Bible (American Standard)/1 Samuel

The First Book of Samuel
==Chapter 1==
 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the
hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of
Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an
Ephraimite: 
 and he had two wives; the name of the one was
Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had
children, but Hannah had no children. 
 And this man went up
out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice
unto Jehovah of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni
and Phinehas, priests unto Jehovah, were there. 
 And when
the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his
wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 
 but
unto Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but
Jehovah had shut up her womb. 
 And her rival provoked her
sore, to make her fret, because Jehovah had shut up her womb.
 And [as] he did so year by year, when she went up to the
house of Jehovah, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and
did not eat. 
 And Elkanah her husband said unto her,
Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is
thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and
after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon his
seat by the door-post of the temple of Jehovah. 
 And she
was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto Jehovah, and wept
sore. 
 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts,
if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and
remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy
handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto Jehovah all the
days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before
Jehovah, that Eli marked her mouth. 
 Now Hannah, she spake
in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard:
therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 
 And Eli said
unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from
thee. 
 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 I poured out my soul before Jehovah. 
 Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman; for out of the
abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken
hitherto. 
 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and
the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou hast asked of
him. 
 And she said, Let thy handmaid find favor in thy
sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat; and her
countenance was no more [sad].
 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped
before Jehovah, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah:
and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Jehovah remembered her.
 And it came to pass, when the time was come about, that
Hannah conceived, and bare a son; and she called his name
Samuel, [saying], Because I have asked him of Jehovah.
 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to
offer unto Jehovah the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 
 But
Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, [I will not
go up] until the child be weaned; and then I will bring him,
that he may appear before Jehovah, and there abide for ever.
 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth
thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only Jehovah
establish his word. So the woman tarried and gave her son suck,
until she weaned him. 
 And when she had weaned him, she
took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of
meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of
Jehovah in Shiloh: and the child was young. 
 And they slew
the bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 
 And she said,
Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that
stood by thee here, praying unto Jehovah. 
 For this child
I prayed; and Jehovah hath given me my petition which I asked of
him: 
 therefore also I have granted him to Jehovah; as
long as he liveth he is granted to Jehovah. And he worshipped
Jehovah there.
==Chapter 2==
 And Hannah prayed, and said:
My heart exulteth in Jehovah;
My horn is exalted in Jehovah;
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.
 There is none holy as Jehovah;
For there is none besides thee,
Neither is there any rock like our God.
 Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;
For Jehovah is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed.
 The bows of the mighty men are broken;
And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;
And they that were hungry have ceased [to hunger]:
Yea, the barren hath borne seven;
And she that hath many children languisheth.
 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive:
He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich:
He bringeth low, he also lifteth up.
 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
And inherit the throne of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's,
And he hath set the world upon them.
 He will keep the feet of his holy ones;
But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;
For by strength shall no man prevail.
 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces;
Against them will he thunder in heaven:
Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth;
And he will give strength unto his king,
And exalt the horn of his anointed.
 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child
did minister unto Jehovah before Eli the priest.
 Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not
Jehovah. 
 And the custom of the priests with the people
was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant
came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three
teeth in his hand; 
 and he struck it into the pan, or
kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up
the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all the
Israelites that came thither. 
 Yea, before they burnt the
fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that
sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not
have boiled flesh of thee, but raw. 
 And if the man said
unto him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as
much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou
shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
 And the sin of the young men was very great before
Jehovah; for the men despised the offering of Jehovah.
 But Samuel ministered before Jehovah, being a child,
girded with a linen ephod. 
 Moreover, his mother made him a
little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she
came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 
 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, Jehovah give
thee seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of
Jehovah. And they went unto their own home. 
 And Jehovah
visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bare three sons and two
daughters. And the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.
 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons
did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that
did service at the door of the tent of meeting. 
 And he
said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil
dealings from all this people. 
 Nay, my sons; for it is no
good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah's people to transgress.
 If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but
if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall entreat for him?
Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their
father, because Jehovah was minded to slay them. 
 And the
child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Jehovah,
and also with men.
 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto
him, Thus saith Jehovah, Did I reveal myself unto the house of
thy father, when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's
house? 
 and did I choose him out of all the tribes of
Israel to be my priest, to go up unto mine altar, to burn
incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the
house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel
made by fire? 
 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at
mine offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and
honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the
chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 
 Therefore, Jehovah, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that
thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me
for ever: but now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them
that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be
lightly esteemed. 
 Behold, the days come, that I will cut
off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there
shall not be an old man in thy house. 
 And thou shalt
behold the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth
which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man
in thy house for ever. 
 And the man of thine, [whom] I
shall not cut off from mine altar, [shall be] to consume thine
eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house
shall die in the flower of their age. 
 And this shall be
the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni
and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. 
 And
I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to
that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a
sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in
thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver
and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into
one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
==Chapter 3==
 And the child Samuel ministered unto Jehovah before
Eli. And the word of Jehovah was precious in those days; there
was no frequent vision. 
 And it came to pass at that time,
when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to
wax dim, so that he could not see), 
 and the lamp of God
was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down [to sleep], in
the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was; 
 that
Jehovah called Samuel; and he said, Here am I. 
 And he ran
unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he
said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
 And Jehovah called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and
went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he
answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 
 Now Samuel
did not yet know Jehovah, neither was the word of Jehovah yet
revealed unto him. 
 And Jehovah called Samuel again the
third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I;
for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah had called
the child. 
 Therefore, Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down:
and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak,
Jehovah; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in
his place.
 And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at other
times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant
heareth. 
 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a
thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that
heareth it shall tingle. 
 In that day I will perform
against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from
the beginning even unto the end. 
 For I have told him that
I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew,
because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he
restrained them not. 
 And therefore I have sworn unto the
house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be
expiated with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors
of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to show Eli the
vision. 
 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son.
And he said, Here am I. 
 And he said, What is the thing
that [Jehovah] hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not
from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything
from me of all the things that he spake unto thee. 
 And
Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he
said, It is Jehovah: let him do what seemeth him good.
 And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and did let
none of his words fall to the ground. 
 And all Israel from
Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a
prophet of Jehovah. 
 And Jehovah appeared again in Shiloh;
for Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of
Jehovah.
==Chapter 4==
 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and
encamped beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines encamped in
Aphek. 
 And the Philistines put themselves in array against
Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before
the Philistines; and they slew of the army in the field about
four thousand men. 
 And when the people were come into the
camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath Jehovah smitten
us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the
covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh unto us, that it may come
among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies. 
 So
the people sent to Shiloh; and they brought from thence the ark
of the covenant of Jehovah of hosts, who sitteth [above] the
cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were
there with the ark of the covenant of God.
 And when the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came into
the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the
earth rang again. 
 And when the Philistines heard the noise
of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great
shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the
ark of Jehovah was come into the camp. 
 And the Philistines
were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they
said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing
heretofore. 
 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the
hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that smote the
Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness. 
 Be
strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye
be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit
yourselves like men, and fight. 
 And the Philistines
fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his
tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of
Israel thirty thousand footmen. 
