Israel Demands a King

8 Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that ^(A)he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in ^(B)Beersheba. ³ His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they ^(C)took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^(D)Ramah; ⁵ and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^(E)appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶ But the matter was ^[a](F)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And ^(G)Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because ^(H)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them. ⁸ Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well. ⁹ Now then, listen to their voice; ^(I)however, you shall warn them strongly and tell them of ^(J)the ^[b]practice of the king who will reign over them.”

Warning concerning a King

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to ^(K)the people who had asked him for a king. ¹¹ And he said, “^(L)This will be the ^[c]practice of the king who will reign over you: ^(M)he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and ^(N)they will run before his chariots. ^12 (O)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to ^[d]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ^14 (P)He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and ^[e]use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ Then ^(Q)you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but ^(R)the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

¹⁹ Yet the people ^(S)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ^20 (T)so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, ^(U)he ^[f]repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. ²² And the Lord said to Samuel, “^(V)Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, every man to his city.”

Saul’s Search

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(W)Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a ^[g]valiant mighty man. ² He had a son whose name was Saul, a ^(X)young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; ^(Y)from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through ^(Z)the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^(AA)Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^(AB)Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of ^(AC)Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, ^(AD)or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.” ⁶ But he said to him, “Behold now, there is ^(AE)a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ^(AF)everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, ^(AG)perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is ^(AH)no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will ^(AI)tell us our way.” ⁹ (Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called ^(AJ)a seer.) ¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “^[h]Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the slope to the city, ^(AK)they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered them and said, “He is; ^[i]see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because ^(AL)the people have a sacrifice on ^(AM)the high place today. 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 until he comes, because ^(AN)he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

God’s Choice for King

¹⁵ Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^(AO)the Lord had ^[j]revealed this to Samuel, saying, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^(AP)you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^(AQ)I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord ^[k]said to him, “^(AR)Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” ¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind. ^20 (AS)And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And ^(AT)for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” ²¹ Saul replied, “^(AU)Am I not a Benjaminite, of ^(AV)the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ^[l]tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “^[m]Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it ^[n]aside.’” ²⁴ Then the cook ^(AW)took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ^[o]since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they came down from the high place into the city, ^[p]Samuel spoke with Saul ^(AX)on the roof. ²⁶ And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. ²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”

Saul among the Prophets

10 Then ^(AY)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on ^[q]Saul’s head, ^(AZ)kissed him, and said, “Has ^(BA)the Lord not anointed you as ruler over ^(BB)His inheritance? ² When you leave me today, then you will find two men close to ^(BC)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^(BD)The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has stopped talking about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What am I to do about my son?”’ ³ Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ^[r](BE)oak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^(BF)to God at Bethel will meet you: one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine. ⁴ And they will ^[s]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. ⁵ Afterward you will come to ^[t](BG)the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^(BH)a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and ^(BI)they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then ^(BJ)the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and ^(BK)you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. ⁷ And it shall be when these signs come to you, ^(BL)do for yourself what ^[u]the occasion requires, because ^(BM)God is with you. ⁸ And ^(BN)you shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(BO)sacrifice peace offerings. ^(BP)You shall wait seven days until I come to you and inform you of what you should do.”

⁹ Then it happened, when he turned his back to leave Samuel, that God ^(BQ)changed ^[v]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ^10 (BR)When they came there to ^[w]the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And it came about, when all who previously knew him saw that he was indeed prophesying with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? ^(BS)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “^(BT)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ Now ^(BU)Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^(BV)To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ So Saul said to his uncle, “^(BW)He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

Saul Publicly Chosen King

¹⁷ Now Samuel called the ^(BX)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; ¹⁸ and he said to the sons of Israel, “^(BY)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the ^[x]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But today you ^(BZ)have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have ^[y]said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, ^(CA)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your ^[z]groups of thousands.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward; and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. ²¹ Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the Matrite family was selected by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was selected by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore ^(CB)they inquired further of the Lord: “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” ²³ So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, ^(CC)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(CD)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “^[aa](CE)Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people ^(CF)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book, and ^(CG)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. ²⁶ Saul also went ^(CH)to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But certain ^[ab](CI)useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and ^(CJ)did not bring him a gift. But ^[ac]he kept silent about it.

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now ^(CK)Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^(CL)Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make ^(CM)a covenant with us and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, ^(CN)that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and thereby I will inflict ^(CO)a disgrace on all Israel.” ³ So ^(CP)the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Allow us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” ⁴ Then the messengers came ^(CQ)to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people ^(CR)raised their voices and wept.

