Saul's Rash Vow

²⁴ And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, ^(A)so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. ²⁵ Now when all the people^[a] came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, ^(B)so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. ²⁸ Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were ^(C)faint. ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ They struck down the Philistines that day from ^(D)Michmash to ^(E)Aijalon. And the people were very ^(F)faint. ³² The people ^(G)pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them ^(H)with the blood. ³³ Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating ^(I)with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.”^{[b] 34} And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there. ³⁵ And Saul ^(J)built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But ^(K)the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” ^(L)But he did not answer him that day. ³⁸ And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. ³⁹ For ^(M)as the Lord lives who saves Israel, ^(N)though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” ⁴¹ Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.”^{[c] (O)}And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴² Then Saul said, ^(P)“Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^(Q)“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, ^(R)“I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” ⁴⁴ And Saul said, ^(S)“God do so to me and more also; ^(T)you shall surely die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! ^(U)As the Lord lives, ^(V)there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul Fights Israel's Enemies

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^(W)against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of ^(X)Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. ⁴⁸ And he did valiantly ^(Y)and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

^49 (Z)Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was ^(AA)Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. ^(AB)And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, ^(AC)Saul's uncle. ^51 (AD)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of ^(AE)Abiel.

⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, ^(AF)he attached him to himself.

The Lord Rejects Saul

15 And Samuel said to Saul, ^(AG)“The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel ^(AH)in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek and ^(AI)devote to destruction^[d] all that they have. Do not spare them, ^(AJ)but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶ Then Saul said to ^(AK)the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. ^(AL)For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ^7 (AM)And Saul defeated the Amalekites from ^(AN)Havilah as far as ^(AO)Shur, which is east of Egypt. ⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive ^(AP)and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. ^9 (AQ)But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves^[e] and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

¹⁰ The word of the Lord came to Samuel: ^11 (AR)“I regret^[f] that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and ^(AS)has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. ¹² And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to ^(AT)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” ¹³ And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, ^(AU)“Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” ¹⁴ And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, ^(AV)for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷ And Samuel said, ^(AW)“Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^(AX)Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” ²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, ^(AY)“I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. ^21 (AZ)But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” ²² And Samuel said,

²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, ^(BF)“I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, please pardon my sin and ^(BG)return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” ²⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. ^(BH)For you have rejected the word of the Lord, ^(BI)and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ^27 (BJ)As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ And Samuel said to him, ^(BK)“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. ²⁹ And also the Glory of Israel ^(BL)will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” ³⁰ Then he said, “I have sinned; yet ^(BM)honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, ^(BN)and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully.^[g] Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” ³³ And Samuel said, ^(BO)“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord ^(BP)in Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went ^(BQ)to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in ^(BR)Gibeah of Saul. ^35 (BS)And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, ^(BT)but Samuel grieved over Saul. ^(BU)And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

David Anointed King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, ^(BV)“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^(BW)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(BX)Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^(BY)for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ^(BZ)‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^(CA)And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^(CB)came to meet him trembling and said, ^(CC)“Do you come peaceably?” ⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(CD)Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on ^(CE)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, ^(CF)“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^(CG)but the Lord looks on the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(CH)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made ^(CI)Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^(CJ)“There remains yet the youngest,^[h] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^(CK)“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^(CL)ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^(CM)“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took ^(CN)the horn of oil ^(CO)and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^(CP)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

David in Saul's Service

^14 (CQ)Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, ^(CR)and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. ¹⁵ And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command your servants ^(CS)who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will ^(CT)play it, and you will be well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, ^(CU)a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, ^(CV)and the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, ^(CW)who is with the sheep.” ^20 (CX)And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. ²¹ And David came to Saul ^(CY)and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. ²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ And ^(CZ)whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre ^(DA)and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.