Bible in 90 Days

³⁰ “Therefore the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I surely said that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before Me forever,’ but now the Lord says, ‘Far be it from Me to do so, for those who honor Me, I will honor, and those that despise Me will be humbled. ³¹ The days are coming when I will cut off your authority and the strength of your father’s house, so there shall not be an old man in your house. ³² You shall see the distress of My dwelling, despite all the good which will be done for Israel. And there shall not be an elderly man in your house perpetually. ³³ Yet the one I do not cut off from My altar will be spared so your eyes will not stop weeping or your soul grieving. All the increase of your house will die in their prime.

³⁴ “ ‘This will be the sign to you which will come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: In one day, they will both die. ³⁵ And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest; what is in My heart and in My soul he will do it. And I will build him a sure house, and it will walk before My anointed forever. ³⁶ But it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and will say, Please attach me to one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.’ ”

God Calls Samuel

3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no vision coming forth.

² At that time, Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow weak that he could not see), ³ and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord where the ark of God was.

⁴ Then the Lord called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called to me.”

And he said, “I did not call. Return, lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

⁶ The Lord called Samuel again. So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

And he answered, “I did not call, my son. Return, lie down again.”

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord been revealed to him.

⁸ The Lord again called Samuel a third time. So he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling to the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. And it will be, if He calls you, that you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant listens.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood, and He called as at other times, “Samuel, Samuel.”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant listens.”

¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am doing something in Israel which will make both ears ring of every one that hears it. ¹² In that day I will bring about against Eli everything which I have spoken with regard to his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For I told him that I will judge his house forever, for the guilt which he knew, because his sons are cursed, and he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for with sacrifice nor offering forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Now Samuel feared to report the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷ He said, “What is the thing that the Lord has spoken to you? Do not hide it from me. Thus may God do so to you, and more also, if you hide from me a word out of all the things that He spoke to you.” ¹⁸ Samuel told him everything, and did not hide from him a thing. And he said, “It is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was proven to be a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

And Israel went out to battle against the Philistines and they made camp beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. ² The Philistines arrayed themselves in a battle line against Israel, and when the battle was over, Israel was beaten before the Philistines, who struck down on the field of battle about four thousand men. ³ When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord struck us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh to us, that it might come among us and rescue us out of the hand of our enemies.”

⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells above the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, 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 great shout, so that the ground was in an uproar. ⁶ When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What does this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.

⁷ The Philistines were afraid, when they said, “God is come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For this has never happened to us before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness. ⁹ Be strong and be men, O Philistines, lest you be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Now be men and fight.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought and Israel was beaten. And they fled every man into his tent. It was a very great defeat, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ Now the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² There ran a man of Benjamin from the battle line, and he came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and with dust upon his head. ¹³ When he came, Eli was sitting on a seat by the wayside watching. For his heart feared for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out.

¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?”

And the man hurriedly came and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the battle line.”

And he said, “What is the word, my son?”

¹⁷ The messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there also has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the ark of God is taken.”

¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate. And his neck broke and he died, for he was an old and heavy man. And he had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰ About the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or regard it.

²¹ She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory is departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.”

The Philistines and the Ark

5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites arose early in the morning, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again. ⁴ When they arose early on the next morning, again Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold. Only the torso of Dagon was left to him. ⁵ Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any coming into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites. He desolated them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel cannot remain with us. For His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”

And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried around to Gath.” And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there.

⁹ It happened that after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, both small and great. And tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

And it came about that as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to slay us and our people.” ¹¹ So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to His own place that He might not kill me and my people,” for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men that did not die were plagued with the tumors. And the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the country of the Philistines seven months. ² The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”

³ They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty. But return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

⁴ Then said they, “What will be the guilt offering which we will return to Him?”

They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For one plague was on you all, and on your lords. ⁵ Therefore you will make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land. And you will give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps He will lighten His hand from off you, even from off your gods and from off your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He dealt severely with them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

⁷ “Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milk cows on which there has never been a yoke. Then tie the cows to the cart and bring their calves home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart. And put the images of gold, which you return to Him for a guilt offering, in a box by the side. And send it away, that it may go. ⁹ See, if it goes up by the way of His own territory to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we will know that it is not His hand that struck us; it was by chance that it happened to us.”

¹⁰ The men did so. And they took two milk cows, tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹ And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, as well as the box with the mice of gold and the images of their tumors. ¹² Then the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went. They did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left with the lords of the Philistines walking after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now Beth Shemesh was reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and they rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴ The cart came into the field of Joshua, the Beth Shemite, and stood there where there was a great stone. And they split the wood of the cart, and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was with it, where the articles of gold were, and put them on the great stone. And the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷ These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the Lord: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one. ¹⁸ And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities, and of country villages. And the great stone, where they set the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua, the Beth Shemite.

