Bible in 90 Days

Samuel Anoints David as King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”

² Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”

And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”

⁴ Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?”

And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.”

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.

And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

David Serves Saul

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him.

¹⁵ So the servants of Saul said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God troubles you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now tell your servants, who are before you, that they might seek out a man experienced in playing the lyre. And it will come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he will play with his hand, and you will be well.”

¹⁷ Saul said to his servants, “Find me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ Then one from the servants answered, and said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is experienced in playing music, a mighty man of valor, a man of battle, and skillful in words, even a man of fine appearance. And the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹ Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ Jesse took a donkey laden with bread, a bottle of wine, and a young goat and he sent them with his son David to Saul.

²¹ David came to Saul, and stood before him. And Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer. ²² Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

²³ It happened that when the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

David and Goliath

17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle, and were gathered at Sokoh, which belongs to Judah. And they camped between Sokoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim. ² Saul and Israel’s fighting men were gathered, and they camped in the Valley of Elah. And they drew up in battle order to meet the Philistines. ³ Now the Philistines were standing at the base of the mountain on the one side, and Israel was standing at the base of the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.

⁴ There went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, Goliath was his name, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.^{[a] 5} He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. Now the weight of the bronze coat was five thousand shekels.^{[b] 6} He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. ⁷ The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. His iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels.^[c] And a shield-bearer was walking before him.

⁸ He stood and called out to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am not I the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man and let him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight with me and to strike me down, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you will be our servants and will serve us.” ¹⁰ The Philistine said, “I defy the battle lines of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together.” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were filled with terror and were greatly afraid.

¹² Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah whose name was Jesse, who had eight sons. And the man was old in the days of Saul and advanced in years. ¹³ The three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. ¹⁴ As for David, he was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵ but David would go back and forth from Saul to shepherd his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

¹⁶ The Philistine stepped forward morning and evening and took his stand daily for forty days.

¹⁷ Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah^[d] of this parched grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. ¹⁸ Carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and look into your brothers’ health, and bring back news of them.” ¹⁹ Now Saul, and they, and all Israel’s fighting men were in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰ So David rose up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper. And he carried away the food and went as Jesse had commanded him. And when he came to the encampment, the army was going out to the battle line, and they shouted a war cry. ²¹ And Israel and the Philistines ordered themselves in battle lines, army against army. ²² David left his things with the keeper of the equipment, and he ran to the battle line. And he went and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he was speaking with them, the champion, Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was going up from the battle line of the Philistines. And he spoke these same words and David heard them. ²⁴ When all Israel’s fighting men saw the man, they fled from him, and were very afraid.

²⁵ The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel, and it will be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house exempt from taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, “What will be done for the man that kills this Philistine and takes away this reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, saying, “So will it be done to the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart. For you have come down that you might see the battle.”

²⁹ David said, “What have I done now? Was it not only a word?” ³⁰ And he turned from him toward another and spoke in the same way. And the people answered him again as at the first. ³¹ When the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul and he sent for him.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

³³ Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

³⁴ David said to Saul, “Your servant was a shepherd for my father’s flock, and the lion came and the bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. ³⁵ And I went out after him, and struck him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I took hold of his beard, struck him, and killed him. ³⁶ Your servant slew both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them, because he has reviled the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ David said, “The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

³⁸ Saul clothed David with his armor. And he put a helmet of bronze on his head. He also clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹ David secured his sword to his armor and tried to walk, but he was not used to it, for he had not tested them.

And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. ⁴⁰ He took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook. And he put them in his shepherd’s bag, even in a pouch. And his sling was in his hand. Then he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came walking and drew near to David, and the man bearing the shield went before him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him. For he was a youth and ruddy with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the field.”

⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have reviled. ⁴⁶ This day will the Lord deliver you into my hand. And I will strike you down and cut off your head. Then I will give the corpses of the Philistine camp this day to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ And then all this assembly will know that it is not by sword and spear that the Lord saves. For the battle belongs to the Lord, and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine arose and came near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ David put his hand in his bag and took from there a stone. And he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead. Therefore the stone sunk into his forehead and he fell upon his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone. And he struck down the Philistine and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David.

