1 Samuel 1:1-19:6

International Children’s Bible

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah son of Jeroham. He was from Ramathaim in the mountains of Ephraim. Elkanah was from the family of Zuph. (Jeroham was Elihu’s son. Elihu was Tohu’s son. And Tohu was the son of Zuph from the family group of Ephraim.) ² Elkanah had two wives. One was named Hannah, and the other was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ Every year Elkanah left his town Ramah and went up to Shiloh. There he worshiped the Lord of heaven’s armies and offered sacrifices to him. Shiloh was where Hophni and Phinehas served as priests of the Lord. They were the sons of Eli. ⁴ When Elkanah offered sacrifices, he always gave a share of the meat to his wife Peninnah. He also gave shares of the meat to her sons and daughters. ⁵ But Elkanah always gave a special share of the meat to Hannah. He did this because he loved Hannah and because the Lord had made Hannah unable to have children. ⁶ Peninnah would upset Hannah and make her feel bad. She did this because the Lord had made Hannah unable to have children. ⁷ This happened every year when they went up to the Tent of the Lord at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah until Hannah would cry and not eat anything. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why are you sad? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Once, after they had eaten their meal in Shiloh, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the entrance to the Lord’s Holy Tent. ¹⁰ Hannah was very sad. She cried much and prayed to the Lord. ¹¹ She made a promise. She said, “Lord of heaven’s armies, see how bad I feel. Remember me! Don’t forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him back to you all his life. And no one will ever use a razor to cut his hair.”^[a]

¹² While Hannah kept praying, Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ She was praying in her heart. Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ He said to her, “Stop getting drunk! Throw away your wine!”

¹⁵ Hannah answered, “No, master, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I was telling the Lord about all my problems. ¹⁶ Don’t think of me as an evil woman. I have been praying because of my many troubles and much sadness.”

¹⁷ Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the God of Israel give you what you asked of him.”

¹⁸ Hannah said, “I want to be pleasing to you always.” Then she left and ate something. She was not sad anymore.

¹⁹ Early the next morning Elkanah’s family got up and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had intimate relations with his wife Hannah. And the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So Hannah became pregnant, and in time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel.^[b] She said, “His name is Samuel because I asked the Lord for him.”

Hannah Gives Samuel to God

²¹ Every year Elkanah went to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. He went to keep the promise he had made to God. He brought his whole family with him. So once again he went up to Shiloh. ²² But Hannah did not go with him. She told him, “When the boy is old enough to eat solid food, I will take him to Shiloh. Then I will give him to the Lord. He will become a Nazirite. He will always live there at Shiloh.”

²³ Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, said to her, “Do what you think is best. You may stay home until the boy is old enough to eat. May the Lord do what you have said.” So Hannah stayed at home to nurse her son until he was old enough to eat.

²⁴ When Samuel was old enough to eat, Hannah took him to the Tent of the Lord at Shiloh. She also took a three-year-old bull, one-half bushel of flour and a leather bag filled with wine. ²⁵ They killed the bull for the sacrifice. Then Hannah brought Samuel to Eli. ²⁶ She said to Eli, “As surely as you live, my master, I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child. The Lord answered my prayer and gave him to me. ²⁸ Now I give him back to the Lord. He will belong to the Lord all his life.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah Gives Thanks

2 Hannah said:

Eli’s Evil Sons

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.

¹² Now Eli’s sons were evil men. They did not care about the Lord. ¹³ This is what the priests would do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest’s servant would then come with a fork in his hand. The fork had three prongs. ¹⁴ He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. ¹⁵ But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come to the person offering sacrifices. The servant would say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you. He will only accept raw meat.”

¹⁶ But the man who offered the sacrifice might say, “Let the fat be burned up first as usual. Then you may take anything you want.”

If so, the priest’s servant would answer, “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

¹⁷ The Lord saw that the sin of the servants was very great. They did not show respect for the offerings made to the Lord.

Samuel Grows Up

¹⁸ But Samuel obeyed the Lord. He wore a linen holy vest. ¹⁹ Every year Samuel’s mother would make a little coat for him. She would take it to him when she went to Shiloh. She went there with her husband for the sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. Eli would say, “May the Lord repay you with children through Hannah. They will take the place of the boy Hannah prayed for and gave back to the Lord.” Then Elkanah and Hannah would go home. ²¹ The Lord was kind to Hannah. She became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.

²² Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites. He also heard about how his sons had physical relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ²³ Eli said to his sons, “The people here tell me about the evil you do. Why do you do these evil things? ²⁴ No, my sons. The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. ²⁵ If someone sins against another person, God can help him. But if he sins against the Lord himself, no one can help him!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him. This was because the Lord had decided to put them to death.

²⁶ The boy Samuel kept growing. He pleased God and the people.

²⁷ A man of God came to Eli. He said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron. This was when they were slaves to the king of Egypt. ²⁸ I chose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense and to wear the holy vest. I also let the family of your ancestor have part of all the offerings sacrificed by the Israelites. ²⁹ So why don’t you respect the sacrifices and gifts? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat on the best parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.’

³⁰ “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I promised that your family and your ancestor’s family would serve me forever.’ But now the Lord says this: ‘That will never be! I will honor those who honor me. But I will take honor away from those who do not honor me. ³¹ The time is coming when I will destroy the descendants of both you and your ancestors. No man will grow old in your family. ³² You will see trouble in my house. Good things will be done to Israel. But there will never be an old man in your family. ³³ I will save one man to serve as priest at my altar. He will wear out his eyes and use up his strength. The rest of your descendants will die by the sword.

³⁴ “‘I will give you a sign. Both your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. ³⁵ I will choose a loyal priest for myself. He will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong. He will always serve before my appointed king. ³⁶ Then everyone left in your family will come and bow down before him. They will beg for a little money or a little food. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so I can have food to eat.”’”

God Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often. There were very few visions.

² Eli’s eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed. ³ Samuel was also in bed in the Lord’s Holy Tent. The Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy Tent. God’s lamp was still burning.

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “I am here!” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.

