1 Samuel 1-19

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Samuel’s Birth and Dedication

1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite^[a] from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.^{(A) 2} He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.^(B)

³ Now this man used to go up year by year from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.^{(C) 4} On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters,^{(D) 5} but to Hannah he gave a double portion^[b] because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.^{(E) 6} Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb.^{(F) 7} So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”^(G)

⁹ After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord.^[c] Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.^{(H) 10} She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants,^[d] and no razor shall touch his head.”^(I)

¹² As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk.^{(J) 14} So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.”^{(K) 15} But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.^{(L) 16} Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.”^{(M) 18} And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went her way and ate and drank with her husband,^[e] and her countenance was sad no longer.^[f](N)

¹⁹ They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.^{(O) 20} In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”^(P)

²¹ The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.^{(Q) 22} But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and remain there forever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.”^{[g](R) 23} Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish your^[h] word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.^{(S) 24} When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,^[i] an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh, and the child was young.^{(T) 25} Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the child to Eli.^{(U) 26} And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence praying to the Lord.^{(V) 27} For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him.^{(W) 28} Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” And they worshiped the Lord there.^(X)

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed and said,

Eli’s Wicked Sons

¹¹ Then they left him there before the Lord and went^[l] home to Ramah, while the boy remained to minister to the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli.^(AI)

¹² Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord^{(AJ) 13} or for the duties of the priests to the people. When anyone offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,^{(AK) 14} and he would thrust it into the pan, kettle, caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself.^[m] This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.”^{(AL) 16} And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first and then take whatever you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now; if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for they treated the offerings of the Lord with contempt.^(AM)

The Child Samuel at Shiloh

¹⁸ Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod.^{(AN) 19} His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.^{(AO) 20} Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord repay^[n] you with children by this woman for the loan that she made to^[o] the Lord,” and then they would return to their home.^(AP)

²¹ And^[p] the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.^(AQ)

Prophecy against Eli’s Household

²² Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{(AR) 23} He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad.^{(AS) 25} If one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord,^[q] but if someone sins against the Lord, who can make intercession?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.^(AT)

²⁶ Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.^(AU)

²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus the Lord has said: I revealed^[r] myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slaves^[s] to the house of Pharaoh.^{(AV) 28} I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me, and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire^[t] from the Israelites.^{(AW) 29} Why then look^[u] with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my offerings^[v] and honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?^{(AX) 30} Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me forever, but now the Lord declares: Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt.^{(AY) 31} See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family.^{[w](AZ) 32} No one in your family shall ever live to old age.^{(BA) 33} The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his^[x] eyes and grieve his^[y] heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.^{[z] 34} The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day.^{(BB) 35} I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one forever.^{(BC) 36} Everyone who is left in your family shall come and prostrate himself before him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, ‘Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.’ ”^(BD)

Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity

3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.^(BE)

² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;^{(BF) 3} the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.^{(BG) 4} Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!”^[aa] and he said, “Here I am!”^{(BH) 5} and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.^{(BI) 8} The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.^{(BJ) 12} On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.^{(BK) 13} For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,^[ab] and he did not restrain them.^{(BL) 14} Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”^(BM)

¹⁵ Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”^{(BN) 18} So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”^(BO)

¹⁹ As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.^{(BP) 20} And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.^{(BQ) 21} The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.^(BR) 4 ¹ And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,^[ac] and Israel went out to battle against them;^[ad] they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.^{(BS) 2} The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined,^[ae] Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. ³ When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”^{(BT) 4} So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.^(BU)

⁵ When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.^{(BV) 6} When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,^{(BW) 7} the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “Gods have^[af] come into the camp.” They also said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. ⁹ Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”^(BX)

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.^{(BY) 11} The ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.^(BZ)

Death of Eli

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.^{(CA) 13} When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.^{(CB) 14} When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man came quickly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.^{(CC) 16} The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?”^{(CD) 17} The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter^[ag] among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli^[ah] fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.^(CE)

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her labor pains overwhelmed her. ²⁰ As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed.^{(CF) 21} She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”^(CG)