 And the ark of God was
taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and
came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with
earth upon his head. 
 And when he came, lo, Eli was
sitting upon his seat by the wayside 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. 
 And when Eli
heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise
of this tumult? And the man hasted, and came and told Eli.
 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were
set, so that he could not see. 
 And the man said unto Eli,
I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the
army. And he said, How went the matter, my son? 
 And he
that brought the tidings answered and said, Israel is fled
before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great
slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and
Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 
 And it
came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that [Eli]
feel from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his
neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And
he had judged Israel forty years.
 And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with
child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that
the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her
husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought forth; for her
pains came upon her. 
 And about the time of her death the
women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast
brought forth a son. But she answered not, neither did she
regard it. 
 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The
glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken,
and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 
 And she
said, The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is
taken.
==Chapter 5==
 Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they
brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. 
 And the Philistines
took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and
set it by Dagon. 
 And when they of Ashdod arose early on
the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground
before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in
his place again. 
 And when they arose early on the morrow
morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground
before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the
palms of his hands [lay] cut off upon the threshold; only [the
stump of] Dagon was left to him. 
 Therefore, neither the
priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on
the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, unto this day.
 But the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod,
and he destroyed them, and smote them with tumors, even Ashdod
and the borders thereof. 
 And when the men of Ashdod saw
that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall
not abide with us; for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon
our god. 
 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of
the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the
ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the
God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the
ark of the God of Israel [thither]. 
 And it was so, that,
after they had carried it about, the hand of Jehovah was against
the city with a very great discomfiture: and he smote the men of
the city, both small and great; and tumors brake out upon them.
 So 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 about the ark of the God of
Israel to us, to slay us and our people. 
 They sent
therefore and gathered together all the lords of the
Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of
Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that is slay us
not, and our people. For there was a deadly discomfiture
throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
 And the men that died not were smitten with the tumors;
and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
==Chapter 6==
 And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the
Philistines seven months. 
 And the Philistines called for
the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the
ark of Jehovah? show us wherewith we shall sent it to its place.
 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of
Israel, send it not empty; but by all means return him a
trespass-offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be
known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 
 Then
said they, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall
return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, and five
golden mice, [according to] the number of the lords of the
Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
 Wherefore ye shall make images of your tumors, and images
of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the
God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off
you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 
 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and
Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully
among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
 Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two
milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke; and tie the kine
to the cart, and bring their calves home from them; 
 and
take the ark of Jehovah, and lay it upon the cart; and put the
jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass-offering, in
a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
 And see; if it goeth up by the way of its own border to
Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not,
then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was
a chance that happened to us.
 And the men did so, and took two milch kine, and tied
them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home; 
 and
they put the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer with
the mice of gold and the images of their tumors. 
 And the
kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went
along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to
the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines
went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh. 
 And they
of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley;
and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to
see it. 
 And the cart came into the field of Joshua the
Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone:
and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for
a burnt-offering unto Jehovah. 
 And the Levites took down
the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the
jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the
men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed
sacrifices the same day unto Jehovah. 
 And when the five
lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the
same day.
 And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines
returned for a trespass-offering unto Jehovah: for Ashdod one,
for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the
cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of
fortified cities and of country villages, even unto the great
stone, whereon they set down the ark of Jehovah, [which stone
remaineth] unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
 And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they
had looked into the ark of Jehovah, he smote of the people
seventy men, [and] fifty thousand men; and the people mourned,
because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter.
 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand
before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from
us? 
 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of
Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the
ark of Jehovah; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
==Chapter 7==
 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came, and fetched up the
ark of Jehovah, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the
hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Jehovah.
 And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in
Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years:
and all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah. 
 And
Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do
return unto Jehovah with all your heart, then put away the
foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your
hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only; and he will deliver you
out of the hand of the Philistines. 
 Then the children of
Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served
Jehovah only.
 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I
will pray for you unto Jehovah. 
 And they gathered together
to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and
fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against
Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel
were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines
went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard
it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 
 And the children
of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto Jehovah our God
for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole
burnt-offering unto Jehovah: and Samuel cried unto Jehovah for
Israel; and Jehovah answered him. 
 And as Samuel was
offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to
battle against Israel; but Jehovah thundered with a great
thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them;
and they were smitten down before Israel. 
 And the men of
Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and
smote them, until they came under Beth-car.
 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah
and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto
hath Jehovah helped us. 
 So the Philistines were subdued,
and they came no more within the border of Israel: and the hand
of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from
Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and
the border thereof did Israel deliver out of the hand of the
Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
 And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el and
Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places.
 And his return was to Ramah, for there was his house; and
there he judged Israel: and he built there an altar unto Jehovah.
==Chapter 8==
 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made
his sons judges over Israel. 
 Now the name of his
first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they
were judges in Beer-sheba. 
 And his sons walked not in his
ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and
perverted justice.
 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves
together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah; 
 and they said
unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy
ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 
 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king
to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah. 
 And Jehovah
said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all
that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but
they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.
 According to all the works which they have done since the
day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in
that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they
also unto thee. 
 Now therefore hearken unto their voice:
howbeit thou shalt protest solemnly unto them, and shalt show
them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
 And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the
people that asked of him a king. 
 And he said, This will
be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will
take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and
to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;
 and he will appoint them unto him for captains of
thousands, and captains of fifties; and [he will set some] to
plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his
instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots. 
 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be
cooks, and to be bakers. 
 And he will take your fields,
and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them,
and give them to his servants. 
 And he will take the tenth
of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers,
and to his servants. 
 And he will take your men-servants,
and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your
asses, and put them to his work. 
 He will take the tenth
of your flocks: and ye shall be his servants. 
 And ye
shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall
have chosen you; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.
 But the people refused to hearken unto the voice of
Samuel; and they said, Nay: but we will have a king over us,
 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our
king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he
rehearsed them in the ears of Jehovah. 
 And Jehovah said
to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And
Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his
city.
==Chapter 9==
 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish,
the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son
of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. 
 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a young man and a goodly:
and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person
than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of
the people. 
 And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were
lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the
servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 
 And he
passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through
the land of Shalishah, but they found them not: then they passed
through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not: and he
passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them
not.
 When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to
his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my
father leave off caring for the asses, and be anxious for us.
 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a
man of God, and he is a man that is held in honor; all that he
saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure
he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go. 
 Then
said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we
bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there
is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 
 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in
my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give
to the man of God, to tell us our way. 
 (Beforetime in
Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come,
and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet
was beforetime called a Seer.) 
 Then said Saul to his
servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city
where the man of God was.
 As they went up the ascent to the city, they found
young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is
the seer here? 
 And they answered them, and said, He is;
behold, [he is] before thee: make haste now, for he is come
to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in
the high place: 
 as soon as ye are come into the city, ye
shall straightway find him, before he goeth up to the high place
to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he
doth bless the sacrifice; [and] afterwards they eat that are
bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall find
him. 
 And they went up to the city; [and] as they came
within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up
to the high place.
 Now Jehovah had revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul
came, saying, 
 To-morrow about this time I will send thee
a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to
be prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out
of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my
people, because their cry is come unto me. 
