1 Samuel

1 ¶ Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim from the ^ahill country of Ephraim. And his name was ^bElkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an ^cEphrathite.

2 And he had ^dtwo wives. The name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 And this man went up ^eyearly out of his city ^fto worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of armies in ^gShiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

4 Now when the time came that Elkanah ^hsacrificed, he gave portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters.

5 But to Hannah he gave a worthy portion, for he loved Hannah, ⁱthough the LORD had shut up her womb.

6 And her adversary also ^jprovoked her severely in order to make her miserable, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

7 So it was year after year when she went up to the house of the LORD that she provoked her. Therefore, she wept and did not eat.

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

9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat on a seat by a post of the ^ltabernacle of the LORD.

10 ^mAnd she was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

11 Then she ⁿvowed a vow and said, “O LORD of armies, if You will indeed ^olook on the affliction of Your maidservant and ^premember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give to Your maidservant a man child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and ^qno razor will come upon his head.”

12 ¶ Now it came to pass as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth.

13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore, Eli thought she was drunk.

14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you.”

15 And Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have ^rpoured out my soul before the LORD.

16 “Do not count your maidservant for a ^sdaughter of rebellion, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

17 Then Eli answered and said, ^t“Go in peace, and the ^uGod of Israel grant you your petition that you have asked of Him.”

18 And she said, ^v“Let your maidservant find grace in your sight.” So the woman ^wwent her way and ate, and her countenance was no more sad.

19 ¶ Then they rose up in the morning early and worshiped before the LORD. And they returned and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah ^xknew Hannah his wife, and the LORD ^yremembered her.

20 So it came to pass after Hannah had conceived that she gave birth to a son. And she called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”

21 ¶ And the man Elkanah and all his house ^zwent up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow.

22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned, and then I will ^abring him so that he may appear before the LORD and there ^bremain ^cforever.”

23 And ^dElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him. Only let the LORD establish His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24 ¶ Now when she had weaned him, ^eshe took him up with her, with three bulls and one ephah of flour and a bottle of wine. And she brought him to the ^fhouse of the LORD in Shiloh. And the child was young.

25 So they killed a bull and ^gbrought the child to Eli.

26 Then she said, “Oh my lord, as ^hyour soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD.

27 ⁱ“For this child I prayed. And the LORD has given me my petition that I asked of Him.

28 “Therefore, I have also dedicated him to the LORD. As long as he lives he will be dedicated to the LORD.” And he ^jworshiped the LORD there.

1 ¶ And Hannah ^aprayed and said, ^b“My heart rejoices in the LORD. ^cMy horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I ^drejoice in Your salvation.”

2 “There is ^eno one holy as the LORD, for there is ^fno one besides You. Neither is there any ^grock like our God.”

3 “Talk no more so very proudly. ^hDo not let arrogance come out of your mouth. For the LORD is a God of ⁱknowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.”

4 “The ^jbows of the mighty men are broken, and they who stumbled are girded with strength.”

5 “Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread. And those who were hungry ceased. Even the ^kbarren gives birth to seven, and ^lshe who has many children has become feeble.”

6 “The ^mLORD kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up.”

7 “The LORD ⁿmakes poor and makes rich. ^oHe brings low and lifts up.”

8 ^p“He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the beggar from the ash heap in order to ^qset them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the ^rpillars of the earth are the Lord’s and He has set the world upon them.”

9 ^s“He will guard the feet of His saints and the ^twicked will be silent in darkness, for by strength no man will prevail.”

10 “The adversaries of the LORD will be ^ubroken to pieces. ^vFrom heaven He will thunder upon them. ^wThe LORD will judge the ends of the earth, and ^xHe will give ^ystrength to His king, and ^zexalt the horn of His anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

12 ¶ Now the sons of Eli were sons of ^arebellion. ^bThey did not know the LORD.

13 And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.

14 And he thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot. All that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in ^cShiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

15 Also, before they ^dburned the fat, the priest’s servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat to roast for the priest, for he will not have boiled meat from you, but raw.”

16 And if any man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would answer him, “No, but you will give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”

17 Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great ^ebefore the LORD, for men ^fabhorred the offering of the LORD.

18 ¶ ^gBut Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, ^hwearing a linen ephod.

19 Moreover, his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him from year to year when she ⁱcame up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli ^jwould bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “The LORD give you seed of this woman for the loan that is ^kgiven to the LORD.” And they went to their own home.

21 And the LORD ^lvisited Hannah so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel ^mgrew before the LORD.

22 ¶ Now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the ⁿwomen who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the assembly.

23 And he said to them, “Why do you such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.

24 “No, my sons. For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress.

25 “If one man sins against another, the ^oJudge will judge him. But if a man ^psins against the LORD, who will intercede for him? Nevertheless, they did not hearken to the voice of their father, ^qbecause the LORD desired to slay them.”

26 ¶ Now the child Samuel ^rgrew in stature and was in ^sfavor both with the LORD and also with men.

27 And there came a ^tman of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ^u‘Did I plainly appear to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

28 ‘And did I ^vchoose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer on My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And ^wdid I give to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

29 ‘Why do you ^xkick at My sacrifice and at My offering that I have commanded in My ^yhabitation, and honor your sons more than ^zMe, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’

30 “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel says, ^a‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says, ^b‘Far be it from Me, for those who honor Me I will honor and those ^cwho despise Me will be lightly esteemed.’

31 ‘Behold, the ^ddays are coming when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

32 ‘And you will see an enemy in My habitation, in all the wealth that God will give Israel. And there will not be an ^eold man in your house forever.

33 ‘And any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar will be to consume your eyes and to grieve your heart. And all the increase of your house will die in the prime of their life.’

34 ‘And this will be a ^fsign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas. ^gIn one day both of them will die.

35 ‘Then ^hI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to that which is in My heart and in My mind. And ⁱI will build him a sure house and he will walk before ^jMy anointed forever.

36 ^k‘And it will come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread. And he will say, “Please, put me in one of the priests’ offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

1 ¶ Now the ^achild Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the ^bword of the LORD was rare in those days. There was no frequent vision.

2 Now it came to pass at that time when Eli was lying down in his place, and his eyes began to grow dim, that ^che could not see,

3 and before the lamp of God went out in the ^dtabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,

4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am.”

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

6 And the LORD called yet again, “Samuel.” And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he answered, “I did not call, my son. Lie down again.”

