Bible in 90 Days

Samuel Becomes a Prophet

3 The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days. Prophetic vision was not common.

² Now it happened that Eli’s eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see. Once when Eli was lying down in his place ³ and God’s lamp had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s temple, where God’s ark was. ⁴ The Lord called Samuel, and Samuel said, “I am here.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”

Eli said, “I did not call. Lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

⁶ Then the Lord called once more, “Samuel!”

So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”

He answered, “I did not call, my son. Lie down again.”

⁷ Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord’s presence,^[c] that is, the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

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

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the young man. ⁹ So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”

So Samuel went and once again lay down in his place. ¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there and called as he had the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “Look, I am going to do something in Israel that will make both ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. ¹² On that day I am going to carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken against his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever because of their guilty behavior, which he knew about. This will happen because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ I have sworn to the house of Eli that the guilt of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for with sacrifice or offering.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay there until morning.^[d] Then he opened the doors to the Lord’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. ¹⁶ But Eli called to Samuel, “Samuel, my son!”

He said, “I am here.”

¹⁷ Eli said, “What is the message that he has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God punish you severely and double it,^[e] if you hide from me one word of all of the things that he spoke to you.”

¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.

Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do whatever is good in his eyes.”

¹⁹ Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. The Lord let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, because at Shiloh the Lord revealed himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord. ⎣So Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord for all Israel, from one end of the land to the other end.⎦^[f]

4 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Israel and the Philistines

⎣Eli was very old, and his sons kept getting worse in their wickedness in the presence of the Lord. In those days the Philistines gathered themselves together for war against Israel.⎦ ^[g]

Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle. The Israelites camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines formed battle lines to confront the Israelites. As the battle developed, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of the Israelites lined up on the battlefield.

³ When the people had come back into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that it^[h] may come into our midst and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

⁴ So the people sent word to Shiloh, and from there they brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Armies, who sits above the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. ⁵ When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a shout so loud that the earth shook.^[i]

⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of all the shouting, they asked, “Why is there this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” They learned that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp. ⁷ The Philistines were afraid, so they said, “A god has come into the camp.” They said, “We’re doomed! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ We are doomed! Who can deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness. ⁹ Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, so that you will not become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Act like men and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. A very great slaughter took place, in which thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ¹¹ God’s ark was taken, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, died.

¹² A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and came to Shiloh that same day. His clothing was torn, and his face was dirty. ¹³ When he arrived, Eli was there, sitting on his chair beside the road. He was watching, because his heart was trembling with fear for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told them what had happened, the whole city was in an uproar. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the uproar, he said, “What does this noisy commotion mean?”

The man came quickly and told Eli what had happened. ¹⁵ Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes stared straight ahead^[j] because he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battlefield. Today I fled from the battlefield.”

Eli said, “What was the outcome, my son?”

¹⁷ The man who brought the news answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people. In addition, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and God’s ark has been captured.”

¹⁸ When the man mentioned God’s ark, Eli fell backwards off his seat, which was by the city gate. He broke his neck, and he died, because he was an old man, and he was overweight. He had judged Israel^[k] for forty years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, ready to give birth. When she heard the news that God’s ark had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she crouched down and gave birth, because labor pains had come upon her. ²⁰ As her death approached, the women who stood by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay attention. ²¹ She named the boy Ichabod and said, “The glory has departed from Israel.”^[l] Because God’s ark had been taken, and because of the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, ²² she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because God’s ark has been taken.”

The Travels of the Ark

5 After the Philistines had captured God’s ark, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² The Philistines took God’s ark and brought it into the house of Dagon^[m] and set it beside Dagon. ³ When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, there was Dagon—fallen facedown to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. ⁴ When they got up early the following morning, it had happened again! There was Dagon, fallen facedown in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were broken off and were lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso^[n] was intact. ⁵ That is why the priests of Dagon and any people who enter Dagon’s temple in Ashdod do not step on the threshold of Dagon to this day.

⁶ Then the Lord’s hand was heavy against the people of Ashdod. He devastated them and struck them with tumors.^[o] He struck Ashdod and its surrounding territory. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw what was taking place, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” ⁸ They called together a meeting of all the serens^[p] of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”

They answered, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried over to Gath.” So they carried the Ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹ But after they had carried it there, the Lord’s hand was against that city, and there was great panic. He struck the men of the city, both young and old,^[q] so that tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent God’s ark to Ekron.