 And when
Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah said unto him, Behold, the man of whom
I spake to thee! this same shall have authority over my people.
 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell
me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is. 
 And Samuel
answered Saul, and said, I am the seer; go up before me unto the
high place, for ye shall eat with me to-day: and in the morning
I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart.
 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set
not they mind on them; for they are found. And for whom is all
that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for thee, and for all thy
father's house? 
 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a
Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my
family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?
wherefore then speakest thou to me after this manner?
 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them
into the guest-chamber, and made them sit in the chiefest place
among them that were bidden, who were about thirty persons.
 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I
gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. 
 And
the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set
it before Saul. And [Samuel] said, Behold, that which hath been
reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed
time hath it been kept for thee, for I said, I have invited the
people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
 And when they were come down from the high place into
the city, he communed with Saul upon the housetop. 
 And
they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the
day, that Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying, Up,
that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out
both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 
 As they were going
down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the
servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou
still first, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.
==Chapter 10==
 Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon
his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that Jehovah hath
anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance? 
 When
thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men
by Rachel's sepulchre, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and
they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek
are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the
asses, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my
son? 
 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou
shalt come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet thee there
three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids,
and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying
a bottle of wine: 
 and they will salute thee, and give
thee two loaves of bread, which thou shalt receive of their
hand. 
 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God,
where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to
pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt
meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a
psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them;
and they will be prophesying: 
 and the Spirit of Jehovah
will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them,
and shalt be turned into another man. 
 And let it be, when
these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion shall
serve thee; for God is with thee. 
 And thou shalt go down
before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to
offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of
peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come unto
thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.
 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. 
 And when they came thither to the
hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God
came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. 
 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that,
behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said
one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish?
Is Saul also among the prophets? 
 And one of the same
place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore, it
became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 
 And
when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high
place.
 And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant,
Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw
that they were not found, we came to Samuel. 
 And Saul's
uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.
 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that
the asses were found. But concerning the matter of the kingdom,
whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.
 And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah to
Mizpah; 
 and he said unto the children of Israel, Thus
saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of
Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and
out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you: 
 but ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saveth you
out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said
unto him, [Nay], but set a king over us. Now therefore present
yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands.
 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the
tribe of Benjamin was taken. 
 And he brought the tribe of
Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites
was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they
sought him, he could not be found. 
 Therefore, they asked
of Jehovah further, Is there yet a man to come hither? And
Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.
 And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood
among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his
shoulders and upward. 
 And Samuel said to all the people,
See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him
along all the people? And all the people shouted, and said,
[Long] live the king.
 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the
kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah.
And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
 And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there
went with him the host, whose hearts God had touched. 
 But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us?
And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held
his peace.
==Chapter 11==
 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against
Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make
a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. 
 And Nahash
the Ammonite said unto them, On this condition will I make it
with you, that all your right eyes be put out; and I will lay it
for a reproach upon all Israel. 
 And the elders of Jabesh
said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send
messengers unto all the borders of Israel; and then, if there be
none to save us, we will come out to thee. 
 Then came the
messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and spake these words in the ears
of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice, and
wept. 
 And, behold, Saul came following the oxen out of
the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep?
And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.
 And the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul when he
heard those words, and his anger was kindled greatly. 
 And
he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them
throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers,
saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel,
so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the dread of Jehovah fell
on the people, and they came out as one man. 
 And he
numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three
hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 
 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say
unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To-morrow, by the time the sun is
hot, ye shall have deliverance. And the messengers came and told
the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 
 Therefore, the men
of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out unto you, and ye
shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. 
 And it
was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three
companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the
morning watch, and smote the Ammonites until the heat of the
day: and it came to pass, that they that remained were
scattered, so that not two of them were left together.
 And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said,
Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to
death. 
 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to
death this day; for to-day Jehovah hath wrought deliverance in
Israel.
 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go
to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 
 And all the
people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before
Jehovah in Gilgal; and there they offered sacrifices of
peace-offerings before Jehovah; and there Saul and all the men
of Israel rejoiced greatly.
==Chapter 12==
 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have
hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have
made a king over you. 
 And now, behold, the king walketh
before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons
are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth unto
this day. 
 Here I am: witness against me before Jehovah,
and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass
have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed?
or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind mine eyes
therewith? and I will restore it you. 
 And they said, Thou
hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken
aught of any man's hand. 
 And he said unto them, Jehovah
is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day,
that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is
witness.
 And Samuel said unto the people, It is Jehovah that
appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out
of the land of Egypt. 
 Now therefore stand still, that I
may plead with you before Jehovah concerning all the righteous
acts of Jehovah, which he did to you and to your fathers. 
 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto
Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth
your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.
 But they forgat Jehovah their God; and he sold them into
the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the
hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab;
and they fought against them. 
 And they cried unto
Jehovah, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken
Jehovah, and have served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth: but now
deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve
thee. 
 And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and
Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your
enemies on every side; and ye dwelt in safety. 
 And when
ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came
against you, ye said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over
us; when Jehovah your God was your king. 
 Now therefore
behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have asked for:
and, behold, Jehovah hath set a king over you. 
 If ye
will fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken unto his voice,
and not rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, and both ye
and also the king that reigneth over you be followers of Jehovah
your God, [well]: 
 but if ye will not hearken unto the
voice of Jehovah, but rebel against the commandment of Jehovah,
then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as it was against
your fathers. 
 Now therefore stand still and see this
great thing, which Jehovah will do before your eyes. 
 Is
it not wheat harvest to-day? I will call unto Jehovah, that he
may send thunder and rain; and ye shall know and see that your
wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah,
in asking you a king. 
 So Samuel called unto Jehovah; and
Jehovah sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people
greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel.
 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy
servants unto Jehovah thy God, that we die not; for we have
added unto all our sins [this] evil, to ask us a king. 
 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not; ye have indeed done
all this evil; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, but
serve Jehovah with all your heart: 
 and turn ye not
aside; for [then would ye go] after vain things which cannot
profit nor deliver, for they are vain. 
 For Jehovah will
not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it
hath pleased Jehovah to make you a people unto himself. 
 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against
Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in
the good and the right way. 
 Only fear Jehovah, and serve
him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things
he hath done for you. 
 But if ye shall still do wickedly,
ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
==Chapter 13==
 Saul was [forty] years old when he began to reign; and
when he had reigned two years over Israel, 
 Saul chose him
three thousand men of Israel, whereof two thousand were with
Saul in Michmash and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand
were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the
people he sent every man to his tent. 
 And Jonathan smote
the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba: and the
Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout
all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 
 And all
Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the
Philistines, and also that Israel was had in abomination with
the Philistines. And the people were gathered together after
Saul to Gilgal.
 And the Philistines assembled themselves together to
fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand
horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in
multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward
of Beth-aven. 
 When the men of Israel saw that they were
in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people
did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and
in coverts, and in pits. 
 Now some of the Hebrews had gone
over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul,
he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time
that Samuel [had appointed]: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and
the people were scattered from him. 
