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1 Samuel 27-31
The Message
1 Samuel 27-31
The Message
27 David thought to himself, “Sooner or later, Saul’s going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to Philistine country. Saul will count me a lost cause and quit hunting me down in every nook and cranny of Israel. I’ll be out of his reach for good.”
2-4 So David left; he and his six hundred men went to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. They moved in and settled down in Gath, with Achish. Each man brought his household; David brought his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, widow of Nabal of Carmel. When Saul was told that David had escaped to Gath, he called off the hunt.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If it’s agreeable to you, assign me a place in one of the rural villages. It doesn’t seem right that I, your mere servant, should be taking up space in the royal city.”
6-7 So Achish assigned him Ziklag. (This is how Ziklag got to be what it is now, a city of the kings of Judah.) David lived in Philistine country a year and four months.
8-9 From time to time David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—these people were longtime inhabitants of the land stretching toward Shur and on to Egypt. When David raided an area he left no one alive, neither man nor woman, but took everything else: sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, clothing—the works. Then he’d return to Achish.
10-11 Achish would ask, “And whom did you raid today?”
David would tell him, “Oh, the Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” He never left a single person alive lest one show up in Gath and report what David had really been doing. This is the way David operated all the time he lived in Philistine country.
12 Achish came to trust David completely. He thought, “He’s made himself so repugnant to his people that he’ll be in my camp forever.”
28 During this time the Philistines mustered their troops to make war on Israel. Achish said to David, “You can count on this: You’re marching with my troops, you and your men.”
2 And David said, “Good! Now you’ll see for yourself what I can do!”
“Great!” said Achish. “I’m making you my personal bodyguard—for life!”
Saul Prayed, but God Didn’t Answer
3 Samuel was now dead. All Israel had mourned his death and buried him in Ramah, his hometown. Saul had long since cleaned out all those who held séances with the dead.
4-5 The Philistines had mustered their troops and camped at Shunem. Saul had assembled all Israel and camped at Gilboa. But when Saul saw the Philistine troops, he shook in his boots, scared to death.
6 Saul prayed to God, but God didn’t answer—neither by dream nor by sign nor by prophet.
7 So Saul ordered his officials, “Find me someone who can call up spirits so I may go and seek counsel from those spirits.”
His servants said, “There’s a witch at Endor.”
8 Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes. Then, taking two men with him, he went under the cover of night to the woman and said, “I want you to consult a ghost for me. Call up the person I name.”
9 The woman said, “Just hold on now! You know what Saul did, how he swept the country clean of mediums. Why are you trying to trap me and get me killed?”
10 Saul swore solemnly, “As God lives, you won’t get in any trouble for this.”
11 The woman said, “So whom do you want me to bring up?”
“Samuel. Bring me Samuel.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly to Saul, “Why did you lie to me? You’re Saul!”
13 The king told her, “You have nothing to fear ...but what do you see?”
“I see a spirit ascending from the underground.”
14 “And what does he look like?” Saul asked.
“An old man ascending, robed like a priest.”
Saul knew it was Samuel. He fell down, face to the ground, and worshiped.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by calling me up?”
“Because I’m in deep trouble,” said Saul. “The Philistines are making war against me and God has deserted me—he doesn’t answer me any more, either by prophet or by dream. And so I’m calling on you to tell me what to do.”
16-19 “Why ask me?” said Samuel. “God has turned away from you and is now on the side of your neighbor. God has done exactly what he told you through me—ripped the kingdom right out of your hands and given it to your neighbor. It’s because you did not obey God, refused to carry out his seething judgment on Amalek, that God does to you what he is doing today. Worse yet, God is turning Israel, along with you, over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And, yes, indeed, God is giving Israel’s army up to the Philistines.”
20-22 Saul dropped to the ground, felled like a tree, terrified by Samuel’s words. There wasn’t an ounce of strength left in him—he’d eaten nothing all day and all night. The woman, realizing that he was in deep shock, said to him, “Listen to me. I did what you asked me to do, put my life in your hands in doing it, carried out your instructions to the letter. It’s your turn to do what I tell you: Let me give you some food. Eat it. It will give you strength so you can get on your way.”
23-25 He refused. “I’m not eating anything.”
But when his servants joined the woman in urging him, he gave in to their pleas, picked himself up off the ground, and sat on the bed. The woman moved swiftly. She butchered a grain-fed calf she had, and took some flour, kneaded it, and baked some flat bread. Then she served it all up for Saul and his servants. After dining handsomely, they got up from the table and were on their way that same night.
29 1-2 The Philistines mustered all their troops at Aphek. Meanwhile Israel had made camp at the spring at Jezreel. As the Philistine warlords marched forward by regiments and divisions, David and his men were bringing up the rear with Achish.
3 The Philistine officers said, “What business do these Hebrews have being here?”
Achish answered the officers, “Don’t you recognize David, ex-servant of King Saul of Israel? He’s been with me a long time. I’ve found nothing to be suspicious of, nothing to complain about, from the day he defected from Saul until now.”