When God’s ark came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ They called a meeting of all the serens of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” Indeed, the threat of death caused panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the outcry from the city went up to heaven.

6 The Lord’s ark remained in the country of the Philistines seven months. ² The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners^[r] and asked, “What should we do with the Lord’s ark? Advise us how we should send it back to its place.”

³ They said, “If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but, by all means, send it to him with a restitution offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been removed from you.”^[s]

⁴ Then they said, “What restitution offering should we send to him?”

They said, “There are five serens of the Philistines, so five gold tumors and five gold mice should be sent, because the same plague was on all of you and on your serens. ⁵ Therefore you should make replicas of your tumors and figurines of the mice that are ruining your land, and you will give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand on you, on your gods, and on your land. ⁶ Why harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After the Lord had dealt ruthlessly with them, didn’t the Egyptians let the people go, and they departed?

⁷ “So make a new cart and take two cows that are nursing their calves, cows that have never had a yoke on them. Hitch the cows to the cart, and take their calves away from them and send them home. ⁸ Then take the Ark of the Lord and place it on the cart. Place the gold objects, which you are sending to him as a restitution offering, into a box beside the ark. Then send it on its way, and let it go on its own. ⁹ Watch it. If it goes up on the road toward the border of Israel, to Beth Shemesh, then it is their god who has inflicted this disaster on us. But if not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us. It was a coincidence that this happened to us.”

¹⁰ So that is what the men did. They took two cows that were nursing calves, hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹ Then they put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the box containing the gold mice and the replicas of their tumors. ¹² The cows headed straight up the road toward Beth Shemesh. They went straight along the highway without stopping, lowing as they went. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left. The serens of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. They looked up and saw the Ark, and they rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴ The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there, near the large stone that was there. Then the people split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The Levites took the Lord’s ark and the box with it, which contained the gold objects, and they put them on the large stone. On that same day, the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord.

¹⁶ When the five serens of the Philistines had seen this, they returned to Ekron that same day.

¹⁷ This is the number of gold tumors that the Philistines sent back as a restitution offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron. ¹⁸ The gold mice also corresponded to the number of all the cities of the Philistines that belonged to the five serens, the fortified cities along with the rural villages. The objects were placed on the large stone^[t] on which they had placed the Ark of the Lord. That stone remains in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh to this day. ¹⁹ The Lord struck some of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men.^[u] Then the people mourned, because the Lord had struck the people with such a heavy blow. ²⁰ The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy God, the Lord? To whom can we send it^[v] to get it away from here?”

²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim. They said, “The Philistines have sent back the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up for yourselves.”

7 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came, took the Ark of the Lord, and brought it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. Then they consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the Ark of the Lord. ² So from that day the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim for a long time—twenty years. And the entire house of Israel deeply longed for the return of the Lord.

Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

³ Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, put away the foreign gods and the Ashtartes^[w] from among you. Direct your hearts to the Lord and serve him only. Then he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

⁴ So the people of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtartes and served the Lord only. ⁵ Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

⁶ So Israel gathered together at Mizpah. They drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and they said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.”

Samuel acted as judge for the people of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered together at Mizpah, the serens of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the people of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines, ⁸ and the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out for us to the Lord our God, so that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ As Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to engage in battle with Israel, but on that day the Lord thundered against the Philistines with a loud roar and threw them into a panic, so they were struck down before Israel. ¹¹ The men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down until they arrived at a point below Beth Kar.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named that place Ebenezer,^[x] saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.”^{[y] 13} So the Philistines were subdued, and they no longer came into the territory of Israel. The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

¹⁴ The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel. From Ekron all the way to Gath, Israel recovered the territory of those cities from the control of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ Each year he would travel in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷ He then would return to Ramah, where his home was, and he would also judge Israel there. He also built an altar to the Lord there.

Israel’s Request for a King

8 When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They served as judges in Beersheba. ³ His sons did not follow in his footsteps. Instead, they turned aside to seek dishonest gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons are not walking in your ways. Now appoint a king for us so that he can judge^[z] us like all the other nations.” ⁶ But in Samuel’s eyes, their request to receive a king to judge them looked evil, so Samuel prayed to the Lord.

⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding everything they have said to you, because it is not you whom they have rejected. I am the one they have rejected as king over them. ⁸ This is just like all the actions they have taken from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, right up to this present day. They have forsaken me and served other gods, and now they are also acting the same way toward you. ⁹ So now listen to them. Nevertheless, warn them strongly and show them what the king who reigns over them will do.”