7 Now Samuel ^edid not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

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

10 ¶ And the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” Then Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do something in Israel ^gat which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

12 “In that day I will perform against Eli ^hall things that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

13 ⁱ“For I have told him that I will ^jjudge his house forever for the iniquity that he knows, because ^khis sons made themselves vile, and he ^ldid not restrain them.

14 “And therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house ^mwill not be atoned for with sacrifice nor offering forever.”

15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.

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

17 And he said, “What is the thing that the LORD has said to you? Please do not hide it from me. ⁿGod do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.”

18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^o“It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

19 ¶ So Samuel ^pgrew and the ^qLORD was with him. ^rAnd He let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 And all Israel ^sfrom Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the ^tword of the LORD.

1 ¶ And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and camped beside ^aEbenezer. And the Philistines camped in Aphek.

2 And the ^bPhilistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined in battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines. And they slew about four thousand men of the army in the field.

3 And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? ^cLet us bring to us the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh, so that when it comes among us it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent to Shiloh so that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of armies ^dwho dwells between the ^echerubim. And the ^ftwo sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 ¶ Now when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth shook.

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

7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, ^g“Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.

8 “Woe to us! Who will deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. ^hBe strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, ⁱso that you not be servants to the Hebrews as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought and ^jIsrael was smitten. And they fled every man into his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers.

11 And the ^kark of God was taken, and the ^ltwo sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

12 ¶ Then a man of Benjamin ran from the army and ^mcame to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and with ⁿdirt on his head.

13 And when he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his ^oseat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out.

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

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

16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who came out of the army. And I fled today out of the army.” And he said, ^q“How did things go, my son?”

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

18 Now it came to pass when he made mention of the ark of God that he fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate and his neck broke. And he died, for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

19 ¶ And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, ready to be delivered. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.

20 Now about the time of her death the ^rwomen who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she regard it.

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

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

1 ¶ Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it ^afrom Ebenezer to Ashdod.

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

3 Now when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had ^cfallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and ^dset him in his place again.

4 Now when they arose early in the morning the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the ^ehead of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were broken off on the threshold. Only the torso of Dagon was left.

5 Therefore, neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house ^ftread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 ¶ But the ^ghand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod. And He ^hravaged them and smote them with ⁱtumors, even Ashdod and its ^jterritories.

7 Now when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ^kark of the God of Israel will not remain with us, for His hand is harsh on us and on Dagon our god.”

8 Therefore, they sent and gathered all the ^llords of the Philistines to themselves and said, “What will we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to ^mGath.” And they carried the ark of the God of Israel away.

9 So it was that after they had carried it away, the ⁿhand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction. And He smote the men of the city, both small and great. And tumors broke out on them.

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

11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place so that it not slay us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there.

12 And the men who did not die were smitten with the tumors. And the ^ocry of the city went up to heaven.

1 ¶ Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

2 And the Philistines ^acalled for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What will we do to the ark of the LORD? Tell us where we will send it to its place.”

3 And they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it ^bempty; but by all means return it to Him with a ^ctrespass offering. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

4 Then they said, “What will be the trespass offering that we will return to Him?” They answered, ^d“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.

5 “Therefore, you will make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ^eravage the land. And you will ^fgive glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will ^glighten His hand from you and from off ^hyour gods and from your land.

6 “Why then do you harden your hearts ⁱ as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had worked wonderfully among them, ^jdid they not let the people go and they departed?

7 “Now therefore, make a ^knew cart, and take two milk cows ^l that have never been yoked and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home, away from them.

8 “And take the ark of the LORD and lay it on the cart, and ^mput the jewels of gold that you are returning to Him for a trespass offering in a chest by its side. And send it away so that it may go.

9 “And see if it goes up by the way of its own territory to ⁿBeth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then ^owe will know that it is not His hand that smote us. It happened to us by chance.”

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

11 And they laid the ark of the LORD on the cart and the chest with the mice of gold and the images of their tumors.

12 And the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth Shemesh, and went along the ^phighway, lowing as they went. And they did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 And the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their ^qwheat harvest in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark and rejoiced to see it.

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

15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest that was with it, wherein were the jewels of gold. And they put them on the great stone. And the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the LORD.

16 Now when the ^rfive lords of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron the same day.

17 ¶ ^sThese are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to the LORD: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for ^tGath one, for Ekron one;

18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even to the great stone of Abel, on which they set down the ark of the LORD, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.

19 And He ^usmote the men of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. ^vHe smote of the people seventy men. And the people mourned because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

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

21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^xKirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up to you.”

1 ¶ So the men of ^aKirjath Jearim came and fetched the ark of the LORD. And they brought it into the house of ^bAbinadab in the hill and ^csanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

2 ¶ Now it came to pass while the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim that the time was long, for it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel mourned after the LORD.

3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you do ^dreturn to the LORD with all your hearts, then ^eput away the foreign gods and the ^fAshtaroths from among you, and ^gprepare your hearts for the LORD, and ^hserve Him only. And He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

4 Then the children of Israel put away the ⁱBaals and the Ashtaroths, and served the LORD only.

5 And Samuel said, ^j“Gather all Israel to Mizpeh and ^kI will pray to the LORD for you.

6 And they gathered together at Mizpeh, and ^ldrew water and poured it out before the LORD. And they ^mfasted on that day and said there, ⁿ“We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpeh.

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, ^o“Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us so that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”

9 ¶ So Samuel took a ^psucking lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the LORD. And ^qSamuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD heard him.

10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. ^rBut the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines. And He terrified them, and they were smitten before Israel.

11 Then the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh and pursued the Philistines. And they smote them down as far as below Beth Car.

12 Then Samuel ^stook a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen. And he called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

13 ¶ ^tSo the Philistines were subdued, and ^uthey came no more into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 And the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath. And Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 ¶ Now Samuel ^vjudged Israel all the days of his life.

16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

17 Then his return was to Ramah, for his home was there. And there he judged Israel, and there he ^xbuilt an altar to the LORD.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass when Samuel was ^aold that he ^bmade his ^csons judges over Israel.

2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second, Abiah. They were judges in Beersheba.

3 And his sons ^ddid not walk in his ways, but turned aside ^eafter dishonest gain. And they ^ftook bribes and perverted judgment.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah.

5 And they said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^gmake us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

6 ¶ But the thing ^hdispleased Samuel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel ⁱprayed to the LORD.

7 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for ^jthey have not rejected you, but ^kthey have rejected Me that I should not reign over them.

8 “According to all the works that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods, so do they also to you.

