Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now ^(A)Nahash the Ammonite came up and ^[a]besieged ^(B)Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make ^(C)a covenant with us and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, ^(D)that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it ^(E)a reproach on all Israel.” ^3 (F)The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.” ⁴ Then the messengers came ^(G)to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people ^(H)lifted up their voices and wept.

⁵ Now behold, Saul was coming from the field ^(I)behind the oxen, and ^[b]he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶ Then ^(J)the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and ^[c]he became very angry. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen and ^(K)cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “^(L)Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out ^(M)as one man. ⁸ He ^[d]numbered them in ^(N)Bezek; and the ^(O)sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. ⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said, “^(P)Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good ^[e]to you.” ¹¹ The next morning Saul put the people ^(Q)in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “^(R)Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^[f](S)Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³ But Saul said, “^(T)Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today ^(U)the Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to ^(V)Gilgal and ^(W)renew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(X)before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also ^(Y)offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel Addresses Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^(Z)I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I ^(AA)have ^[g]appointed a king over you. ² Now, ^(AB)here is the king walking before you, but ^(AC)I am old and gray, and behold ^(AD)my sons are with you. And ^(AE)I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. ³ Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and ^(AF)His anointed. ^(AG)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(AH)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” ⁴ They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” ⁵ He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(AI)you have found nothing ^(AJ)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^[h](AK)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ So now, take your stand, ^(AL)that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers. ^8 (AM)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(AN)your fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^(AO)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^[i](AP)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(AQ)they forgot the Lord their God, so ^(AR)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and ^(AS)into the hand of the Philistines and ^(AT)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (AU)They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served ^(AV)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(AW)now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent ^(AX)Jerubbaal and ^[j](AY)Bedan and ^(AZ)Jephthah and ^(BA)Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

¹² When you saw ^(BB)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘^(BC)No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^(BD)although the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ Now therefore, ^(BE)here is the king whom you have chosen, ^(BF)whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. ^14 (BG)If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[k]command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. ^15 (BH)If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^[l]command of the Lord, then ^(BI)the hand of the Lord will be against you, ^(BJ)as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Even now, ^(BK)take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. ^17 (BL)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(BM)I will call to the Lord, that He may send ^[m]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(BN)your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent ^[n]thunder and rain that day; and ^(BO)all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, “^(BP)Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins ^(BQ)this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(BR)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ You must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^(BS)futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. ²² For ^(BT)the Lord will not abandon His people ^(BU)on account of His great name, because the Lord ^(BV)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³ Moreover, as for me, ^(BW)far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(BX)I will instruct you in the good and right way. ^24 (BY)Only ^[o]fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^(BZ)what great things He has done for you. ^25 (CA)But if you still do wickedly, ^(CB)both you and your king ^(CC)will be swept away.”

War with the Philistines

13 Saul was ^[p]thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned ^[q]forty two years over Israel.

² Now Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in ^(CD)Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at ^(CE)Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent. ³ Jonathan smote ^(CF)the garrison of the Philistines that was in ^(CG)Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul ^(CH)blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴ All Israel heard ^[r]the news that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel ^(CI)had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned ^[s]to Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and ^(CJ)people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of ^(CK)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were hard-pressed), then ^(CL)the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in cliffs, in cellars, and in pits. ⁷ Also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of ^(CM)Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸ Now ^(CN)he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And ^(CO)he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and ^(CP)Saul went out to meet him and to ^[t]greet him. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that ^(CQ)the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹² therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “^(CR)You have acted foolishly; ^(CS)you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom ^[u]over Israel ^(CT)forever. ¹⁴ But ^(CU)now your kingdom shall not endure. ^(CV)The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to ^(CW)Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul ^[v]numbered the people who were present with him, ^(CX)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ Now Saul and his son Jonathan and the people who were present with them were staying in ^(CY)Geba of Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. ¹⁷ And ^(CZ)the ^[w]raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three ^[x]companies: one ^[y]company turned ^[z]toward ^(DA)Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸ and another ^[aa]company turned ^[ab]toward ^(DB)Beth-horon, and another ^[ac]company turned ^[ad]toward the border which overlooks the valley of ^(DC)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ Now ^(DD)no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make ^[ae](DE)swords or spears.” ²⁰ So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. ²¹ The charge was ^[af]two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the hoes. ²² So it came about on the day of battle that ^(DF)neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. ²³ And ^(DG)the garrison of the Philistines went out to ^(DH)the pass of Michmash.