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people, who had asked him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who reigns over you will do. He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and with his teams of horses,^[aa] and they will have to run ahead of his chariots. ¹² He will make them serve as commanders of a thousand soldiers and as commanders of fifty. He will assign some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest. He will assign some to make his weapons and the trappings^[ab] for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to serve as perfume makers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even the best of them, and give them to his officials. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards, and he will give it to the members of his court and to his officials. ¹⁶ He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men,^[ac] and your donkeys, and he will use them to do his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth from your flocks, and you will become his servants. ¹⁸ In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel. Instead they said, “No, we want to have a king over us, ²⁰ so that we also can be like all the nations, and our king can judge us and lead us out to fight our battles.”

²¹ Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. ²² The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them, and appoint a king for them.”

So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go home to your own city.”

Saul Is Anointed as King

9 From the tribe of Benjamin there was a man whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a strong warrior and influential person.^{[ad] 2} He had a son named Saul, who was an impressive young man. Among the men of Israel there was not a better man than Saul. He was a head taller than all the people.

³ The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish were lost, so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of our young men with you, and go look for the donkeys.” ⁴ So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. Then they traveled through the land of Sha’alim^[ae] but found nothing. Then he traveled through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find the donkeys.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the young man who was with him, “Come on. Let’s go back. If we don’t, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the young man said to him, “Wait! In this city there is a man of God, who is highly regarded. Everything he says actually comes true. So let’s go there. Maybe he can tell us which way we should go.”

⁷ Then Saul said to his young man, “If we go, what should we bring for the man? Look, the bread in our bags is used up, and we do not have a gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?”

⁸ The young man responded to Saul, “Look here. I have a quarter of a shekel^[af] of silver in my hand. I will give that to the man of God to tell us which way we should go.”

⁹ (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because the man who is now called a prophet used to be called a seer.)

¹⁰ So Saul said to his servant, “Good advice. Come on! Let’s go!” So they went to the city where the man of God was. ¹¹ As they went up the ascent to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² They answered them, “Yes, he is. He is there just ahead of you. Hurry! He has just come into the city today, because the people are presenting a sacrifice today at the high place. ¹³ As soon as you come into the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, since the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, those who have been invited will eat. So go up, right now, for this is the time for you to find him.”

¹⁴ So they went up to the city. Just as they were coming into the city, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way to the high place.

¹⁵ Now the Lord had revealed this to Samuel the day before Saul came. He had told him, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him to be leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I am looking out for my people, because their cry for help has come to me.”

¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “There, that is the man I was talking about! He will exercise authority over my people.”

¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up to the high place ahead of me, because you and your men are to eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and I will tell you everything that is on your heart. ²⁰ As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be concerned about them, because they have been found. For who is it that all Israel desires? Isn’t it you and your father’s entire house?”

²¹ Saul answered, “But I am just a Benjaminite from the smallest of the tribes of Israel. And my family is the least important of all the families in the tribe of Benjamin. So why do you speak to me like this?”

²² Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the dining hall. He seated them at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty men.

²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, the one I told you to set aside.” ²⁴ So the cook picked up the thigh and all the meat that was on it and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Look here, this has been reserved for you! Set it before you and eat, because ever since I said, ‘I have invited the people,’ it has been kept for you for the appointed time.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they had come down from the high place and gone into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the flat roof of the house. ²⁶ They got up early, about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and the two of them, Saul and Samuel, went outside together. ²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the young man to go on ahead of us.” So the young man went on ahead. Then Samuel said, “You stay here, so that I can tell you God’s message.”

Samuel’s Instructions to Saul

10 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and told him this:

⁹ As Saul was turning away from Samuel to leave, God gave him a changed heart, and all those signs were fulfilled that day.

¹⁰ When they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets met Saul, and the Spirit of God came upon him with power, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ When everyone who had known him previously saw that Saul was prophesying along with the prophets, the people were surprised and said to each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is even Saul among the prophets?”

¹² Someone from that area responded, “Who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “Is even Saul among the prophets?”

¹³ When Saul had finished prophesying, he arrived at the high place.

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle asked Saul and his servant, “Where did you go?”

Saul said, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized that we were not succeeding, we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

¹⁶ Saul said to his uncle, “He made it clear to us that the donkeys had been found.”