9 “Now therefore, hearken to their voice. However, you will solemnly warn them and ^ltell them of the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

10 ¶ So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked of him a king.

11 And he said, ^m“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you. He will take your ⁿsons and appoint them for himself, for his ^ochariots and to be his horsemen. And some will run before his chariots.

12 “And he will ^pappoint for himself captains over thousands and captains over fifties. And he will set them to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.

13 “And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

14 “And ^qhe will take your fields and your vineyards and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

15 “And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants.

16 “And he will take your male servants and your female servants, and your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

17 “He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.

18 “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you will have chosen for yourselves. And the LORD ^rwill not hear you in that day.”

19 ¶ Nevertheless, the people ^srefused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No, but we will have a king over us.

20 “so that we also may be ^tlike all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.

22 Then the LORD said to Samuel, ^u“Hearken to their voice and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

1 ¶ Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^aKish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome young man. And there was not among the children of Israel a more handsome person than he. ^bFrom his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people.

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

4 So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^cShalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shalim, and they were not there. And he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

5 ¶ And when they had come to the land of ^dZuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come and let ^eus return, lest my father cease caring for the donkeys and become anxious for us.”

6 And he said to him, “Behold now, there is in this city ^fa man of God, and he is an honorable man. ^gAll that he says surely comes to pass. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”

7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But behold, if we go, ^hwhat will we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have here at hand one fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God to tell us our way.”

9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man ⁱwent to inquire of God, he spoke thus, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a ^jseer.)

10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said. Come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11 ¶ And as they went up the hill to the city, ^kthey found young maidens going out to draw water. And they said to them, “Is the seer here?”

12 And they answered them and said, “He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he has ^lcome into the city today because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.

13 “As soon as you come into the city, you will surely 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; and afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.”

14 And they went up into the city. When they had come into the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them in order to go up to the high place.

15 ⁿNow the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,

16 “Tomorrow about this time ^oI will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and ^pyou will anoint him to be captain over My people Israel, so that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines. For I have ^qlooked on My people because their cry has come to Me.”

17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, ^r“Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one will reign over My people.”

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

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

20 “And as for ^syour donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they are found. And on whom is ^tall the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”

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

22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall. And he made them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited, which were about thirty persons.

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

24 So the cook took up ^xthe shoulder and that which was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Behold, that which was set aside! Set it before you and eat, for until this time it has been kept for you since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 ¶ And when they came down from the high place into the city, ^ySamuel communed with Saul on the top of the house.

26 Then they arose early. And it came to pass about the dawning of the day that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, “Get up so that I may send you away.” And Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went outside.

27 ¶ And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on before us.” And he went on. “But stand here awhile so that I may show you the word of God.”

1 ¶ Then ^aSamuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head. And ^bhe kissed him and said, “Is it not because the ^cLORD has anointed you to be captain over ^dHis inheritance?

2 “When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by ^eRachel’s sepulchre in the territory of Benjamin at ^fZelzah. And they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found. And behold, your father has left the care of the donkeys and is anxious for ^gyou, saying, “What will I do for my son?”’”

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

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

5 “After that you will come to the hill of God ⁱwhere the garrison of the Philistines is. And it will come to pass when you have come there to the city that you will meet a company of prophets coming down ^jfrom the high place with a harp and a tambourine and a flute and a lyre before them. And ^kthey will be prophesying.

6 “And the ^lSpirit of the LORD will come upon you and ^myou will prophesy with them. And you will be turned into another man.

7 “And let it be, when these ⁿsigns have come to you, that you do as occasion demands, for ^oGod is with you.

8 “Then you will go down before me to ^pGilgal. And behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. You will wait ^qseven days until I come to you and show you what you will do.”

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

10 ^rNow when they came there to the hill, behold, a ^sgroup of prophets met him. And the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied among them.

11 Now it came to pass when all who knew him before saw that he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? ^tIs Saul also among the prophets?”

12 Then a man of the same place answered and said, ^u“But who is their father?” Therefore, it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

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

14 ¶ Then Saul’s ^vuncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we came to Samuel.”

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

16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been ^wfound.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom that Samuel had mentioned.

17 ¶ Then Samuel called the people together ^xto the LORD to ^yMizpeh.

18 And he said to the children of Israel, ^z“Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and from those who oppressed you.’

19 ^a“And you have this day rejected your God, who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations. And you have said to Him, ‘No, but set a king over us.’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.”

20 And when Samuel had ^bcaused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And when they sought him, he could not be found.

22 Therefore, they ^cinquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD answered, “Behold, he has hid himself among the equipment.”

23 So they ran and fetched him from there. And when he stood among the people, ^dhe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^ewhom the LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?” And all the people shouted and said, ^f“Long live the king.”

25 ¶ Then Samuel told the people the ^gordinances of the kingdom. And he wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26 And Saul also went home to ^hGibeah. And there went with him valiant men whose hearts God had touched.

27 But the ⁱchildren of the ^jrebellious ones said, “How will this man save us?” And they despised him, and ^kbrought him no presents. But he held his peace.

1 ¶ Then ^aNahash the Ammonite came up and camped against ^bJabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ^c“Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.”

2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes and thus I will make it a ^dreproach on all Israel.”

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

4 ¶ Then the messengers came to ^eGibeah of Saul and told the news in the ears of the people. And ^fall the people lifted up their voices and wept.

5 And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field. And Saul said, “What troubles the people that they weep?” And they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.

6 ^gAnd the Spirit of God came on Saul when he heard this news. And his anger was greatly aroused.

7 Then he took a yoke of oxen and ^hcut them in pieces. And he sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, ⁱ“Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one accord.

8 Now when he numbered them in ^jBezek, the children ^kof Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000.

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

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

11 And it was so on the next day, that ^lSaul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it came to pass that those who remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

12 ¶ Then the people said to Samuel, ⁿ“Who is he who said, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ ^oBring the men so that we may put them to death.”

13 And Saul said, ^p“There will not a man be put to death this day, for today ^qthe LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel.”

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

15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^sbefore the LORD in Gilgal. And ^tthere they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

1 ¶ Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have hearkened to ^ayour voice in all that you said to me and ^bhave made a king over you.

2 “And now, behold, the king ^cwalks before you. ^dBut I am old and grayheaded. Now behold, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

3 “Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before ^eHis anointed. ^fWhose ox have I taken? Or, whose donkey have I taken? Or, whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or, of whose hand have I received any ^gbribe with which to ^hblind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”

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

5 Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you and His anointed is witness this day, that ^jyou have not found anything ^kin my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”

6 ¶ Then Samuel said to the people, ^l“It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

7 “Now therefore, take your stand so that I may ^mreason with you before the LORD of all the ⁿrighteous acts of the LORD that He did to you and to your fathers.