Jonathan’s Victory

14 Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying in the outskirts of ^(DI)Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in ^(DJ)Migron. And the people who were with him were ^(DK)about six hundred men, ³ and Ahijah, the ^(DL)son of Ahitub, ^(DM)Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at ^(DN)Shiloh, ^(DO)was ^[ag]wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ^4 (DP)Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba.

⁶ Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of ^(DQ)these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us, for ^(DR)the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.” ⁷ His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your ^[ah]desire.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “^(DS)Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. ⁹ If they ^[ai]say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you’; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they ^[aj]say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hands; and ^(DT)this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, “Behold, ^(DU)Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² So the men of the garrison ^[ak]hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us and ^(DV)we will tell you something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for ^(DW)the Lord has given them into the hands of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. ¹⁴ That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land. ¹⁵ And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and ^(DX)the raiders trembled, and ^(DY)the earth quaked so ^(DZ)that it became a ^[al]great trembling.

¹⁶ Now Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there. ¹⁷ Saul said to the people who were with him, “^[am]Number now and see who has gone from us.” And when they had ^[an]numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. ¹⁸ Then Saul said to Ahijah, “^(EA)Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. ^19 (EB)While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, ^(EC)every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹ Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even ^(ED)they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² When all the ^(EE)men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they also pursued them closely in the battle. ²³ So ^(EF)the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle ^[ao]spread beyond ^(EG)Beth-aven.

Saul’s Foolish Order

²⁴ Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had ^(EH)put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food ^[ap]before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵ All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the people entered the forest, behold, ^(EI)there was a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under oath; therefore, ^(EJ)he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and ^(EK)his eyes brightened. ²⁸ Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’” And the people were weary. ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “^(EL)My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ They struck among the Philistines that day from ^(EM)Michmash to ^(EN)Aijalon. And the people were very weary. ^32 (EO)The people ^[aq]rushed greedily upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people ate them ^(EP)with the blood. ³³ Then they told Saul, saying, “Behold, the people are ^(EQ)sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have acted treacherously; roll a great stone to me today.” ³⁴ Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’” So all the people that night brought each one his ox ^[ar]with him and slaughtered it there. ³⁵ And ^(ER)Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good ^[as]to you.” So ^(ES)the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷ Saul ^(ET)inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But ^(EU)He did not answer him on that day. ³⁸ Saul said, “^(EV)Draw near here, all you ^[at]chiefs of the people, and investigate and see how this sin has happened today. ³⁹ For ^(EW)as the Lord lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not one of all the people answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good ^[au]to you.” ⁴¹ Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “^(EX)Give a perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴² Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, “^(EY)Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him and said, “^(EZ)I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!” ⁴⁴ Saul said, “^(FA)May God do ^[av]this to me and more also, for ^(FB)you shall surely die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, who has ^[aw]brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, ^(FC)not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for ^(FD)he has worked with God this day.” So the people ^[ax]rescued Jonathan and he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from ^[ay]pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Constant Warfare

⁴⁷ Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^(FE)the sons of Ammon, Edom, ^(FF)the kings of Zobah, and ^(FG)the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he ^[az]inflicted punishment. ⁴⁸ He acted valiantly and ^[ba](FH)defeated the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of ^[bb]those who plundered them.

⁴⁹ Now ^(FI)the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn ^(FJ)Merab and the name of the younger ^(FK)Michal. ⁵⁰ The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And ^(FL)the name of the captain of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ^51 (FM)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵² Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he ^[bc](FN)attached him to ^[bd]his staff.

