Chronological
28 Now[a] in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “Certainly you realize that you must go out with me in the army, you and your men.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you will know what your servant can do.” Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard[b] for life.”
Saul Inquires of the Medium at Endor
3 (Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had expelled the mediums[c] and the soothsayers from the land.) 4 Then the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem, so Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim[d] or by the prophets. 7 So Saul said to his servants, “Search for me a woman who is a medium[e] so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants said to him, “Look there is a woman who is a medium in Endor.” 8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went with two of his men.[f] And they came to the woman by night and he said, “Please consult a spirit for me through the ritual pit,[g] and bring up for me the one whom I tell you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums[h] and the soothsayers from the land! Why are you setting a trap for my life to kill me?” 10 Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, “As Yahweh lives,[i] you will not be punished[j] for this thing.” 11 So the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” 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 did you deceive me? You are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid! What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god[k] coming up from the ground!” 14 Then he said to her, “What is his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.”[l] Then Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he knelt with his face to the ground and bowed down.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul said, “I am in distress![m] For the Philistines are about to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not by the prophets[n] or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do.” 16 Then Samuel said, “Why do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 17 Yahweh has done to you just as he spoke by my hand! Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 Because you did not obey[o] Yahweh and did not carry out the fierce anger of his wrath[p] against Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today. 19 And Yahweh will also give Israel with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and Yahweh will also give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.” 20 Then Saul immediately fell prostrate[q] to the ground, and he was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; there was no more strength in him, for he had not eaten food all day and all night. 21 Then the woman came to Saul and realized that he was absolutely[r] terrified, so she said to him, “Look, your female servant has obeyed you,[s] and I have risked my life.[t] I have listened to your words that you have spoken to me. 22 So then, you also please listen to the voice of your female servant, and let me set before you a morsel of bread, and you eat so that you will have strength[u] in you when you go on your[v] way.” 23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat!” However, his servants urged him, and the woman also. So he listened to what they said,[w] and he got up from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fattened bull calf in the house, so she quickly slaughtered it[x] and took flour, kneaded dough, and baked him some unleavened bread. 25 She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and went away that very night.
David Leaves the Service of Achish
29 Now the Philistines assembled all their forces at Aphek, and Israel was encamped at the spring that is in Jezreel. 2 The rulers of the Philistines were passing on according to hundreds and thousands, David and his men passing on at the rear with Achish. 3 Then the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, who has been with me for days and years?[y] I have not found anything threatening in him from the day of his desertion until this day!” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him and they said to him, “Send the man back so that he might return to his place where you have assigned him! But he will not go down with us into the battle, so that he does not become an adversary to us in the battle. By what could this fellow make himself favorable to his lord? Is it not with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not David about whom they sing in the dances, saying,
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his ten thousands’?”
6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As Yahweh lives,[z] certainly you were honest, and I am pleased to have you marching with me[aa] in the campaign.[ab] For I have not found any wrong in you from the day you came to me until this day, but in the eyes of the rulers, you are not good. 7 So then, return and go in peace, so that you do not do something that displeases[ac] the rulers of the Philistines.” 8 Then David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day that I entered your service[ad] until this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 And Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are good in my eyes, like an angel of God! However, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us into the battle.’ 10 So then, rise early in the morning, you and the servants of your lord who came with you. When you rise early in the morning and it is light enough for you, leave. 11 So David set out early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David Recovers His Loved Ones
30 Now[ae] when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire. 2 They took captive the women[af] who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest.[ag] They did not kill anyone, but carried them off and went on their way. 3 When David and his men came to the city, they saw,[ah] and it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until there was not enough strength in them to weep. 5 Two of David’s wives had been taken captive. Ahinoam from Jezreel[ai] and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And David was in a very precarious situation,[aj] for the people spoke of stoning him, for the souls of all the people were bitter, each one over his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod here for me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Should I pursue after this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue them.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the Wadi[ak] Besor, but the rest remained. 10 David pursued, he and four hundred men; but two hundred men stayed because they were too exhausted to pass over the Wadi Besor.
11 Then they found an Egyptian man in the open country and brought him to David, and they gave him food and he ate; they also gave him water. 12 They gave him a slice of fig cake and two raisin cakes; he ate and this revived him,[al] because he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong,[am] and from where are you? The young man said, “I am an Egyptian young man, a servant of an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me because I became ill three days ago. 14 We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and that which belongs to Judah and then the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 So David asked him, “Will you take me down to this band of raiders?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and that you will not deliver me into my master’s hand! Then I will take you down to this band.” 16 So he took him down, and there they were,[an] spread out over the surface of all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all of the abundant plunder which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped except[ao] four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; David also rescued his two wives. 19 None of theirs was missing from the smallest to the greatest,[ap] even sons and daughters, from the plunder up to everything they had taken for themselves; David brought back everything. 20 And David took all of the sheep,[aq] and the cattle they drove along in front of that livestock, and they said, “This is David’s plunder.”