The Philistines and the Ark

5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod;^{(CH) 2} then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.^{(CI) 3} When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.^{(CJ) 4} But when they rose early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of^[ai] Dagon was left to him.^{(CK) 5} This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and struck them with tumors, both in Ashdod and in its territory.^{(CL) 7} And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” ⁸ So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” The inhabitants of Gath replied, “Let the ark of God be moved on to us.”^[aj] So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.^{[ak](CM) 9} But after they had brought it to Gath,^[al] the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic; he struck the inhabitants of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.^{(CN) 10} So they sent the ark of the God of Israel^[am] to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “Why^[an] have they brought around to us^[ao] the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our^[ap] people?” ¹¹ They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our^[aq] people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;^{(CO) 12} those who did not die were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. ² Then the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us what we should send with it to its place.”^{(CP) 3} They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and forgiven;^[ar] will not his hand then turn from you?”^{(CQ) 4} And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall send to him?” They answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords.^{(CR) 5} So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand on you and your gods and your land.^{(CS) 6} Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made fools of them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?^{(CT) 7} Now then, get ready a new cart and two milch cows that have never borne a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.^{(CU) 8} Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a box at its side the figures of gold that you are sending to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off, and let it go its way.^{(CV) 9} And watch: if it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”^(CW)

¹⁰ The men did so; they took two milch cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹ They put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the gold mice and the images of their tumors. ¹² The cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.^(CX)

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they went with rejoicing to meet it.^{[as] 14} The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A large stone was there; so they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.^{(CY) 15} The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box beside it in which were the gold objects and set them on the large stone. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and presented sacrifices on that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.^(CZ)

¹⁷ These are the gold tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;^{(DA) 18} also the gold mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone, beside which they set down the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.^(DB)

The Ark at Kiriath-jearim

¹⁹ The descendants of Jeconiah did not rejoice with the people of Beth-shemesh when they greeted^[at] the ark of the Lord, and he killed seventy men of them.^[au] The people mourned because the Lord had made a great slaughter among the people.^{(DC) 20} Then the people of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom shall he go so that we may be rid of him?”^{(DD) 21} So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”^(DE) 7 ¹ And the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They consecrated his son, Eleazar, to have charge of the ark of the Lord.^(DF)

² From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented^[av] after the Lord.

Samuel as Judge

³ Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”^{(DG) 4} So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”^{(DH) 6} So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.^(DI)

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.^{(DJ) 8} The Israelites said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”^{(DK) 9} So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.^{(DL) 10} As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel, but the Lord thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel.^{(DM) 11} And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as beyond Beth-car.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah^[aw] and named it Ebenezer,^[ax] for he said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”^{(DN) 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.^{(DO) 14} The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.^{(DP) 16} He went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there; he administered justice there to Israel and built there an altar to the Lord.^(DQ)

Israel Demands a King

8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.^{(DR) 2} The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. ³ Yet his sons did not follow in his ways but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.^(DS)

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah^{(DT) 5} and said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.”^{(DU) 6} But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord,^{(DV) 7} and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.^{(DW) 8} Just as they have done to me^[ay] from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. ⁹ Now then, listen to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”^(DX)

¹⁰ So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots,^{(DY) 12} and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.^{(DZ) 13} He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers.^{(EA) 15} He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female slaves and the best of your cattle^[az] and donkeys and put them to his work. ¹⁷ He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. ¹⁸ And on that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”^(EB)

Israel’s Request for a King Granted

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! We are determined to have a king over us, ²⁰ so that we also may be like other nations and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”^{(EC) 21} When Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. ²² The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.” Samuel then said to the Israelites, “Each of you return home.”^(ED)

Saul Chosen to Be King

9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.^{(EE) 2} He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the Israelites more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.^(EF)

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the young men with you; go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.^(EG)

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the young man who was with him, “Let us turn back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about us.”^{(EH) 6} But he said to him, “There is a man of God in this town; he is a man held in honor. Whatever he says always comes true. Let us go there now; perhaps he will tell us about the journey on which we have set out.”^{(EI) 7} Then Saul replied to the young man, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have we?”^{(EJ) 8} The young man answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)^{(EK) 10} Saul said to the young man, “Good; come, let us go.” So they went to the town where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”^{(EL) 12} They answered, “Yes, there he is just ahead of you. Hurry; he has come just now to the town because the people have a sacrifice today at the shrine.^{(EM) 13} As soon as you enter the town, you will meet him before he goes up to the shrine to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those eat who are invited. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the town. As they were entering the town, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the shrine.

