; for He is not a man that He should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship Yahweh your God.” So Samuel returned, following after Saul, and Saul worshiped Yahweh. Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag near to me, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him in chains. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death has departed.” But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before Yahweh at Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. So Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel grieved over Saul. And Yahweh regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ ~~~~~~16~~~~~ Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul? 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 see among his sons a king for Me.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear of it and will kill me.” Then Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’ “And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make you know what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I say to you.” So Samuel did what Yahweh said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “Do you come in peace?” And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Set yourselves apart as holy and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also set apart Jesse and his sons as holy and invited them to the sacrifice. Now it happened, when they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed of Yahweh is before Him.” But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.” Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the young men?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is shepherding the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not turn around until he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him. Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. “Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” Then one of the young men answered and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and man of fine form; and Yahweh is with him.” So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a wineskin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son. Then David came to Saul and stood before him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” Thus it happened that whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ ~~~~~~17~~~~~ Now the Philistines gathered their camps for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines. Now the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, and the weight of that scale-armor was five thousand shekels of bronze. He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him. And he stood and called out to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Philistine and you slaves of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. “If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you shall become our slaves and serve us.” Again the Philistine said, “I openly reproach the battle lines of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. And the three older sons of Jesse had gone. They had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. But David was the youngest. Now the three oldest had gone after Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem. Then the Philistine approached, morning and evening, for forty days and took his stand. Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. “You shall also bring these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back a token from them. “And Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.” So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and carried the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the military force was going out in battle lines shouting the war cry. And Israel and the Philistines arranged themselves in battle lines, battle line against battle line. Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. Now all the men of Israel saw the man, and they fled from him and were greatly afraid. And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to reproach Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who strikes him down with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should reproach the battle lines of the living God?” And the people spoke to him in accord with this word, saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.” Then Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your arrogance and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down in order to see the battle.” But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a word?” Then he turned away from him to another and said the same word; and the people responded to him with the same word as before. Then the words which David spoke were heard. And they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, and I would go out after it and strike it and rescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death. “Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has reproached the battle lines of the living God.” And David said, “Yahweh, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may Yahweh be with you.” Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. And the Philistine looked and saw David. And he despised him; for he was but a youth and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have reproached. “This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.” Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David sent his hand down into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and put him to death; but there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and put him to death and cut off his head with it. Then the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, so they fled. But the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay fallen along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. Then the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps. And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent. Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ ~~~~~~18~~~~~ Now it happened when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan cut a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even his sword and his bow and his belt. So David went out wherever Saul sent him and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of Saul’s servants. And it happened as they were coming, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with gladness, and with musical instruments. And the women sang as they were merry and said, “Saul has struck his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul became very angry, for this saying was displeasing in his eyes; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on. Now it happened on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house. Now David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand. Then Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, for Yahweh was with him but had turned away from Saul. Therefore Saul turned him away from his presence and appointed him as his commander of one thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David was prospering in all his ways, and Yahweh was with him. Then Saul saw that he was prospering greatly, so he dreaded him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be a man of valor for me and fight Yahweh’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” So 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 a wife. And Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. So they told Saul, and the thing was right in his eyes. And Saul said, “I will give her to him that she may become a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time you may be my son-in-law today.” Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David secretly, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; so now, become the king’s son-in-law.’” So Saul’s servants spoke these words in David’s hearing. But David said, “Is it trivial in your eyes to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?” And the servants of Saul told to him according to these words which David spoke. Saul then said, “Thus you shall say to David, ‘The king does not desire any dowry except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. Then his servants told David these words, and it was right in the eyes of David to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the days had expired, David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. Then Saul saw and knew that Yahweh was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, so Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually. Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more insightfully than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.