⁵¹ Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine. Then he took his sword and drew it from out of its sheath, and he finished him off and he cut off his head with it.

When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. ⁵² And the fighting men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted. And they pursued the Philistines from the entrance of the Valley of Elah as far as the gates of Ekron. So the Philistine dead lay slain on the road to Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ Then the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines and they plundered their tents.

⁵⁴ David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

⁵⁶ The king said, “Inquire whose son the young man is.”

⁵⁷ So when David returned from slaying the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand.

⁵⁸ Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

And David answered, “I am the son of your servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Saul Fears David

18 When he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, so that Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day and would not permit him to return home to his father’s house. ³ Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ So Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, even his garments, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

⁵ David went out wherever Saul sent him, and he was successful. So Saul set him over the men of war, and it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of the servants of Saul.

⁶ When they came home, as David was returning from slaying the Philistine, the women came out from all cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷ The dancing women sang and said,

⁸ Saul became very angry, and this saying was displeasing to him. Therefore he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what remains for him to have but the kingdom?” ⁹ So Saul was suspicious of David from that day and forward.

¹⁰ It came to pass the following day, that an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, so that he raved in the midst of the house. And David was playing the lyre, as at other times. Now there was a spear in Saul’s hand. ¹¹ And Saul threw the spear. For he said, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David avoided him two times.

¹² Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. ¹³ Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and placed him as his captain over a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ David was successful in all his ways and the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw that he was very successful, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶ Now all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

¹⁷ Saul said to David, “Behold my elder daughter Merab, I will give her to you as your wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul said, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

¹⁸ But David said to Saul, “Who am I? And what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” ¹⁹ So when it was time that Merab, daughter of Saul, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

²⁰ Now Michal, daughter of Saul, loved David and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹ Saul said, “I will give her to him that she may be a snare to him, and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time, you may be my son-in-law today.”

²² Saul commanded his servants, saying, “Speak to David in secret saying, ‘Listen, the king delights in you and all his servants love you. Now therefore become the king’s son-in-law.’ ”

²³ So the servants of Saul spoke these words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?”

²⁴ And the servants of Saul reported to him saying, “According to these words, David spoke.” ²⁵ Saul said, “Thus will you say to David, ‘The king does not desire any dowry but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies.’ ” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶ When his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. Now the days had not expired; ²⁷ therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins and they gave them in full to the king, that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife.

²⁸ When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, his daughter, loved him, ²⁹ Saul was yet the more afraid of David, and Saul became the enemy of David continually.

³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to make war. And when they went out David was more successful than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly honored.

Saul Tries to Kill David

19 And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted very much in David. ² Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore, be on guard in the morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. Then I will speak about you to my father, and what I observe I will report to you.”

⁴ Jonathan spoke positively of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been very good toward you. ⁵ For he took his life in his hand and struck down the Philistine, and the Lord made a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Now why then would you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without cause?”

⁶ So Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, he will not be killed.”

⁷ Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as previously.

⁸ Then there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines. He slew them with a great slaughter and they fled from him.

⁹ Now an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. ¹⁰ Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence. He struck the spear into the wall. But David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹ Saul also sent messengers to the house of David, to watch him and to slay him in the morning. But Michal, wife of David, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead.” ¹² So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled to safety. ¹³ Michal took an idol and laid it in the bed, and put a braided goat hair pillow for its head and covered it with clothes.

¹⁴ When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”

¹⁵ Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ When the messengers came in, there was the idol in the bed with a goat hair pillow for its head.

¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?”

And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’ ”

¹⁸ Now David fled, and he escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah. And he reported to him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. ¹⁹ It was told Saul, saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel taking his stand over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. ²¹ When it was reported to Saul, he sent other messengers. And they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again a third time, and they too prophesied. ²² Then he also went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Seku. And he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?”

And one said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.

²³ He went there to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him also. And he went on and he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He stripped off his clothes and he also prophesied before Samuel. And he lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan

20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my offense? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”

² And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Look, my father does nothing either great or small that he does not reveal to me. Why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.”

³ David vowed again and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight. And he says, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be distressed.’ However, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

⁴ Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do it for you.”

⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the field until the evening of the third day. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David asked for leave from me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Good,’ it will be well for your servant. But if he gets angry, know that evil is determined by him. ⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is any guilt in me, kill me yourself. For why should you bring me to your father?”

⁹ Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you. For if I indeed knew that my father had determined evil against you, would I not tell it you?”

¹⁰ David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me? Or what if your father answers you roughly?”

¹¹ So Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” And the two of them went out to the field.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is witness. When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or by the third day, and if he is favorable toward David, then will I not send and reveal it to you? ¹³ May the Lord do so to Jonathan and much more. If it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will reveal it you and send you away that you may go in peace. And may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ And if I live, not only will you show me the kindness of the Lord, that I shall not die, ¹⁵ but you will not cut off your faithfulness from my house forever, even when the Lord has cut off each one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David saying, “May the Lord require it at the hand of the enemies of David.” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David swear again, because he loved him. For he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ When you have stayed three days, you will surely go down and come to the place where you hid yourself on the day this happened, and wait there beside the stone Ezel. ²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to its side, as though I shot at a target. ²¹ Then I will send a boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then come, for it will be safe for you. And as the Lord lives, it is nothing of concern. ²² But if I say to the young man, ‘See, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³ As for the matter upon which you and I have spoken, the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid himself in the field. And when the New Moon appeared, the king sat down over food to eat. ²⁵ Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on a seat by the wall. Then Jonathan arose and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day. For he thought, “Something has happened. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷ It happened on the following day, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place remained empty. So Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat food either yesterday or today?”

²⁸ And Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave from me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has commanded me to come. Now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me leave and see my brothers.’ This is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Then Saul was angry with Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse rebellious woman, do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now, send and bring him to me, for he is a dead man.”

³² Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” ³³ So Saul cast a spear at him to strike him. Therefore Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

³⁴ And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat food on the second day of the month. For he was grieved for David, because his father had dishonored him.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time appointed with David, and a little boy was with him. ³⁶ And he said to his boy, “Run, find the arrows which I shoot.” He ran, and he shot the arrow over him. ³⁷ When the boy came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ Then Jonathan cried after the boy, “Hurry quickly! Do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹ But the boy did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”

⁴¹ When the boy had gone, David arose from the south side of the stone, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more.

⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since the two of us swore in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, but Jonathan went into the city.

David at Nob

21 Then David came to Nob to Ahimelek the priest. And Ahimelek trembled coming to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone and no man is with you?”

² And David said to Ahimelek the priest, “The king commanded me a matter and said to me, ‘Let no man know anything of the business which I am sending you and what I have commanded you.’ But to the young men I made known a certain place to meet. ³ Now therefore what is in your hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.”

⁴ The priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread at hand. But there is holy bread, if the young men have indeed been kept from women.”

⁵ David answered the priest and said to him, “Indeed women have been kept from us. As previously, when I went out the vessels of the young men were holy even if it was an ordinary journey. How much more then today will their vessels be holy?” ⁶ So the priest gave him holy bread. For there was no bread there but the showbread that was removed from before the Lord, in order to place hot bread there on the day when it was taken away.

⁷ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. And his name was Doeg, the Edomite, chief of the shepherds of Saul.

⁸ David said to Ahimelek, “Is there not a spear or a sword here at hand? For neither my sword nor my weapons did I bring with me, because the king’s business was urgent.”

⁹ The priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is none other but that here.”

And David said, “There is none like it. Give it me.”

David Flees to Gath

¹⁰ David arose and fled that day from Saul. And he went to Achish the king of Gath. ¹¹ The servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing with dances for him, saying,

¹² And David took these words to heart and greatly feared Achish the king of Gath. ¹³ Therefore he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands. And he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.

¹⁴ Then said Achish to his servants, “You see the man is acting like a madman. Why then have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Am I one who lacks lunatics, that you brought this one to behave as a madman in my presence? Will this man come into my house?”

David Protects His Parents

22 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down to him there. ² There gathered to him every one that was in distress, and every one in debt, and every one that was discontented. So he became captain over them. Now there were with him about four hundred men.

³ Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother come forth and be with you until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ He brought them before the king of Moab, and they lived with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.

⁵ The prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David went and came to the forest of Hereth.

Saul Kills the Priests of Nob

⁶ When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were discovered, Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the hill with his spear in his hand. And all his servants were standing about him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants that stood about him, “Hear now, Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he appoint you all as captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? ⁸ You have all conspired against me, and no one revealed to me that my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse. And not one of you is grieved for me and revealed it to me that my son raised up my servant against me to ambush me as at this day.”

⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was chief over the servants of Saul, answered and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelek the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ And he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. And he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ So the king sent to summon Ahimelek the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob. And they all came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”

And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

¹³ Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you gave him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me to ambush me, as at this day?”

¹⁴ Then Ahimelek answered the king and said, “And who is as faithful among all your servants as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, chief of your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Did I just today begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king assign any blame to his servant, or to all the house of my father. For your servant has known nothing of all this matter, whether small or great.”

¹⁶ The king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and all your father’s house.”

¹⁷ The king said to the guards standing near him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand is with David. And because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me.”

But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to attack the priests of the Lord.

¹⁸ The king said to Doeg, “You turn and fall upon the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword. Both men and women, children and babies, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he struck with the edge of the sword.

David, Protector of the Priestly Line

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelek the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. ²¹ Abiathar reported to David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²² David said to Abiathar, “I knew it that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house. ²³ Remain with me. Do not fear. For the one who seeks my life seeks your life, but you are safe with me.”

David Saves Keilah

23 Then they told David, “Listen, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are looting the threshing floors.” ² Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and rescue Keilah.”

³ The men of David said to him, “We are afraid here in Judah. How much more then, if we go down to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

⁴ Then David again inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah because I am giving the Philistines into your hand.” ⁵ Then David and his men went to Keilah. He fought with the Philistines and carried off their livestock, and he struck them with a great slaughter. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶ When Abiathar the son of Ahimelek fled to David at Keilah, he came down with the ephod in his hand.

Saul Pursues David

⁷ It was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand. For he is shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars.” ⁸ Then Saul summoned all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

⁹ David found out that Saul was planning evil against him. So he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod near.” ¹⁰ And David said, “O Lord, God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on account of me. ¹¹ Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will come down.”

¹² Then said David, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”

¹³ So David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and left Keilah. And they went wherever they could go. Now it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah. So he halted the expedition.

¹⁴ And David remained in the wilderness in strongholds, and dwelled in mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

¹⁵ Now David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh. ¹⁶ Jonathan, the son of Saul, arose and went to David at Horesh. And he strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ He said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be next to you. Saul my father knows this.” ¹⁸ The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites went up to Saul to Gibeah saying, “Is David not hiding himself with us in strongholds in Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, which is south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down. And our part will be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

²¹ Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord. For you have had compassion on me. ²² Please go, make sure again. Investigate and see the place where his foot rests, and who has seen him there. For it has been said to me that he is very cunning. ²³ So look and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself. And come to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it will be that if he is in the land, then I will track him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

²⁴ So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the desert south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Saul and his men went to seek him, but they told David. Therefore he came down to the Rock, and lived in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the Wilderness of Maon.

²⁶ Saul went on this side of the mountain and David and his men on that side of the mountain. And David hurried to get away from Saul. Now Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. ²⁷ But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Hurry and go! For the Philistines have invaded the land.” ²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and he went against the Philistines. Therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. ²⁹ David then went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

David Spares Saul’s Life

24 When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, it was reported to him, saying, “David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the rocks of the wild goats.

³ He came to the sheep pens by the way and a cave was there. And Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the rear of the cave. ⁴ The men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘I am giving your enemy into your hand. You may do with him as seems good in your eyes.’ ” Then David arose and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵ Afterward David’s heart troubled him because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him. For he is anointed of the Lord.” ⁷ So David dispersed his men by these words and did not let them rise against Saul. And Saul arose from the cave and went on his way.