¹⁹ Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men. And the people lamented, because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰ The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom will He go up from us?”

²¹ And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord. Come down, and take it up to you.”

7 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. And they brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. ² And from the day the ark resided in Kiriath Jearim, the days increased to twenty years.

Samuel Judges Israel

And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. ³ Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. And make firm your hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only. Then He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the children of Israel put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served the Lord only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ They gathered together to Mizpah. And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ The children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying unto the Lord our God for us, that He might save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering unto the Lord. And Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord heard him.

¹⁰ As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines, and confused them. So they were beaten before Israel. ¹¹ Israel’s fighting men went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and struck them, as far as below Beth Kar.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. And he called its name Ebenezer^[a] saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

¹³ So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not again come into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath. And Israel rescued their territory out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ So Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ He went annually in a circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷ But his return was to Ramah, for his house was there and there he judged Israel. And there he built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

8 And it came about when Samuel was old, that he installed his sons as judges for Israel. ² Now the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judging in Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not walk in his way, for they followed after unlawful gain, and they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

⁴ And all the elders of Israel gathered together and they came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now, install for us a king to govern us like all the nations.”

⁶ But the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, because they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in relation to all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but Me they have rejected from reigning over them. ⁸ Just as all the deeds which they have done to Me, from the day I brought them up from Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken Me and have served other gods, so they are doing also to you now. ⁹ Now then, obey their voice. Only you will testify against them and proclaim to them the judgment concerning the king who will reign over them.”

¹⁰ So Samuel said all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking from him a king. ¹¹ And he said, “This will be the judgment concerning the king who will reign over you: Your sons he will take in order to place them for himself in his chariots and as his horsemen, and they will run before his chariot, ¹² and in order to assign for himself captains of thousands and captains of fifties, and to plow his ground, and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and the equipment of his chariots. ¹³ And your daughters he will take for perfumers, and cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ And your choicest fields, and vineyards, and olive groves he will take and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And of your seed fields and your vineyards he will take a tenth of their harvest and will give it to his high officials and to his servants. ¹⁶ And your menservants and your maidservants, and the best of your young men and asses he will take and make do his work. ¹⁷ Your flocks he will take a tenth of, but you will be his for slaves. ¹⁸ And you will cry out in that day because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But surely a king will be over us! ²⁰ So that we also will be like all the nations! And so that our king will govern us, and will go out before us, and will fight our battles.”

²¹ And after Samuel heard all the words of the people, he spoke them in the hearing of the Lord. ²² And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice, and make for them a king.”

So Samuel said to Israel’s fighting men, “Go every man to his city.”

Samuel Anoints Saul

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. ² He had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a better looking man among the children of Israel. From his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, the father of Saul, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go find the donkeys.” ⁴ He passed through the mountains of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, “Come, and let us return lest my father stop caring about the donkeys and worry about us.”

⁶ He said to him, “Look, there is in this city a man of God, and he is highly respected. All that he speaks surely comes about. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”

⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But listen, if we go, what will we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our satchels, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸ And the servant answered Saul again, and said, “Look, I have here in my hand a quarter of a shekel^[b] of silver. I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, “Come, and let us go to the seer.” For he that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)

¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said. Come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² And they answered them and said, “He is. See, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for today he came to the city, because there is a sacrifice for the people in the high place today. ¹³ As soon as you come into the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. Afterwards those invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time of the day you will find him there.”

¹⁴ So they went up into the city. And when they entered, Samuel was coming toward them to go up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now the Lord had revealed in the ear of Samuel one day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin. And you will anoint him to be leader over My people Israel, that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come unto Me.”

¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! This one will rule over My people.”

¹⁸ Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, please, where is the seer’s house?”

¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you will eat with me today. And tomorrow I will let you go, and will tell you then all that is in your heart. ²⁰ As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not your worry about them for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”

²¹ And Saul answered and said, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me this way?”

²² And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those invited, which were about thirty men. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’ ”

²⁴ Then the cook took up the thigh and what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what was set aside. Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until this time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul up on the roof. ²⁶ They arose early, and it was at the rising of the dawn that Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went to the street. ²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us.” So he passed on. “But you stand still and I will proclaim to you the word of God.”

10 Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head. And he kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you over His inheritance as ruler? ² When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. And they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys, and worries for you, saying, “What will I do for my son?” ’

³ “Then you will go forward from there, and you will come to the plain of Tabor. And there you will meet three men going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine. ⁴ And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will receive from their hands.