⁵ Now behold, Saul was coming from the field ^(CS)behind the oxen, and Saul said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶ Then ^(CT)the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and ^[ad]he became very angry. ⁷ He then took a yoke of oxen and ^(CU)cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “^(CV)Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out ^(CW)as one person. ⁸ He ^[ae]counted them in ^(CX)Bezek; and the ^(CY)sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, thirty thousand. ⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “This is what you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they rejoiced. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said, “^(CZ)Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good ^[af]to you.” ¹¹ The next morning Saul put the people ^(DA)in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch, and struck and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “^(DB)Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^[ag](DC)Bring the men, so that we may put them to death!” ¹³ But Saul said, “^(DD)Not a single person shall be put to death this day, for today ^(DE)the Lord has brought about ^[ah]victory in Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to ^(DF)Gilgal and ^(DG)renew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(DH)before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also ^(DI)offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel Addresses Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^(DJ)I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^(DK)have appointed a king over you. ² Now, ^(DL)here is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^(DM)I am old and gray, and ^(DN)my sons are here with you. And ^(DO)I have walked before you since my youth to this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and ^(DP)His anointed. ^(DQ)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(DR)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” ⁴ And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” ⁵ So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(DS)you have found nothing ^(DT)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^[ai](DU)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, take your stand, ^(DV)so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord that He did for you and your fathers. ^8 (DW)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(DX)your fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^(DY)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^[aj](DZ)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(EA)they forgot the Lord their God, so ^(EB)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^(EC)into the hand of the Philistines, and ^(ED)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (EE)They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served ^(EF)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(EG)now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent ^(EH)Jerubbaal, ^[ak](EI)Bedan, ^(EJ)Jephthah, and ^(EK)Samuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

¹² But when you saw ^(EL)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘^(EM)No, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^(EN)Yet the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now, ^(EO)behold, the king whom you have chosen, ^(EP)whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has ^[al]put a king over you. ^14 (EQ)If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[am]command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But ^(ER)if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^[an]command of the Lord, then ^(ES)the hand of the Lord will be against you, ^(ET)even as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Even now, ^(EU)take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. ^17 (EV)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(EW)I will call to the Lord, that He will send ^[ao]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(EX)your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent ^[ap]thunder and rain that day; and ^(EY)all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, “^(EZ)Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^(FA)this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(FB)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^(FC)useless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. ²² For ^(FD)the Lord will not abandon His people ^(FE)on account of His great name, because the Lord ^(FF)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³ Furthermore, as for me, ^(FG)far be it from me that I would sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(FH)I will instruct you in the good and right way. ^24 (FI)Only ^[aq]fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^(FJ)what great things He has done for you. ^25 (FK)But if you still do evil, ^(FL)both you and your king ^(FM)will be swept away.”

War with the Philistines

13 Saul was ^[ar]thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for ^[as]forty-two years over Israel.

² Now Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom two thousand were with Saul in ^(FN)Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while a thousand were with Jonathan at ^(FO)Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent the rest of the people away, each to his tent. ³ And Jonathan attacked ^(FP)the garrison of the Philistines that was in ^(FQ)Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul ^(FR)blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ And all Israel heard ^[at]the news that Saul had attacked the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel ^(FS)had become repulsive to the Philistines. Then the people were summoned ^[au]to Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and ^(FT)people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of ^(FU)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard-pressed), then ^(FV)the people kept themselves hidden in caves, in crevices, in cliffs, in crypts, and in pits. ⁷ And some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of ^(FW)Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.

⁸ Now ^(FX)he waited for seven days, until the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And ^(FY)he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ But as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and ^(FZ)Saul went out to meet him and to ^[av]greet him. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Since I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come at the appointed ^[aw]time, and that ^(GA)the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹² I ^[ax]thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not ^[ay]asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I worked up the courage and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ But Samuel said to Saul, “^(GB)You have acted foolishly! ^(GC)You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for the Lord would now have established your kingdom ^[az]over Israel ^(GD)forever. ¹⁴ But ^(GE)now your kingdom shall not endure. ^(GF)The Lord has sought for Himself a man ^[ba]after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to ^(GG)Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul ^[bb]counted the people who were ^[bc]present with him, ^(GH)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ Now Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were ^[bd]present with them were staying in ^(GI)Geba of Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. ¹⁷ Then ^(GJ)[be]raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three ^[bf]companies: one ^[bg]company turned ^[bh]toward ^(GK)Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸ and another ^[bi]company turned ^[bj]toward ^(GL)Beth-horon, and another ^[bk]company turned ^[bl]toward the border that overlooks the Valley of ^(GM)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ Now ^(GN)no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make ^[bm](GO)swords or spears.” ²⁰ So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. ²¹ The charge was ^[bn]two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the ^[bo]cattle goads. ²² So it came about on the day of battle that ^(GP)neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. ²³ And ^(GQ)the garrison of the Philistines went out to ^(GR)the gorge of Michmash.

Jonathan’s Victory

14 Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come, and let’s cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying on the outskirts of ^(GS)Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is in ^(GT)Migron. And the people who were with him numbered ^(GU)about six hundred men; ³ and Ahijah, the ^(GV)son of Ahitub, ^(GW)Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at ^(GX)Shiloh, ^(GY)was ^[bp]wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Now ^(GZ)between the gorges by which Jonathan sought to cross over to 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. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba.