But Saul did not tell his uncle anything about the matter of the kingship, about which Samuel had also spoken.

¹⁷ Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said to the people of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. ¹⁹ But today you have rejected your God, the one who saves you out of all your disasters and your distress, and you have said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now line up in the presence of the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.^{[ai] 21} Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was chosen.^[aj] Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they asked the Lord again, “Has the man arrived here yet?”

The Lord answered, “He has. Look, he is is hiding among the baggage.”

²³ So they ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the people. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”

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

²⁵ Samuel told the people the regulations concerning the kingship, and he wrote them on a scroll, which was placed before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each man to his own house. ²⁶ Saul went home to Gibeah, and the army went with him, those men whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But certain worthless good-for-nothings said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and brought him no gift, but Saul said nothing.

Saul Saves Jabesh Gilead

11 Nahash^[ak] the Ammonite went and set up camp against Jabesh Gilead. So all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” ² Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you in order to dishonor all Israel.”

³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, so that we can send messengers throughout all the borders of Israel. Then, if there is no one to rescue us, we will come out to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, all the people cried out and wept loudly.

⁵ Just then Saul came in from the field, following the oxen. Saul asked, “What has upset the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about the words of the men of Jabesh.

⁶ When Saul heard those words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him with power, and his anger burned intensely. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen and cut them to pieces and sent the pieces throughout all the borders of Israel in the hands of messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not turn out to follow Saul and Samuel.” The dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. ⁸ Saul counted them in Bezek. The men of Israel totaled three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be rescued.’”

The messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, and they were very happy. ¹⁰ So the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do with us whatever seems good to you.”

¹¹ On the next day, Saul split the army into three divisions. They broke into the middle of the Ammonite camp during the last watch before morning and struck them down until the heat of the day. Those who survived were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who was it who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Hand those men over to us, so we can put them to death!”

¹³ But Saul said, “No one shall be put to death today, because today the Lord has rescued Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come! Let’s go to Gilgal and confirm the kingship there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and they made Saul king in the presence of the Lord there at Gilgal. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the men of Israel held a great celebration there.

Samuel’s Farewell

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “You see that I have listened to your voice and to everything that you said to me. I have appointed a king over you. ² Now, there he is. The king is walking before you. I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth till this very day.

³ “Here I am. Testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I defrauded anyone? Have I oppressed anyone? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to turn a blind eye to anything? If so, I will restore it for you.”

⁴ They replied, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

⁵ So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today that you have not found anything in my hand.”

They said, “He is witness.”

⁶ So this is what Samuel said to the people:

¹⁸ Then Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people were very afraid of the Lord and of Samuel.

¹⁹ So all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we do not die, for we have added to all our sins also this evil, that we asked for a king for ourselves.”

²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil. Nevertheless, do not turn away from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away to pursue empty things that cannot help you or save you, because they are empty. ²² For the sake of his great name, the Lord will not forsake his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own people for himself. ²³ As for me, it is unthinkable^[ap] that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. Instead I will instruct you in the way that is good and right. ²⁴ Above all, fear the Lord, and serve him in truth, with all your heart, considering the great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you keep doing evil, you will be swept away, both you and your king.”

Saul’s Reign Gets Off to a Bad Start

13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.^[aq]

² Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul at Mikmash and in the hill country near Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah^[ar] of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.

³ Jonathan struck the Philistine garrison^[as] that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines and that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. The people were summoned to meet Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines assembled their forces to fight against Israel with three thousand^[at] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They came up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because their army was under pressure, the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets,^[au] among the rocks, in dugouts,^[av] and in cisterns. ⁷ Some of the Hebrews had gone across the Jordan River to the territory of Gad and Gilead, but Saul remained in Gilgal, and all the people who remained with him were shaking with fear. ⁸ He waited there seven days, the time specified by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were starting to scatter from Saul. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.” He then presented the burnt offering.

¹⁰ No sooner had he finished presenting the burnt offering than Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and greet him with a blessing. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul said, “I saw that the people were scattering from me, that you did not come within the set number of days, and that the Philistines had assembled their forces at Mikmash. ¹² So I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”

¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave to you. The Lord would have established your kingship over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingship will not continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not obeyed the command the Lord gave you.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal. ⎣The rest of the people followed Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal⎦^[aw] to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him. There were about six hundred men. ¹⁶ Saul, and his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba^[ax] of Benjamin, but the Philistines camped at Mikmash.