~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ ~~~~~~19~~~~~ Then Saul spoke with Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. So now, please be careful in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. “And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; what I perceive, I will tell you.” Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his works have been very good for you. “For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and were glad. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.” Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly. Then there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great slaughter, so that they fled before him. Now there was an evil spirit from Yahweh on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not make an escape for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. Then Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but she said, “He is sick.” So Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death.” The messengers came, and behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’” Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. And it was told to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them. And the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. This was told to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” So he went there, to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ ~~~~~~20~~~~~ Then Saul spoke with Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. So now, please be careful in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. “And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; what I perceive, I will tell you.” Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his works have been very good for you. “For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and were glad. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.” Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly. Then there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great slaughter, so that they fled before him. Now there was an evil spirit from Yahweh on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not make an escape for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. Then Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but she said, “He is sick.” So Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death.” The messengers came, and behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’” Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. And it was told to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them. And the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. This was told to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” So he went there, to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ ~~~~~~21~~~~~ Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me with a matter and has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commanded you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ “So now, what do you have on hand? Give five loaves of bread into my hand, or whatever can be found.” And the priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” And David answered the priest and said to him, “Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels be holy?” So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before Yahweh, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away. Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds. And David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there not a spear or a sword on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons in my hand because the king’s matter was urgent.” Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.” Then David arose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying, ‘Saul has struck his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” And David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. So he disguised his sanity in their sight and acted insanely in their hands and scribbled on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? “Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman before me? Shall this one come into my house?”

~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ ~~~~~~22~~~~~ So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it and went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul, gathered to him; and he became a commander over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the fortress. And the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the fortress; go, and enter into the land of Judah.” So David went and entered into the forest of Hereth. Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. And Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? “For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who reveals in my ear when my son cuts a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or reveals in my ear that my son has caused my servant to rise up against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. “And he asked of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have asked of God on his behalf, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?” Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? “Did I just begin to ask of God on his behalf today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing small or great of this whole affair.” But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” And the king said to the guards who were standing by him, “Turn around and put the priests of Yahweh to death because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it in my ears.” But the servants of the king were not willing to send forth their hands to fall upon the priests of Yahweh. Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he put to death that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. So he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and nursing babies; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword. But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. It is I who have turned against every person in your father’s household. “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ ~~~~~~23~~~~~ So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it and went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul, gathered to him; and he became a commander over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the fortress. And the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the fortress; go, and enter into the land of Judah.” So David went and entered into the forest of Hereth. Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. And Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? “For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who reveals in my ear when my son cuts a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or reveals in my ear that my son has caused my servant to rise up against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. “And he asked of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have asked of God on his behalf, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?” Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? “Did I just begin to ask of God on his behalf today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing small or great of this whole affair.” But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” And the king said to the guards who were standing by him, “Turn around and put the priests of Yahweh to death because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it in my ears.” But the servants of the king were not willing to send forth their hands to fall upon the priests of Yahweh. Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he put to death that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. So he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and nursing babies; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword. But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. It is I who have turned against every person in your father’s household. “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ ~~~~~~24~~~~~ So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it and went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul, gathered to him; and he became a commander over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the fortress. And the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the fortress; go, and enter into the land of Judah.” So David went and entered into the forest of Hereth. Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. And Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? “For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who reveals in my ear when my son cuts a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or reveals in my ear that my son has caused my servant to rise up against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. “And he asked of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have asked of God on his behalf, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?” Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? “Did I just begin to ask of God on his behalf today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing small or great of this whole affair.” But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” And the king said to the guards who were standing by him, “Turn around and put the priests of Yahweh to death because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it in my ears.” But the servants of the king were not willing to send forth their hands to fall upon the priests of Yahweh. Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he put to death that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. So he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and nursing babies; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword. But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. It is I who have turned against every person in your father’s household. “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ ~~~~~~25~~~~~ So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it and went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul, gathered to him; and he became a commander over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the fortress. And the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the fortress; go, and enter into the land of Judah.” So David went and entered into the forest of Hereth. Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. And Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? “For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who reveals in my ear when my son cuts a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or reveals in my ear that my son has caused my servant to rise up against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. “And he asked of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have asked of God on his behalf, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?” Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? “Did I just begin to ask of God on his behalf today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing small or great of this whole affair.” But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” And the king said to the guards who were standing by him, “Turn around and put the priests of Yahweh to death because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it in my ears.” But the servants of the king were not willing to send forth their hands to fall upon the priests of Yahweh. Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he put to death that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. So he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and nursing babies; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword. But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. It is I who have turned against every person in your father’s household. “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ ~~~~~~26~~~~~ So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it and went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul, gathered to him; and he became a commander over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the fortress. And the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the fortress; go, and enter into the land of Judah.” So David went and entered into the forest of Hereth. Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. And Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? “For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who reveals in my ear when my son cuts a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or reveals in my ear that my son has caused my servant to rise up against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. “And he asked of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have asked of God on his behalf, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?” Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? “Did I just begin to ask of God on his behalf today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing small or great of this whole affair.” But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” And the king said to the guards who were standing by him, “Turn around and put the priests of Yahweh to death because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it in my ears.” But the servants of the king were not willing to send forth their hands to fall upon the priests of Yahweh. Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he put to death that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. So he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and nursing babies; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword. But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. It is I who have turned against every person in your father’s household. “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”
		