⁶ Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come, and let’s cross over to the garrison of ^(HA)these uncircumcised men; perhaps the Lord will work for us, because ^(HB)the Lord is not limited to saving by many or by few!” ⁷ His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is in your heart; turn yourself to it, and here I am with you, as your heart desires.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “^(HC)Behold, we are going to cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. ⁹ If they ^[bq]say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you’; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they ^[br]say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has handed them over to us; and ^(HD)this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ When the two of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, “Behold, ^(HE)Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have kept themselves hidden.” ¹² So the men of the garrison responded to Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us and ^(HF)we will inform you of something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for ^(HG)the Lord has handed them over to Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and the men fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. ¹⁴ Now that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer inflicted was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land. ¹⁵ And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and ^(HH)the raiders trembled, and ^(HI)the earth quaked so ^(HJ)that it became a ^[bs]great trembling.

¹⁶ Now Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude dissolved; they went here and there. ¹⁷ So Saul said to the people who were with him, “Look carefully now and see who has left us.” And when they had looked, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. ¹⁸ Then Saul said to Ahijah, “^(HK)Bring the ark of God here.” For at that time the ark of God was with the sons of Israel. ^19 (HL)While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, ^(HM)every man’s sword was against his fellow Philistine, and there was very great confusion. ²¹ Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even ^(HN)they also returned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² When all the ^(HO)men of Israel who had kept themselves hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they also closely pursued them in the battle. ²³ So ^(HP)the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle ^[bt]spread beyond ^(HQ)Beth-aven.

Saul’s Foolish Order

²⁴ Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had ^(HR)put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food ^[bu]before evening, and before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵ All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the people entered the forest, behold, ^(HS)there was honey dripping; but no man put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath. ²⁷ However, Jonathan had not heard it when his father put the people under oath; so ^(HT)he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and ^(HU)his eyes ^[bv]brightened. ²⁸ Then one of the people responded and said, “Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’” And the people were weary. ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “^(HV)My father has troubled the land. See now that my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much more, if only the people had freely eaten today of the spoils of their enemies which they found! For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ They attacked the Philistines that day from ^(HW)Michmash to ^(HX)Aijalon. But the people were very tired. ³² So ^(HY)the people loudly rushed upon the spoils, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them ^(HZ)with the blood. ³³ Then observers informed Saul, saying, “Look, the people are ^(IA)sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.” And he said, “You have acted treacherously; roll a large rock to me today.” ³⁴ Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating it with the blood.’” So all the people brought them that night, each one his ox ^[bw]with him, and they slaughtered them there. ³⁵ And ^(IB)Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines by night and take plunder among them until the morning light, and let’s not leave a man among them alive.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good ^[bx]to you.” So ^(IC)the priest said, “Let’s approach God here.” ³⁷ So Saul ^(ID)inquired of God: “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You hand them over to Israel?” But ^(IE)He did not answer him on that day. ³⁸ Then Saul said, “^(IF)[by]Come here, all you ^[bz]leaders of the people, and investigate and see how this sin has happened today. ³⁹ For ^(IG)as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall assuredly die!” But not one of all the people answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good ^[ca]to you.” ⁴¹ Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “^(IH)Give a ^[cb]perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected by lot, but the people ^[cc]were exonerated. ⁴² Then Saul said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected by lot.

⁴³ So Saul said to Jonathan, “^(II)Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “^(IJ)I did indeed taste a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!” ⁴⁴ And Saul said, “^(IK)May God do the same to me and more also, for ^(IL)you shall certainly die, Jonathan!” ⁴⁵ But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, he who has ^[cd]brought about this great ^[ce]victory in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, ^(IM)not even a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, because ^(IN)he has worked with God this day.” So the people ^[cf]rescued Jonathan and he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from ^[cg]pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Constant Warfare

⁴⁷ Now when Saul had taken control of the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^(IO)the sons of Ammon, Edom, ^(IP)the kings of Zobah, and ^(IQ)the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he ^[ch]inflicted punishment. ⁴⁸ And he acted valiantly and ^[ci](IR)defeated the Amalekites, and saved Israel from the hands of ^[cj]those who plundered them.

⁴⁹ Now ^(IS)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 ^(IT)Merab, and the name of the younger, ^(IU)Michal. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And ^(IV)the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ^51 (IW)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵² Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any warrior or any valiant man, he ^[ck](IX)attached him to his staff.