Saul’s Disobedience

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “^(FO)The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the ^[be]words of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will ^[bf]punish Amalek ^(FP)for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek and ^(FQ)utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but ^(FR)put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ Then Saul summoned the people and ^[bg]numbered them in ^(FS)Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. ⁵ Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. ⁶ Saul said to ^(FT)the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for ^(FU)you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷ So ^(FV)Saul ^[bh]defeated the Amalekites, from ^(FW)Havilah as you go to ^(FX)Shur, which is ^[bi]east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured ^(FY)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ^(FZ)utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people ^(GA)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “^(GB)I regret that I have made Saul king, for ^(GC)he has turned back from ^[bj]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and ^(GD)cried out to the Lord all night. ¹² Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to ^(GE)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on ^[bk]down to ^(GF)Gilgal.” ¹³ Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “^(GG)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” ¹⁴ But Samuel said, “^(GH)What then is this ^[bl]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the ^[bm]lowing of the oxen which I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for ^(GI)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Is it not true, ^(GJ)though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, ¹⁸ and the Lord sent you on a ^[bn]mission, and said, ‘^(GK)Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, ^(GL)but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

²⁰ Then Saul said to Samuel, “^(GM)I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the ^[bo]mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But ^(GN)the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” ²² Samuel said,

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “^(GT)I have sinned; ^(GU)I have indeed transgressed the ^[bp]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, ^(GV)please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” ²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for ^(GW)you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ²⁷ As Samuel turned to go, ^(GX)Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ So Samuel said to him, “^(GY)The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. ²⁹ Also the ^[bq](GZ)Glory of Israel ^(HA)will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” ³⁰ Then he said, “I have sinned; ^(HB)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, ^(HC)that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him ^[br]cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” ³³ But Samuel said, “^(HD)As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went to ^(HE)Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at ^(HF)Gibeah of Saul. ^35 (HG)Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel ^(HH)grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “^(HI)How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^(HJ)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(HK)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to ^(HL)Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have ^(HM)selected a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “^(HN)Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^(HO)I will show you what you shall do; and ^(HP)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I ^[bs]designate to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to ^(HQ)Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “^(HR)Do you come in peace?” ⁵ He said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(HS)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they entered, he looked at ^(HT)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^[bt]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, ^(HU)but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(HV)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Next Jesse made ^[bu](HW)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “^(HX)There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and ^[bv]bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with ^(HY)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “^(HZ)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and ^(IA)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^(IB)the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

^14 (IC)Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and ^(ID)an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that ^(IE)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^(IF)a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and ^(IG)the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” ²⁰ Jesse ^(IH)took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and ^[bw](II)attended him; and ^[bx]Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. ²² Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ So it came about whenever ^(IJ)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Goliath’s Challenge

17 Now ^(IK)the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between ^(IL)Socoh and ^(IM)Azekah, in ^(IN)Ephes-dammim. ² Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in ^(IO)the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines. ³ The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. ⁴ Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named ^(IP)Goliath, from ^(IQ)Gath, whose height was six ^[by]cubits and a span. ⁵ He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor ^[bz]which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. ⁶ He also had bronze ^[ca]greaves on his legs and a ^(IR)bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. ^7 (IS)The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; ^(IT)his shield-carrier also walked before him. ⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you ^(IU)servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. ^9 (IV)If he is able to fight with me and ^[cb]kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and ^[cc]kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.” ¹⁰ Again the Philistine said, “^(IW)I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

¹² Now David was ^(IX)the son of ^[cd]the ^(IY)Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and ^(IZ)he had eight sons. And ^[ce]Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. ¹³ The three older sons of Jesse had ^[cf]gone after Saul to the battle. And ^(JA)the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ^14 (JB)David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, ^15 (JC)but David went back and forth from Saul ^(JD)to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. ¹⁶ The Philistine came ^[cg]forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand.

¹⁷ Then Jesse said to David his son, “^(JE)Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. ^18 (JF)Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, ^(JG)and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back ^[ch]news of them. ¹⁹ For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

David Accepts the Challenge

²⁰ So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the ^(JH)circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. ²² Then David left his ^(JI)baggage in the ^[ci]care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. ²³ As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke ^(JJ)these same words; and David heard them.

²⁴ When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. ²⁵ The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and ^(JK)will give him his daughter and make his father’s house ^[cj]free in Israel.”