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have seen the suffering of^[ba] my people, because their outcry has come to me.”^{(EN) 17} When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people.”^{(EO) 18} Then Saul approached Samuel inside the gate and said, “Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. ²⁰ As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, give no further thought to them, for they have been found. And on whom is all Israel’s desire fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?”^{(EP) 21} Saul answered, “I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”^(EQ)

²² Then Samuel took Saul and the young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, of whom there were about thirty. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, the one I asked you to put aside.” ²⁴ The cook took up the upper thigh^[bb] and set it before Saul. Samuel said, “See, what was reserved is set before you. Eat, for it was kept for you for this appointed time, so that you might eat with the guests.”^[bc]

So Saul ate with Samuel that day.^{(ER) 25} When they came down from the shrine into the town, a bed was spread for Saul^[bd] on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.^{[be](ES) 26} Then at the break of dawn^[bf] Samuel called to Saul upon the roof, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

Samuel Anoints Saul

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the young man to go on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.” 10 ¹ Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him; he said, “The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler^[bg] over his heritage:^{(ET) 2} When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has stopped worrying about them and is worrying about you, saying: “What shall I do about my son?” ’^{(EU) 3} Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there: one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.^{(EV) 4} They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from them. ⁵ After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim,^[bh] at the place where the Philistine garrison is; there, as you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy.^{(EW) 6} Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.^{(EX) 7} Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.^{(EY) 8} And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”^(EZ)

Saul Prophesies

⁹ As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.^{(FA) 10} When they were going from there to Gibeah,^[bi] a band of prophets met him, and the spirit of God possessed him, and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them.^{(FB) 11} When all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”^{(FC) 12} A man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When his prophetic frenzy had ended, he went home.^[bj]

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle said to him and to the young man, “Where did you go?” And he replied, “To seek the donkeys, and when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ Saul said to his uncle, “He told us that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.^(FD)

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah^{(FE) 18} and said to the Israelites, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’^{(FF) 19} But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us.’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.”^(FG)

²⁰ Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.^{(FH) 21} He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man,^[bk] and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²² So they inquired again of the Lord, “Did the man come here?”^[bl] And the Lord said, “See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”^{(FI) 23} Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them.^{(FJ) 24} Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”^(FK)

²⁵ Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes.^{(FL) 26} Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had touched.^{(FM) 27} But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.^[bm](FN)

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 About a month later,^[bn] Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”^{(FO) 2} But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, namely, that I gouge out everyone’s right eye and thus put disgrace upon all Israel.”^{(FP) 3} The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the hearing of the people, and all the people wept aloud.^(FQ)

⁵ Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and Saul said, “What is the matter with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the message from the inhabitants of Jabesh. ⁶ And the spirit of God came upon Saul in power when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.^{(FR) 7} He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one.^{(FS) 8} When he mustered them at Bezek, those from Israel were three hundred thousand and those from Judah seventy^[bo] thousand.^{(FT) 9} They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead: Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.” When the messengers came and told the inhabitants of Jabesh, they rejoiced. ¹⁰ So the inhabitants of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.”^{(FU) 11} The next day Saul put the people in three companies. At the morning watch they came into the camp and cut down the Ammonites until the heat of the day, and those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.^(FV)

¹² The people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Give them to us so that we may put them to death.”^{(FW) 13} But Saul said, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought deliverance to Israel.”^(FX)

¹⁴ Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.”^{(FY) 15} So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.^(FZ)

Samuel’s Farewell Address

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to you in all that you have said to me and have set a king over you.^{(GA) 2} See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day.^{(GB) 3} Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me,^[bp] and I will restore it to you.”^{(GC) 4} They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone.” ⁵ He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”^(GD)

⁶ Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who^[bq] appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt.^{(GE) 7} Now, therefore, take your stand so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord, and I will declare to you^[br] all the righteous acts of the Lord that he performed for you and for your ancestors.^{(GF) 8} When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them,^[bs] then your ancestors cried to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.^{(GG) 9} But they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of King Jabin of^[bt] Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.^{(GH) 10} Then they cried to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Astartes, but now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’^{(GI) 11} And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak,^[bu] and Jephthah, and Samson^[bv] and rescued you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.^{(GJ) 12} But when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ though the Lord your God was your king.^{(GK) 13} See, here is the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; see, the Lord has set a king over you.^{(GL) 14} If you will fear the Lord and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well;^{(GM) 15} but if you will not heed the voice of the Lord but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.^{[bw](GN) 16} Now, therefore, take your stand and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.^{(GO) 17} Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain, and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves.”^{(GP) 18} So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.^(GQ)

¹⁹ All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves.”^{(GR) 20} And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart, ²¹ and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save, for they are useless.^{(GS) 22} For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.^{(GT) 23} Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.^{(GU) 24} Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart, for consider what great things he has done for you.^{(GV) 25} But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”^(GW)

