Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.^{(A) 12} He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting, and he said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?”^{(B) 14} He answered, “Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”^{(C) 15} When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.

So Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian and sat down by a well.^(D)

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.^{(A) 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.^{(B) 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.”^(C)

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.^{(D) 7} Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.^{(E) 8} He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.^{(F) 9} Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatted calves,^[a] and the lambs, and all that was valuable and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.^(G)

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.^{(H) 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.”^{(I) 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.”^{(J) 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.”^{(K) 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.^{(L) 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.’^{(M) 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?”^{(N) 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.^{(O) 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.”^{(P) 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.^{(S) 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.”^{(T) 27} As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.^{(U) 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.^{(V) 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.”^{(W) 30} Then Saul^[b] 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.”^{(X) 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.^[c] Agag said, “Surely death is bitter.”^{[d] 33} Samuel said,

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

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.^{(Z) 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.^(AA)

¹⁷ Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸ Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹ Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.^{(A) 20} He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’ ” ²¹ But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died.^{(B) 22} Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent, and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

⁶ The young man reporting to him said, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him.^{(A) 7} When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, ‘Here, sir.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’^{(B) 9} He said to me, ‘Come, stand over me and kill me, for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”^(C)

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.^{(D) 12} They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan and for the army of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had been struck down^[a] by the sword.^{(E) 13} David said to the young man who had reported to him, “Where do you come from?” He answered, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.”^{(F) 14} David said to him, “Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”^{(G) 15} Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come here and strike him down.” So he struck him down, and he died.^{(H) 16} David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”^(I)

Samson’s Death

²³ Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to rejoice, for they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.”^{(A) 24} When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”^{(B) 25} And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, and let him entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. They made him stand between the pillars,^{(C) 26} and Samson said to the attendant who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, so that I may lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about three thousand men and women who looked on while Samson performed.^(D)

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “Lord God, remember me and strengthen me only this once, O God, so that with this one act of revenge I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”^{[a](E) 29} And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. ³⁰ Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He strained with all his might, and the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed during his life. ³¹ Then his kindred and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.^(F)

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.^{(A) 2} Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah and formed ranks against the Philistines.^{(B) 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^[a] cubits and a span.^{(C) 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.^{(D) 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.^{(E) 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^[b] a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.^{(F) 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.”^{(G) 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.^{[c](H) 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.^{(I) 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.^{(J) 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.”^(K)

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.^(L)

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.”^{(M) 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?”^{(N) 27} The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”^(O)

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.”^{(P) 29} David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.”^{(Q) 30} He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.^(R)

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.”^{(S) 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!”^(T)

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.^{(U) 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.^{(V) 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.”^{(W) 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.^{(X) 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^{(Y) 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.”^(Z)

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.^{(AA) 52} The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath^[d] and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.^{(AB) 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.”^{(AC) 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.^{(AD) 58} Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”^(AE)