²⁶ Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^(JL)the reproach from Israel? For who is this ^(JM)uncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^(JN)taunt the armies of ^(JO)the living God?” ²⁷ The people ^[ck]answered him in accord with this word, saying, “^(JP)Thus it will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and ^(JQ)Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” ²⁹ But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a ^[cl]question?” ³⁰ Then he turned ^[cm]away from him to another and ^(JR)said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as ^[cn]before.

David Kills Goliath

³¹ When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them ^[co]to Saul, and he sent for him. ³² David said to Saul, “^(JS)Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; ^(JT)your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ Then Saul said to David, “^(JU)You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went out after him and ^[cp]attacked him, and ^(JV)rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and ^[cq]struck him and killed him. ³⁶ Your servant has ^[cr]killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, “^(JW)The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “^(JX)Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. ³⁹ David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them ^[cs]off. ⁴⁰ He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and ^(JY)his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, ^(JZ)he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ^(KA)ruddy, with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ The Philistine said to David, “^(KB)Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And ^(KC)the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^(KD)to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, ^(KE)but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the ^(KF)dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, ^(KG)that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that ^(KH)the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; ^(KI)for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that ^(KJ)David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and ^(KK)took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. ^(KL)When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. ⁵² The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines ^[ct]as far as the valley, and to the gates of ^(KM)Ekron. And the slain Philistines ^[cu]lay along the way to ^(KN)Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps. ⁵⁴ Then David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

⁵⁵ Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is ^(KO)this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” ⁵⁶ The king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” ⁵⁷ So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and ^(KP)brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. ⁵⁸ Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “^(KQ)I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Jonathan and David

18 Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that ^(KR)the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and ^(KS)Jonathan loved him as himself. ² Saul took him that day and ^(KT)did not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then ^(KU)Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. ^4 (KV)Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵ So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and ^[cv]prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶ It happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that ^(KW)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with ^[cw]musical instruments. ⁷ The women ^(KX)sang as they ^[cx]played, and said,

⁸ Then Saul became very angry, for this saying ^[cy]displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now ^(LA)what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

Saul Turns against David

¹⁰ Now it came about on the next day that ^(LB)an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and ^(LC)he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, ^[cz](LD)as usual; and ^[da](LE)a spear was in Saul’s hand. ^11 (LF)Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will ^[db]pin David to the wall.” But David ^[dc]escaped from his presence twice.

¹² Now ^(LG)Saul was afraid of David, ^(LH)for the Lord was with him but ^(LI)had departed from Saul. ¹³ Therefore Saul removed him from ^[dd]his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and ^(LJ)he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ David was ^[de]prospering in all his ways for ^(LK)the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw that he was ^[df]prospering greatly, he dreaded him. ¹⁶ But ^(LL)all Israel and Judah loved David, and he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “^(LM)Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight ^(LN)the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but ^(LO)let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸ But David said to Saul, “^(LP)Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” ¹⁹ So it came about at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to ^(LQ)Adriel ^(LR)the Meholathite for a wife.

David Marries Saul’s Daughter

²⁰ Now ^(LS)Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul, the thing was agreeable ^[dg]to him. ²¹ Saul thought, “I will give her to him that she may become a snare to him, and ^(LT)that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “^(LU)For a second time you may be my son-in-law today.” ²² Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David secretly, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.’” ²³ So Saul’s servants spoke these words ^[dh]to David. But David said, “Is it trivial in your sight to become the king’s son-in-law, ^(LV)since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?” ²⁴ The servants of Saul reported to him ^[di]according to these words which David spoke. ²⁵ Saul then said, “Thus you shall say to David, ‘The king does not desire any ^(LW)dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^(LX)to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” Now ^(LY)Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ When his servants told David these words, ^[dj]it pleased David to become the king’s son-in-law. ^[dk](LZ)Before the days had expired ²⁷ David rose up and went, ^(MA)he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then ^(MB)David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife. ²⁸ When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, ²⁹ then Saul was even more afraid of David. Thus Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines ^(MC)went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David ^(MD)behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.

