1 Samuel 9-17

English Standard Version

Saul Chosen to Be King

9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(A)Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. ² And he had a son whose name was Saul, ^(B)a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. ^(C)From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ And he passed through ^(D)the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^(E)Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant^[a] who was with him, “Come, let us go back, ^(F)lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” ⁶ But he said to him, “Behold, there is ^(G)a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; ^(H)all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, ^(I)what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel^[b] of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man ^(J)went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today's “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) ¹⁰ And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, ^(K)they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people ^(L)have a sacrifice today on ^(M)the high place. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, ^(N)the Lord had ^(O)revealed to Samuel: ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, ^(P)and you shall anoint him to be prince^[c] over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. ^(Q)For I have seen^[d] my people, because their cry has come to me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ^(R)“Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. ^20 (S)As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?” ²¹ Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, ^(T)from the least of the tribes of Israel? ^(U)And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” ²⁴ So the cook took up ^(V)the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”^[e]

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. ²⁵ And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul ^(W)on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.^{[f] 26} Then at the break of dawn^[g] Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

Saul Anointed King

10 ^(X)Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head ^(Y)and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince^[h] over ^(Z)his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince^[i] over his heritage. ² When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by ^(AA)Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ^(AB)‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now ^(AC)your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ ³ Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the ^(AD)oak of Tabor. Three men ^(AE)going up ^(AF)to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. ⁴ And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. ⁵ After that you shall come to ^(AG)Gibeath-elohim,^{[j] (AH)}where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down ^(AI)from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. ^6 (AJ)Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, ^(AK)and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. ⁷ Now when ^(AL)these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, ^(AM)for God is with you. ⁸ Then go down before me ^(AN)to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(AO)to sacrifice peace offerings. ^(AP)Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

⁹ When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰ When they came to ^(AQ)Gibeah,^[k] behold, a group of prophets met him, ^(AR)and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? ^(AS)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² And a man of the place answered, ^(AT)“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, ^(AU)“Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

^14 (AV)Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, ^(AW)“To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ And Saul said to his uncle, ^(AX)“He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Now Samuel called the people together ^(AY)to the Lord ^(AZ)at Mizpah. ¹⁸ And he said to the people of Israel, ^(BA)“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ^19 (BB)But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore ^(BC)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”

²⁰ Then Samuel ^(BD)brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹ He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;^[l] and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ^22 (BE)So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” ²³ Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, ^(BF)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(BG)whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, ^(BH)“Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people ^(BI)the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. ²⁶ Saul also went to his home ^(BJ)at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But some ^(BK)worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 ^(BL)Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^(BM)Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ^(BN)“Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, ^(BO)that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus ^(BP)bring disgrace on all Israel.” ³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to ^(BQ)Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, ^(BR)and all the people wept aloud.

⁵ Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. ^6 (BS)And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen ^(BT)and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, ^(BU)“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out ^(BV)as one man. ⁸ When he mustered them at ^(BW)Bezek, ^(BX)the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ⁹ And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have ^(BY)salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. ¹⁰ Therefore the men of Jabesh said, ^(BZ)“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” ^11 (CA)And the next day Saul put the people ^(CB)in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Kingdom Is Renewed

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, ^(CC)“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^(CD)Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³ But Saul said, ^(CE)“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today ^(CF)the Lord has worked ^(CG)salvation in Israel.” ¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to ^(CH)Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(CI)before the Lord in Gilgal. There ^(CJ)they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel's Farewell Address

12 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^(CK)your voice in all that you have said to me ^(CL)and have made a king over you. ² And now, behold, the king ^(CM)walks before you, ^(CN)and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^(CO)his anointed. ^(CP)Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me^[m] and I will restore it to you.” ⁴ They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” ⁵ And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^(CQ)his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ^(CR)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ And Samuel said to the people, ^(CS)“The Lord is witness,^[n] who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. ^8 (CT)When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,^{[o] (CU)}then your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^(CV)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^(CW)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. ⁹ But ^(CX)they forgot the Lord their God. ^(CY)And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,^{[p] (CZ)}and into the hand of the Philistines, ^(DA)and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. ^10 (DB)And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^(DC)and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^(DD)deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ ¹¹ And the Lord sent ^(DE)Jerubbaal ^(DF)and Barak^{[q] (DG)}and Jephthah and ^(DH)Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. ¹² And when you saw that ^(DI)Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^(DJ)you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^(DK)when the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now ^(DL)behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^(DM)the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴ If you will ^(DN)fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. ¹⁵ But ^(DO)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^(DP)the hand of the Lord will be against you and ^(DQ)your king.^{[r] 16} Now therefore ^(DR)stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. ^17 (DS)Is it not wheat harvest today? ^(DT)I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^(DU)your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^(DV)and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ And all the people said to Samuel, ^(DW)“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^(DX)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ And ^(DY)do not turn aside after ^(DZ)empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. ^22 (EA)For the Lord will not forsake his people, ^(EB)for his great name's sake, because ^(EC)it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. ²³ Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^(ED)to pray for you, ^(EE)and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. ^24 (EF)Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^(EG)what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, ^(EH)you shall be swept away, ^(EI)both you and your king.”

