1 Samuel 13:1-14:23

English Standard Version Anglicised

Saul Fights the Philistines

13 Saul was…^[a] years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for… and two^[b] years over Israel.

² Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^(A)Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^(B)Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. ³ Jonathan defeated ^(C)the garrison of the Philistines that was ^(D)at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^(E)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 ^(F)like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^(G)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^(H)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 (I)He waited for 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 favour of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(J)“You have done foolishly. ^(K)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 for ever. ¹⁴ But now ^(L)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(M)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince 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^[c] to ^(N)Gibeah of Benjamin.

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

^19 (T)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 ploughshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,^{[d] 21} and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[e] for the ploughshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel^[f] for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.^{[g] 22} So on the day of the battle ^(U)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 ^(V)the garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^(W)pass of ^(X)Michmash.

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armour, “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^[h] at ^(Y)Migron. The people who were with him were about ^(Z)six hundred men, ³ including ^(AA)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, ^(AB)Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^(AC)in Shiloh, ^(AD)wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Within ^(AE)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 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 ^(AF)Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armour, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ^(AG)uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, ^(AH)for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armour bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.^[i] 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 ^(AI)out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armour bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” And Jonathan said to his armour 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 armour bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armour bearer killed them after him. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armour bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre^[j] of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even ^(AJ)the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude ^(AK)was dispersing here and there.^{[k] 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 armour 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^[l] of Israel. ¹⁹ Now ^(AL)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, ^(AM)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, ^(AN)even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel ^(AO)who had hidden themselves ^(AP)in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. ^23 (AQ)So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond ^(AR)Beth-aven.