David Protected from Saul

19 Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants ^(ME)to put David to death. But ^(MF)Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. ² So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and 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 with my father about you; ^(MG)if I ^[dl]find out anything, then I will tell you.” ⁴ Then Jonathan ^(MH)spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “^(MI)Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very ^[dm]beneficial to you. ⁵ For ^(MJ)he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and ^(MK)the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. ^(ML)Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” ⁶ Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷ Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as ^(MM)formerly.

⁸ When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines and ^[dn]defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled before him. ⁹ Now there was ^(MN)an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house ^(MO)with his spear in his hand, ^(MP)and David was playing the harp with his hand. ^10 (MQ)Saul tried to ^[do]pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he ^[dp]stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹ Then ^(MR)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” ^12 (MS)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. ¹³ Michal took ^(MT)the ^[dq]household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴ When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “^(MU)He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on ^[dr]his bed, that I may put him to death.” ¹⁶ When the messengers entered, behold, the ^[ds]household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷ So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! ^(MV)Why should I put you to death?’”

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped and came ^(MW)to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in ^(MX)Naioth. ¹⁹ It was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then ^(MY)Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw ^(MZ)the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and ^(NA)they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ He ^[dt]proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and ^(NB)the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and ^[du]lay down ^[dv](NC)naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “^(ND)Is Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan Covenant

20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and ^(NE)said ^[dw]to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” ² He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small ^[dx]without disclosing it to me. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” ³ Yet David ^(NF)vowed again, ^[dy]saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.’ But truly ^(NG)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is ^[dz]hardly a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever ^[ea]you say, I will do for you.” ⁵ So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^(NH)the new moon, and I ought ^(NI)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, ^(NJ)that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to ^(NK)Bethlehem his city, because it is ^(NL)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ ⁷ If he ^[eb]says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, ^(NM)know that he has decided on evil. ⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for ^(NN)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But ^(NO)if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed learn that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me ^[ec]if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and ^[ed]make it known to you? ¹³ If it please my father to do you harm, ^(NP)may the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not ^[ee]make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And ^(NQ)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the Lord, that I may not die? ^15 (NR)You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “^(NS)May the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because ^(NT)he loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, “^(NU)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. ²¹ And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come; for there is safety for you and ^[ef]no harm, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I ^[eg]say to the youth, ‘^(NV)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the Lord has sent you away. ^23 (NW)As for the ^[eh]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^(NX)the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ The king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but ^(NY)David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he thought, “It is an accident, ^(NZ)he is not clean, surely he is not clean.” ²⁷ It came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ Jonathan then answered Saul, “^(OA)David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, ²⁹ for he said, ‘Please ^[ei]let me go, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. And now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For ^[ej]as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for ^(OB)he ^[ek]must surely die.” ³² But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “^(OC)Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³ Then ^(OD)Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; ^(OE)so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. ³⁴ Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

³⁵ Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him. ³⁶ He said to his lad, “^(OF)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the lad was running, he shot ^[el]an arrow past him. ³⁷ When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “^(OG)Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ And Jonathan called after the lad, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹ But the lad was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and ^(OH)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but ^(OI)David wept the more. ⁴² Jonathan said to David, “^(OJ)Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘^(OK)The Lord will be between me and you, and between my ^[em]descendants and your ^[en]descendants forever.’” ^[eo]Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.

David Takes Consecrated Bread

21 Then David came to ^(OL)Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech ^(OM)came trembling to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no one with you?” ² David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has said to me, ‘^(ON)Let no one know anything about the matter on which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you; and I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ ³ Now therefore, what ^[ep]do you have on hand? Give ^[eq]me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” ⁴ The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread ^[er]on hand, but there is ^(OO)consecrated bread; if only the young men have ^(OP)kept themselves from women.” ⁵ David answered the priest and said to him, “^(OQ)Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the ^(OR)vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will ^[es]their vessels be holy?” ⁶ So ^(OS)the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the ^(OT)bread of the Presence which was removed from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

⁷ Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was ^(OU)Doeg the Edomite, the ^(OV)chief of Saul’s shepherds.