8 ^o“When Jacob went into Egypt, and your fathers ^pcried out to the LORD, then the LORD ^qsent Moses and Aaron who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

9 “And when they ^rforgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of ^sSisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the ^tPhilistines, and into the hand of the king of ^uMoab. And they fought against them.

10 “Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ^v‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the LORD, and have ^wserved the Baals and the Ashtaroths. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’

11 “So the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and ^xJephthah and ^ySamuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side. And you dwelt in safety.

12 “And when you saw that ^zNahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ^ayou said to me, ‘No, but a king will reign over us,’ although the ^bLORD your God was your King.

13 “Now therefore, ^cbehold the king ^dwhom you have chosen, and whom you have desired! And behold, the ^eLORD has set a king over you.

14 “If you will ^ffear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then will both you, and also the king who reigns over you, continue following the LORD your God.

15 “But if you will ^gnot obey the voice of the LORD, but ^hrebel against the commandment of the LORD, then will the hand of the LORD be against you as it was against your fathers.

16 ¶ “Now therefore, take your ⁱstand and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.

17 “Is it not the ^jwheat harvest today? ^kI will call to the LORD and He will send thunder and ^lrain so that you may perceive and see that ^myour wickedness is great, what you have done in the sight of the LORD in asking for yourselves a king.”

18 So Samuel called to the LORD and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. And ⁿall the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

19 ¶ And all the people said to Samuel, ^o“Pray for your servants to the LORD your God so that we not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask a king for ourselves.”

20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; ^pyet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.

21 “And ^qdo not turn aside, ^rfor then you would go after vain things that cannot profit nor deliver, for they are futile.

22 “For ^sthe LORD will not forsake ^tHis people ^ufor His great name’s sake, because ^vit has pleased the LORD to make you His people.

23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD ^win ceasing to pray for you. But ^xI will teach you the ^ygood and the right way.

24 ^z“Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for ^aconsider what ^bgreat things He has done for you.

25 “But if you will still do wickedly, ^cyou will be consumed, ^dboth you and your king.”

1 ¶ Saul was forty years old when he began to reign. And when he had reigned two years over Israel,

2 Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in ^aMichmash and in the hill country Bethel, and 1,000 were with ^bJonathan in ^cGibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

3 And Jonathan smote the ^dgarrison of the Philistines that was in ^eGeba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.”

4 And all Israel heard that Saul had smitten a ^garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

5 ¶ And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and people ^fas the sand that is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and camped in Michmash, east of ^gBeth Aven.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger, (for the people were distressed), then the people ^hhid themselves in caves and in thickets and in rocks and in high places and in pits.

7 And some of the Hebrews went over the Jordan to the ⁱland of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

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

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

10 Now it came to pass that as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him so that he might salute him.

11 ¶ And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash,

12 “therefore I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me to Gilgal and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.”

13 And Samuel said to Saul, ^k“You have done foolishly. ^lYou have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God that He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

14 ^m“But now your kingdom will not continue. ⁿThe LORD has sought for Himself a man ^oafter His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be captain over His people, because you have ^pnot kept what the LORD commanded you.”

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

Lack of Weapons

16 ¶ And Saul and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines camped in Michmash.

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

18 And another company turned the way to ^sBeth Horon. And another company turned to the way of the border that looks to the valley of ^tZeboim toward the wilderness.

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

20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his plowshare and his mattock and his ax and his hoe.

21 The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and the mattocks and the forks and the axes, and to fix the hoes.

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

23 ^wAnd the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

2 And Saul waited on the outskirts of ^aGibeah under a pomegranate tree that is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about six hundred men.

3 And ^bAhiah, the son of Ahitub, ^cIchabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, was ^dwearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

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

5 The face of the one was situated northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah.

6 ¶ And Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, ^f“Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for there is no restraint to the LORD to ^gsave by many or by few.”

7 And his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your heart.”

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

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

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

11 And both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Behold, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have ⁱhidden themselves.”

12 Then the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armorbearer and said, “Come up to us and we will show you something.” And Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”

13 So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armorbearer after him. And they ^jfell before Jonathan. And his armorbearer put some to death after him.

14 And that first slaughter that Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.

The Philistines Panic

15 ¶ And ^kthere was trembling in the army, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the ^lraiders, they also trembled. And the earth quaked, so that it was a ^mvery great trembling.

16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away. And they ⁿwent here and there.

17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Number and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there.

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

19 Now it came to pass while Saul ^otalked to the priest, that the noise that was in the army of the Philistines went on and increased. And Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

20 And Saul and all the people who were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle. And behold, ^pevery man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was a very great confusion.

21 Moreover, the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

22 Likewise, all the men of Israel ^qwho had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle.

23 ^rSo the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle passed over to ^sBeth Aven.

The People Save Jonathan

24 ¶ And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had ^tplaced the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.

25 ^uNow all the people of the land came to a forest. And there was ^vhoney on the ground.

26 And when the people had come into the forest, behold, the honey dropped. But no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.

27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath. Therefore, he put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth. And his eyes were brightened.

28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats any food this day.’” And the people were faint.

29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found? For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?”

31 ¶ And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint.

32 And the people rushed on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves. And they slew them on the ground, and the people ate them ^wwith the blood.

33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Behold, the people sin against the LORD in that they eat with the blood.” And he said, “You have transgressed. Roll a great stone to me this day.”

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

35 And Saul ^xbuilt an altar to the LORD. The same was the first altar that he built to the LORD.

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

37 And Saul ^yasked counsel of God, “Will I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But ^zHe did not answer him that day.

38 And Saul said, ^a“Bring yourselves over here all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin has been this day.

39 ^b“For as the LORD lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he will surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him.

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

41 Therefore, Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, ^c“Give a perfect lot.” ^dAnd Saul and Jonathan were taken. But the people were cleared.

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

43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^e“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him and said, ^f“I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. So now I must die!”

44 And Saul answered, ^g“God do so and more also. ^hFor you will surely die, Jonathan.”

45 And the people said to Saul, “Will Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great salvation in Israel? Certainly not! ⁱAs the LORD lives, there will not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked ^jwith God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan so that he did not die.

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

47 ¶ So Saul took the kingdom over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab and against the children of ^kAmmon and against Edom and against the kings of ^lZobah and against the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he harassed them.