21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow[ar] David; they had left them behind at the Wadi[as] Besor. They went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. David came near with the people and asked them how they were doing.[at] 22 Then all the corrupt and useless men among the men who went with David reacted and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything from the plunder which we recovered, except[au] each man may take his own wife and children. They must take them along and go!” 23 But David said to them, “You should not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given to us! He has preserved us and has given the raiding band that came against us into our hand. 24 And who would listen to you regarding this matter? For as the share of the one who went down into the battle, so the share of the one who remained with the baggage will be. They will share alike.” 25 So[av] from that day and beyond, he made it a rule and a regulation for Israel until this day.
26 Then David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is[aw] a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of Yahweh!” 27 It was for those in Bethel, for those in Ramoth of the Negev, for those in Jattir, 28 for those in Aroer, for those in Siphmoth, for those in Eshtemoa, 29 for those in Racal, for those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, for those in the towns of the Kenites, 30 for those in Hormah, for those in Bor Ashan, for those in Athach, 31 for those in Hebron, and for all the places where David and his men had roamed.[ax]
Saul and Jonathan Die on Mount Gilboa
31 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malki-Shua, the sons of Saul. 3 Saul was in the thick of the battle,[ay] and the archers[az] spotted[ba] him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer,[bb] “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!” But his armor bearer[bc] was not willing to do so because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armor bearer[bd] saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, his armor bearer,[be] and all his men together that same day.
7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those who were beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the towns and fled. Thus the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 And then[bf] the next day, the Philistines came to strip the dead and they found Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent messengers around in the land of the Philistines to proclaim victory in the temples[bg] of their idols and to the people. 10 And they put his armor in the temple[bh] of the Ashtoreth,[bi] and they fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan. 11 When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard about it, what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all of the valiant men[bj] set out and went all night and took the corpse of Saul and the corpses of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
Praise to God for His Deliverance
For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh,
who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song
when[a] Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,
and from the hand of Saul.[b]
18 And he said:
“I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.”
2 Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I have taken refuge,
my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my stronghold.
3 I called upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death encircled me,
and streams of ruin overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my trouble I called on Yahweh,
and to my God I cried for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help
came up before his presence into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled,
and they staggered because he was angry.
8 Smoke went forth from his nose,
and fire from his mouth consumed.
Burning coals blazed from him.
9 So he bowed the heavens and came down
with a thick cloud under his feet.
10 And he mounted a cherub and flew,
and he swooped down on wings of wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place;
all about him his covering
was a darkness of waters, thick clouds.[c]
12 From the brightness before him
his clouds passed over
with hail and coals of fire.
13 And Yahweh thundered from the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice
with hail and coals of fire.
14 And he shot his arrows and scattered them,[d]
and many lightning bolts and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea became visible,
and the foundations of the world were uncovered
by your rebuke, O Yahweh,
by the blast[e] of the wind of your nose.
16 He reached[f] from on high; he seized me.
He drew me from many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me
because they were stronger than I.
18 They confronted me on the day of disaster,
but Yahweh was my support.
19 So he brought me out to a spacious place.
He delivered me because he delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
he has repaid me.
21 Because I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
and have not acted wickedly against my God,
22 because all his ordinances are before me,
and his statutes I have not removed from me,
23 and I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 Therefore Yahweh has repaid me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the loyal you show yourself loyal.
To the blameless you show yourself blameless.
26 To the pure you show yourself pure.
but to the wicked you show yourself shrewd.
27 For you deliver humble people,
but haughty eyes you humiliate.
28 For you light my lamp;
Yahweh, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 For with you I can charge a troop,
and with my God I can scale a wall.
30 This[g] God—his way is blameless.
The word of Yahweh is flawless.[h]
He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God apart from Yahweh,
and who is a rock except our God?
32 The God who girded me with strength,
and made safe[i] my way,
33 he made my feet like the deer’s,
and on my high places he makes me stand.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You also gave me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your humility made me great.
36 You enlarged my step under me,
and my ankles did not slip.
37 I chased my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were finished off.
38 I struck them and they were not able to stand up;
they fell under my feet.
39 And you girded me with strength for the battle;
those rising against me you made to kneel under me.
40 And you made my enemies turn their backs,[j]
then I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried out but there was no rescuer,
even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them.
42 And I ground them like dust in the wind,[k]
I emptied them[l] out like mud of the streets.
43 You rescued me from strife with people;
you set me as head (over) nations.
People I did not know served me;
44 as soon as they heard,[m] they obeyed me.
The children of a foreign land feigned obedience before me.
45 The children of a foreign land lost heart,[n]
and they came trembling from their strongholds.
46 Yahweh lives, and blessed be my rock,
and may the God of my salvation be exalted—
47 the God who executed vengeance for me,
and subdued peoples under me,
48 who delivered me from my enemies.
Indeed, you exalted me higher than those who rose against me.
You delivered me from the man of violence.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Yahweh,
and I will sing the praise of your name:
50 the one who makes great victories for his king,
and who shows loyal love for his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
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