⁸ David said to Ahimelech, “Now is there not a spear or a sword ^[et]on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my weapons ^[eu]with me, because the king’s matter was urgent.” ⁹ Then the priest said, “^(OW)The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you ^[ev]killed ^(OX)in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

¹⁰ Then David arose and fled that day from Saul, and went to ^(OY)Achish king of Gath. ¹¹ But the ^(OZ)servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? ^(PA)Did they not sing of this one as they danced, saying,

¹² David ^(PB)took these words ^[ew]to heart and greatly feared Achish king of Gath. ¹³ So he ^(PC)disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard. ¹⁴ Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man behaving as a madman. Why do you bring him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this one to act the madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”

The Priests Slain at Nob

22 So David departed from there and ^(PD)escaped to ^(PE)the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. ² Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who ^[ex]was in debt, and everyone who was ^[ey]discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were ^(PF)about four hundred men with him.

³ And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ Then he left them with the king of Moab; and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. ^5 (PG)The prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now ^(PH)Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? ^(PI)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? ⁸ For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who ^[ez]discloses to me ^(PJ)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you ^(PK)who is sorry for me or ^[fa]discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” ⁹ Then ^(PL)Doeg the Edomite, who was ^[fb]standing by the servants of Saul, said, “^(PM)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to ^(PN)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ^10 (PO)He inquired of the Lord for him, ^(PP)gave him provisions, and ^(PQ)gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent someone to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he ^[fc]answered, “Here I am, my lord.” ¹³ Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me ^(PR)by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

^14 (PS)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, even the king’s son-in-law, who ^[fd]is captain over your guard, and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Did I just begin ^(PT)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! ^(PU)Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any of the household of my father, for your servant knows nothing ^[fe]at all of this whole affair.” ¹⁶ But the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” ¹⁷ And ^(PV)the king said to the ^[ff]guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not ^[fg]reveal it to me.” But the ^(PW)servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to ^[fh]attack the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn around and ^[fi]attack the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and ^[fj]attacked the priests, and ^(PX)he killed that day eighty-five men ^(PY)who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ And ^(PZ)he struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; also oxen, donkeys, and sheep he struck with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ But ^(QA)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, ^(QB)escaped and fled after David. ²¹ Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²² Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when ^(QC)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father’s household. ²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, for ^(QD)he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are ^[fk]safe with me.”

David Delivers Keilah

23 Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against ^(QE)Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.” ² So David ^(QF)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and ^[fl]attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and ^[fm]attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah.” ³ But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?” ⁴ Then David inquired of the Lord once more. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for ^(QG)I will give the Philistines into your hand.” ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶ Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ^(QH)fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷ When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has ^[fn]delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.” ⁸ So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. ⁹ Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to ^(QI)Abiathar the priest, “^(QJ)Bring the ephod here.” ¹⁰ Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “^(QK)They will surrender you.” ¹³ Then David and his men, ^(QL)about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went ^(QM)wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he ^[fo]gave up the pursuit. ¹⁴ David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of ^(QN)Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but ^(QO)God did not deliver him into his hand.

Saul Pursues David

¹⁵ Now David ^[fp]became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and ^[fq](QP)encouraged him in God. ¹⁷ Thus he said to him, “^(QQ)Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and ^(QR)Saul my father knows that also.” ¹⁸ So ^(QS)the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then ^(QT)Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on ^(QU)the hill of Hachilah, which is on the ^[fr]south of ^[fs]Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to ^[ft]do so; and ^(QV)our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” ²¹ Saul said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, ^(QW)for you have had compassion on me. ²² Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his ^[fu]haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. ²³ So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

²⁴ Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of ^(QX)Maon, in the Arabah to the ^[fv]south of ^[fw]Jeshimon. ²⁵ When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men ^(QY)were surrounding David and his men to seize them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” ²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place ^[fx]the Rock of Escape. ^29 [fy]David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of ^(QZ)Engedi.

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 Now ^(RA)when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, ^(RB)he was told, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” ² Then ^(RC)Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. ³ He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul ^(RD)went in to ^[fz]relieve himself. Now ^(RE)David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. ⁴ The men of David said to him, “Behold, ^(RF)this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; ^(RG)I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good ^[ga]to you.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. ⁵ It came about afterward that ^(RH)David’s ^[gb]conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. ⁶ So he said to his men, “^(RI)Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷ David ^[gc]persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, ^[gd]left the cave, and went on his way.

