1 Samuel 13:1-2

Contemporary English Version

Saul Disobeys the Lord

13 Saul was a young man^[a] when he became king, and he ruled Israel for two years. ²Then^[b] he chose 3,000 men from Israel to be full-time soldiers and sent everyone else^[c] home. Two thousand of these troops stayed with him in the hills around Michmash and Bethel. The other 1,000 were stationed with Jonathan^[d] at Gibeah^[e] in the territory of Benjamin.

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Footnotes

13.1 a young man: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text; several manuscripts of one ancient translation have “thirty years old.”
13.1,2 for … Then: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13.2 everyone else: People who were not full-time soldiers, but fought together with the army when the nation was in danger.
13.2 Jonathan: Saul's son (see verse 16).
13.2 Michmash … Bethel … Gibeah: These three towns form a triangle, with Bethel to the north.