¹⁷ Raiding parties set out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One group headed down the road toward Ophrah, toward the land of Shual. ¹⁸ Another group headed down the road to Beth Horon, and the third group headed toward the position on the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim, toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ At that time no blacksmith could be found throughout the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines said, “If we allow this, the Hebrews will make swords or spears for themselves.” ²⁰ So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to get their plowshares, mattocks,^[ay] axes, and sickles^[az] sharpened. ²¹ The price was two thirds of a shekel^[ba] to sharpen plowshares and mattocks and one third of a shekel for pitchforks and axes and to repair ox goads.

²² The result was that when the day of battle came, no swords or spears were found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Jonathan’s Heroics

²³ A garrison of the Philistines took up a position by the pass at Mikmash.

14 One day^[bb] Saul’s son Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come on! Let’s go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father ² Saul, who was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah, under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron. The people who were with Saul amounted to about six hundred men, ³ including Ahijah son of Ahitub. (Ahitub was the brother of Ichabod and the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh.) Ahijah was wearing the special vest.^[bc]

The men did not know that Jonathan was gone.

⁴ On each side of the pass which Jonathan needed to cross in order to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a cliff with a sharp outcropping of rock. The name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh. ⁵ One cliff rose up on the north side in front of Mikmash, and the other was on the south side in front of Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come on! Let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised fellows. It may be that the Lord will exert his power for us, for the Lord is not limited. He can save by many or by few.”

⁷ His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is in your heart. Give it all you’ve got! I am with you heart and soul.”

⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Here’s the plan. We will cross over to them, and we will let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you!’ then we will stay right where we are. We will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us!’ then we will go up, because the Lord has delivered them into our hand. This will be the sign for us.”

¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, “What do you know! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding!” ¹² When Jonathan and his armor bearer appeared, the men of the garrison responded, “Come up to us. We have something to show you!”

So Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Follow me, because the Lord has delivered them into Israel’s hands.”

¹³ Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor bearer followed him. The Philistines fell wounded before Jonathan, and his armor bearer followed him, killing them as he went. ¹⁴ That first blow struck by Jonathan and his armor bearer killed about twenty men within about half an acre of land.^[bd]

¹⁵ Panic spread throughout the entire Philistine army, both those in the camp and those in the open country. The garrison and the raiding parties also panicked. The earth quaked, and there was a panic sent by God. ¹⁶ Saul’s sentries at Geba^[be] of Benjamin looked out and saw the noisy crowd melting away and scattering in every direction.

¹⁷ Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Take roll call, and see who is missing from us.” When they took roll call, they realized that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

¹⁸ Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the special vest^[bf] of God here.” (The special vest of God was with the Israelites at that time.) ¹⁹ While Saul was talking to the priest, the uproar in the camp of the Philistines continued and got even louder, so Saul said to the priest, “Stop drawing lots!”^[bg]

²⁰ Saul and all the troops who were with him assembled and joined the battle. There they saw the panicked Philistines striking each other with their swords. ²¹ Then the Hebrews from all around, who had previously sided with the Philistines and had joined them in their camp, deserted them to join the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they joined the battle and stuck to the Philistines in close pursuit. ²³ So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle progressed as far as Beth Aven.

²⁴ The men of Israel were pushed to their limits that day, because Saul had imposed an oath on the people: “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted any food.

²⁵ The entire army had come into a forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the army came into the forest, they saw the honey dripping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, because the people were afraid as a result of the oath. ²⁷ Jonathan, however, had not heard his father put the people under oath. So he stuck out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, dipped it into the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and he was revived.^[bh]

²⁸ Then one of the soldiers responded and said, “Your father specifically placed the people under an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’ That is why the people are so weak.”

²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has caused trouble for the land. See how I have been revived, because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better it would have been today if the people had eaten freely from the plunder taken from their enemies. The slaughter among the Philistines would have been even greater.”

³¹ The Israelites struck down the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Aijalon. The troops were very weak, ³² so they pounced on the plunder. They took sheep, cattle, and calves and slaughtered them on the spot, and they ate them with the blood still in them. ³³ Saul was told, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord. They are eating meat with the blood still in it.”

Saul said, “You have acted unfaithfully. Roll a large stone over here to me right now!” ³⁴ Then he said, “Spread out among the people and tell them, ‘Have each man bring his ox or his sheep here to me. Kill them here, and eat them, but do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.’” So that night each person brought his ox with him, and together they killed them there.