Saul’s Disobedience

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “^(IY)The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the ^[cl]words of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘I will ^[cm]punish Amalek ^(IZ)for what he did to Israel, in that he obstructed him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek and ^(JA)completely destroy everything that he has, and do not spare him; but ^(JB)put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ Then Saul summoned the people and ^[cn]counted them in ^(JC)Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ^[co]wadi. ⁶ But Saul said to ^(JD)the Kenites, “Go, get away, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you along with them; for ^(JE)you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they went up from Egypt.” So the Kenites got away from among the Amalekites. ⁷ Then ^(JF)Saul ^[cp]defeated the Amalekites, from ^(JG)Havilah ^[cq]going toward ^(JH)Shur, which is ^[cr]east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured ^(JI)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ^(JJ)completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people ^(JK)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the more valuable animals, the lambs, and everything that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them completely; but everything despicable and weak, that they completely destroyed.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “^(JL)I regret that I have made Saul king, because ^(JM)he has turned back from ^[cs]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was furious and ^(JN)cried out to the Lord all night. ¹² Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was reported to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to ^(JO)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on ^[ct]down to ^(JP)Gilgal.” ¹³ So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “^(JQ)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” ¹⁴ But Samuel said, “^(JR)What then is this ^[cu]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the ^[cv]bellowing of the oxen which I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for ^(JS)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have completely destroyed.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and let me inform you of what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

¹⁷ So Samuel said, “^[cw]Is it not true, ^(JT)though you were ^[cx]insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a ^[cy]mission, and said, ‘^(JU)Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are eliminated.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^(JV)Instead, you loudly rushed upon the spoils and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord!”

²⁰ Then Saul said to Samuel, “^(JW)I did obey the voice of the Lord, for I went on the ^[cz]mission on which the Lord sent me; and I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But ^(JX)the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things designated for destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” ²² Samuel said,

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “^(KD)I have sinned, for ^(KE)I have violated the ^[da]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. ²⁵ Now then, ^(KF)please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” ²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for ^(KG)you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ²⁷ Then Samuel turned to go, but ^(KH)Saul grasped the edge of his robe, and it tore off. ²⁸ So Samuel said to him, “^(KI)The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. ²⁹ Also the ^[db](KJ)Glory of Israel ^(KK)will not lie nor change His mind; for He is not a man, that He would change His mind.” ³⁰ Then Saul said, “I have sinned; ^(KL)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before all Israel, and go back with me, ^(KM)so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him ^[dc]cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is gone!” ³³ But Samuel said, “^(KN)As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went to ^(KO)Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at ^(KP)Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ And ^(KQ)Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, though Samuel ^(KR)mourned for ^[dd]Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “^(KS)How long are you going to mourn for ^[de]Saul, since ^(KT)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(KU)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to ^(KV)Jesse the Bethlehemite, because I have ^(KW)chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “^(KX)Take a heifer ^[df]with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^(KY)I will let you know what you shall do; and ^(KZ)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I ^[dg]designate to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord told him, and he came to ^(LA)Bethlehem. Then the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “^(LB)Do you come in peace?” ⁵ And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(LC)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they entered, he looked at ^(LD)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is standing before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^[dh]God does not see as man sees, since man looks at ^[di]the outward appearance, ^(LE)but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(LF)Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ⁹ Next Jesse had ^[dj](LG)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ¹⁰ So Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the boys?” And he said, “^(LH)The youngest is still left, but behold, he is tending the sheep.” So Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; for we will not take our places at the table until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹² So he sent word and brought him in. Now he was ^[dk]reddish, with ^(LI)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “^(LJ)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and ^(LK)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^(LL)the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

^14 (LM)Now the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and ^(LN)an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrifying you. ¹⁶ May our lord now command your servants who are before you. Have them search for a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall come about whenever the evil spirit from God is upon you, that ^(LO)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will become well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Now select for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ Then one of the young men responded and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^(LP)a valiant mighty man, a warrior, skillful in speech, and a handsome man; and ^(LQ)the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse ^[dl]to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” ²⁰ And Jesse ^(LR)took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine, and he took a young goat, and sent them to Saul by his son David. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and ^[dm](LS)attended him; and Saul greatly loved him, and he became his armor bearer. ²² So Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David now ^[dn]be my attendant for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ So it came about whenever ^(LT)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would feel relieved and become well, and the evil spirit would leave him.

Goliath’s Challenge

17 Now ^(LU)the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between ^(LV)Socoh and ^(LW)Azekah, in ^(LX)Ephes-dammim. ² Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in ^(LY)the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines. ³ The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. ⁴ Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named ^(LZ)Goliath, from ^(MA)Gath. His height was ^[do]six cubits and a ^[dp]span. ⁵ And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor ^[dq]which weighed ^[dr]five thousand shekels of bronze. ⁶ He also had bronze ^[ds]greaves on his legs and a ^(MB)bronze ^[dt]saber slung between his shoulders. ^7 (MC)The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed ^[du]six hundred shekels of iron; and ^(MD)his shield-carrier walked in front of him. ⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the ^(ME)servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me. ^9 (MF)If he is able to fight me and ^[dv]kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and ^[dw]kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” ¹⁰ Then the Philistine said, “^(MG)I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.