⁶ The Lord called again, “Samuel!”

Samuel again went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

Again Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”

⁷ Samuel did not yet know the Lord. The Lord had not spoken directly to him yet.

⁸ The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “I am here. You called me.”

Then Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ So he told Samuel, “Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I am your servant, and I am listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in bed.

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had before. He said, “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant, and I am listening.”

¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am going to do something in Israel. It will shock those who hear about it. ¹² At that time I will do to Eli and his family everything I promised. I will not stop until I have finished. ¹³ I told Eli I would punish his family forever. I will do it because Eli knew his sons were evil. They spoke against me, but he did not control them. ¹⁴ So here is what I promised Eli’s family: ‘Your guilt will never be removed by sacrifice or offering.’”

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Tent of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. ¹⁶ But Eli said to him, “Samuel, my son!”

Samuel answered, “I am here.”

¹⁷ Eli asked, “What did the Lord say to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told Eli everything. He did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.”

¹⁹ The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up. He did not let any of Samuel’s messages fail to come true. ²⁰ Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,^[c] knew Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord continued to show himself to Samuel at Shiloh. He also showed himself to Samuel through his word.

4 News about Samuel spread through all of Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Covenant

At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines went to meet the Israelites in battle. And as the battle spread, the Philistines defeated the Israelites. They killed about 4,000 soldiers of the Israelite army. ³ Then some Israelite soldiers went back to their camp. The elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord here from Shiloh. In this way God will go with us into battle. He will save us from our enemies.”

⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord of heaven’s armies. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant.

⁵ The Ark of the Covenant with the Lord came into the camp. And all the Israelites gave a great shout of joy. It made the ground shake. ⁶ The Philistines heard Israel’s shout. They asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

Then the Philistines found out that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come into the Hebrew camp. ⁷ They were afraid and said, “A god has come into the Hebrew camp! We’re in trouble! This has never happened before! ⁸ How terrible it will be for us! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They are the ones who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of disasters in the desert. ⁹ Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were our slaves. So fight like men, or you will become their slaves.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites. Every Israelite soldier ran away to his own home. It was a great defeat for Israel, because 30,000 Israelite soldiers were killed. ¹¹ The Ark of the Covenant of God was taken by the Philistines. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.

¹² That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. ¹³ When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was by the side of the road. Eli was sitting there in a chair, watching. He was worried about the Ark of the Covenant of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh, he told the bad news. Then all the people in town cried loudly. ¹⁴ Eli heard the crying and asked, “What’s all this noise?”

The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. ¹⁵ Eli was now 98 years old, and he was blind. ¹⁶ The Benjaminite told him, “I have come from the battle. I ran all the way here today.”

Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷ The Benjaminite answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. The Israelite army has lost many soldiers. Your two sons are both dead. And the Philistines have taken the Ark of the Covenant of God.”

¹⁸ When he mentioned the Ark of the Covenant of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate and broke his neck, because he was old and fat. And Eli died. He had led Israel for 40 years.

The Glory Is Gone

¹⁹ Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant. It was nearly time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken. She heard also that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead. So she began to give birth to her child. The child was born, but the mother had much trouble in giving birth. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women who helped her give birth said, “Don’t worry! You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention. She named the baby Ichabod.^{[d] 21} She named him Ichabod and said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She said this because the Ark of the Covenant of God had been taken. It was also because her father-in-law and husband were dead. ²² She said, “Israel’s glory is gone, because the Ark of the Covenant of God has been taken away.”

Trouble for the Philistines

5 After the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² They carried it into Dagon’s temple and put it next to Dagon. ³ The people of Ashdod rose early the next morning. They found that Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground. He was lying before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So the people of Ashdod put Dagon back in his place. ⁴ The next morning the people of Ashdod rose from sleep. And again they found Dagon on the ground! He had fallen down before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. His head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only his body was still in one piece. ⁵ So, even today, Dagon’s priests and others who enter his temple at Ashdod refuse to step on the doorsill.

⁶ The Lord punished the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He gave them much trouble. He gave them growths on their skin. ⁷ The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said, “The Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel can’t stay with us. God is punishing us and Dagon our god.” ⁸ The people of Ashdod called all five Philistine kings together. They asked them, “What should we do with the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel?”

The rulers answered, “Move the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to Gath.” So the Philistines moved it to Gath.

⁹ But after they had moved it to Gath, the Lord punished that city also. He made the people very afraid. God troubled both old and young people in Gath. He caused them to have growths on their skin. ¹⁰ Then the Philistines sent the Ark of the Covenant of God to Ekron.

But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron yelled. They said, “Why are you bringing the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?” ¹¹ The people of Ekron called all the kings of the Philistines together. They said to the kings, “Send the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel back to its place. Do it before it kills us and our people!” They were very afraid. God’s punishment was very terrible there. ¹² The people who did not die were troubled with growths on their skin. So the people of Ekron cried loudly to heaven.

The Ark of the Covenant of God Is Sent Home

6 The Philistines kept the Ark of the Covenant of God in their land seven months. ² Then they called for their priests and magicians. They said, “What should we do with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord? Tell us how to send it back home!”

³ The priests and magicians answered them. They said, “If you send back the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel, don’t send it away empty. You must offer a penalty offering so the God of Israel will forgive your sins. Then you will be healed. When God has forgiven you, he will stop punishing you.”

⁴ The Philistines asked, “What kind of penalty offering should we send to Israel’s God?”

The priests and magicians answered, “Make five gold models of the growths on your skin. Also make five gold models of rats. The number of models must be the same as the number of Philistine kings. This is because the same sickness has come on you and your kings. ⁵ Make models of the growths and the rats that are ruining the country. Give them to Israel’s God and honor him. Then maybe Israel’s God will stop punishing you, your gods and your land. ⁶ Don’t be stubborn like the king of Egypt and the Egyptians. God punished them terribly. That is why the Egyptians let the Israelites leave Egypt.