48 And he gathered an army and ^msmtote the Amalekites. And he delivered Israel out of the hands of those who raided them.

Family of Saul

49 ¶ ⁿNow the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishui and Melchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger ^oMichal.

50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s ^puncle.

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

52 ¶ Now there was fierce war against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, ^rhe recruited him into his service.

1 ¶ Samuel also said to Saul, ^a“The LORD sent me to anoint you to be king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, hearken to the voice of the words of the LORD.

2 “Thus says the LORD of armies: ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, ^bhow he laid in ambush for him in the way when he came up from Egypt.

3 “Now go and ^csmite Amalek and ^dutterly destroy all that they have. And do not spare them. But slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek and laid in ambush in the valley.

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

7 ^hThen Saul smote the Amalekites from ⁱHavilah as you go to ^jShur, that is east of Egypt.

8 ^kAnd he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ^lutterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 But Saul and the people ^mspared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings and the lambs and all that was good, and were not willing to utterly destroy them. But everything that was vile and refuse, that they utterly destroyed.

10 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

11 ⁿ“I regret that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has ^oturned his back from following Me and ^phas not performed My commandments.” And it ^qgrieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to ^rCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself. And he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.”

13 Then Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, ^s“Blessed are you of the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”

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

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

17 ¶ Then Samuel said, ^u“When you were small in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed you king over Israel?

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

19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed on the spoil and did evil in the sight of the LORD?”

20 And Saul said to Samuel, ^v“But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD and have gone the way that the LORD sent me. And I have brought Agag the king of Amalek and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 ^w“But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things that should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

22 Then Samuel said, ^x“Does the LORD have great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, ^yto obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams.

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

24 ¶ ^aThen Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I ^bfeared the people and obeyed their voice.

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

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

27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, ^dhe laid hold on the skirt of his robe, and it tore.

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

29 “And also the Strength of Israel ^fwill not lie nor change His mind, for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

30 Then he said, “I have sinned, but please ^ghonor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me so that I may worship the LORD your God.”

31 So Samuel went back following Saul. And Saul worshiped the LORD.

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

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

34 ¶ Then Samuel went to ⁱRamah, and Saul went up to his house to ^jGibeah of Saul.

35 And ^kSamuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul. And the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

1 ¶ Then the LORD said to Samuel, ^a“How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? ^bFill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to ^cJesse the Bethlehemite, for ^dI have provided for Myself a king among his sons.”

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

3 “Then call Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me the one I name to you.”

4 So Samuel did what the LORD spoke and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town ^ftrembled at his coming and said, ^g“Do you come peaceably?”

5 And he said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. ^hSanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

6 ¶ Now it came to pass when they had come, that he looked on ⁱEliab and ^jsaid, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, ^k“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him. ^lFor the LORD does not see as man sees. For man ^mlooks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the ⁿheart.”

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

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

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

11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the ^osheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^pruddy and with ^qbeautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. ^rAnd the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the ^sSpirit of the LORD came on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

14 ¶ ^tBut the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an ^uevil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubles you.

16 “Let our lord now command your servants that are before you to seek out a man who is a skillful player on a harp. And it will come to pass when the evil spirit from God is upon you, that he will ^vplay with his hand and you will be well.”

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

18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a handsome person. And the ^wLORD is with him.”

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

20 So Jesse ^xtook a donkey loaded with bread and a bottle of wine and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

21 And David came to Saul and ^ystood before him. And he loved him greatly. And he became his armor-bearer.

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

23 Now it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp and played with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

1 ¶ Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle. And they were gathered together at a Shochoh that belongs to Judah. And they camped between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.

2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together. And they camped by the valley of Elah and set in battle array against the Philistines.

3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side. And there was a valley between them.

4 Now there went out a champion of the camp of the Philistines, named ^bGoliath, from ^cGath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

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

6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.

7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. And his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And one bearing a shield went before him.

8 And he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine and you ^dservants to Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

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

10 And the Philistine said, “I ^fdefy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man so that we may fight together.”

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

12 ¶ Now David was the ^gson of that ^hEphrathite of Bethlehem Judah whose name was Jesse who had ⁱeight sons. And the man was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.

13 And the three oldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle. And the ^jnames of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 Now David was the youngest. And the three eldest followed Saul.

15 But David went and returned from Saul to ^kfeed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

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

18 “And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and ^lsee how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.”

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

20 ¶ So David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the supplies and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp as the army was going forth to the fight and shouting for the battle.

21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

22 Then David left his supplies in the hand of the keeper of the supplies, and ran into the army. And he came and saluted his brothers.

23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines. And he spoke ^maccording to the same words. And David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were greatly afraid.

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

26 So David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What will be done to the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^othe reproach from Israel? For who is this ^puncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^qdefy the armies of the ^rliving God?”

27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, ^s“So will it be done to the man who kills him.”

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

29 And David said, “What have I now done? ^uIs there not a cause?”

30 Then he turned from him toward another and ^vspoke after the same manner. And the people answered him again after the former manner.

31 ¶ And when the words were heard that David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul. And he sent for him.

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

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

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant kept his father’s sheep. When a ^zlion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,

35 “then I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him.

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

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

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

39 And David girded his sword on his armor, and he tried to walk, for he had not tested it. And David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off.

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

41 Then the Philistine came and drew near to David. And the man who bore the shield went before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he ^cdisdained him, for he was but a youth, and ^druddy, with a handsome appearance.

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

44 Then the Philistine ^fsaid to David, “Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, ^gBut I come to you in the name of the LORD of armies, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have ^hdefied.

46 “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. And I will smite you and take your head from you. And I will give the ⁱcarcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth so ^jthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 “Then all this assembly will know that the LORD ^kdoes not save with sword and spear, for the ^lbattle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

48 ¶ Now it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ^mran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took from there a stone. And he slung it and smote the Philistine in his forehead so that the stone sunk into his forehead. And he fell on his face to the earth.

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

51 Then David ran and stood on the Philistine. And he took his ^osword and drew it out of its sheath and slew him. Then he cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, ^pthey fled.

52 Then the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted. And they pursued the Philistines until you come to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to ^qShaaraim, even to Gath and to Ekron.

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

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

55 ¶ And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to ^rAbner, the captain of the army, “Abner, ^swhose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I cannot tell.”