⁸ David arose afterward and went out from the cave. And he called after Saul saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David had bowed down with his face to the ground and paid homage. ⁹ David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men saying, ‘David seeks your harm’? ¹⁰ This day you have seen with your own eyes that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave. So that some said to kill you, but my eye had compassion on you. And I said, ‘I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is anointed of the Lord.’ ¹¹ See, my father! Look at the corner of your robe in my hand. Indeed, I cut off the corner of your robe, but I did not kill you. Observe and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I have not sinned against you, but you are lying in wait for my life to take it. ¹² The Lord will judge between me and you, and the Lord will avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘From the wicked comes forth wickedness,’ but my hand will not be against you.

¹⁴ “After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? A single flea? ¹⁵ May the Lord be judge, and decide between me and you. And may He see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

¹⁶ When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I. For you have rewarded me with good, while I have rewarded you with evil. ¹⁸ And you have shown today that you have dealt well with me, when the Lord delivered me into your hand and you did not kill me. ¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him safely go away? Therefore may the Lord reward you well for what you have done for me this day. ²⁰ Now, listen, I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. ²¹ Therefore swear to me now by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s household.”

²² So David swore to Saul and Saul went home. But David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Death of Samuel

25 Now Samuel died. And all the children of Israel gathered together and mourned him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

David, Nabal, and Abigail

² Now there was a man in Maon whose work was in Carmel. He was a rich man with three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ The man’s name was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail. She was a woman of good understanding and beautiful, but the man was harsh and evil in his actions and he was a Calebite.

⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent out ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. ⁶ And thus you will you say to him who lives in prosperity, ‘Peace be to you and peace to your house, and to all that you have, peace.

⁷ “ ‘I have heard that you have shearers. Now your shepherds were with us. We did not harm them nor did they miss anything all the days they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a good day. Please give whatever you find at hand to your servants, and to your son David.’ ”

⁹ When David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, then they waited.

¹⁰ And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? Today many servants are breaking away each one from his master. ¹¹ Should I then take my bread, and my water, and my meat, that which I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men whose origins are unknown?”

¹² So David’s young men turned themselves around and went back. And they came and reported to him all these words. ¹³ David said to his men, “Each man strap on his sword.” And each man strapped on his sword. David also put on his sword, and four hundred men went up after David. But two hundred stayed with the baggage.

¹⁴ Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “Listen, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he railed against them. ¹⁵ But the men were very good to us, and we were not harmed, nor did we miss anything, all the days we went about with them in the field. ¹⁶ They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the days we were with them keeping the flocks. ¹⁷ Now therefore know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household. He is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two bottles of wine, five prepared sheep, five measures^[e] of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and she loaded them on donkeys. ¹⁹ And she said to her servants, “Go on before me. See, I will be coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

²⁰ And as she was riding on the donkey and going down into the cover of the mountain, David and his men were coming down to meet her and she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this man has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him. And he has returned me evil for good. ²² So may God do unto the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave even one male of all who belong to him.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurriedly got down from the donkey and fell before David upon her face. And she bowed herself to the ground. ²⁴ So she fell at his feet and said, “Against me alone, my lord, is the guilt. Please let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid. ²⁵ Please do not let my lord set his heart against this worthless man, against Nabal. For as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name and folly is with him. But I, your handmaid, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. ²⁶ Now my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from coming in bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those seeking to do evil to my lord, be as Nabal. ²⁷ Now let this blessing which your maidservant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.

²⁸ “Please forgive the transgression of your handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil will not be found in you all your days. ²⁹ Even if a man rises to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord will be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies He will sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ It will be, when the Lord does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you and has appointed you ruler over Israel, ³¹ that this will be no grief to you, nor an offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid.”

³² David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. ³³ And blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you who have kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with my own hand. ³⁴ For as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from injuring you, if you had not hurried to come and meet me, surely there would not have been left even one male to Nabal by the morning light.”

³⁵ So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and have granted your request.”

³⁶ Abigail came to Nabal, and he was feasting in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light. ³⁷ But in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things. And his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸ And about ten days after that, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is the Lord, who has defended the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head.”

And David sent and spoke with Abigail, to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰ When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.”