⁷ “You must build a new cart. And get two cows that have just had calves. These must be cows that have never had yokes on their necks. Then hitch the cows to the cart. Take the calves home. Don’t let them follow their mothers. ⁸ Put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord on the cart. And put the gold models in a box beside the Ark of the Covenant. They are your penalty offerings for God to forgive your sins. Send the cart straight on its way. ⁹ Watch the cart. It may go toward Beth Shemesh in Israel’s own land. If so, the Lord has given us this great sickness. But it may not go toward Beth Shemesh. Then we will know that Israel’s God has not punished us. We will know that our sickness just happened by chance.”

¹⁰ The Philistines did what the priests and magicians said. They took two cows that had just had calves. They hitched them to the cart. But they kept their calves at home. ¹¹ They put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord on the cart. And they put the box with the gold rats and models of growths on the cart. ¹² Then the cows went straight toward Beth Shemesh. They stayed on the road, mooing all the way. They did not turn right or left. The Philistine kings followed the cows as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. They looked up and saw the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They were very happy to see it again. ¹⁴ The cart came to the field belonging to Joshua of Beth Shemesh. The cart stopped in this field near a large rock. The people of Beth Shemesh chopped up the wood of the cart. Then they killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They also took down the box that had the gold models. They put both on the large rock. That day the people of Beth Shemesh offered whole burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁶ The five Philistine kings watched them do all these things. Then they went back to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷ The Philistines sent these gold models of the growths. They were penalty offerings to the Lord for their sins. They sent one model for each Philistine town. These towns were Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. ¹⁸ And the Philistines also sent gold models of rats. The number of rats was the same as the number of towns belonging to the Philistine kings. These towns included strong, walled cities and country villages. The large rock on which they put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord is still there. It is in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ But some of the men of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So God killed 70 of them. The people of Beth Shemesh cried because the Lord had punished them so terribly. ²⁰ They said, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? Where can the Ark of the Covenant go from here?”

²¹ Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim. The messengers said, “The Philistines have brought back the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Come down and take it to your city.”

7 The men of Kiriath Jearim came and took the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They took it to Abinadab’s house on a hill. There they made Abinadab’s son Eleazar holy for the Lord so he could guard the Ark of the Covenant.

The Lord Saves the Israelites

² The Ark of the Covenant stayed at Kiriath Jearim a long time—20 years in all. And the people of Israel began to follow the Lord again. ³ Samuel spoke to the whole group of Israel. He said, “If you’re turning back to the Lord with all your hearts, you must remove your foreign gods. You must remove your idols of Ashtoreth. You must give yourselves fully to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will save you from the Philistines.”

⁴ So the Israelites put away their idols of Baal and Ashtoreth. And they served only the Lord.

⁵ Samuel said, “All Israel must meet at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So the Israelites met together at Mizpah. They drew water from the ground and poured it out before the Lord. They did not eat that day. They confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel served as judge of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ The Philistines heard the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah. So the Philistine kings came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard they were coming, they were afraid. ⁸ They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us! Ask the Lord to save us from the Philistines!” ⁹ Then Samuel took a baby lamb. He offered the lamb to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He called to the Lord for Israel’s sake. And the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ While Samuel was burning the offering, the Philistines came near. They were going to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered against the Philistines with loud thunder. They were so frightened they became confused. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines in battle. ¹¹ The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines. They went almost to Beth Car, killing the Philistines along the way.

Peace Comes to Israel

¹² After this happened Samuel took a stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named the stone Ebenezer.^[e] Samuel said, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” ¹³ So the Philistines were defeated. They did not enter the Israelites’ land again.

The Lord was against the Philistines all Samuel’s life. ¹⁴ Earlier the Philistines had taken towns from the Israelites. But the Israelites won them back, from Ekron to Gath. They also took back from the Philistines the neighboring lands of these towns. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel continued as judge of Israel all his life. ¹⁶ Every year he went from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He judged the Israelites in all these towns. ¹⁷ But Samuel always went back to Ramah, where his home was. He also judged Israel there. And there he built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges for Israel. ² His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. ³ But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly. They took money secretly to be dishonest in their judging.

⁴ So all the elders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”

⁶ When the elders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. ⁸ They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me. They served other gods. They are doing the same to you. ⁹ Now listen to the people. But give them a warning. Tell them what the king who rules over them will do.”

¹⁰ Samuel answered those who had asked him for a king. He told them all the words of the Lord. ¹¹ Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons. He will make them serve with his chariots and his horses. They will run in front of the king’s chariot. ¹² The king will make some of your sons commanders over 1,000 men or over 50 men. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ This king will take your daughters. Some of your daughters will make perfume. Others will cook and bake for him. ¹⁴ He will take your best fields, vineyards and olive groves. He will give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your men servants and girl servants. He will take your best cattle and your donkeys. He will use them all for his own work. ¹⁷ He will take one-tenth of your flocks. And you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. The Lord will not answer you then.”

¹⁹ But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king to rule over us. ²⁰ Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge us. He will go with us and fight our battles.”

²¹ Samuel heard all that the people said. Then he repeated all their words to the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”

Saul Looks for His Father’s Donkeys

9 Kish son of Abiel was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was an important man. (Abiel was the son of Zeror. And Zeror was the son of Becorath. He was the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.) ² Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a fine young man. There was no Israelite better than he. Saul stood a head taller than any other man in Israel.

³ Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, “Take one of the servants. Go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim. And he went through the land of Shalisha. But he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin. But they still did not find the donkeys. ⁵ They arrived in the area of Zuph. Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back. My father will stop thinking about the donkeys. He will start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the servant answered, “A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let’s go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken.”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go into the town, what can we give him? The food in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. Do we have anything at all to give him?”

⁸ Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. Give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us about our journey.” ⁹ (In the past, someone in Israel might want to ask something from God. If so, he would say, “Let’s go to the seer.” We call the person a man of God today. But in the past he was called a “seer.”)

¹⁰ Saul said to his servant, “That is a good idea. Come, let’s go.” So they went toward the town where the man of God was.