 And Saul said, Bring
hither the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he
offered the burnt-offering. 
 And it came to pass that, as
soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering,
behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he
might salute him. 
 And Samuel said, What hast thou done?
And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from
me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that
the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash;
 therefore said I, Now will the Philistines come down
upon me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of
Jehovah: I forced myself therefore, and offered the
burnt-offering. 
 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done
foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy
God, which he commanded thee: for now would Jehovah have
established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 
 But now
thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man
after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince
over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah
commanded thee. 
 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from
Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin.
And Saul numbered the people that were present with him,
about six hundred men. 
 And Saul, and Jonathan his son,
and the people that were present with them, abode in Geba of
Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 
 And
the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three
companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to
Ophrah, unto the land of Shual; 
 and another company
turned the way to Beth-horon; and another company turned the way
of the border that looketh down upon the valley of Zeboim toward
the wilderness.
 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land
of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them
swords or spears: 
 but all the Israelites went down to
the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his
coulter, and his axe, and his mattock; 
 yet they had a
file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks,
and for the axes, and to set the goads. 
 So it came to
pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor
spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul
and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there
found. 
 And the garrison of the Philistines went out unto
the pass of Michmash.
==Chapter 14==
 Now it fell upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul
said unto the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go
over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on yonder side. But
he told not his father. 
 And Saul abode in the uttermost
part of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron:
and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
 and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son
of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Jehovah in Shiloh,
wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was
gone. 
 And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to
go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky crag
on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the
name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
 The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash,
and the other on the south in front of Geba.
 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his
armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these
uncircumcised: it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for
there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.
 And his armorbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thy
heart: turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto the
men, and we will disclose ourselves unto them. 
 If they
say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand
still in our place, and will not go up unto them. 
 But if
they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up; for Jehovah
hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be the sign
unto us. 
 And both of them disclosed themselves unto the
garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold,
the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid
themselves. 
 And the men of the garrison answered
Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we
will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer,
Come up after me; for Jehovah hath delivered them into the hand
of Israel. 
 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and
upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell
before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew them after him.
 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his
armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a
furrow's length in an acre of land. 
 And there was a
trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people;
the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the
earth quaked: so there was an exceeding great trembling.
 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin
looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went
[hither] and thither. 
 Then said Saul unto the people
that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And
when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armorbearer
were not there. 
 And Saul said unto Ahijah, Bring hither
the ark of God. For the ark of God was [there] at that time with
the children of Israel. 
 And it came to pass, while Saul
talked unto the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of
the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the
priest, Withdraw thy hand. 
 And Saul and all the people
that were with him were gathered together, and came to the
battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow,
[and there was] a very great discomfiture. 
 Now the
Hebrews that were with the Philistines as beforetime, and that
went up with them into the camp, [from the country] round about,
even they also [turned] to be with the Israelites that were with
Saul and Jonathan. 
 Likewise all the men of Israel that
had hid themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they
heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard
after them in the battle. 
 So Jehovah saved Israel that
day: and the battle passed over by Beth-aven.
 And the men of Israel were distressed that day; for
Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that
eateth any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on mine
enemies. So none of the people tasted food. 
 And all the
people came into the forest; and there was honey upon the
ground. 
 And when the people were come unto the forest,
behold, the honey dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth;
for the people feared the oath. 
 But Jonathan heard not
when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he
put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it
in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes
were enlightened. 
 Then answered one of the people, and
said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath,
saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food this day. And the
people were faint. 
 Then said Jonathan, My father hath
troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been
enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 
 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of
the spoil of their enemies which they found? for now hath there
been no great slaughter among the Philistines.
 And they smote of the Philistines that day from
Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint; 
 and
the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and
calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people did eat them
with the blood. 
 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the
people sin against Jehovah, in that they eat with the blood. And
he said, ye have dealt treacherously: roll a great stone unto me
this day. 
 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the
people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and
every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not
against Jehovah in eating with the blood. And all the people
brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them
there. 
 And Saul built an altar unto Jehovah: the same
was the first altar that he built unto Jehovah.
 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines
by night, and take spoil among them until the morning light, and
let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever
seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near
hither unto God. 
 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I
go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the
hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. 
 And
Saul said, Draw nigh hither, all ye chiefs of the people; and
know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. 
 For,
as Jehovah liveth, who saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan
my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all
the people that answered him. 
 Then said he unto all
Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on
the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth
good unto thee. 
 Therefore, Saul said unto Jehovah, the
God of Israel, Show the right. And Jonathan and Saul were taken
[by lot]; but the people escaped. 
 And Saul said, Cast
[lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast
done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did certainly taste a
little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand; and,
lo, I must die. 
 And Saul said, God do so and more also;
for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 
 And the people said
unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great
salvation in Israel? Far from it: as Jehovah liveth, there shall
not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought
with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died
not. 
 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines;
and the Philistines went to their own place. 
 Now when
Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all
his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the
children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of
Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned
himself, he put [them] to the worse. 
 And he did
valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of
the hands of them that despoiled them.
 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and
Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the
name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger
Michal: 
 and the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the
daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his host was
Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. 
 And Kish was the
father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
 And there was sore war against the Philistines all
the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any
valiant man, he took him unto him.
==Chapter 15==
 And Samuel said unto Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint
thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore
hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah. 
 Thus
saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to
Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came
up out of Egypt. 
 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly
destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both
man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in
Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of
Judah. 
 And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait
in the valley. 
 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go,
depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy
you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of
Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed
from among the Amalekites. 
 And Saul smote the Amalekites,
from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before Egypt. 
 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly
destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 
 But
Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and
of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that
was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything
that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying,
 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for
he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my
commandments. And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah
all night. 
 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the
morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel,
and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed
on, and went down to Gilgal. 
 And Samuel came to Saul;
and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of Jehovah: I have
performed the commandment of Jehovah. 
 And Samuel said,
What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and
the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 
 And Saul said, They
have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the
best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy
God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 
 Then Samuel
said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath
said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
 And Samuel said, Though thou wast little in thine own
sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And
Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel; 
 and Jehovah sent
thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners
the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah,
but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in
the sight of Jehovah? 
 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I
have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which
Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and
have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 
 But the people
took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted
things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal. 
 And
Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings
and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of
rams. 
 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast
rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from
being king.
 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have
transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because
I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 
 Now
therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me,
that I may worship Jehovah. 
 And Samuel said unto Saul, I
will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of
Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over
Israel. 
 And as Samuel turned about to go away, [Saul]
laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent. 
 And
Samuel said unto him, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel
from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine,
that is better than thou. 
 And also the Strength of
Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he
should repent. 
 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me
now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before
Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy
God. 
 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul
worshipped Jehovah.
 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king
of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him cheerfully. And Agag
said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 
 And Samuel
said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy
mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces
before Jehovah in Gilgal.
 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his
house to Gibeah of Saul. 
 And Samuel came no more to see
Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul:
and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
==Chapter 16==
 And Jehovah said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn
for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over
Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go: I will send thee to
Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided me a king among his
sons. 