⁵ “After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. And when you come there to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre before them. And they will prophesy. ⁶ And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them. And you will be turned into another man. ⁷ And it will be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires; for God is with you.

⁸ “Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. And listen, I will be coming down to you, in order to offer burnt offerings, and to offer sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you will wait, until I come to you. Then I will make known to you what you will do.”

⁹ And it happened, that when he turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰ When they came to the hill, a group of prophets met him. And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ So when all who previously knew him saw that he prophesied among the prophets, the people said one to another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹² And a man from there answered and said, “But who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ And Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?”

And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere around, we went to Samuel.”

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

¹⁶ Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not mention.

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Therefore Samuel called the people together unto the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ And he said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you.’ ¹⁹ But you have today rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and your distresses. And you have said to Him, ‘No, but set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your clans.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. ²¹ Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin by its families. And the family of Matri was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord answered, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.”

²³ So they ran and took him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Truly there is none like him among all the people.”

And all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king.”

²⁵ Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in a book, and laid them up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

²⁶ Saul also went home to Gibeah. And there went with him a band of valiant men whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But some worthless men said, “How will this man save us?” And they despised him, and did not bring him a present. But he remained silent.

Saul Rescues Jabesh Gilead

11 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

² Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may pluck out all your right eyes. So I will inflict it as a reproach upon all Israel.”

³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then if there is no one to rescue us, we will come out to you.”

⁴ So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke the words in the ears of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. ⁵ Now Saul was coming out of the field after the cattle, and Saul said, “Why are the people weeping?” And they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

⁶ The Spirit of God came strongly upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces. And he sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man. ⁸ When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ They said to the messengers that came, “Thus will you say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have help.’ ” And the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh and they were glad. ¹⁰ Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us all that seems good to you.”

¹¹ On the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those surviving were scattered, so that even two of them were not left together.

Saul Confirmed as King

¹² The people said to Samuel, “Who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”

¹³ Saul said, “There will not be a man put to death this day. For today the Lord has worked deliverance in Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ All the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. And there they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord. And there Saul and all Israel’s fighting men rejoiced greatly.

Samuel’s Farewell Address

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel: “I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. ² And now, see, the king walks before you, but I am old and gray-headed. As for my sons, they are with you. But I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. ³ Behold, here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with? Indeed I will restore it you.”

⁴ They said, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us. Neither have you 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 you have not found anything in my hand.”

And they answered, “He is witness.”

⁶ Samuel said to the people: “It is the Lord that prepared Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord, concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which He did for you and your fathers.

⁸ “When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

⁹ “When they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. ¹⁰ They cried to the Lord, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ The Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Bedan,^[c] Jephthah, and Samuel. And He delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you dwelled in safety.

¹² “When you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king will reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ Now therefore, look at the king whom you have chosen and for whom you have asked! And see that the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴ If you will fear the Lord, and serve Him, and obey His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king that reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then will the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

¹⁶ “Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is doing before your eyes. ¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord. And He will send thunder and rain, that you may know and see that 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 thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we will not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”

²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness, only do not turn aside from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ But do not turn aside, for then you would be going after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. ²² As befits His great name, the Lord will not abandon His people. For it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. ²³ Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. But I will teach you the good and the right way. ²⁴ Fear the Lord; serve Him in truth with all your heart, and consider what great things He has done for you. ²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Saul Fails His Commission

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

² Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Mikmash and in mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent each to his tent.

³ Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴ All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, with people like the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and camped in Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. ⁶ When Israel’s fighting men saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in hollows, among rocks, and in cellars and cisterns. ⁷ Some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling. ⁸ He waited seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. ⁹ Saul said, “Bring here to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ When he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him to greet him.

¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?”

And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come to the appointed assembly days, and the Philistines are gathering themselves together at Mikmash, ¹² therefore I said, ‘The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not yet appeased the face of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”

¹³ Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. Truly now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people, because you have not kept that which the Lord commanded you.”

¹⁵ Samuel arose, and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.

Israel Unarmed

¹⁶ Now Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were with them, were staying in Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Mikmash. ¹⁷ Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual. ¹⁸ And another company turned the way to Beth Horon. And another company turned to the way of the border that looks to the Valley of Zeboyim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make for themselves swords or spears.” ²⁰ So all the children of Israel went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his plow-point, his axe, his adze and his hoe. ²¹ The sharpening charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[e] for plow-points, axes, pitchforks, and adzes, and to fix an ox-goad.

²² So it came to pass on the day of battle, that neither sword nor spear were found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found in the hand of Saul and Jonathan his son.

²³ And the garrison of the Philistines had marched out to the ravine of Mikmash.