¹¹ Saul and the servant were going up the hill to the town. On the way they met some young women coming out to get water. Saul and the servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² The young women answered, “Yes, he’s here. He’s ahead of you. Hurry now. He has just come to our town today. This is because the people will offer a sacrifice at the place of worship. ¹³ When you enter the town, you will find him. He will be there before he goes up to the place of worship to eat. The people will not begin eating until the seer comes. He must bless the sacrifice. After that, the guests will eat. Go now, and you should find him.”

Saul Meets Samuel

¹⁴ Saul and the servant went up to the town. Just as they entered the town, they saw Samuel. He was on his way up to the place of worship. So he was coming out of the city toward them.

¹⁵ The day before Saul came, the Lord had told Samuel: ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man. He will be from Benjamin. You must appoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines. I have seen the suffering of my people. I have listened to their cry.”

¹⁷ When Samuel first saw Saul, the Lord spoke to Samuel. He said, “This is the man I told you about. He will rule my people.”

¹⁸ Saul came near Samuel at the gate. Saul said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹ Samuel answered, “I am the seer. Go ahead of me to the place of worship. Today you and your servant are to eat with me. Tomorrow morning I will send you home. And I will answer all your questions. ²⁰ Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago. They have been found. Israel now wants you and all your father’s family.”

²¹ Saul answered, “But I am from the tribe of Benjamin. It’s the smallest tribe in Israel. And my family group is the smallest in the tribe of Benjamin. Why do you say Israel wants me?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into a large room. He gave them a chief place at the table. About 30 guests were there. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the meat I gave you. It’s the portion I told you to set aside.”

²⁴ So the cook took the thigh and put it on the table in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This is the meat saved for you. Eat it because it was set aside for you for this special time. As I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ After they finished eating, they came down from the place of worship. They went to the town. Then Samuel talked with Saul on the roof^[f] of his house. ²⁶ At dawn they got up, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” So Saul got up. He went out of the house with Samuel. ²⁷ Saul, his servant and Samuel were getting near the edge of the city. Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us. I have a message from God for you.”

Samuel Appoints Saul

10 Samuel took a jar of olive oil. He poured the oil on Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “The Lord has appointed you to be leader of his people Israel. You will rule over the people of the Lord. You will save them from their enemies all around. This will be the sign that the Lord has appointed you as leader of his people. ² After you leave me today, you will meet two men. They will be near Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you were looking for have been found. But now your father has stopped thinking about his donkeys. He is worrying about you. He is asking, “What will I do about my son?”’

³ “Then you will go on until you reach the great tree at Tabor. There three men will meet you. They will be on their way to worship God at Bethel. One man will be carrying three young goats. The second man will be carrying three loaves of bread. And the third one will have a leather bag full of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread. You will accept the bread from them. ⁵ Then you will go to Gibeah of God. There is a Philistine camp there. When you come near this town, a group of prophets will come out. They will be coming from the place of worship. And they will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes and lyres. And they will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord will enter you with power. You will prophesy with these prophets. You will be changed into a different man. ⁷ After these signs happen, do whatever you find to do. God will help you.

⁸ “Go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you. Then I will offer whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. But you must wait seven days. Then I will come and tell you what to do.”

Saul Made King

⁹ When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart. All these signs came true that day. ¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, Saul met a group of prophets. The Spirit of God entered him. And he prophesied with the prophets. ¹¹ People who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets. They asked each other, “What has happened to Kish’s son? Is even Saul one of the prophets?”

¹² A man who lived there said, “Who is the father of these prophets?” This became a famous saying: “Is even Saul one of the prophets?” ¹³ When Saul finished prophesying, he went to the place of worship.

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”

Saul said, “We were looking for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we went to talk to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle asked, “Please tell me. What did Samuel say to you?”

¹⁶ Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had already been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about his becoming king.

¹⁷ Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet with the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I led Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from Egypt’s control. And I saved you from other kingdoms that were troubling you.’ ¹⁹ But now you have rejected your God. He saves you from all your troubles and problems. But you said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ Now come, stand before the Lord in your tribes and family groups.”

²⁰ Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near. And the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ Samuel had them pass by in family groups, and Matri’s family was chosen. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by. And Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for Saul, they could not find him. ²² Then they asked the Lord, “Has Saul come here yet?”

The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding behind the baggage.”

²³ So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was a head taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. There is no one like him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained the rights and duties of the king. He wrote the rules in a book and put the book before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him. ²⁷ But some troublemakers said, “How can this man save us?” They hated Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept quiet.

Nahash Troubles Jabesh Gilead

11 About a month later Nahash the Ammonite and his army surrounded the city of Jabesh in Gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us. And we will serve you.”

² But he answered, “I will make a treaty with you. But I will only do it if I’m allowed to tear out the right eye of each of you. Then all Israel will be ashamed!”

³ The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Let us have seven days. We will send messengers through all Israel. If no one comes to help us, we will give ourselves up to you.”

⁴ The messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived. When they told the people the news, the people cried loudly. ⁵ Saul had finished plowing in the fields with his oxen. He was coming home when he heard the people crying. He asked, “What’s wrong with the people? Why are they crying?” Then they told Saul what the messengers from Jabesh had said. ⁶ When Saul heard their words, God’s Spirit entered him with power. Saul became very angry. ⁷ So he took a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. Then he gave the pieces of the oxen to messengers. He ordered them to carry the pieces through all the land of Israel.

The messengers made an announcement to the people. They said, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” So the people became very afraid of the Lord. They all came together as if they were one person. ⁸ Saul gathered the people together at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.

⁹ They spoke to the messengers who had come. They said, “Tell the people at Jabesh Gilead this: ‘Before the day becomes hot tomorrow, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and reported this to the people at Jabesh. They were very happy. ¹⁰ The people said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you. Then you can do anything you want to us.”

¹¹ The next morning Saul divided his soldiers into three groups. At dawn they entered the Ammonite camp. And they defeated the Ammonites before the heat of the day. The Ammonites who were left alive were scattered. Not even two of them were still together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who was it that didn’t want Saul as king? Bring them here, and we will kill them!”

