¹³ So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.^(A)

The Birth of Samson

13 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.^(A)

The Death of Saul and His Sons

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell^[a] on Mount Gilboa.^{(A) 2} The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle pressed hard on Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by them.^{(B) 4} Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer was unwilling, for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.^{(C) 5} When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day. ⁷ When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their towns and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.

Saul Consults a Medium

³ Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. Saul had expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land.^{(A) 4} The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa.^{(B) 5} When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

⁴⁹ David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.^{(A) 52} The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath^[a] and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.^{(B) 53} The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle, and every sword was against the other, so that there was very great confusion.^{(A) 21} Now the Hebrews who previously had been with the Philistines and had gone up with them into the camp turned and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also followed closely after them in the battle.^{(B) 23} So the Lord gave Israel the victory that day.

The battle passed beyond Beth-aven, and the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men.^[a] The battle spread out over the hill country of Ephraim.^(C)

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will act for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”^{(A) 7} His armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that your mind inclines to.^[a] I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine.”^{[b] 8} Then Jonathan said, “Now we will cross over to those men and 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. That will be the sign for us.”^{(B) 11} So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”^{(C) 12} The men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer, saying, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”^{(D) 13} Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer following after him. The Philistines^[c] fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer coming after him killed them. ¹⁴ In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men within an area about half a furrow long in an acre^[d] of land. ¹⁵ There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.^(E)

¹⁶ Saul’s lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin were watching as the multitude was surging back and forth.^[e](F)

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

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

² Saul chose three thousand out of Israel; two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to their tents.^{(A) 3} Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”^{(B) 4} When all Israel heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines, the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel: thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.^(C)

⁵ for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”^(A)