¹² Now David was ^(MH)the son of ^[dx]the ^(MI)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, the man whose name was Jesse, and ^(MJ)he had eight sons. And ^[dy]Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. ¹³ The three older sons of Jesse had ^[dz]followed Saul to the battle. And ^(MK)the names of his three sons who had gone into the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and second to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. ¹⁴ So ^(ML)David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, ^15 (MM)but David went back and forth from Saul ^(MN)to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. ¹⁶ And the Philistine came forward morning and evening, and took his stand for forty days.

¹⁷ Then Jesse said to his son David, “^(MO)Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers. ^18 (MP)Bring also these ten slices of cheese to the commander of their thousand, ^(MQ)and look into the well-being of your brothers and bring back ^[ea]confirmation from them. ¹⁹ For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines.”

David Accepts the Challenge

²⁰ So David got up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper, and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the ^(MR)entrenchment encircling the camp while the army was going out in battle formation, shouting the war cry. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle formation, army against army. ²² Then David left the ^(MS)baggage in the ^[eb]care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line. And he entered and ^[ec]greeted his brothers. ²³ As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke ^(MT)these same words; and David heard him.

²⁴ When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were very fearful. ²⁵ And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will make the man who kills him wealthy with great riches, and ^(MU)will give him his daughter and make his father’s house ^[ed]free in Israel.”

²⁶ Then David said to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and rids Israel of ^(MV)the disgrace? For who is this ^(MW)uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to ^(MX)defy the armies of ^(MY)the living God?” ²⁷ The people ^[ee]answered him in agreement with this statement, saying, “^(MZ)This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Now Eliab his oldest brother heard him when he spoke to the men; and ^(NA)Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why is it that you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” ²⁹ But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a ^[ef]question?” ³⁰ Then he turned ^[eg]away from him to another and ^(NB)said the same thing; and the people replied with the same words as ^[eh]before.

David Kills Goliath

³¹ When the words that David spoke were heard, they informed ^[ei]Saul, and he ^[ej]sent for him. ³² And David said to Saul, “^(NC)May no one’s heart fail on account of him; ^(ND)your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” ³³ But Saul said to David, “^(NE)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went out after it and ^[ek]attacked it, and ^(NF)rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has ^[el]killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, “^(NG)The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “^(NH)Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor. ³⁹ And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.” And David took them ^[em]off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and ^(NI)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, ^(NJ)he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and ^[en](NK)reddish, with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ So the Philistine said to David, “^(NL)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And ^(NM)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^(NN)to the birds of the sky and the ^[eo]wild animals.” ⁴⁵ But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a ^[ep]saber, ^(NO)but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the ^(NP)dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, ^(NQ)so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that this entire assembly may know that ^(NR)the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; ^(NS)for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will hand you over to us!”

⁴⁸ Then it happened, when the Philistine ^[eq]came closer to meet David, that ^(NT)David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David’s hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and ^(NU)took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. ^(NV)When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. ⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and they pursued the Philistines ^[er]as far as the valley, and to the gates of ^(NW)Ekron. And the Philistine dead ^[es]lay along the way to ^(NX)Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ Then the sons of Israel returned from their close pursuit of the Philistines, and plundered their camps. ⁵⁴ And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

⁵⁵ Now when Saul had seen David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is ^(NY)this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” ⁵⁶ And the king said, “You then, ask whose son the youth is.” ⁵⁷ So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and ^(NZ)brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. ⁵⁸ Then Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “^(OA)I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Jonathan and David

18 Now it came about, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that ^[et](OB)Jonathan committed himself to David, and ^(OC)Jonathan loved him as himself. ² And Saul took him that day and ^(OD)did not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then ^(OE)Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. ^4 (OF)Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his military gear, including his sword, his bow, and his belt. ⁵ And David went into battle wherever Saul sent him, and always ^[eu]achieved success; so Saul put him in charge of the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶ Now it happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that ^(OG)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with other ^[ev]musical instruments. ⁷ The women ^(OH)sang as they ^[ew]played, and said,

⁸ Then Saul became very angry, for this lyric ^[ex]displeased him; and he said, “They have given David credit for ten thousands, but to me they have given credit for only thousands! Now what more can he have but the ^(OK)kingdom?” ⁹ And Saul eyed David with suspicion from that day on.

Saul Turns against David

¹⁰ Now it came about on the next day that ^(OL)an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and ^(OM)he raved in the midst of the house while David was playing the harp with his hand, ^[ey](ON)as usual; and ^[ez](OO)a spear was in Saul’s hand. ¹¹ Then ^(OP)Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will ^[fa]pin David to the wall.” But David ^[fb]escaped from his presence, twice.