¹³ But Saul said, “No! No one will be put to death today. The Lord has saved Israel today!”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. At Gilgal we will again promise to obey the king.” ¹⁵ All the people went to Gilgal. And there, before the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all the Israelites had a great celebration.

Samuel’s Farewell Speech

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done everything you wanted me to do. I have put a king over you. ² Now you have a king to lead you. I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader since I was young. ³ Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, you must testify against me. Do this before the Lord and his appointed king. Did I steal anyone’s ox or donkey? Did I hurt or cheat anyone? Did I ever secretly take money to pretend not to see something wrong? If I did any of these things, I will make it right.”

⁴ The Israelites answered, “You have not cheated us. You have not hurt us. You have not taken anything unfairly from anyone.”

⁵ Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness to what you have said. His appointed king is also a witness today. They are both witnesses that you did not find anything wrong in me.”

“He is our witness,” they said.

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is our witness. He chose Moses and Aaron. He brought your ancestors out of Egypt. ⁷ Now, stand there. And I will talk with you about all the good things the Lord did for you and your ancestors.

⁸ “After Jacob entered Egypt, his descendants cried to the Lord for help. So the Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They took your ancestors out of Egypt and brought them to live in this place.

⁹ “But they forgot the Lord their God. So he let them become the slaves of Sisera. He was the commander of the army of Hazor. The Lord let them become the slaves of the Philistines and the king of Moab. They all fought against your ancestors. ¹⁰ Then your ancestors cried to the Lord. They said, ‘We have sinned. We have left the Lord. We served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now save us from our enemies, and we will serve you.’ ¹¹ The Lord sent Gideon, who is also called Jerub-Baal. And he sent Barak, Jephthah and Samuel. Then he saved you from your enemies around you. And you lived in safety. ¹² But then you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites coming against you. You said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us!’ ¹³ Now here is the king you chose. The Lord has put him over you. ¹⁴ You must honor the Lord and serve him. You must obey his commands. Both you and the king ruling over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, it will be well with you. ¹⁵ But if you don’t obey the Lord, and if you fight against his commands, he will be against you. He will do to you what he did to your ancestors.

¹⁶ “Now stand still and see the great thing the Lord will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ It is now the time of the wheat harvest.^[g] I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will know what an evil thing you did against the Lord when you asked for a king.”

¹⁸ Then Samuel prayed to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. And the people became very afraid of the Lord and Samuel. ¹⁹ They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”

²⁰ Samuel answered, “Don’t be afraid. It’s true that you did wrong. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Idols are of no use. So don’t worship them. They can’t help you or save you. They are useless! ²² For his own sake, the Lord won’t leave his people. Instead, he was pleased to make you his own people. ²³ I will surely not stop praying for you. If I did, I would be sinning against the Lord. I will teach you what is good and right. ²⁴ But you must honor the Lord. You must always serve him with all your heart. Remember the wonderful things he did for you! ²⁵ But if you are stubborn and do evil, God will sweep you and your king away.”

13 Saul was 30 years old when he became king. He was king over Israel 42 years.^{[h] 2} Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel. There were 2,000 men who stayed with him at Micmash in the mountains of Bethel. And 1,000 men stayed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul sent the other men in the army back home.

³ Jonathan attacked the Philistine camp in Geba. And the other Philistines heard about it. Saul said, “Let the Hebrew people hear what happened.” So he told the men to blow trumpets through all the land of Israel. ⁴ All the Israelites heard the news. The men said, “Saul has defeated the Philistine camp. Now the Philistines really hate us!” Then the Israelites were called to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines gathered to fight Israel. They had 3,000^[i] chariots and 6,000 men to ride in the chariots. Their soldiers were many in number, like the grains of sand on the seashore. The Philistines went and camped at Micmash which is east of Beth Aven. ⁶ The Israelites saw that they were in trouble. So they went to hide in caves and bushes. They also hid among the rocks and in pits and wells. ⁷ Some Hebrews even went across the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead.

But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the men in his army were shaking with fear. ⁸ Saul waited seven days, because Samuel had said he would meet him then. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And the soldiers began to leave.

⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the whole burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then Saul offered the whole burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. Saul went to meet him.

¹¹ Samuel asked, “What have you done?”

Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me, and you were not here. The Philistines were gathering at Micmash. ¹² Then I thought, ‘The Philistines will come against me at Gilgal. And I haven’t asked for the Lord’s approval.’ So I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.”

¹³ Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed God’s command. If you had obeyed him, God would make your kingdom continue in Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has looked for the kind of man he wants. The Lord has appointed him to become ruler of his people. He is doing this because you haven’t obeyed his command.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the army followed Saul into battle. Saul counted the men still with him, and there were about 600.

Hard Times for Israel

¹⁶ Saul and his son Jonathan stayed in Geba in the land of Benjamin. The soldiers with them also stayed there. The Philistines made their camp at Micmash. ¹⁷ Three groups went out from their camp to attack. One group went on the Ophrah road in the land of Shual. ¹⁸ The second group went on the Beth Horon road. And the third group went on the border road. It overlooked the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.

¹⁹ The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith. This is because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might make swords and spears.” ²⁰ So all the Israelites went down to the Philistines. They went to have their plows, hoes, axes and sickles sharpened. ²¹ The Philistine blacksmiths charged about one-fourth of an ounce of silver for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged one-eighth of an ounce of silver for sharpening picks, axes and the sticks used to guide oxen.

²² So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Israel Defeats the Philistines

²³ A group from the Philistine army had gone out to the mountain pass at Micmash.

14 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, spoke to the officer who carried his armor. Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine camp on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.

² Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at the threshing floor near Gibeah. He had about 600 men with him. ³ One man was Ahijah, who was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, Eli’s son. Eli was the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. He wore the holy vest. No one knew Jonathan had left.

⁴ There was a steep slope on each side of the pass. Jonathan planned to go through the pass to the Philistine camp. The cliff on one side was named Bozez. The other cliff was named Seneh. ⁵ One cliff faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, “Come. Let’s go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us. It doesn’t matter if we have many people, or just a few. Nothing can keep the Lord from giving us victory.”