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

57 Now as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul ^twith the head of the Philistine in his hand.

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

1 ¶ Now it came to pass when he had finished speaking to Saul, ^athat the soul of Jonathan was joined with the soul of David. And ^bJonathan loved him as his own soul.

2 And Saul took him that day and ^cwould not let him go home to his father’s house.

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

4 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.

5 And David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

6 ¶ Now it came to pass as they were coming, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the ^ewomen came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy and with instruments of music.

7 And the women answered one another as ^fthey played, and said, ^g“Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands.”

8 And Saul was very angry and the saying ^hdispleased him. And he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. And what can he have more but ⁱthe kingdom?”

9 Then Saul looked with suspicion at David from that day forward.

10 ¶ Now it came to pass on the next day that the ^jevil spirit from God came upon Saul, and ^khe raved in the midst of the house. And David ^lplayed with his hand as at other times. ^mAnd there was a javelin in Saul’s hand.

11 Then Saul ⁿcast the javelin, for he said, “I will smite David even to the wall.” And David escaped out of his presence twice.

12 ¶ Now Saul was ^oafraid of David because the ^pLORD was with him, but had ^qdeparted from Saul.

13 Therefore, Saul removed him from his presence and made him his captain over a thousand. And ^rhe went out and came in before the people.

14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways, and the ^sLORD was with him.

15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.

16 But ^tall Israel and Judah loved David because he went out and came in before them.

17 ¶ Then Saul said to David, “Behold my oldest daughter Merab, ^uI will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the ^vLORD’S battles.” For Saul said, ^w“Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

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

19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given to ^yAdriel the ^zMeholathite as a wife.

20 ^aAnd Michal, Saul’s daughter loved David. And they told Saul and the thing pleased him.

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

22 ¶ And Saul commanded his servants, saying, “Speak with David secretly, and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you and all his servants love you. Now therefore, be the king’s son-in-law.’”

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

24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, “In this manner David spoke.”

25 Then Saul said, “Thus you will say to David, ‘The king does not desire any ^ddowry, but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be ^eavenged of the king’s enemies.’” But Saul ^fthought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. And the ^gdays had not expired.

27 Therefore, David arose and went, he and ^hhis men, and slew two hundred men of the Philistines. And ⁱDavid brought their foreskins and they gave them in full count to the king, so that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.

28 ¶ And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul’s daughter loved him.

29 And Saul was still more afraid of David. And Saul became David’s enemy continually.

30 Then the princes of the Philistines ^jwent forth to war. Now it came to pass after they went forth that David ^kbehaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

1 ¶ Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill ^aDavid.

2 But Jonathan Saul’s son ^bdelighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying, “Saul my father is seeking to kill you. Now therefore, please take heed to yourself until the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

3 “And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. And what I see, that I will tell ^cyou.”

4 ¶ And Jonathan ^dspoke good of David to Saul his father. And he said to him, “Do not let the king ^esin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you.

5 “For he took his ^flife in his hand and ^gstruck the Philistine, and the ^hLORD brought about a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Therefore, ⁱwhy will you ^jsin against innocent blood to slay David without a cause?”

6 So Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan. And Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he will not be killed.”

7 Then Jonathan called David and Jonathan showed him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence ^kas in times past.

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

9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was on Saul as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand. And David played with his hand.

10 And Saul sought to pin David even to the wall with the javelin. But he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he drove the javelin into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

11 ⁿSaul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, and to kill him in the morning. And Michal David’s wife told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”

12 So Michal ^olet David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped.

13 Then Michal took an image and laid it in the bed. And she put a pillow of goats’ hair for his head and covered it with a cloth.

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

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

16 And when the messengers came in, behold, there was an image in the bed with a pillow of goats’ hair for his head.

17 And Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me so and sent away my enemy so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! ^pWhy should I kill you?’”

18 ¶ So David fled and escaped. And he came to ^qSamuel to ^rRamah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

19 And it was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

20 Then ^sSaul sent messengers to take David. ^tAnd when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was on the messengers of Saul and they also ^uprophesied.

21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time and they prophesied also.

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

23 And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the ^vSpirit of God was upon him also. And he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 ^wThen he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner. And he lay down ^xnaked all that day and all that night. Therefore, they say, ^y“Is Saul also among the prophets?”

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

2 And he said to him, “Far from it, you will not die. Behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it to me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.”

3 And David vowed again and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes. And he says, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.’ ^aBut truly as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul desires, I will even do it for you.”

5 Then David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the ^bnew moon and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go so that I may ^chide myself in the field until the third day at evening.

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

7 ^e“If he says thus, ‘It is well,’ your servant will have peace. But if he is very angry, then be sure that ^fevil is determined by him.

8 “Therefore, you will ^gdeal kindly with your servant, for ^hyou have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. Nevertheless, ⁱif there is in me iniquity, slay me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

9 Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you. For if I knew for certain that evil were determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell it to you?”

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

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

12 ¶ Then Jonathan said to David, “O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, and behold, if there is good toward David, will I not then send to you and make it known to you?

13 “If it pleases my father to do you harm, may the ^jLORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not make it known to you and send you away so that you may go in peace. And the ^kLORD be with you as He has ^lbeen with my father.

14 “And you will not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, so that I not die.

15 “But also you will not cut off your kindness from my house forever, not even when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ⁿ“Let the LORD require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

17 ¶ And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him. ^oFor he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to David, ^p“Tomorrow is the new moon and you will be missed because your seat will be empty.

19 “And when you have stayed three days, then you will go down quickly and come to ^qthe place where you hid yourself on that eventful day. And you will remain by the stone Ezel.

20 “And I will shoot three arrows on the side as though I shot at a mark.

21 “And behold, I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, for there is peace for you and no harm, ^ras the LORD lives.

22 “But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go your way, for the LORD has sent you away.

23 “And as for ^sthe matter about which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”

24 ¶ So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon had come, the king sat him down to eat food.

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

26 Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has befallen him. He is not clean. Surely he is ^tnot clean.”

27 Now it came to pass on the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, neither yesterday nor today?”

28 And Jonathan ^uanswered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.

29 “And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother, he has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore, he is not coming to the king’s table.”

30 Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan. And he said to him, “You son of the perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

31 “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you will not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he will surely die.”

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

33 And Saul ^wcast a javelin at him in order to smite him. ^xSo Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

35 ¶ Now it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.

36 And he said to his lad, “Run, find now the arrows that I shoot.” And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

37 And when the lad had come to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad, and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”

38 And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry. Do not delay.” And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master.

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

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

41 ¶ And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. And they kissed one another, and wept one with another until David wept more.