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

13 Saul was . . .^[bx] years old when he began to reign, and he reigned . . . and two^[by] 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.^{(GX) 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!”^{(GY) 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.^{(GZ) 6} When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns.^{(HA) 7} Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸ He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul.^{[bz](HB) 9} So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering.^{(HC) 10} As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet him and salute him.^{(HD) 11} Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me and that you did not come within the days appointed and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash,^{(HE) 12} I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord,’ so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever,^{(HF) 14} but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”^{(HG) 15} And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal.^[ca] The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin.^[cb]

Preparations for Battle

Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.^{(HH) 16} Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. ¹⁷ And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah to the land of Shual,^{(HI) 18} another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain^[cc] that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.^(HJ)

¹⁹ Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves,”^{(HK) 20} so all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, or sickles.^{[cd] 21} The charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[ce] for the plowshares and for the mattocks and one-third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.^{[cf] 22} So on the day of the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.^(HL)

Jonathan Surprises and Routs the Philistines

²³ Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash. 14 ¹ One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “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 under the pomegranate tree that is at Migron; the troops who were with him were about six hundred men,^{(HM) 3} along with Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, carrying an ephod. Now the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.^{(HN) 4} In the pass^[cg] by which Jonathan tried to go over to the Philistine garrison there was a rocky crag on one side and a rocky crag on the other; the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh.^{(HO) 5} One crag rose on the north in front of Michmash and the other on the south in front of Geba.

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.”^{(HP) 7} His armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that your mind inclines to.^[ch] I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine.”^{[ci] 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.”^{(HQ) 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.”^{(HR) 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.”^{(HS) 13} Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer following after him. The Philistines^[cj] 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^[ck] 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.^(HT)

¹⁶ Saul’s lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin were watching as the multitude was surging back and forth.^{[cl](HU) 17} Then Saul said to the troops who were with him, “Call the roll and see who has gone from us.” When they called the roll, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. ¹⁸ Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For at that time the ark of God went with the Israelites. ¹⁹ While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more, and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”^{(HV) 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.^{(HW) 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.^{(HX) 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.^[cm] The battle spread out over the hill country of Ephraim.^(HY)

Saul’s Rash Oath

²⁴ Now Saul committed a very rash act on that day.^[cn] He had laid an oath on the troops, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before it is evening and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted food.^{(HZ) 25} All the troops^[co] came upon a honeycomb, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the troops came upon the honeycomb, the honey was dripping out, but they did not put their hands to their mouths, for they feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the troops with the oath, so he extended the staff that was in his hand and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.^{(IA) 28} Then one of the soldiers said, “Your father strictly charged the troops with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food this day.’ And so the troops are faint.” ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.^{(IB) 30} How much better if today the troops had eaten freely of the spoil taken from their enemies, for now the defeat of the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ After they had struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon, the troops were very faint, ³² so the troops flew upon the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground, and the troops ate them with the blood.^{(IC) 33} Then it was reported to Saul, “Look, the troops are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone before me here.”^{[cp] 34} Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the troops and say to them: Let all bring their oxen or their sheep, and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.” So all of the troops brought their oxen with them that night and slaughtered them there. ³⁵ And Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.^(ID)

Jonathan in Danger of Death

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and despoil them until the morning light; let us not leave one of them.” They said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷ So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.^{(IE) 38} Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and let us find out how this sin has arisen today.^{(IF) 39} For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall surely die!” But there was no one among all the people who answered him.^{(IG) 40} He said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” The people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” ⁴¹ Then Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim, but if this guilt is in your people Israel,^[cq] give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the people were cleared.^{(IH) 42} Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand; here I am; I will die.”^{(II) 44} Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan!”^{(IJ) 45} Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God today.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he did not die.^{(IK) 46} Then Saul withdrew from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul’s Continuing Wars

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side: against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever he turned he routed them.^{(IL) 48} He did valiantly and struck down the Amalekites and rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.^(IM)

⁴⁹ Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua, and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger was Michal.^{(IN) 50} The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle;^{(IO) 51} Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.^(IP)

⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul, and when Saul saw any strong or valiant warrior, he took him into his service.^(IQ)

Saul Defeats the Amalekites but Spares Their King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.^{(IR) 2} Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.^{(IS) 3} Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”^(IT)

⁴ So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand soldiers of Judah. ⁵ Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶ Saul said to the Kenites, “Go! Leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them, for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.^{(IU) 7} Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.^{(IV) 8} He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.^{(IW) 9} Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatted calves,^[cr] and the lambs, and all that was valuable and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.^(IX)