Saul Fights the Philistines

13 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,^{[s] 2} Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^(EJ)Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^(EK)Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. ³ Jonathan defeated ^(EL)the garrison of the Philistines that was ^(EM)at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^(EN)blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴ And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^(EO)like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^(EP)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^(EQ)in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, ⁷ and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice

^8 (ER)He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, ¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(ES)“You have done foolishly. ^(ET)You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now ^(EU)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(EV)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince^[t] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” ¹⁵ And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal^[u] to ^(EW)Gibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^(EX)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^(EY)Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷ And ^(EZ)raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; ¹⁸ another company turned toward ^(FA)Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^(FB)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

^19 (FC)Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” ²⁰ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,^{[v] 21} and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[w] for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel^[x] for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.^{[y] 22} So on the day of the battle ^(FD)there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. ²³ And ^(FE)the garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^(FF)pass of ^(FG)Michmash.

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave^[z] at ^(FH)Migron. The people who were with him were about ^(FI)six hundred men, ³ including ^(FJ)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, ^(FK)Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^(FL)in Shiloh, ^(FM)wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Within ^(FN)the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of ^(FO)Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ^(FP)uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, ^(FQ)for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.^[aa] Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming ^(FR)out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre^[ab] of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even ^(FS)the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.^[ac]

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude ^(FT)was dispersing here and there.^{[ad] 17} Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. ¹⁸ So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people^[ae] of Israel. ¹⁹ Now ^(FU)while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, ^(FV)every Philistine's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹ Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, ^(FW)even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel ^(FX)who had hidden themselves ^(FY)in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. ^23 (FZ)So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond ^(GA)Beth-aven.

Saul's Rash Vow

²⁴ And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, ^(GB)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^[af] 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, ^(GC)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 ^(GD)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 ^(GE)Michmash to ^(GF)Aijalon. And the people were very ^(GG)faint. ³² The people ^(GH)pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them ^(GI)with the blood. ³³ Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating ^(GJ)with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.”^{[ag] 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 ^(GK)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 ^(GL)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?” ^(GM)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 ^(GN)as the Lord lives who saves Israel, ^(GO)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.”^{[ah] (GP)}And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴² Then Saul said, ^(GQ)“Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^(GR)“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, ^(GS)“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, ^(GT)“God do so to me and more also; ^(GU)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! ^(GV)As the Lord lives, ^(GW)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, ^(GX)against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of ^(GY)Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. ⁴⁸ And he did valiantly ^(GZ)and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

^49 (HA)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 ^(HB)Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. ^(HC)And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, ^(HD)Saul's uncle. ^51 (HE)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of ^(HF)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, ^(HG)he attached him to himself.

The Lord Rejects Saul

15 And Samuel said to Saul, ^(HH)“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 ^(HI)in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek and ^(HJ)devote to destruction^[ai] all that they have. Do not spare them, ^(HK)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 ^(HL)the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. ^(HM)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 (HN)And Saul defeated the Amalekites from ^(HO)Havilah as far as ^(HP)Shur, which is east of Egypt. ⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive ^(HQ)and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. ^9 (HR)But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves^[aj] 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 (HS)“I regret^[ak] that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and ^(HT)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 ^(HU)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, ^(HV)“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, ^(HW)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, ^(HX)“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? ^(HY)Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” ²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, ^(HZ)“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 (IA)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, ^(IG)“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 ^(IH)return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” ²⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. ^(II)For you have rejected the word of the Lord, ^(IJ)and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ^27 (IK)As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ And Samuel said to him, ^(IL)“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 ^(IM)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 ^(IN)honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, ^(IO)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.^[al] Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” ³³ And Samuel said, ^(IP)“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord ^(IQ)in Gilgal.

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

David Anointed King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, ^(IW)“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^(IX)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(IY)Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^(IZ)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, ^(JA)‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^(JB)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 ^(JC)came to meet him trembling and said, ^(JD)“Do you come peaceably?” ⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(JE)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 ^(JF)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, ^(JG)“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, ^(JH)but the Lord looks on the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(JI)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made ^(JJ)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, ^(JK)“There remains yet the youngest,^[am] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^(JL)“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 ^(JM)ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^(JN)“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took ^(JO)the horn of oil ^(JP)and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^(JQ)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 (JR)Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, ^(JS)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 ^(JT)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 ^(JU)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, ^(JV)a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, ^(JW)and the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, ^(JX)who is with the sheep.” ^20 (JY)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 ^(JZ)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 ^(KA)whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre ^(KB)and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

David and Goliath

17 Now the Philistines ^(KC)gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at ^(KD)Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and ^(KE)Azekah, in ^(KF)Ephes-dammim. ² And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in ^(KG)the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. ³ And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. ⁴ And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named ^(KH)Goliath of ^(KI)Gath, whose height was six^[an] cubits^[ao] and a span. ⁵ He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels^[ap] of bronze. ⁶ And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a ^(KJ)javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. ⁷ The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. ^(KK)And his shield-bearer went before him. ⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and ^(KL)are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants ^(KM)and serve us.” ¹⁰ And the Philistine said, ^(KN)“I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

¹² Now David was ^(KO)the son of an ^(KP)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, ^(KQ)named Jesse, ^(KR)who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.^{[aq] 13} The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And ^(KS)the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ^14 (KT)David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul ^(KU)to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. ¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

¹⁷ And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah^[ar] of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. ^18 (KV)Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. ^(KW)See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

¹⁹ Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. ²⁰ And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to ^(KX)the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. ²¹ And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. ²² And David left the ^(KY)things in charge of the keeper of the ^(KZ)baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he talked with them, behold, ^(LA)the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke ^(LB)the same words as before. And David heard him.