4-5 Angry with Achish, the Philistine officers said, “Send this man back to where he came from. Let him stick to his normal duties. He’s not going into battle with us. He’d switch sides in the middle of the fight! What better chance to get back in favor with his master than by stabbing us in the back! Isn’t this the same David they celebrate at their parties, singing,
Saul kills by the thousand,
David by the ten thousand!”
6-7 So Achish had to send for David and tell him, “As God lives, you’ve been a trusty ally—excellent in all the ways you have worked with me, beyond reproach in the ways you have conducted yourself. But the warlords don’t see it that way. So it’s best that you leave peacefully, now. It’s not worth it, displeasing the Philistine warlords.”
8 “But what have I done?” said David. “Have you had a single cause for complaint from the day I joined up with you until now? Why can’t I fight against the enemies of my master the king?”
9-10 “I agree,” said Achish. “You’re a good man—as far as I’m concerned, God’s angel! But the Philistine officers were emphatic: ‘He’s not to go with us into battle.’ So get an early start, you and the men who came with you. As soon as you have light enough to travel, go.”
11 David rose early, he and his men, and by daybreak they were on their way back to Philistine country. The Philistines went on to Jezreel.
David’s Strength Was in His God
30 1-3 Three days later, David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They tore Ziklag to pieces and then burned it down. They captured all the women, young and old. They didn’t kill anyone, but drove them like a herd of cattle. By the time David and his men entered the village, it had been burned to the ground, and their wives, sons, and daughters all taken prisoner.
4-6 David and his men burst out in loud wails—wept and wept until they were exhausted with weeping. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken prisoner along with the rest. And suddenly David was in even worse trouble. There was talk among the men, bitter over the loss of their families, of stoning him.
6-7 David strengthened himself with trust in his God. He ordered Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the Ephod so I can consult God.” Abiathar brought it to David.
8 Then David prayed to God, “Shall I go after these raiders? Can I catch them?”
The answer came, “Go after them! Yes, you’ll catch them! Yes, you’ll make the rescue!”
9-10 David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They arrived at the Brook Besor, where some of them dropped out. David and four hundred men kept up the pursuit, but two hundred of them were too fatigued to cross the Brook Besor, and stayed there.
11-12 Some who went on came across an Egyptian in a field and took him to David. They gave him bread and he ate. And he drank some water. They gave him a piece of fig cake and a couple of raisin muffins. Life began to revive in him. He hadn’t eaten or drunk a thing for three days and nights!
13-14 David said to him, “Who do you belong to? Where are you from?”
“I’m an Egyptian slave of an Amalekite,” he said. “My master walked off and left me when I got sick—that was three days ago. We had raided the Negev of the Kerethites, of Judah, and of Caleb. Ziklag we burned.”
15 David asked him, “Can you take us to the raiders?”
“Promise me by God,” he said, “that you won’t kill me or turn me over to my old master, and I’ll take you straight to the raiders.”
16 He led David to them. They were scattered all over the place, eating and drinking, gorging themselves on all the loot they had plundered from Philistia and Judah.
17-20 David pounced. He fought them from before sunrise until evening of the next day. None got away except for four hundred of the younger men who escaped by riding off on camels. David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives! Nothing and no one was missing—young or old, son or daughter, plunder or whatever. David recovered the whole lot. He herded the sheep and cattle before them, and they all shouted, “David’s plunder!”
21 Then David came to the two hundred who had been too tired to continue with him and had dropped out at the Brook Besor. They came out to welcome David and his band. As he came near he called out, “Success!”
22 But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: “They didn’t help in the rescue, they don’t get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that’s it. Take them and go!”
23-25 “Families don’t do this sort of thing! Oh no, my brothers!” said David as he broke up the argument. “You can’t act this way with what God gave us! God kept us safe. He handed over the raiders who attacked us. Who would ever listen to this kind of talk? The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights—equal shares. Share and share alike!” From that day on, David made that the rule in Israel—and it still is.
26-31 On returning to Ziklag, David sent portions of the plunder to the elders of Judah, his neighbors, with a note saying, “A gift from the plunder of God’s enemies!” He sent them to the elders in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir, Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, Racal, Jerahmeelite cities, Kenite cities, Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, and Hebron, along with a number of other places David and his men went to from time to time.
Saul and Jonathan, Dead on the Mountain
31 1-2 The Philistines made war on Israel. The men of Israel were in full retreat from the Philistines, falling left and right, wounded on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines caught up with Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, Saul’s sons.
3-4 The battle was hot and heavy around Saul. The archers got his range and wounded him badly. Saul said to his weapon bearer, “Draw your sword and put me out of my misery, lest these pagan pigs come and make a game out of killing me.”
4-6 But his weapon bearer wouldn’t do it. He was terrified. So Saul took the sword himself and fell on it. When the weapon bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, and his weapon bearer—the men closest to him—died together that day.