 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he
will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and
say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. 
 And call Jesse to
the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou
shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 
 And
Samuel did that which Jehovah spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And
the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said,
Comest thou peaceably? 
 And he said, Peaceably; I am come
to sacrifice unto Jehovah: sanctify yourselves, and come with me
to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and
called them to the sacrifice.
 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he
looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah's anointed is before
him. 
 But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have
rejected him: for [Jehovah seeth] not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the
heart. 
 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass
before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this.
 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither
hath Jehovah chosen this. 
 And Jesse made seven of his
sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Jehovah
hath not chosen these. 
 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are
here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the
youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he
come hither. 
 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was
ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look
upon. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.
 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in
the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of Jehovah came
mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up,
and went to Ramah. 
 Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him. 
 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit
from God troubleth thee. 
 Let our lord now command thy
servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a
skilful player on the harp: and it shall come to pass, when the
evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his
hand, and thou shalt be well. 
 And Saul said unto his
servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him
to me. 
 Then answered one of the young men, and said,
Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is
skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war,
and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with
him. 
 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and
said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep. 
 And
Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine, and
a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. 
 And
David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him
greatly; and he became his armorbearer. 
 And Saul sent to
Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he
hath found favor in my sight. 
 And it came to pass, when
the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the
harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was
well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
==Chapter 17==
 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to
battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which
belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in
Ephes-dammim. 
 And Saul and the men of Israel were
gathered together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the
battle in array against the Philistines. 
 And the
Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel
stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley
between them. 
 And there went out a champion out of the
camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height
was six cubits and a span. 
 And he had a helmet of brass
upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the
weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 
 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of
brass between his shoulders. 
 And the staff of his spear
was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head [weighed] six
hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.
 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and
said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array?
am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man
for you, and let him come down to me. 
 If he be able to
fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but
if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our
servants, and serve us. 
 And the Philistine said, I defy
the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight
together. 
 And when Saul and all Israel heard those words
of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of
Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons:
and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken [in
years] among men. 
 And the three eldest sons of Jesse had
gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons
that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto
him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 
 And David was the
youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul. 
 Now David
went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at
Beth-lehem. 
 And the Philistine drew near morning and
evening, and presented himself forty days.
 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy
brethren an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves,
and carry [them] quickly to the camp to thy brethren; 
 and bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand,
and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 
 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the vale
of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 
 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the
sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded
him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which
was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle. 
 And
Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against
army. 
 And David left his baggage in the hand of the
keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted
his brethren. 
 And as he talked with them, behold, there
came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name,
out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the
same words: and David heard them. 
 And all the men of
Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore
afraid. 
 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this
man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it
shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him
with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his
father's house free in Israel. 
 And David spake to the
men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man
that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from
Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should
defy the armies of the living God? 
 And the people
answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to
the man that killeth him.
 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto
the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he
said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those
few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the
naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou
mightest see the battle. 
 And David said, What have I now
done? Is there not a cause? 
 And he turned away from him
toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people
answered him again after the former manner.
 And when the words were heard which David spake, they
rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him. 
 And
David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy
servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 
 And Saul
said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine
to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war
from his youth. 
 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant
was keeping his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a
bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, 
 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. 
 Thy servant smote both the lion and the
bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them,
seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 
 And
David said, Jehovah that 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 unto David, Go, and
Jehovah shall be with thee. 
 And Saul clad David with his
apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad
him with a coat of mail. 
 And David girded his sword upon
his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And
David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not
proved them. And David put them off him. 
 And he took his
staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the
brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in
his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to
the Philistine.
 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David;
and the man that bare the shield went before him. 
 And
when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained
him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair
countenance. 
 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a
dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine
cursed David by his gods. 
 And the Philistine said to
David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of
the heavens, and to the beasts of the field. 
 Then said
David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and
with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name
of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou
hast defied. 
 This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my
hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee;
and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines
this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts
of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel, 
 and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah
saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's,
and he will give you into our hand. 
 And it came to pass,
when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David,
that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the
Philistine. 
 And David put his hand in his bag, and took
thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his
forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon
his face to the earth.
 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling
and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but
there was no sword in the hand of David. 
 Then David ran,
and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it
out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head
therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was
dead, they fled. 
 And the men of Israel and of Judah
arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou
comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the
Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath,
and unto Ekron. 
 And the children of Israel returned from
chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought
it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
 And when Saul saw David go forth against the
Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner,
whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O
king, I cannot tell. 
 And the king said, Inquire thou
whose son the stripling is. 
 And as David returned from
the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him
before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 
 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And
David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the
Beth-lehemite.
==Chapter 18==
 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of
speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the
soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 
 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to
his father's house. 
 Then Jonathan and David made a
covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 
 And
Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and
gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his
bow, and to his girdle. 
 And David went out whithersoever
Saul sent him, [and] behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him
over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the
people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. 
 And it
came to pass as they came, when David returned from the
slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the
cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with
timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music. 
 And
the women sang one to another as they played, and said,
Saul hath slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.
 And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased
him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands,
and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have
more but the kingdom? 
 And Saul eyed David from that day
and forward.
 And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil
spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in
the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he
did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand; 
 and
Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the
wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 
 And
Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and was
departed from Saul. 
 Therefore, Saul removed him from him,
and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and
came in before the people. 
 And David behaved himself
wisely in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him. 
 And
when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in
awe of him. 
 But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he
went out and came in before them.
 And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter
Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for
me, and fight Jehovah's battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand
be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
 And David said unto Saul, Who am I, and what is my life,
[or] my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law
to the king? 
 But it came to pass at the time when Merab,
Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was
given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife. 
 And Michal,
Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing
pleased him. 
 And Saul said, I will give him her, that
she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines
may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt
this day be my son-in-law a second time.
 And Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Commune
with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in
thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the
king's son-in-law. 
 And Saul's servants spake those words
in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light
thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man,
and lightly esteemed? 
 And the servants of Saul told him,
saying, On this manner spake David. 
 And Saul said, Thus
shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but a
hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the
king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand
of the Philistines. 
 And when his servants told David
these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law.
And the days were not expired; 
 and David arose and went,
he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and
David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number
to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul
gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 
 And Saul saw and
knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter,
loved him. 
 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David;
and Saul was David's enemy continually.
 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and
it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David behaved
himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his
name was much set by.
==Chapter 19==
 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his
servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan, Saul's son,
delighted much in David. 
 And Jonathan told David, saying,
Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee,
take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret
place, and hide thyself: 
 and I will go out and stand
beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune
with my father of thee; and if I see aught, I will tell thee.
 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father,
and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant,
against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and
because his works have been to thee-ward very good: 
 for
he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and
Jehovah wrought a great victory for all Israel: thou sawest it,
and didst rejoice; wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent
blood, to slay David without a cause? 
 And Saul hearkened
unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As Jehovah liveth,
he shall not be put to death. 