¹² Now ^(OQ)Saul was afraid of David, ^(OR)because the Lord was with him but ^(OS)had left Saul. ¹³ So Saul removed him from ^[fc]his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and ^(OT)he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ David was ^[fd]successful in all his ways, for ^(OU)the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw that he was ^[fe]very successful, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶ But ^(OV)all Israel and Judah loved David, for he would go out to battle and ^[ff]return ^[fg]before them.

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “^(OW)Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight ^(OX)the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but ^(OY)let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸ But David said to Saul, “^(OZ)Who am I, and who is my family, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” ¹⁹ So it came about at the time that Merab, Saul’s daughter, was to be given to David, that she was given instead to ^(PA)Adriel ^(PB)the Meholathite as a wife.

David Marries Saul’s Daughter

²⁰ Now ^(PC)Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they informed Saul, the thing was pleasing ^[fh]to him. ²¹ For Saul thought, “I will give her to him so that she may become a trap for him, and ^(PD)that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “^(PE)For a second time you may become my son-in-law, today.” ²² Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in secret, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’” ²³ So Saul’s servants spoke these words ^[fi]to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, ^(PF)since I am only a poor man and insignificant?” ²⁴ Then Saul’s servants reported to him, saying, “^[fj]These are the words David spoke.” ²⁵ Saul then said, “This is what you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any ^(PG)dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^(PH)to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” But ^(PI)Saul plotted to have David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ When his servants told David these words, ^[fk]it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. So ^[fl](PJ)before the time had expired, ²⁷ David set out and went, ^(PK)he and his men, and fatally struck two hundred men among the Philistines. Then ^(PL)David brought their foreskins, and they presented all two hundred of them to the king, so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife. ²⁸ When Saul saw and realized that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, ²⁹ then Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines ^(PM)went to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David ^(PN)was more ^[fm]successful than all the servants of Saul. So his name was held in high esteem.

David Protected from Saul

19 Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants ^(PO)to put David to death. But ^(PP)Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. ² So Jonathan informed David, saying, “My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself. ³ And as for me, I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak with my father about you; and ^(PQ)whatever I ^[fn]find out, I will tell you.” ⁴ Then Jonathan ^(PR)spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “^(PS)May the king not sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very ^[fo]beneficial to you. ⁵ For ^(PT)he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and ^(PU)the Lord brought about a great ^[fp]victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. ^(PV)Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death ^[fq]for no reason?” ⁶ Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, David shall not be put to death.” ⁷ Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as ^(PW)before.

⁸ When there was war again, David went out and fought the Philistines and ^[fr]defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled from him. ⁹ Now there was ^(PX)an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house ^(PY)with his spear in his hand, ^(PZ)and David was playing the harp with his hand. ^10 (QA)And Saul tried to ^[fs]pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹ Then ^(QB)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, informed him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death!” ^12 (QC)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped. ¹³ And Michal took ^(QD)the ^[ft]household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothing. ¹⁴ When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “^(QE)He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on ^[fu]his bed, so that I may put him to death.” ¹⁶ When the messengers entered, behold, the ^[fv]household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷ So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! ^(QF)Why should I put you to death?’”

¹⁸ So David fled and escaped, and came ^(QG)to Samuel at Ramah; and he informed him of everything that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in ^(QH)Naioth. ¹⁹ But it was reported to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then ^(QI)Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw ^(QJ)the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and ^(QK)they also prophesied. ²¹ When Saul was informed of this, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, yet they prophesied. ²² Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he ^[fw]asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ So he ^[fx]proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but ^(QL)the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and ^[fy]lay down ^[fz](QM)naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “^(QN)Is Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan’s Covenant

20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and ^(QO)said ^[ga]to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” ² He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small ^[gb]without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” ³ Yet David ^(QP)vowed again, ^[gc]saying, “Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.’ But indeed ^(QQ)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is ^[gd]just a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever ^[ge]you say, I will do for you.” ⁵ So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^(QR)the new moon, and I am obligated ^(QS)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go ^(QT)so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly requested leave of me to run to ^(QU)Bethlehem, his city, because it is ^(QV)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ ⁷ If he ^[gf]says, ‘That is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, ^(QW)be aware that he has decided on evil. ⁸ So deal kindly with your servant, for ^(QX)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But ^(QY)if ^[gg]I am guilty of wrongdoing, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I in fact learn that my father has decided ^[gh]to inflict harm on you, would I not inform you?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will inform me ^[gi]if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward ^[gj]you, shall I not then send word to you and ^[gk]inform you? ¹³ If it pleases my father to do you harm, ^(QZ)may the Lord do so to ^[gl]me and more so, if I fail to ^[gm]inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And ^(RA)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the Lord, so that I do not die? ¹⁵ And ^(RB)you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “^(RC)May the Lord demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because ^(RD)he loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, “^(RE)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel. ²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. ²¹ Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I ^[gn]say to the youth, ‘^(RF)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, because the Lord has sent you away. ^23 (RG)As for the ^[go]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^(RH)the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ Now the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan stood up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side; but ^(RI)David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, “It must have been an ^[gp]accident; ^(RJ)he is not clean, undoubtedly he is not clean.” ²⁷ But it came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty again; so Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ And Jonathan answered Saul, “^(RK)David earnestly requested leave of me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me slip away so that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For, ^[gq]as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now then, send men and bring him to me, for ^(RL)he is ^[gr]doomed to die!” ³² But Jonathan replied to his father Saul and said to him, “^(RM)Why must he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³ Then ^(RN)Saul hurled his spear at him to strike and kill him; ^(RO)so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. ³⁴ Then Jonathan got up from the table in the heat of anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, because he was worried about David since his father had insulted him.