⁷ The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. I’m with you.”

⁸ Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines. We will let them see us. ⁹ They may say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you.’ If they do, we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. ¹⁰ But they may say, ‘Come up to us.’ If so, we will climb up. And the Lord will allow us to defeat them. This will be the sign for us.”

¹¹ Both Jonathan and his officer let the Philistines see them. The Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” ¹² The Philistines in the camp shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. We’ll teach you a lesson!”

Jonathan said to his officer, “Climb up behind me. The Lord has given the Philistines to Israel!” ¹³ So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet. His officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan cut down the Philistines as he went. And his officer killed them as he followed behind Jonathan. ¹⁴ In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about 20 Philistines.

¹⁵ All the Philistine soldiers panicked. Those in the camp and those in the raiding party were frightened. The ground itself shook! God caused the panic.

¹⁶ Saul’s guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. They saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction. ¹⁷ Saul said to his army, “Check and find who has left our camp.” When they checked, they learned that Jonathan and his officer were gone.

¹⁸ So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the Ark of the Covenant of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) ¹⁹ While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Stop. There’s not time to pray now!”

²⁰ Then Saul and the army with him gathered and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, even striking each other with their swords! ²¹ Earlier, there were Hebrews who had served the Philistines and had stayed in their camp. They now joined the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. ²² All the Israelites hidden in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away. They too joined the battle and chased the Philistines. ²³ So the Lord saved the Israelites that day. And the battle moved on past Beth Aven.

Saul Makes Another Mistake

²⁴ The men of Israel were miserable that day. This was because Saul had made an oath for all of them. He had said, “No one should eat food before evening and before I finish defeating my enemies. If he does, he will be cursed!” So no Israelite soldier ate food.

²⁵ Now the army went into the woods. There was some honey on the ground. ²⁶ They came to where the honey was. But no one took any because they were afraid of the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard the oath Saul had put on the people. So Jonathan dipped the end of his stick into the honey. He pulled out the honey and ate it. Then he felt better. ²⁸ So one of the soldiers told Jonathan, “Your father made an oath for all the soldiers. He said any man who eats today will be cursed! That’s why they are weak.”

²⁹ Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the land! See how much better I feel after just tasting a little of this honey! ³⁰ It would have been much better for the men to eat the food they took from their enemies today. We could have killed many more Philistines!”

³¹ That day the Israelites defeated the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon. After they did this, they were very tired. ³² They had taken sheep, cattle and calves from the Philistines. Now they were so hungry they killed the animals on the ground and ate them. But the blood was still in the animals! ³³ Someone said to Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. They’re eating meat that still has blood in it!”

Saul said, “You have sinned! Roll a large stone over here now!” ³⁴ Then he said, “Go to the men. Tell them that each person must bring his ox and sheep to me. They must kill and eat their ox and sheep here. Don’t sin against the Lord. Don’t eat meat with the blood still in it.”

That night everyone brought his animals and killed them there. ³⁵ Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar Saul had built to the Lord.

³⁶ Saul said, “Let’s go after the Philistines tonight. Let’s take what they own. We won’t let any of them live!”

The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”

But the priest said, “Let’s ask God.”

³⁷ So Saul asked God, “Should I chase the Philistines? Will you let us defeat them?” But that day God did not answer Saul. ³⁸ That is why Saul said to all the leaders of his army, “Come here. Let’s find what sin has been done today. ³⁹ As surely as the Lord lives, even if my son Jonathan did the sin, he must die.” But no one in the army answered.

⁴⁰ Then Saul said to all the Israelites, “You stand on this side. I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.”

The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”

⁴¹ Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give me the right answer.”

And Saul and Jonathan were chosen by throwing lots. The other men went free. ⁴² Saul said, “Throw the lot. It will show if it is I or Jonathan my son who is guilty.” And Jonathan was chosen.

⁴³ Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”

So Jonathan told Saul, “I only tasted a little honey from the end of my stick. And must I die now?”

⁴⁴ Saul said, “Jonathan, if you don’t die, may God punish me terribly.”

⁴⁵ But the soldiers said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? Never! He is responsible for saving Israel today! As surely as the Lord lives, not even a hair of his head will fall to the ground! Today Jonathan fought against the Philistines with God’s help!” So the army saved Jonathan, and he did not die.

⁴⁶ Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines. And they went back to their own land.

Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies

⁴⁷ When Saul became king over Israel, he fought against Israel’s enemies all around. He fought Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the king of Zobah and the Philistines. Everywhere Saul went he defeated Israel’s enemies. ⁴⁸ He became strong. He fought bravely and defeated the Amalekites. He saved Israel from the enemies who had taken what the Israelites owned.

⁴⁹ Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. His older daughter was named Merab. His younger daughter was named Michal. ⁵⁰ Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner. Ner was Saul’s uncle. ⁵¹ Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.

⁵² All Saul’s life he fought hard against the Philistines. When he saw strong or brave men, he took them into his army.

Saul Rejected as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to appoint you king over Israel. Now listen to his message. ² This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘The Israelites came out of Egypt. But the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. I saw what they did. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites. Destroy everything that belongs to them as an offering to the Lord. Don’t let anything live. Put to death men and women, children and small babies. Kill the cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul called the army together at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. ⁵ Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the ravine. ⁶ He said to the Kenites, “Go away. Leave the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them. You showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, at the border of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive. But he killed all of Agag’s army with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army let Agag live. They also let the best sheep, fat cattle and lambs live. They let every good animal live. They did not want to destroy them. But when they found an animal that was weak or useless, they killed it.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word to Samuel: ¹¹ “Saul has stopped following me. And I am sorry I made him king. He has not obeyed my commands.” Samuel was upset, and he cried out to the Lord all night long.

¹² Early the next morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul. But the people told Samuel, “Saul has gone to Carmel. He has put up a monument in his own honor. Now he has gone down to Gilgal.”