42 And Jonathan said to David, ^y“Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD be between me and you and between my seed and your seed forever.’” And he arose and departed. And Jonathan went into the city.

1 ¶ Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And ^aAhimelech was ^bafraid to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no man with you?”

2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me some business and has said to me, ‘Let no man know anything of the business about which I send you and what I have commanded you.’ And I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

3 “Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand or whatever can be found.”

4 Then the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread in my hand, but there is ^challowed bread; ^dif only the young men have kept themselves from women.”

5 And David answered the priest and said to him, “Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days since I came out. And the ^evessels of the young men are holy and the bread is in effect common, even though it was sanctified this day ^fin the vessel.”

6 So the priest ^ggave him ^hhallowed bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread ^hthat was taken from before the LORD in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

7 ¶ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was ⁱDoeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, “And is there not here in your hand a spear or sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king’s business required haste.”

9 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the ^jvalley of Elah, behold, ^kit is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it. Give it to me.”

10 ¶ So David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul. And he went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 And the ^lservants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, ^m‘Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands’?”

12 And David ⁿlaid up these words in his heart, and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13 So ^ohe changed his behavior before them and acted insanely in their hands. And he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Lo, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me?

15 “Have I need of mad men, that you have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? Will this fellow come into my house?”

1 ¶ David therefore departed from there and ^aescaped to the ^bcave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.

2 ^cAnd everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered themselves to him. And he became a captain over them. And there were with him about ^dfour hundred men.

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

4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

5 And the prophet ^fGad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold. Depart, and go into the land of Judah.” Then David departed and came into the forest of Hareth.

6 ¶ Then Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Now Saul remained in ^gGibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand and all his servants were standing around him.

7 Then Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites. Will the son of Jesse ^hgive every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?

8 “All of you have conspired against me. And there is no one who shows me that ⁱmy son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse. And there is not one of you who is sorry for me or shows to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait as it is this day?”

9 ¶ Then ^jDoeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul answered and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to ^kAhimelech the son of ^lAhitub.

10 ^m“And he inquired of the LORD for him, and ⁿgave him provisions. And he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 ¶ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And all of them came to the king.

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

13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him so that he should rise up against me, to lie in wait as it is this day?”

14 Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who is so ^ofaithful among all your servants as David who is the king’s son-in-law, and goes at your bidding and is honorable in your house?

15 “Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant, or to all the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

16 And the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all ^pyour father’s house!”

17 And the king said to the footmen who stood about him, “Turn and slay the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David and because they knew when he fled and did not show it to me.” But the servants of the king ^qwould not put forth their hand to fall on the priests of the LORD.

18 And the king said to Doeg, “Turn and fall on the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and he fell on the priests and ^rkilled on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod.

19 ^sAnd Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings. Also oxen and donkeys and sheep, he struck with the edge of the sword.

20 ¶ ^tAnd one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^uescaped and fled after David.

21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests.

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

23 “Remain with me. Do not fear, ^vfor he who seeks my life seeks your life. But with me you will be in safety.”

1 ¶ Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines fight against ^aKeilah and they are robbing the threshingfloors.”

2 Therefore, David ^binquired of the LORD, saying, “Will I go and smite these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and smite the Philistines and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

4 Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

5 So David and his men ^cfought with the Philistines. And he brought away their livestock, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 ¶ Now it came to pass when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ^dfled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

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

8 So Saul called all the people together to war in order to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 ¶ And David knew that Saul secretly plotted evil against him. So he ^esaid to Abiathar the priest, “Bring here the ephod.”

10 Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah in order ^fto destroy the city for my sake.

11 “Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beg you, tell your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

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

13 Then David and his men, ^gabout six hundred men, arose and departed out of Keilah and went wherever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah. So he stopped the pursuit.

14 ¶ Now David stayed in the wilderness in strongholds and remained in a ^hmountain in the wilderness of ⁱZiph. And Saul ^jsought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

15 And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a forest.

16 And Jonathan Saul’s son arose and went to David into the forest. And he strengthened his hand in God.

17 And he said to him, ^k“Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you. And you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you, and ^lSaul my father knows this also.”

18 So the two made a covenant before the LORD. And David stayed in the forest and Jonathan went to his house.

19 ¶ Then the Ziphites ⁿcame up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Does not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the forest, in the hill of Hachilah which is on the south of Jeshimon?

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

21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compassion on me.

22 “Please go and make sure. And investigate and see his place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told that he is very crafty.

23 “See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it will come to pass if he is in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.”

24 ¶ And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the wilderness ^pof Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

25 Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David. Therefore, he came down into the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard this, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain. ^qAnd David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his men ^rwere surrounding David and his men in order to take them.

27 ¶ ^sBut there came a messenger to Saul, saying, “Hasten and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land.”

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

29 And David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at ^tEngedi.

1 ¶ Now it came to pass ^awhen Saul had returned from following the Philistines that it was told him, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”

2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and ^bwent to seek David and his men on the rocks of the Wild Goats.

3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way where there was a cave. And ^cSaul went in ^dto relieve himself. Now ^eDavid and his men remained in the inner recesses of the cave.

4 ^fThen the men of David said to him, “Behold the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand so that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” Then David arose and secretly cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe.

5 Now it came to pass afterward that ^gDavid’s heart bothered him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.

6 So he said to his men, ^h“The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’S anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, since he is the anointed of the LORD.”

7 So David ⁱrestrained his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way.

8 ¶ David also arose afterward and went out of the cave. And he called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself.

9 And David said to Saul, ^j“Why do you hearken to the men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm?’”

10 “Behold, this day your eyes have seen how that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave. And some urged me to kill you. But I spared you, and I said, ‘I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’S anointed.’”

11 “Now, my father, see. Yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and did not kill you. Know and see that there is ^kneither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you ^lhunt my soul to take it.

12 ^mThe LORD judge between me and you, and the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand will not be against you.

13 “As the proverb of the ancients says, ⁿ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will not be against you.

14 “After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a ^odead dog? After a ^pflea?”

15 ^q“The LORD therefore be judge and judge between me and you, and ^rsee and ^splead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand.”

16 ¶ Now it came to pass when David finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, ^t“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

17 ^uThen he said to David, “You are ^vmore righteous than I, for ^wyou have rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded you evil.

18 “And you have showed this day how that you have dealt well with me, for when the ^xLORD delivered me into your hand you did not kill me.