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14 A day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man that bore his armor, “Come, and let us cross over to the Philistine garrison which is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

² Now Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people that were with him were about six hundred men. ³ And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

⁴ Between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The crag of the one rose north opposite Mikmash, and the other faced southward opposite Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Perhaps the Lord will work for us. For the Lord is not limited to save by many or by few.”

⁷ His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Turn yourself, and I will be with you according to your heart.”

⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Now we will cross over to these men, and we will reveal ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

¹¹ So the two of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the caves where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² The men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will teach you something.”

So Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me. For the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”

¹³ Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet with his armor bearer behind him. And they fell before Jonathan. And his armor bearer was dealing death blows after him. ¹⁴ That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men within about a half-acre field.

¹⁵ There was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled, and the ground quaked. It was the fear of God.

¹⁶ The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went even here and there. ¹⁷ Then Saul said to the people that were with him, “Number now, and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, Jonathan nor his armor bearer were there.

¹⁸ Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring here the ark of God.” For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. ¹⁹ It came to pass, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

²⁰ Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle. And every man’s sword was against his fellow, so that there was very great confusion. ²¹ Even the Hebrews who were with the Philistines the days before, who went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the children of Israel that were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Also all of Israel’s fighting men, who had hidden themselves in mountains of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines fled, and even they followed hard after them in the battle. ²³ So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed beyond Beth Aven.

Saul’s Rash Oath

²⁴ Now Israel’s fighting men were distressed that day. For Saul had placed the people under a curse, saying, “Cursed is the man that eats any food before it is evening, and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted any food.

²⁵ All the people of the land came to the forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the people came into the forest there was flowing honey. But no man put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard when his father made the people swear. Therefore he put forward the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were brightened. ²⁸ Then one of the people answered, and said, “Your father surely made the people swear, saying, ‘Cursed is the man that eats any food this day.’ ” And the people were weary.

²⁹ Then said Jonathan, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much more, if the people had surely eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? But now the defeat of the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ And they struck the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Aijalon, and the people were very weary. ³² The people rushed upon the spoil; they took sheep, oxen, and calves and slew them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. ³³ Then they reported to Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating the blood.”

And he said, “You have dealt faithlessly. Roll a great stone to me this day.” ³⁴ Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring to me here every man his ox or sheep. And slaughter them here, and eat. But you shall not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ ”

And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. ³⁵ And Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light. And let us not leave a man of them.”

And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

Then the priest said, “Let us draw near here to God.”

³⁷ Saul asked of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day.

³⁸ Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and observe and see how this sin has come about this day. ³⁹ For, as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in Jonathan my son, he will surely die.” But there was not one who answered him from among all the people.

⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You will 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 to you.”

⁴¹ Therefore Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Saul and Jonathan 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, “Tell me what you have done.”

And Jonathan told him, and said, “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, “May God do so to me and more also, for you will surely die, Jonathan.”

⁴⁵ The people said to Saul, “Will Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? God forbid. As the Lord lives, there will not one hair of his head fall to the ground. For he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from following the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

⁴⁷ So Saul took the kingdom over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the Ammonites, against Edom and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Whatever place he turned himself, he defeated them. ⁴⁸ He gathered an army, and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hand of its plunderers.

Saul’s Family

⁴⁹ Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. And the names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the youngest. ⁵⁰ And the name of the wife of Saul was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, the uncle of Saul. ⁵¹ Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵² There was strong war against the Philistines all the days of Saul, and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.

The Lord Rejects Saul

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of the words of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not have compassion on them but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

⁴ So Saul summoned the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and laid an ambush in the valley. ⁶ Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, which is near Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. And of all that was good, they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But everything that was despised and weak, that they completely destroyed.

¹⁰ Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “I regret that I have set up Saul to be king because he has turned back from following Me, and he has not carried out My words.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried to the Lord all night.

¹² When Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel and set himself up a monument. Then he turned and has passed on down to Gilgal.”

¹³ Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the word of the Lord.”

¹⁴ Samuel said, “Then what is the sound of this flock of sheep in my ears? And the sound of the cattle which I am hearing?”

¹⁵ And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and I will tell you what the Lord spoke to me this night.”

And he said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? And why did you rush upon the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And I have followed in the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took from the plunder sheep and oxen, the first fruits of the banned things to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

²² Samuel said,

²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. For I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

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

²⁷ As Samuel turned about to go, he seized the edge of his robe and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. ²⁹ Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent.”

³⁰ Then he said, “I have sinned, yet please honor me before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.

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

And Agag came to him reluctantly. But Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

³³ Samuel said,

And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Now Samuel did not see Saul up to the day of his death. But Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.