¹³ Then Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said, “May the Lord bless you! I have obeyed the Lord’s commands.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “Then why do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord your God. But we destroyed all the other animals.”

¹⁶ Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

Saul answered, “Tell me.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Once you didn’t think much of yourself. But now you have become the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord appointed you to be king over Israel. ¹⁸ And he told you to do something. He said, ‘Go and destroy those evil people, the Amalekites. Make war on them until all of them are dead.’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you take the best things? Why did you do what the Lord said was wrong?”

²⁰ Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord. I did what the Lord told me to do. I destroyed all the Amalekites. And I brought back Agag their king. ²¹ The soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel answered,

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands. I didn’t do what you told me. I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You refused the Lord’s command. And now he rejects you as king of Israel.”

²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to one better than you. ²⁹ The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a man. So he does not change his mind as men do.”

³⁰ Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please honor me in front of my people’s elders. Please honor me in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to Samuel in chains. Yet Agag thought, “Surely the threat of death has passed.”

³³ Samuel said to him, “Your sword caused mothers to be without their children. Now your mother will have no children.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel left and went to Ramah. But Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. ³⁵ And Samuel never saw Saul again all the rest of his life. But he was sorry for Saul. And the Lord was very sorry he had made Saul king of Israel.

Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to feel sorry for Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. Fill your container with olive oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

² But Samuel said, “If I go, Saul will hear the news. And he will try to kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a young calf with you. Say, ‘I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will show you what to do. You must appoint the one I show you.”

⁴ Samuel did what the Lord told him to do. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?”

⁵ Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Make yourselves holy for the Lord and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he made Jesse and his sons holy for the Lord. And he invited them to come to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is. Don’t look at how tall he is. I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and told him to pass by Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this man either.” ⁹ Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord has not chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass by Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

¹¹ Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

Jesse answered, “I still have the youngest son. He is out taking care of the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him. We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹² So Jesse sent and had his youngest son brought in. He was a fine boy, tanned and handsome.

The Lord said to Samuel, “Go! Appoint him. He is the one.”

¹³ So Samuel took the container of olive oil. Then he poured oil on Jesse’s youngest son to appoint him in front of his brothers. From that day on, the Lord’s Spirit entered David with power. Samuel then went back to Ramah.

David Serves Saul

¹⁴ But the Lord’s Spirit had gone out of Saul. And an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

¹⁵ Saul’s servants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. ¹⁶ Give us the command. We will look for someone who can play the harp. When the evil spirit from the Lord enters you, he will play. Then the evil spirit will leave you alone. And you will feel better.”

¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Find someone. If he plays well, bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the servants said, “Jesse of Bethlehem has a son who plays the harp. I have seen him play it. He is a brave man and fights well. He is a good speaker and handsome. And the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹ Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse. The message said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ So Jesse loaded a donkey with bread and a leather bag full of wine. He also took a young goat. He sent them all with his son David to Saul.

²¹ When David came to Saul, he began to serve him. Saul loved David very much. And David became the officer who carried Saul’s armor. ²² Saul sent a message to Jesse. He said, “Let David stay and serve me. I like him.”

²³ When the evil spirit from God entered Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then the evil spirit would go out of him. And Saul would feel relief. He would feel better again.

David and Goliath

17 The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They met at Socoh in Judah. Their camp was at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. ² Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah. And they camped there. They took their positions to fight the Philistines. ³ The Philistines controlled one hill. The Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them.

⁴ The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath. He was from Gath. He was about nine feet four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp. ⁵ He had a bronze helmet on his head. And he wore a coat of scale armor. It was made of bronze and weighed about 125 pounds. ⁶ He wore bronze protectors on his legs. And he had a small spear of bronze tied on his back. ⁷ The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver’s rod. And its blade weighed about 15 pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.

⁸ Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. ⁹ If he can fight and kill me, we will become your servants. But if I defeat and kill him, you will become our servants.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” ¹¹ When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very afraid.

¹² Now David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite. Jesse was from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. ¹³ His three oldest sons followed Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab. The second son was Abinadab. And the third son was Shammah. ¹⁴ David was the youngest son. Jesse’s three oldest sons followed Saul. ¹⁵ But David went back and forth from Saul to Bethlehem. There he took care of his father’s sheep.

¹⁶ The Philistine Goliath came out every morning and evening. He stood before the Israelite army. This continued for 40 days.

¹⁷ Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this half bushel of cooked grain. And take ten loaves of bread. Take them to your brothers in the camp. ¹⁸ Also take ten pieces of cheese. Give them to the commander of your brothers’ group of 1,000 soldiers. See how your brothers are. Bring back something to show me they are all right. ¹⁹ Your brothers are with Saul and the army in the Valley of Elah. They are fighting against the Philistines.”

²⁰ Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was leaving. They were going out to their battle positions. The soldiers were shouting their war cry. ²¹ The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.

²² David left the food with the man who kept the supplies. Then he ran to the battle line and talked to his brothers. ²³ While he was talking with them, Goliath came out. He was the Philistine champion from Gath. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard it. ²⁴ When the Israelites saw Goliath, they were very much afraid and ran away.

²⁵ They said, “Look at this man Goliath. He keeps coming out to speak against Israel. The king will give much money to the man who kills Goliath. He will also give his daughter in marriage to whoever kills him. And his father’s family will not have to pay taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ David asked the men who stood near him, “What will be done to reward the man who kills this Philistine? What will be done for whoever takes away the shame from Israel? Goliath is a Philistine. He is not circumcised. Why does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ The Israelites told David what they had been saying. They said, “This is what will be done for the man who kills Goliath.”

²⁸ David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers. He became angry with David. He asked David, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of those few sheep of yours in the desert? I know you are proud. Your attitude is very bad. You came down here just to watch the battle!”

²⁹ David asked, “Now what have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?” ³⁰ He then turned to other people and asked the same questions. And they gave him the same answer as before. ³¹ Some men heard what David said and told Saul. Then Saul ordered David to be sent to him.

³² David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. I, your servant, will go and fight this Philistine!”