⁸ Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, ^(RJ)David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. ⁹ David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks ^[ge]to harm you’? ^10 (RK)Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord had given you today into my hand in the cave, and ^(RL)some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ Now, ^(RM)my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or ^[gf]rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you ^(RN)are lying in wait for my life to take it. ^12 (RO)May the Lord judge between ^[gg]you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘^(RP)Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. ¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? ^(RQ)A dead dog, ^(RR)a single flea? ^15 (RS)The Lord therefore be judge and decide between ^[gh]you and me; and may He see and ^(RT)plead my cause and ^[gi]deliver me from your hand.”

¹⁶ When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “^(RU)Is this your voice, my son David?” Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ^17 (RV)He said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for ^(RW)you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you. ¹⁸ You have declared today that you have done good to me, that ^(RX)the Lord delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me. ¹⁹ For if a man ^(RY)finds his enemy, will he let him go away ^[gj]safely? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. ²⁰ Now, behold, ^(RZ)I know that you will surely be king, and that ^(SA)the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. ²¹ So now ^(SB)swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my ^[gk]descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s household.” ²² David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to ^(SC)the stronghold.

Samuel’s Death

25 ^(SD)Then Samuel died; and all Israel gathered together and ^(SE)mourned for him, and ^(SF)buried him at his house in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the ^(SG)wilderness of Paran.

Nabal and Abigail

² Now there was a man in ^(SH)Maon whose business was in ^(SI)Carmel; and the man was very ^[gl]rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while ^(SJ)he was shearing his sheep in Carmel ³ (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his ^(SK)wife’s name was Abigail. And the woman was ^[gm]intelligent and beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was ^(SL)a Calebite), ⁴ that David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, ^[gn]visit Nabal and greet him in my name; ⁶ and thus you shall say, ‘^[go]Have a long life, ^(SM)peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. ⁷ Now I have heard ^(SN)that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us and we have not insulted them, ^(SO)nor have they missed anything all the days they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on ^(SP)a ^[gp]festive day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

⁹ When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in David’s name; then they waited. ¹⁰ But Nabal answered David’s servants and said, “^(SQ)Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master. ¹¹ Shall I then ^(SR)take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men ^[gq]whose origin I do not know?” ¹² So David’s young men retraced their way and went back; and they came and told him according to all these words. ¹³ David said to his men, “Each of you gird on his sword.” So each man girded on his sword. And David also girded on his sword, and about ^(SS)four hundred men went up behind David while two hundred ^(ST)stayed with the baggage.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, “Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to ^[gr](SU)greet our master, and he scorned them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us, and we were not ^(SV)insulted, nor did we miss anything ^[gs]as long as we went about with them, while we were in the fields. ^16 (SW)They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the time we were with them tending the sheep. ¹⁷ Now therefore, know and ^[gt]consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a ^[gu]worthless man that no one can speak to him.”

Abigail Intercedes

¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and ^(SX)took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. ¹⁹ She said to her young men, “^(SY)Go on before me; behold, I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ It came about as she was riding on her donkey and coming down by the hidden part of the mountain, that behold, David and his men were coming down toward her; so she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; and he has ^(SZ)returned me evil for good. ^22 (TA)May God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, ^(TB)if by morning I leave as much as one ^[gv]male of any who belong to him.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from her donkey, and fell on her face before David ^(TC)and bowed herself to the ground. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “On me ^[gw]alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak ^[gx]to you, and listen to the words of your maidservant. ²⁵ Please do not let my lord ^[gy]pay attention to this ^[gz]worthless man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ^[ha]Nabal is his name and folly is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

²⁶ “Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from ^[hb]shedding blood, and ^(TD)from ^[hc]avenging yourself by your own hand, now then ^(TE)let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. ²⁷ Now let ^(TF)this ^[hd]gift which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ^[he]accompany my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive ^(TG)the transgression of your maidservant; for ^(TH)the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord is ^(TI)fighting the battles of the Lord, and ^(TJ)evil will not be found in you all your days. ²⁹ Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ^[hf]life, then the ^[hg]life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the ^[hh]lives of your enemies ^(TK)He will sling out ^[hi]as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^(TL)appoints you ruler over Israel, ³¹ this will not ^[hj]cause grief or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having ^[hk]avenged himself. ^(TM)When the Lord deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