³⁵ Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out to the field at the time agreed upon with David, and a little boy was with him. ³⁶ He said to his boy, “^(RP)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot ^[gs]an arrow past him. ³⁷ When the boy reached the location of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “^(RQ)Is the arrow not beyond you?” ³⁸ Then Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹ But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the boy was gone, David got up from the south side, then he fell on his face to the ground and ^(RR)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, until ^(RS)David wept immeasurably. ⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, “^(RT)Go ^[gt]in safety, since we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘^(RU)The Lord will be between me and you, and between my ^[gu]descendants and your ^[gv]descendants forever.’” ^[gw]So David set out and went on his way, while Jonathan went into the city.

David Takes Consecrated Bread

21 Then David came to ^(RV)Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^(RW)came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” ² David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘^(RX)No one is to know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ ³ Now then, what ^[gx]do you have on hand? Give ^[gy]me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” ⁴ The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread ^[gz]on hand, but there is ^(RY)consecrated bread, if only the young men have ^(RZ)kept themselves from women.” ⁵ David answered the priest and said to him, “^(SA)Be assured, women have been denied to us as previously when I left and the ^[ha](SB)bodies of the young men were consecrated, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then will ^[hb]their bodies be consecrated today?” ⁶ So ^(SC)the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the ^(SD)bread of the Presence which was removed from its place before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was ^(SE)Doeg the Edomite, the ^(SF)chief of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there no spear or sword ^[hc]on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons ^[hd]with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” ⁹ Then the priest said, “^(SG)The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you ^[he]killed ^(SH)in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

¹⁰ Then David set out and fled that day from Saul, and went to ^(SI)Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the ^(SJ)servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? ^(SK)Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,

¹² David ^(SL)took these words ^[hf]to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he ^(SM)disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their ^[hg]custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is behaving like an insane person. Why do you bring him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack insane people, that you have brought this one to behave like an insane person in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

Priests Killed at Nob

22 So David departed from there and ^(SN)escaped to ^(SO)the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard about it, they went down there to him. ² Then everyone who was in distress, and everyone who ^[hh]was in debt, and everyone who was ^[hi]discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were ^(SP)about four hundred men with him.

³ And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ Then he ^[hj]left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. ⁵ But ^(SQ)Gad the prophet said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now ^(SR)Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? ^(SS)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? ⁸ For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who ^[hk]informs me ^(ST)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you ^(SU)who cares about me or ^[hl]informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” ⁹ Then ^(SV)Doeg the Edomite, who was ^[hm]standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, “^(SW)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to ^(SX)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ And ^(SY)he inquired of the Lord for him, ^(SZ)gave him provisions, and ^(TA)gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he ^[hn]replied, “Here I am, my lord.” ¹³ Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me ^(TB)by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

^14 (TC)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s own son-in-law, who ^[ho]is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Did I just begin ^(TD)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! ^(TE)Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing ^[hp]at all of this whole affair.” ¹⁶ But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” ¹⁷ And ^(TF)the king said to the ^[hq]guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not ^[hr]inform me.” But the ^(TG)servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to ^[hs]attack the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You, turn around and ^[ht]attack the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and ^[hu]attacked the priests, and ^(TH)he killed on that day eighty-five men ^(TI)who wore the linen ephod. ^19 (TJ)He also struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; he also struck oxen, donkeys, and sheep with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ But ^(TK)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^(TL)escaped and fled ^[hv]to David. ²¹ Abiathar informed David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²² Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when ^(TM)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I myself ^[hw]have turned against every person in your father’s household. ²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, ^[hx]even though ^(TN)he who is seeking my life is seeking your life. For you are safe with me.”