³³ Saul answered, “You can’t go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a boy. Goliath has been a warrior since he was a young man.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur. I would hit it and kill it. ³⁶ I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! Goliath, the Philistine who is not circumcised, will be like the lion or bear I killed. He will die because he has stood against the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord saved me from a lion and a bear. He will also save me from this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸ Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and armor on his body. ³⁹ David put on Saul’s sword and tried to walk around. But he was not used to all the armor Saul had put on him.

He said to Saul, “I can’t go in this. I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. ⁴⁰ He took his stick in his hand. And he chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his pouch and held his sling in his hand. Then he went to meet Goliath.

⁴¹ At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. ⁴² Goliath looked at David. He saw that David was only a boy, tanned and handsome. He looked down at David with disgust. ⁴³ He said, “Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” He used his gods’ names to curse David. ⁴⁴ He said to David, “Come here. I’ll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!”

⁴⁵ But David said to him, “You come to me using a sword, a large spear and a small spear. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven’s armies. He’s the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken out against him. ⁴⁶ Today the Lord will give you to me. I’ll kill you, and I’ll cut off your head. Today I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! ⁴⁷ Everyone gathered here will know the Lord does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him! And he will help us defeat all of you.”

⁴⁸ As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. ⁴⁹ He took a stone from his pouch. He put it into his sling and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine on his forehead and sank into it. Goliath fell facedown on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone! He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. ⁵¹ David ran and stood beside the Philistine. He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him. Then he cut off Goliath’s head.

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. ⁵² The men of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. They chased them all the way to the entrance to the city of Gath. And they chased them to the gates of Ekron.

Many of the Philistines died. Their bodies lay on the Shaaraim road as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ The Israelites returned after chasing the Philistines. Then they took many things from the Philistine camp. ⁵⁴ David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem. He also put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

⁵⁵ Saul had watched David go out to meet Goliath. Saul spoke to Abner, commander of the army. He said, “Abner, who is that young man’s father?”

Abner answered, “As surely as you live, my king, I don’t know.”

⁵⁶ The king said, “Find out whose son he is.”

⁵⁷ When David came back from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul. David still held Goliath’s head.

⁵⁸ Saul asked him, “Young man, who is your father?”

David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

Saul Fears David

18 When David finished talking with Saul, Jonathan felt very close to David. He loved David as much as he loved himself. ² Saul kept David with him from that day on. He did not let David go home to his father’s house. ³ Jonathan made an agreement with David. He did this because he loved David as much as himself. ⁴ He took off his coat and gave it to David. He also gave David his uniform, including his sword, bow and belt.

⁵ Saul sent David to fight in different battles. And David was very successful. Then Saul put David over the soldiers. When he did this, Saul’s officers and all the other people were pleased.

⁶ After David had killed the Philistine, he and the men returned home. Women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul. They sang songs of joy, danced and played tambourines and stringed instruments. ⁷ As they played, they sang,

⁸ The women’s song upset Saul, and he became very angry. He thought, “The women say David has killed tens of thousands of enemies. But they say I killed only thousands of enemies. The only thing left for him to have is the kingdom!” ⁹ So Saul watched David closely from then on. He was jealous of him.

¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit from God entered Saul with power. And he prophesied in his house. David was playing the harp as he usually did. But Saul had a spear in his hand. ¹¹ He raised the spear and thought, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him two times.

¹² The Lord was with David but had left Saul. So Saul was afraid of David. ¹³ He sent David away from him. He made David commander of 1,000 soldiers. So David led them in battle. ¹⁴ He had great success in everything he did because the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ Saul saw that David was very successful. And he became even more afraid of David. ¹⁶ But all the people of Israel and Judah loved David. This was because he led them well in battle.

Saul’s Daughter and David

¹⁷ Saul said to David, “You’re a brave soldier. And you fight the Lord’s battles. Here is my older daughter Merab. I will let you marry her.” Saul had decided, “I won’t have to kill David. The Philistines will do that!”

¹⁸ But David said, “I am not good enough for this honor. And my family is not important enough for me to become the king’s son-in-law.” ¹⁹ So when the time came for Saul’s daughter Merab to marry David, Saul gave her instead to Adriel of Meholah.

²⁰ Now Saul’s other daughter Michal loved David. When they told Saul about Michal loving David, he was pleased. ²¹ He thought, “I will let Michal marry David. Then she will become a trap for him. And the Philistines will defeat him.” So Saul said to David a second time, “You may become my son-in-law.”

²² And Saul gave an order to his servants. He told them, “Speak to David in private. Say, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you. His servants like you. You should become his son-in-law.’”

²³ Saul’s servants said these words to David. But David answered, “Do you think it is easy to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man. Nobody knows me.”

²⁴ Then Saul’s servants told him what David had said. ²⁵ Saul said, “Say to David, ‘The king doesn’t want you to pay a large price for the bride. All he wants is 100 Philistine foreskins. Then he will be even with his enemies.’” Saul planned to let the Philistines kill David.

²⁶ Saul’s servants told David these words. David was pleased that he could become the king’s son-in-law. ²⁷ So he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. David took all their foreskins and brought them to Saul. He wanted to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. ²⁸ Saul saw that the Lord was with David. He also saw that his daughter Michal loved David. ²⁹ So he became even more afraid of David. And he was David’s enemy all his life.

³⁰ The Philistine commanders continued to go out to fight the Israelites. But every time, David defeated them. He had more success than Saul’s officers. And he became famous.

Saul Plans to Kill David

19 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan cared very much for David. ² So he warned David, “My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Watch out in the morning. Hide in a secret place. ³ I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are hiding. I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll let you know what I find out.”

⁴ Jonathan talked to Saul his father. He said good things about David. Jonathan said, “You are the king. Don’t do wrong to your servant David. He did nothing wrong to you. What he did has helped you greatly. ⁵ David risked his life when he killed Goliath the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and you were happy. Why would you do wrong against David? He’s innocent. There’s no reason to kill him!”

⁶ Saul listened to Jonathan. Then he made this promise: “As surely as the Lord lives, David won’t be put to death.”