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

20 “And now, behold, ^yI know indeed that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

21 ^z“Therefore, swear now to me by the LORD ^athat you will not cut off my seed after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.”

22 And David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to ^bthe stronghold.

1 ¶ Then ^aSamuel died. And all the Israelites were gathered together and ^blamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the ^cwilderness of Paran.

2 Now there was a man in ^dMaon whose possessions were in ^eCarmel. And the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and of beautiful countenance. But the man was harsh and evil in his doings. And he was of the house of ^fCaleb.

4 Then David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was ^gshearing his sheep.

5 So David sent out ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.

6 “And thus you will say to him who lives in prosperity, ^h‘Peace be both to you and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.’

7 ‘And now I have heard that you have shearers. We did not hurt your shepherds who were with us, ⁱnor was there anything missing from them all the time they were in Carmel.

8 Ask your young men and they will show you. Therefore, let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on ^ja feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

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

10 ¶ Then Nabal answered David’s servants and said, ^k“Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.

11 ^l“Will I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men I do not know from where they come?”

12 So David’s young men returned the same way and went back. And they came and told him all these sayings.

13 Then David said to his men, “Gird on every man his sword.” And they girded on every man his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And there went up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred ^mremained by the supplies.

14 ¶ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master. And he reviled them.

15 “But the men were very good to us, and ⁿwe were not hurt, nor did we miss anything, as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields.

16 They were ^oa wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep.

17 “Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for ^pevil is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a ^qworthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

18 ¶ Then Abigail made haste and ^rtook two hundred loaves and two bottles of wine and five sheep ready dressed and five measures of parched corn and one hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys.

19 And she said to her servants, ^s“Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 And it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she came down by the cover of the hill, and behold, David and his men came down toward her. And she met them.

21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has ^trepaid me evil for good.”

22 ^u“May God do so to the enemies of David, if I ^vleave by morning light ^wone male of all who belong to him.”

23 ¶ And when Abigail saw David, she hastened and ^xdismounted from the donkey. And she fell before David on her face and bowed herself to the ground.

24 She fell at his feet and said, “Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be. And please let your maidservant speak in your audience, and hear the words of your maidservant.

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

26 “Now therefore, my lord, ^yas the LORD lives and as your soul lives, seeing the LORD has ^zheld you back from coming to shed blood, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, ^blet your enemies and those who seek harm to my lord be as Nabal.

27 “And now ^cthis blessing that your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it even be given to the young men who follow my lord.

28 “Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the ^dLORD will certainly make my lord an enduring house, because my lord is ^efighting the battles of the LORD, and ^fevil has not been found in you all your days.

29 “Yet a man has risen to pursue you and to seek your soul. But the soul of my lord will ^gbe bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God. And the souls of your enemies He will ^hsling out as from the hollow of a sling.

30 “And it will come to pass when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ⁱruler over Israel,

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

32 ¶ And David said to Abigail, ^j“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel who sent you this day to meet me!

33 “And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you who have ^kkept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.

34 “For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives who has ^lkept me back from hurting you, except you had hastened and come to meet me, certainly there would not have been left to Nabal m until the morning light as much as one male.”

35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, ⁿ“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have harkened to your voice and have ^orespected your person.”

36 ¶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he ^pheld a feast in his house like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken. Therefore, she told him nothing, little or much, until the morning light.

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

38 Now it came to pass about ten days later that the LORD ^qsmote Nabal and he died.

39 ¶ And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, ^r“Blessed is the LORD who has ^spleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has ^tkept his servant from evil. For the LORD has ^ureturned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.”

40 And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife. When the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David sent us to you to take you as his wife.”

41 And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth and said, “Behold, let your maidservant be a servant to ^vwash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

42 And Abigail hastened and arose. And she rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens. And she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of ^wJezreel, and ^xthey both became his wives.

44 ¶ But Saul had given ^yMichal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was from ^zGallim.

1 ¶ Then the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, ^a“Does not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?”

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

3 And Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah that is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David remained in the wilderness. And he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

4 David therefore sent out spies and understood that Saul had indeed come.

5 ¶ So David arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David beheld the place where Saul lay, and ^cAbner the son of Ner, the captain of his army. And Saul was lying in the circle of the camp and the people camped around him.

6 Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the ^dson of Zeruiah, brother to ^eJoab, saying, “Who will ^fgo down with me to Saul to the camp?” And ^gAbishai said, “I will go down with you.”

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

8 Then Abishai said to David, ^h“God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please let me smite him at once with the spear even to the earth, and I will not smite him a second time!”

9 And David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, ⁱfor who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?”

10 David said furthermore, “As the LORD lives, the ^jLORD will smite him, or ^khis day will come to die, or ^lhe will go into battle and perish.

11 ^m“The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the LORD’S anointed. But please take now the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away. And no man saw it or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because ⁿa deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

13 ¶ Then David went over to the other side and stood on top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them.

14 And David cried out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you who calls to the king?”

15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a valiant man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For there came one of the people in to destroy the king your lord.

16 “This thing is not good that you have done. As the LORD lives, you are worthy of death, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD’S anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.”

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

18 And he said, ^p“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

19 “Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD has ^qstirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. But if they are the children of men, cursed they are before the LORD, ^rfor they have driven me out this day from sharing in the ^sinheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

20 “Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a ^tflea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 ¶ Then Saul said, ^u“I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will no longer do you harm because my soul was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly.”

22 Then David answered and said, “Behold the king’s spear! And let one of the young men come over and fetch it.

23 ^v“The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD delivered you into my hand today. But I would not stretch forth my hand against the LORD’S anointed.

24 “And behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so let my life be highly valued in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

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

1 ¶ Then David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul will despair in searching for me, to seek me anymore in any territory of Israel. So I will escape out of his hand.”

2 And David arose and he ^apassed over with the six hundred men who were with him ^bto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 ¶ So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David ^cwith his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.

4 Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath. And he sought no more for him.

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

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

7 ¶ Now the time that David ^edwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

8 And David and his men went up and invaded the ^fGeshurites and the ^gGezrites and the ^hAmalekites. For those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, ⁱas you go to Shur, even to the land of Egypt.

9 And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive. And he took away the sheep and the oxen and the donkeys and the camels and the apparel. And he returned and came to Achish.

10 Then Achish said, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the south of Judah and against the south of the ^jJerahmeelites and against the south of the ^kKenites.”

11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should tell about us, saying, ‘So did David. And so will be his manner all the while he dwells in the country of the Philistines.’”

12 And Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him, therefore, he will be my servant forever.”