 And Jonathan called David,
and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought
David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.
 And there was war again: and David went out, and
fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great
slaughter; and they fled before him. 
 And an evil spirit
from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his
spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand. 
 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear;
but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the
spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
 And Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch
him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife,
told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow
thou wilt be slain. 
 So Michal let David down through the
window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 
 And Michal
took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of
goats' [hair] at the head thereof, and covered it with the
clothes. 
 And when Saul sent messengers to take David,
she said, He is sick. 
 And Saul sent the messengers to
see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may
slay him. 
 And when the messengers came in, behold, the
teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats' [hair] at the
head thereof. 
 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou
deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, so that he is escaped?
And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should
I kill thee?
 Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to
Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and
Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 
 And it was told Saul,
saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 
 And Saul
sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of
the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them,
the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they
also prophesied. 
 And when it was told Saul, he sent
other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent
messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.
 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great well
that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and
David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.
 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit
of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until
he came to Naioth in Ramah. 
 And he also stripped off his
clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down
naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is
Saul also among the prophets?
==Chapter 20==
 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said
before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and
what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
 And he said unto him, Far from it; thou shalt not die:
behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that
he discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this
thing from me? it is not so. 
 And David sware moreover,
and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in
thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be
grieved: but truly as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth,
there is but a step between me and death. 
 Then said
Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even
do it for thee. 
 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold,
to-morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the
king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field
unto the third day at even. 
 If thy father miss me at all,
then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to
Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for
all the family. 
 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant
shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is
determined by him. 
 Therefore, deal kindly with thy
servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of
Jehovah with thee: but if there be in me iniquity, slay me
thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 
 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for if I should at all
know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee,
then would not I tell it thee? 
 Then said David to
Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee
roughly? 
 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us
go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the
field.
 And Jonathan said unto David, Jehovah, the God of
Israel, [be witness]: when I have sounded my father about this
time to-morrow, [or] the third day, behold, if there be good
toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it
unto thee? 
 Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also,
should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not
unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and
Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father. 
 And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the
lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not; 
 but also thou
shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not
when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from
the face of the earth. 
 So Jonathan made a covenant with
the house of David, [saying], And Jehovah will require it at the
hand of David's enemies.
 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the
love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own
soul. 
 Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new
moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
 And when thou hast stayed three days, thou shalt go down
quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself
when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone
Ezel. 
 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof,
as though I shot at a mark. 
 And, behold, I will send the
lad, [saying], Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad,
Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, and
come; for there is peace to thee and no hurt, as Jehovah liveth.
 But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are
beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away.
 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken
of, behold, Jehovah is between thee and me for ever.
 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new
moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food. 
 And
the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the
seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's
side: but David's place was empty. 
 Nevertheless, Saul
spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath
befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 
 And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon, [which
was] the second [day], that David's place was empty: and Saul
said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of
Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to-day? 
 And
Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go
to Beth-lehem: 
 and he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for
our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath
commanded me [to be there]: and now, if I have found favor in
thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren.
Therefore, he is not come unto the king's table.
 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and
he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do
not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own
shame, and unto the shame of thy mother's nakedness? 
 For
as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt
not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and
fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 
 And Jonathan
answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore should he
be put to death? what hath he done? 
 And Saul cast his
spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that is was
determined of his father to put David to death. 
 So
Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no
food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David,
because his father had done him shame.
 And 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. 
 And he said unto his lad, Run, find
now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an
arrow beyond him. 
 And when the lad was come to the place
of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the
lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? 
 And
Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And
Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
 But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David
knew the matter. 
 And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his
lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 
 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 exceeded. 
 And Jonathan said to
David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the
name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall be between me and thee,
and between my seed and thy seed, for ever. And he arose and
departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
==Chapter 21==
 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and
Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him, Why
art thou alone, and no man with thee? 
 And David said unto
Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and
hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business
whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I
have appointed the young men to such and such a place. 
 Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of
bread in my hand, or whatsoever there is present. 
 And the
priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under
my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have
kept themselves from women. 
 And David answered the
priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from
us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the
young men were holy, though it was but a common journey; how
much more than to-day shall their vessels be holy? 
 So the
priest gave him holy [bread]; for there was no bread there but
the showbread, that was taken from before Jehovah, to put hot
bread in the day when it was taken away.
 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there
that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the
Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.
 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here
under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my
sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business
required haste. 
 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath
the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of Elah, behold,
it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt
take that, take it; for there is no other save that here. And
David said, There is none like that; give it me.
 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul,
and went to Achish the king of Gath. 
 And the servants of
Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land?
did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying,
Saul hath slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands?
 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was
sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 
 And he changed
his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their
hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his
spittle fall down upon his beard. 
 Then said Achish unto
his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye
brought him to me? 
 Do I lack madmen, that ye have
brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall
this fellow come into my house?
==Chapter 22==
 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the
cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's
house heard it, they went down thither to him. 
 And every
one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and
every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him;
and he became captain over them: and there were with him about
four hundred men.
 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said
unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee,
come forth, [and be] with you, till I know what God will do for
me. 
 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they
dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.
 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the
stronghold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then
David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.
 And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men
that were with him: now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the
tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his
servants were standing about him. 
 And Saul said unto his
servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the
son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he
make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
 that all of you have conspired against me, and there is
none that discloseth to me when my son maketh a league with the
son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or
discloseth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant
against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 
 Then answered
Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, and said, I
saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of
Ahitub. 
 And he inquired of Jehovah for him, and gave him
victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the
son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were
in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. 
 And Saul
said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am,
my lord. 
 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired
against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given
him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that
he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who
among all thy servants is so faithful as David, who is the
king's son-in-law, and is taken into thy council, and is
honorable in thy house? 
 Have I to-day begun to inquire
of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute
anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father;
for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more.
 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech,
thou, and all thy father's house. 
 And the king said unto
the guard that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of
Jehovah; because their hand also is with David, and because they
knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me. But the
servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon
the priests of Jehovah. 
 And the king said to Doeg, Turn
thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned,
and he fell upon the priests, and he slew on that day fourscore
and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. 
 And Nob,
the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword,
both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses
and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
 And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub,
named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 
 And
Abiathar told David that Saul had slain Jehovah's priests.
 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew on that day, when
Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I
have occasioned [the death] of all the persons of thy father's
house. 
 Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh
my life seeketh thy life: for with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
==Chapter 23==
 And they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines
are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the
threshing-floors. 
 Therefore, David inquired of Jehovah,
saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And Jehovah said
unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
 And David's men said unto him, Behold, we are afraid here
in Judah: how much more than if we go to Keilah against the
armies of the Philistines? 
 Then David inquired of Jehovah
yet again. And Jehovah answered him, and said, Arise, go down to
Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. 
 And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the
Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a
great slaughter. So David save the inhabitants of Keilah. 
 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to
David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah.
And Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is
shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to
Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 
 And David knew that
Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar
the priest, Bring hither the ephod. 
 Then said David, O
Jehovah, the God of Israel, thy servant hath surely heard that
Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will
Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Jehovah, the God of
Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And Jehovah said, He
will come down. 