David Saves Keilah

23 Then they informed David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against ^(TO)Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.” ² So David ^(TP)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and ^[hy]attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and ^[hz]attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” ³ But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are fearful here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?” ⁴ So David inquired of the Lord once more. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for ^(TQ)I am going to hand the Philistines over to you.” ⁵ Then David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; and he drove away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶ Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ^(TR)fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷ When it was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.” ⁸ So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. ⁹ But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to ^(TS)Abiathar the priest, “^(TT)Bring the ephod here.” ¹⁰ Then David said, “Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David said, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” And the Lord said, “^(TU)They will hand you over.” ¹³ Then David and his men, ^(TV)about six hundred, rose up and departed from Keilah, and they went ^(TW)wherever they could go. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up ^[ia]the pursuit. ¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of ^(TX)Ziph. And Saul searched for him every day, but ^(TY)God did not hand him over to him.

Saul Pursues David

¹⁵ Now David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph, at Horesh. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, set out and went to David at Horesh, and ^[ib](TZ)encouraged him in God. ¹⁷ He said to him, “^(UA)Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be second in command to you; and ^(UB)Saul my father knows that as well.” ¹⁸ So ^(UC)the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; and David stayed at Horesh, while Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then ^(UD)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not keeping himself hidden with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on ^(UE)the hill of Hachilah, which is south of ^[ic]Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now then, O king, come down, ^[id]since you fully desire to ^[ie]do so; and ^(UF)our part shall be to hand him over to the king.” ²¹ Saul said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, ^(UG)since you have had compassion on me. ²² Go now, be more persistent, and investigate and see his place where ^[if]he is hiding, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. ²³ So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he keeps himself hidden, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

²⁴ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of ^(UH)Maon, in the Arabah to the south of ^[ig]Jeshimon. ²⁵ When Saul and his men went to seek him, they informed David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men ^(UI)were surrounding David and his men to apprehend them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have launched an attack against the land!” ²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines; therefore they called that place ^[ih]the Rock of Division. ^29 [ii]And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of ^(UJ)Engedi.

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 ^[ij]Now ^(UK)when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, ^(UL)it was reported to him, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then ^(UM)Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats. ³ And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul ^(UN)went in to ^[ik]relieve himself. Now ^(UO)David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. ⁴ Then David’s men said to him, “Behold, ^(UP)this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; ^(UQ)I am about to hand your enemy over to you, and you shall do to him as it seems good ^[il]to you.’” Then David got up and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. ⁵ But it came about afterward that ^(UR)David’s ^[im]conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. ⁶ So he said to his men, “^(US)Far be it from me because of the Lord that I would do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to reach out with my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷ And David rebuked his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul got up, ^[in]left the cave, and went on his way.

⁸ Afterward, however, David got up and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, ^(UT)David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. ⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men ^[io]who say, ‘Behold, David is seeking ^[ip]to harm you’? ^10 (UU)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had handed you over to me today in the cave, and ^(UV)someone said to kill you, but ^[iq]I spared you; and I said, ‘I will not reach out with my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ So, ^(UW)my father, look! Indeed, look at the edge of your robe in my hand! For by the fact that I cut off the edge of your robe but did not kill you, know and understand that there is no evil or ^[ir]rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you ^(UX)are lying in wait for my life, to take it. ^12 (UY)May the Lord judge between ^[is]you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me; but my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘^(UZ)Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel gone out? Whom are you pursuing? ^(VA)A dead dog, ^(VB)a single flea? ¹⁵ May ^(VC)the Lord therefore be judge and decide between ^[it]you and me; and may He see and ^(VD)plead my cause and save me from your hand.”

¹⁶ When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “^(VE)Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul raised his voice and wept. ^17 (VF)And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for ^(VG)you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt maliciously with you. ¹⁸ You have declared today that you have done good to me, that ^(VH)the Lord handed me over to you and yet you did not kill me. ¹⁹ Though if a man ^(VI)finds his enemy, will he let him go away ^[iu]unharmed? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ Now, behold, ^(VJ)I know that you will certainly be king, and that ^(VK)the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. ²¹ So now ^(VL)swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my ^[iv]descendants after me, and that you will not eliminate my name from my father’s household.” ²² And David swore an oath to Saul. Then Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to ^(VM)the stronghold.

Samuel’s Death

25 ^(VN)Then Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and ^(VO)mourned for him, and they ^(VP)buried him at his house in Ramah. And David set out and went down to the ^(VQ)wilderness of Paran.

Nabal and Abigail

² Now there was a man in ^(VR)Maon whose business was in ^(VS)Carmel; and the man was very ^[iw]rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while ^(VT)he was shearing his sheep in Carmel ³ (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his ^(VU)wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was ^[ix]intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was ^(VV)a Calebite), ⁴ that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel and ^[iy]visit Nabal, and greet him in my name; ⁶ and this is what you shall say: ‘^[iz]Have a long life, ^(VW)peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have! ⁷ Now then, I have heard ^(VX)that you have shearers. Now, your shepherds have been with us; we have not harmed them, ^(VY)nor has anything of theirs gone missing all the days they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on ^(VZ)a ^[ja]festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”