³² Then David said to Abigail, “^(TN)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, ³³ and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^(TO)who have kept me this day from ^[hl]bloodshed and from ^[hm]avenging myself by my own hand. ³⁴ Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, ^(TP)who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had come quickly to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one ^[hn]male.” ³⁵ So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “^(TQ)Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to ^[ho]you and ^[hp](TR)granted your request.”

³⁶ Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding ^(TS)a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, ^(TT)for he was very drunk; so ^(TU)she did not tell him anything ^[hq]at all until the morning light. ³⁷ But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone. ³⁸ About ten days later, ^(TV)the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

David Marries Abigail

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has ^(TW)pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and ^(TX)has kept back His servant from evil. The Lord has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent ^[hr](TY)a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰ When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.” ⁴¹ She arose ^(TZ)and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is a maid ^(UA)to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” ⁴² Then ^(UB)Abigail quickly arose, and rode on a donkey, with her five maidens who ^[hs]attended her; and she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴³ David had also taken Ahinoam of ^(UC)Jezreel, and ^(UD)they both became his wives.

⁴⁴ Now Saul had given ^(UE)Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from ^(UF)Gallim.

David Again Spares Saul

26 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “^(UG)Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before ^[ht]Jeshimon?” ² So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him ^(UH)three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³ Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before ^[hu]Jeshimon, ^(UI)beside the road, and David was staying in the wilderness. When ^(UJ)he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, ⁴ David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming. ⁵ David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and ^(UK)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.

⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech ^(UL)the Hittite and to ^(UM)Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, “Who ^(UN)will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” ⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him. ⁸ Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear ^[hv]to the ground with one stroke, and I will not ^[hw]strike him the second time.” ⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for ^(UO)who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?” ¹⁰ David also said, “As the Lord lives, ^(UP)surely the Lord will strike him, or ^(UQ)his day will come that he dies, or ^(UR)he will go down into battle and perish. ^11 (US)The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.” ¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ^(UT)a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³ Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them. ¹⁴ David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?” ¹⁵ So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord. ¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you ^[hx](UU)must surely die, because you did not guard your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.”

¹⁷ Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “^(UV)Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.” ¹⁸ He also said, “^(UW)Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If ^(UX)the Lord has stirred you up against me, ^(UY)let Him ^[hy]accept an offering; but ^(UZ)if it is ^[hz]men, cursed are they before the Lord, for ^(VA)they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to search for ^(VB)a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then Saul said, “^(VC)I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.” ²² David replied, “Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it. ^23 (VD)The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but ^(VE)I refused to stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ Now behold, as your life was ^(VF)highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of the Lord, and may He ^(VG)deliver me from all distress.” ²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “^(VH)Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail.” So ^(VI)David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David Flees to the Philistines

27 Then David said ^[ia]to himself, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. ^(VJ)There is nothing better for me than ^[ib]to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” ² So David arose and crossed over, he and ^(VK)the six hundred men who were with him, to ^(VL)Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, ^(VM)each with his household, even David with ^(VN)his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s ^[ic]widow. ⁴ Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

⁵ Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶ So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore ^(VO)Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was ^(VP)a year and four months.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and raided ^(VQ)the Geshurites and the Girzites and ^(VR)the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to ^(VS)Shur even as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹ David ^[id]attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he ^(VT)took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ Now Achish said, “Where have you ^(VU)made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the ^[ie]Negev of Judah and against the ^[if]Negev of ^(VV)the Jerahmeelites and against the ^[ig]Negev of ^(VW)the Kenites.” ¹¹ David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Otherwise they will tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so has been his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’” ¹² So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

Saul and the Spirit Medium

28 Now it came about in those days that ^(VX)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” ² David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you ^[ih]my bodyguard ^(VY)for life.”

³ Now ^(VZ)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^(WA)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^(WB)were mediums and spiritists.