 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah
deliver up to me and my men into the hand of Saul? And Jehovah
said, They will deliver thee up. 
 Then David and his men,
who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah,
and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that
David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.
 And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds,
and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And
Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his
hand.
 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his
life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood.
 And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into
the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 
 And he said
unto him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not
find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be
next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 
 And they two made a covenant before Jehovah: and David abode in
the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
 Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying,
Doth not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the
wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the
desert? 
 Now therefore, O king, come down, according to
all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be
to deliver him up into the king's hand. 
 And Saul said,
Blessed be ye of Jehovah; for ye have had compassion on me.
 Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his
place where his haunt is, [and] who hath seen him there; for it
is told me that he dealeth very subtly. 
 See therefore,
and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth
himself, and come ye again to me of a certainty, and I will go
with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that
I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.
 And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but
David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah
on the south of the desert. 
 And Saul and his men went to
seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down to the
rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard
[that], he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David
and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste
to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed
David and his men round about to take them. 
 But there
came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for
the Philistines have made a raid upon the land. 
 So Saul
returned from pursuing after David, and went against the
Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth.
 And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the
strongholds of En-gedi.
==Chapter 24==
 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from
following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold,
David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. 
 Then Saul took
three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek
David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 
 And
he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul
went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were abiding in
the innermost parts of the cave. 
 And the men of David
said unto him, Behold, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee,
Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt
do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and
cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 
 And it came to
pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut
off Saul's skirt. 
 And he said unto his men, Jehovah
forbid that I should do this thing unto my lord, Jehovah's
anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is
Jehovah's anointed. 
 So David checked his men with these
words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose
up out of the cave, and went on his way.
 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave,
and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul
looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and
did obeisance. 
 And David said to Saul, Wherefore
hearkenest thou to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh
thy hurt? 
 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that
Jehovah had delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave: and
some bade me kill thee; but [mine eye] spared thee; and I said,
I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is
Jehovah's anointed. 
 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see
the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the
skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that
there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have
not sinned against thee, though thou huntest after my life to
take it. 
 Jehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah
avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee. 
 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh
forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be upon thee. 
 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou
pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 
 Jehovah
therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and thee, and
see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand.
 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of
speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy
voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I;
for thou hast rendered unto me good, whereas I have rendered
unto thee evil. 
 And thou hast declared this day how that
thou hast dealt well with me, forasmuch as when Jehovah had
delivered me up into thy hand, thou killedst me not. 
 For
if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore
Jehovah reward thee good for that which thou hast done unto me
this day. 
 And now, behold, I know that thou shalt surely
be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in
thy hand. 
 Swear now therefore unto me by Jehovah, that
thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not
destroy my name out of my father's house. 
 And David
sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat
them up unto the stronghold.
==Chapter 25==
 And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves
together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at
Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in
Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand
sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in
Carmel. 
 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name
of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding,
and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and
evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. 
 And
David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.
 And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the
young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him
in my name: 
 and thus shall ye say to him that liveth [in
prosperity], Peace be unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and
peace be unto all that thou hast. 
 And now I have heard
that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been with us,
and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto
them, all the while they were in Carmel. 
 Ask thy young
men, and they will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find
favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray
thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to
thy son David.
 And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal
according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.
 And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is
David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants
now-a-days that break away every man from his master. 
 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I
have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know
not whence they are? 
 So David's young men turned on
their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all
these words. 
 And David said unto his men, Gird ye 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 abode by the baggage.
 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 railed at them. 
 But the men
were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we
anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the
fields: 
 they were a wall unto us both by night and by
day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 
 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is
determined against our master, and against all his house: for he
is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him.
 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves,
and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five
measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins,
and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. 
 And she said unto her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come
after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. 
 And it
was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of
the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward
her; and she met them. 
 Now David had said, Surely in
vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so
that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he
hath returned me evil for good. 
 God do so unto the
enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain
to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.
 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and alighted
from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed
herself to the ground. 
 And she fell at his feet, and
said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy
handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the
words of thy handmaid. 
 Let not my lord, I pray thee,
regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so
is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy
handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
 Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee from
bloodguiltiness, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand,
now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my
lord, be as Nabal. 
 And now this present which thy
servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the
young men that follow my lord. 
 Forgive, I pray thee, the
trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my
lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of
Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days.
 And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek
thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle
of life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies,
them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. 
 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my
lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning
thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel, 
 that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto
my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that
my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt
well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.
 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the
God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me: 
 and
blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept
me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with
mine own hand. 
 For in very deed, as Jehovah, the God of
Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except
thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been
left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child.
 So David received of her hand that which she had brought
him: and he said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I
have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.
 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a
feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart
was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she
told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. 
 And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out
of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart
died within him, and he became as a stone. 
 And it came
to pass about ten days after, that Jehovah smote Nabal, so that
he died.
 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said,
Blessed be Jehovah, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach
from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from
evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his
own head. And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take
her to him to wife. 
 And when the servants of David were
come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David
hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. 
 And
she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and
said, Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the
servants of my lord. 
 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and
rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her;
and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became
both of them his wives. 
 Now Saul had given Michal his
daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of
Gallim.
==Chapter 26==
 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying,
Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is
before the desert? 
 Then Saul arose, and went down to the
wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel
with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 
 And
Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the
desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he
saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 
 David
therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a
certainty. 
 And David arose, and came to the place where
Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay,
and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay
within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped
round about him.
 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite,
and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who
will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I
will go down with thee. 
 So David and Abishai came to the
people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place
of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head;
and Abner and the people lay round about him. 
 Then said
Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy
hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with
the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him
the second time. 
 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him
not; for who can put forth his hand against Jehovah's anointed,
and be guiltless? 
 And David said, As Jehovah liveth,
Jehovah will smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he
shall go down into battle and perish. 
 Jehovah forbid
that I should put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed: but
now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the
cruse of water, and let us go. 
 So David took the spear
and the cruse of water from Saul's head; and they gat them away:
and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they
were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Jehovah was fallen
upon them.
 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on
the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between
them; 
 and David cried to the people, and to Abner the
son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner
answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? 
 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a [valiant] man? and who
is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept
watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people
in to destroy the king thy lord. 
 This thing is not good
that thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die,
because ye have not kept watch over your lord, Jehovah's
anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse
of water that was at his head.
 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy
voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O
king. 
 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after
his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand?
 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear
the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred
thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the
children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah: for they have
driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the
inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods. 
 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the
presence of Jehovah: for the king of Israel is come out to seek
a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.
 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David;
for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in
thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have
erred exceedingly. 
 And David answered and said, Behold
the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and
fetch it. 
 And Jehovah will render to every man his
righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as Jehovah
delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my
hand against Jehovah's anointed. 
 And, behold, as thy
life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be
much set by in the eyes of Jehovah, and let him deliver me out
of all tribulation. 
 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be
thou, my son David: thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt
surely prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his
place.