Saul Rejected as King

¹⁰ The word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all night.^{(IY) 12} Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal.”^{(IZ) 13} When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord.”^{(JA) 14} But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of cattle that I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we have utterly destroyed.”^{(JB) 16} Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” He replied, “Speak.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.^{(JC) 18} And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’^{(JD) 19} Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”^{(JE) 20} Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.^{(JF) 21} But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”^{(JG) 22} And Samuel said,

²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.^{(JJ) 25} Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” ²⁶ Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”^{(JK) 27} As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.^{(JL) 28} And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.^{(JM) 29} Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not deceive or change his mind, for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.”^{(JN) 30} Then Saul^[cs] said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”^{(JO) 31} So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” And Agag came to him haltingly.^[ct] Agag said, “Surely death is bitter.”^{[cu] 33} Samuel said,

And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.^(JP)

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.^{(JQ) 35} Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.^(JR)

David Anointed as King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”^{(JS) 2} Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’^{(JT) 3} Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.”^{(JU) 4} Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”^{(JV) 5} He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.^(JW)

⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the Lord.”^{(JX) 7} But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”^{(JY) 8} Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”^{(JZ) 9} Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”^{(KA) 10} Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”^{(KB) 12} He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.”^{(KC) 13} Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.^(KD)

David Plays the Lyre for Saul

¹⁴ Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.^{(KE) 15} And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.”^{(KF) 17} So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”^{(KG) 19} So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid and sent them by his son David to Saul.^{(KH) 21} And David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul^[cv] loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.^{(KI) 22} Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.^(KJ)

David and Goliath

17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.^{(KK) 2} Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah and formed ranks against the Philistines.^{(KL) 3} The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. ⁴ And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was four^[cw] cubits and a span.^{(KM) 5} He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. ⁶ He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.^{(KN) 7} The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and his shield-bearer went before him.^{(KO) 8} He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose^[cx] a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.^{(KP) 9} If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants, but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” ¹⁰ And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.”^{(KQ) 11} When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.^{[cy](KR) 13} The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.^{(KS) 14} David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.^{(KT) 16} For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

¹⁷ Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; ¹⁸ also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.”^(KU)

¹⁹ Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. ²⁰ David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. ²² David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.^(KV)

²⁴ All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. ²⁵ The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.”^{(KW) 26} David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”^{(KX) 27} The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”^(KY)

²⁸ His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men, and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down just to see the battle.”^{(KZ) 29} David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.”^{(LA) 30} He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.^(LB)

³¹ When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. ³² David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”^{(LC) 33} Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth, and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”^(LD)

³⁸ Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹ David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.^{(LE) 43} The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.^{(LF) 44} The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.”^{(LG) 45} But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.^{(LH) 46} This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel^{(LI) 47} and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”^(LJ)

⁴⁸ When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 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.^{(LK) 52} The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath^[cz] and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.^{(LL) 53} The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. ⁵⁴ David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”^{(LM) 56} The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is.” ⁵⁷ On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.^{(LN) 58} Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”^(LO)

Jonathan’s Covenant with David

18 When David^[da] had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.^{(LP) 2} Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.^{(LQ) 3} Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David and his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵ David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.^{[db](LR) 7} And the women sang to one another as they made merry,

⁸ Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?”^{(LT) 9} So Saul eyed David from that day on.

Saul Tries to Kill David

¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand,^{(LU) 11} and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.^(LV)

¹² Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.^{(LW) 13} So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand, and David marched out and came in, leading the army.^{(LX) 14} David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.^{(LY) 15} When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.^(LZ)

David Marries Michal

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I will not raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him.”^{(MA) 18} David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my kinsfolk, my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?”^{(MB) 19} But at the time when Saul’s daughter Merab should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.^(MC)

²⁰ Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. Saul was told, and the thing pleased him.^{(MD) 21} Saul thought, “Let me give her to him that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,^[dc] “You shall now be my son-in-law.”^{(ME) 22} Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘See, the king is delighted with you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.’ ” ²³ So Saul’s servants reported these words to David in private. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?” ²⁴ The servants of Saul told him, “This is what David said.” ²⁵ Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged on the king’s enemies.’ ” Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.^{(MF) 26} When his servants told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired,^{(MG) 27} David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred^[dd] of the Philistines, and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.^{(MH) 28} But when Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that Saul’s daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy from that time forward.

³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very great.^(MI)

Jonathan Intercedes for David

19 Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David.^{(MJ) 2} Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.”^{(MK) 4} Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you and because his deeds have been of good service to you,^{(ML) 5} for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?”^{(MM) 6} Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.”