~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ ~~~~~~27~~~~~ So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it and went down there to him. Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter of soul, gathered to him; and he became a commander over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him. And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the fortress. And the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the fortress; go, and enter into the land of Judah.” So David went and entered into the forest of Hereth. Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. And Saul said to his servants who were standing around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? “For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who reveals in my ear when my son cuts a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or reveals in my ear that my son has caused my servant to rise up against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by the servants of Saul, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. “And he asked of Yahweh for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have asked of God on his behalf, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?” Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? “Did I just begin to ask of God on his behalf today? Far be it from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing small or great of this whole affair.” But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” And the king said to the guards who were standing by him, “Turn around and put the priests of Yahweh to death because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it in my ears.” But the servants of the king were not willing to send forth their hands to fall upon the priests of Yahweh. Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he put to death that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. So he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and nursing babies; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword. But one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. It is I who have turned against every person in your father’s household. “Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.”

~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ ~~~~~~28~~~~~ Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” And David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.” Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists. So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in Gilboa. Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. So Saul asked of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. So Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.” Then Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Divine for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall say to you.” But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, saying, “As Yahweh lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” And the woman saw Samuel and cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being coming up out of the earth.” And he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your adversary? “So Yahweh has done accordingly as He spoke by my hand, for Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. “As you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh and did not execute His burning anger on Amalek, so Yahweh has done this thing to you this day. “Moreover Yahweh will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed Yahweh will give over the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!” Then Saul quickly fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day and all night. And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Behold, your servant-woman has listened to your voice, and I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. “So now also, please listen to the voice of your servant-woman, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.” But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to them. So he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. And the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly sacrificed it; and she took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. And she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.

~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ ~~~~~~29~~~~~ Then the Philistines gathered together all their camps to Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not 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 from the day he deserted to me to this day?” But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men? “Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, ‘Saul has struck his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” Then 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 camp are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. “So now, return and go in peace, that you may not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines.” And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” But Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ “So now, arise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, go.” So David arose early, he and his men, to go in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ ~~~~~~30~~~~~ Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great—they did not put anyone to death—and carried them off and went their way. Then David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. So David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people said to stone him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod near to David. And David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely deliver all.” So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind. Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread, and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a slave of an Amalekite; and my master forsook me when I fell sick three days ago. “We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not put me to death or surrender me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.” So he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Then David struck them down from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David delivered all that the Amalekites had taken and delivered his two wives. Indeed nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. And David took all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.” Then David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also remained at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and greeted them. Then all the evil and vile men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have delivered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us, who has kept us and given into our hand the band that came against us. “And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the portion of the one who goes down to the battle, so shall the portion be of the one who remains by the baggage; they shall be apportioned together.” So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and a judgment for Israel to this day. Then David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh: to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, and 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, and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men went about.”

~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ ~~~~~~31~~~~~ Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire; and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great—they did not put anyone to death—and carried them off and went their way. Then David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. So David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. Now David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people said to stone him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod near to David. And David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely deliver all.” So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind. Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread, and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a slave of an Amalekite; and my master forsook me when I fell sick three days ago. “We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not put me to death or surrender me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.” So he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Then David struck them down from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David delivered all that the Amalekites had taken and delivered his two wives. Indeed nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. And David took all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock, and they said, “This is David’s spoil.” Then David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also remained at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and greeted them. Then all the evil and vile men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have delivered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us, who has kept us and given into our hand the band that came against us. “And who will listen to you in this matter? For as is the portion of the one who goes down to the battle, so shall the portion be of the one who remains by the baggage; they shall be apportioned together.” So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and a judgment for Israel to this day. Then David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of Yahweh: to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, and 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, and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men went about.”