³⁵ Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar which he built to the Lord. ³⁶ Saul said, “We will pursue the Philistines by night and take plunder from them until the morning light. We will not allow a man of them to survive.”

The people responded, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

But the priest said, “We should consult God here.”

³⁷ So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I pursue the Philistines? Will you deliver them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day. ³⁸ So Saul said, “Come over here, all you pillars^[bi] of the people, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. ³⁹ For, as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who responded to him. ⁴⁰ Then Saul said to all Israel, “You stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”

The people said to Saul, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

⁴¹ So Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, ⎣“Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the fault is with the men of Israel,⎦^[bj] respond with Thummim.”

Then Jonathan and Saul were chosen, and the people were not chosen.

⁴² Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. ⎣The person the Lord identifies by lot shall be put to death.”

But the people said to Saul, “Absolutely not.” But Saul overruled the people, so they cast lots between him and Jonathan his son,⎦^[bk] and Jonathan was selected by lot.

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

Jonathan told him, “I just tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand, and now I must die?”

⁴⁴ Saul said, “May God punish me severely and double it,^[bl] if you are not put to death, Jonathan.”

⁴⁵ The people said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die? He has accomplished this great deliverance for Israel. Absolutely not!^[bm] As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, because he has worked with God today!” So the people rescued Jonathan, so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul gave up pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back to their own places.

Saul’s Many Victories

⁴⁷ When Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side: against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment.^{[bn] 48} He fought valiantly.^[bo] He struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who had plundered them.

Saul’s Family

⁴⁹ The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malkishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the younger. ⁵⁰ The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahima’az. The name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.^{[bp] 51} Kish was Saul’s father, and Ner, Abner’s father, was the son of Abiel.

⁵² There was fierce warfare against the Philistines all the days of Saul. Whenever Saul noticed any heroic man or strong warrior, he would take him into his service.

Saul Is Rejected

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over his people Israel. Therefore, listen to the voice of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord of Armies says. I will repay Amalek for what they did to Israel when they blocked Israel’s way as it was coming up out of Egypt. ³ Go and strike Amalek. Devote everything they have to destruction. Do not spare them. Kill both men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”

⁴ So Saul summoned the troops and organized them for battle at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. ⁵ Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the ravine. ⁶ Saul said to the Kenites, “Go! Leave! Get away from the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you along with them, because you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which borders Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive, and he devoted all the people to destruction with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the cattle, the fattened calves, and the lambs, along with everything else that was good, because they were not willing to devote them to destruction. But everything that was undesirable and worthless, that they devoted to destruction.

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret^[bq] that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and he has not carried out my words.” Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.

¹² Samuel got up to meet Saul early in the morning, but Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel, and he set up a monument for himself there. Then he turned and continued down to Gilgal.”

⎣So Samuel went to Saul, and there he saw Saul, offering a burnt offering to the Lord from the best of the spoils that he had brought from the Amalekites.⎦^[br]

¹³ When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “You are blessed by the Lord! I have carried out the word of the Lord.”

¹⁴ Samuel said, “Then what does this mean—this bleating of sheep in my ears and the lowing of cattle that I hear?”

¹⁵ Saul said, “They have been brought here from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God. But we have completely destroyed the rest.”

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

He said to him, “Tell me.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Though you were insignificant in your own sight, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ Then the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and devote the Amalekites, that sinful people, to destruction. Fight against them until they are exterminated.’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you listen to the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

²⁰ Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have completed the mission that the Lord gave me. I have captured Agag king of Amalek, and I have completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took some of the plunder: sheep, cattle, and the best of what was devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

²² Samuel said, “Does the Lord take as much pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Know this! To obey is better than sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is the same as the sin of witchcraft, and arrogance is like having useless idols or consulting household gods. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you as king.”

²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed against the command^[bs] of the Lord, as well as against your words, because I was afraid of the people, so I listened to their voice. ²⁵ But now, please pardon my sin and come back with me again, so that I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today, and he has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. ²⁹ The Splendor of Israel will not lie or change his mind, because he is not a man, who changes his mind.”

³⁰ Then Saul said, “I have sinned, but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites here to me!”

Agag came to him confidently. He said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”^[bt]

³³ Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women!” Then Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

³⁴ Samuel then went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Until the day of his death, Samuel never again came to see Saul. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.