⁴¹ She arose, and bowed herself on her face to the ground, and said, “Here is your handmaid, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” ⁴² Abigail hurriedly arose and rode on a donkey with her five young women who attended her. And she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. ⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel. So both of them were his wives. ⁴⁴ But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Paltiel the son of Laish who was from Gallim.

David Again Spares Saul’s Life

26 Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding himself on the hill of Hakilah, which is before Jeshimon?”

² Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. ³ Saul camped on the hill of Hakilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, when he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴ And David sent out spies and knew that Saul had certainly come.

⁵ So David arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul was lying down and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying down in the encampment, while the people encamped around him.

⁶ Then David answered and said to Ahimelek the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?”

And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night while Saul lay sleeping within the circle of the camp. And his spear was stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the people were lying all around him.

⁸ Then Abishai said to David, “God has today delivered your enemy into your hand. Now please let me strike him with the spear through to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him a second time.”

⁹ David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him. For who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and remain unpunished?” ¹⁰ David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. ¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed, but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water from Saul’s head and they went away. No one saw, no one knew, and no one awoke, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

¹³ Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill at a distance. A great space was between them. ¹⁴ And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you that calls to the king?”

¹⁵ And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like to you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. ¹⁶ This thing is not good which you have done. As the Lord lives, you are worthy of death because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now, see where is the king’s spear? And the jug of water that was at his head?”

¹⁷ Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?”

And David said, “It is my voice, my lord king.” ¹⁸ He said, “Why is my lord pursuing after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ Now please let my lord king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it was the sons of men, cursed are they before the Lord. For they have driven me today from having a share in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Now do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord. Truly the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, as when one pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹ Then said Saul, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again, because my soul was precious in your eyes this day. I have acted foolishly and have seriously gone astray.”

²² David answered and said, “See, the king’s spear! Let one of the young men come over and get it. ²³ The Lord requites to every man his right conduct and loyalty. So the Lord gave you into my hand today, but I am not willing to stretch my hand against the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴ As your life was highly valued in my eyes this day, so may my life be highly valued in the eyes of the Lord, and may He rescue me out of all distress.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “Blessed are you, my son David. You will do great things, and will surely prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David With the Philistines

27 Then David said in his heart, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of continually seeking me within all the territory of Israel. So will I escape out of his hand.”

² David arose and passed over with the six hundred men that were with him to Achish, the son of Maok, king of Gath. ³ And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. ⁴ It was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer sought him.

⁵ David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the countryside, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”

⁶ Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷ The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

⁸ David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For they were inhabitants of the land from of old, as you come to Shur, even to the land of Egypt. ⁹ So David would strike the land and would not leave either man or woman alive. And he would take the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments. And then he came back to Achish.

¹⁰ Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah,” or “Against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” ¹¹ Now David would leave neither a man nor a woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, “Lest they should tell on us, saying, ‘Thus David has done.’ ” This was his practice all the days which he lived in the country of the Philistines. ¹² And Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely become a stench to his people Israel. Therefore he will be my servant forever.”

28 And it came about in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

² David said to Achish, “Surely you will know what your servant can do.”

And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will appoint you my bodyguard for life.”

The Medium of Endor

³ Now Samuel died and all Israel mourned him, and they buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and the necromancers from the land.

⁴ Then the Philistines gathered themselves together. And they came and camped in Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶ Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams, or by lots, or by prophets. ⁷ Then said Saul to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

And his servants said to him, “There is woman medium in Endor.”

⁸ So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and he went with two of his men. And they came to the woman by night and he said, “Please divine for me by a spirit, and bring up for me whom I will name to you.”

⁹ The woman said to him, “Listen, you know what Saul has done, how he has eliminated the mediums and necromancers from the land. Now why are you laying a trap for my life to cause my death?”

¹⁰ Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment will happen to you for this thing.”

¹¹ Then said the woman, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.”

¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”

And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a divine being ascending out of the earth.”

¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his appearance?”

And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a robe.”

And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. And he kneeled with his face to the ground and bowed himself.

¹⁵ Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you roused me to bring me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me any longer by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have called you that you might make known to me what I should do.”

¹⁶ Then said Samuel, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ The Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, David. ¹⁸ As you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out His fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ And moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”