==Chapter 27==
 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one
day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than
that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul
will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of
Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. 
 And David
arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were
with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 
 And
David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with
his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the
Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife. 
 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought
no more again for him.
 And David said unto Achish, If now I have found favor
in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in
the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant
dwell in the royal city with thee? 
 Then Achish gave him
Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of
Judah unto this day. 
 And the number of the days that
David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year
and four months.
 And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon
the Geshurites, and the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those
[nations] were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as
thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. 
 And
David smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive, and
took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the
camels, and the apparel; and he returned, and came to Achish.
 And Achish said, Against whom have ye made a raid
to-day? And David said, Against the South of Judah, and against
the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the
Kenites. 
 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to
bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell of us, saying,
So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath
dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 
 And Achish
believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly
to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
==Chapter 28==
 And it came to pass in those days, that the
Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight
with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly,
that thou shalt go out with me in the host, thou and thy men.
 And David said to Achish, Therefore, thou shalt know what
thy servant will do. And Achish said to David, Therefore, will I
make thee keeper of my head for ever.
 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him,
and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put
away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of
the land. 
 And the Philistines gathered themselves
together, and came and encamped in Shunem: and Saul gathered all
Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. 
 And when
Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his
heart trembled greatly. 
 And when Saul inquired of
Jehovah, Jehovah answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by
Urim, nor by prophets. 
 Then said Saul unto his servants,
Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to
her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold,
there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor.
 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment,
and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by
night: and he said, Divine unto me, I pray thee, by the familiar
spirit, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.
 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what
Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar
spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest
thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 
 And Saul
sware to her by Jehovah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, there shall
no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 
 Then said
the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring
me up Samuel. 
 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried
with a loud voice; and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast
thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 
 And the king said
unto her, Be not afraid: for what seest thou? And the woman said
unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. 
 And
he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man
cometh up; and he is covered with a robe. And Saul perceived
that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground,
and did obeisance.
 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me,
to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the
Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me,
and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams:
therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto
me what I shall do. 
 And Samuel said, Wherefore then dost
thou ask of me, seeing Jehovah is departed from thee, and is
become thine adversary? 
 And Jehovah hath done unto thee,
as he spake by me: and Jehovah hath rent the kingdom out of thy
hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. 
 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Jehovah, and didst not
execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath Jehovah
done this thing unto thee this day. 
 Moreover, Jehovah
will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand of the
Philistines; and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me:
Jehovah will deliver the host of Israel also into the hand of
the Philistines.
 Then Saul fell straightway his full length upon the
earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and
there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the
day, nor all the night. 
 And the woman came unto Saul,
and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold,
thy handmaid hath hearkened unto thy voice, and I have put my
life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou
spakest unto me. 
 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken
thou also unto the voice of thy handmaid, and let me set a
morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have
strength, when thou goest on thy way. 
 But he refused,
and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the
woman, constrained him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he
arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. 
 And the
woman had a fatted calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed
it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened
bread thereof: 
 and she brought it before Saul, and
before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and
went away that night.
==Chapter 29==
 Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts
to Aphek: and the Israelites encamped by the fountain which is
in Jezreel. 
 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by
hundreds, and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in
the rearward with Achish. 
 Then said the princes of the
Philistines, What [do] these Hebrews [here]? And Achish said
unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the
servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these
days, or [rather] these years, and I have found no fault in him
since he fell away [unto me] unto this day? 
 But he
princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes
of the Philistines said unto him, Make the man return, that he
may go back to his place where thou hast appointed him, and let
him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become
an adversary to us: for wherewith should this [fellow] reconcile
himself unto his lord? should it not be with the heads of these
men? 
 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another
in dances, saying,
Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands?
 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, As
Jehovah liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and
thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight; for I
have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me
unto this day: nevertheless the lords favor thee not. 
 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not
the lords of the Philistines. 
 And David said unto Achish,
But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so
long as I have been before thee unto this day, that I may not go
and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 
 And
Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in
my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the
Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.
 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with the
servants of thy lord that are come with thee; and as soon as ye
are up early in the morning, and have light, depart. 
 So
David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning,
to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines
went up to Jezreel.
==Chapter 30==
 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come
to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid
upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and
burned it with fire, 
 and had taken captive the women [and
all] that were therein, both small and great: they slew not any,
but carried them off, and went their way. 
 And when David
and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire;
and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken
captive. 
 Then David and the people that were with him
lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to
weep. 
 And David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam
the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of
stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David
strengthened himself in Jehovah his God.
 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of
Ahimelech, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar
brought thither the ephod to David. 
 And David inquired of
Jehovah, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake
them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely
overtake [them], and shalt without fail recover [all]. 
 So
David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and
came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind
stayed. 
 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for
two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not
go over the brook Besor.
 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought
him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave
him water to drink. 
 And they gave him a piece of a cake
of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his
spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk
any water, three days and three nights. 
 And David said
unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he
said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my
master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. 
 We
made a raid upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon that
which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we
burned Ziklag with fire. 
 And David said to him, Wilt
thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear unto me by
God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the
hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.
 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were
spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking, and
dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out
of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the
evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them,
save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled.
 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken;
and David rescued his two wives. 
 And there was nothing
lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor
daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to
them: David brought back all. 
 And David took all the
flocks and the herds, [which] they drove before those [other]
cattle, and said, This is David's spoil.
 And David came to the two hundred men, who were so
faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made
to abide at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet David,
and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came
near to the people, he saluted them. 
 Then answered all
the wicked men and base fellows, of those that went with David,
and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them
aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his
wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart.
 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with
that which Jehovah hath given unto us, who hath preserved us,
and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
 And who will hearken unto you in this matter? for as his
share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be
that tarrieth by the baggage: they shall share alike. 
 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute
and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil
unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold, a
present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah: 
 To them that were in Beth-el, and to them that were in Ramoth of
the South, and to them that were in Jattir, 
 and to them
that were in Aroer, and to them that were in Siphmoth, and to
them that were in Eshtemoa, 
 and to them that were in
Racal, and to them that were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites,
and to them that were in the cities of the Kenites, 
 and
to them that were in Hormah, and to them that were in Bor-ashan,
and to them that were in Athach, 
 and to them that were
in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men
were wont to haunt.
==Chapter 31==
 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men
of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain
in mount Gilboa. 
 And the Philistines followed hard upon
Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and
Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 
 And the
battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and
he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers. 
 Then
said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me
through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me
through, and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was
sore afraid. Therefore, Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.
 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he
likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him. 
 So Saul
died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men,
that same day together.
 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side
of the valley, and they that were beyond the Jordan, saw that
the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead,
they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and
dwelt in them. 
 And it came to pass on the morrow, when
the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul
and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. 
 And they cut
off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land
of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the
house of their idols, and to the people. 
 And they put
his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his
body to the wall of Beth-shan. 
 And when the inhabitants
of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines
had done to Saul, 
 all the valiant men arose, and went
all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons
from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt
them there. 
 And they took their bones, and buried them
under the tamarisk-tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.