7 When the Israelites in the valley opposite and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that their army was in full retreat and that Saul and his sons were dead, they left their cities and ran for their lives. The Philistines moved in and occupied the sites.
8-10 The next day, when the Philistines came to rob the dead, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor. Then they spread the good news all through Philistine country in the shrines of their idols and among the people. They displayed his armor in the shrine of the Ashtoreth. They nailed his corpse to the wall at Beth Shan.
11-13 The people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. Their valiant men sprang into action. They traveled all night, took the corpses of Saul and his three sons from the wall at Beth Shan, and carried them back to Jabesh and burned off the flesh. They then buried the bones under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted in mourning for seven days.
1 Samuel 27-31
New International Version
1 Samuel 27-31
New International Version
David Among the Philistines
27 But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
2 So David and the six hundred men(A) with him left and went(B) over to Achish(C) son of Maok king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives:(D) Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”
6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag,(E) and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7 David lived(F) in Philistine territory a year and four months.
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites,(G) the Girzites and the Amalekites.(H) (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur(I) and Egypt.) 9 Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive,(J) but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10 When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel(K)” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.(L)” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious(M) to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.(N)”
28 In those days the Philistines gathered(O) their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”
2 David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”
Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard(P) for life.”
Saul and the Medium at Endor
3 Now Samuel was dead,(Q) and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah.(R) Saul had expelled(S) the mediums and spiritists(T) from the land.
4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem,(U) while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa.(V) 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror(W) filled his heart. 6 He inquired(X) of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams(Y) or Urim(Z) or prophets.(AA) 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,(AB) so I may go and inquire of her.”
“There is one in Endor,(AC)” they said.
8 So Saul disguised(AD) himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult(AE) a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”
9 But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off(AF) the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap(AG) for my life to bring about my death?”
10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”
11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
“Bring up Samuel,” he said.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me?(AH) You are Saul!”
13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure[a] coming up out of the earth.”(AI)
14 “What does he look like?” he asked.
“An old man wearing a robe(AJ) is coming up,” she said.
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed(AK) from me. He no longer answers(AL) me, either by prophets or by dreams.(AM) So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn(AN) the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey(AO) the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath(AP) against the Amalekites,(AQ) the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons(AR) will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.
21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life(AS) in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”
23 He refused(AT) and said, “I will not eat.”
But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had a fattened calf(AU) at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. 25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.
Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag
29 The Philistines gathered(AV) all their forces at Aphek,(AW) and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.(AX) 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear(AY) with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”
Achish replied, “Is this not David,(AZ) who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year,(BA) and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”
4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send(BB) the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn(BC) against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”(BD)
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day(BE) you came to me until today, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers(BF) don’t approve of you. 7 Now turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”
8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel(BG) of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders(BH) have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10 Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave(BI) in the morning as soon as it is light.”
11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David Destroys the Amalekites
30 David and his men reached Ziklag(BJ) on the third day. Now the Amalekites(BK) had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned(BL) it, 2 and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
3 When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.(BM) 4 So David and his men wept(BN) aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives(BO) had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning(BP) him; each one was bitter(BQ) in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength(BR) in the Lord his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar(BS) the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.(BT)” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired(BU) of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed(BV) in the rescue.(BW)”
9 David and the six hundred men(BX) with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. 10 Two hundred of them were too exhausted(BY) to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat— 12 part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived,(BZ) for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 David asked him, “Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite.(CA) My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites,(CB) some territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb.(CC) And we burned(CD) Ziklag.”
15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master,(CE) and I will take you down to them.”
16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling(CF) because of the great amount of plunder(CG) they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought(CH) them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.(CI) 18 David recovered(CJ) everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted(CK) to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were. 22 But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”
23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.(CL)” 25 David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.
26 When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a gift(CM) for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”
27 David sent it to those who were in Bethel,(CN) Ramoth(CO) Negev and Jattir;(CP) 28 to those in Aroer,(CQ) Siphmoth,(CR) Eshtemoa(CS) 29 and Rakal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites(CT) and the Kenites;(CU) 30 to those in Hormah,(CV) Bor Ashan,(CW) Athak 31 and Hebron;(CX) and to those in all the other places where he and his men had roamed.
Saul Takes His Life(CY)
31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.(CZ) 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons,(DA) and they killed his sons Jonathan,(DB) Abinadab and Malki-Shua.(DC) 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded(DD) him critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through,(DE) or these uncircumcised(DF) fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died(DG) together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines(DH) came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news(DI) in the temple of their idols and among their people.(DJ) 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths(DK) and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.(DL)
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead(DM) heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men(DN) marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned(DO) them. 13 Then they took their bones(DP) and buried them under a tamarisk(DQ) tree at Jabesh, and they fasted(DR) seven days.(DS)
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 28:13 Or see spirits; or see gods
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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