Chronological
Saul and the Woman of En-dor
28 Now it happened in those days that (A)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” 2 And David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you [a]my bodyguard (B)for life.”
3 Now (C)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him (D)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who (E)were mediums and spiritists. 4 So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped (F)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in (G)Gilboa. 5 Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 (H)So Saul asked of Yahweh, but (I)Yahweh did not answer him, either by (J)dreams or by (K)Urim or by prophets. 7 So Saul said 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, “Behold, (L)there is a woman who is a medium at (M)En-dor.”
8 Then Saul (N)disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “(O)Divine for me, please, and (P)bring up for me whom I shall say to you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know (Q)what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” 10 Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, saying, “As Yahweh lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 And the woman saw Samuel and cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” 13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a [b]divine being coming up out of the earth.” 14 And he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and (R)he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and (S)he bowed with his [c]face to the ground and prostrated himself.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and (T)God has turned away from me and (U)no longer answers me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your adversary? 17 So Yahweh has done [d]accordingly (V)as He spoke by my hand, for Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 As (W)you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh and did not execute His burning anger on Amalek, so Yahweh has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover Yahweh will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow (X)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed Yahweh will give over the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”
20 Then Saul quickly fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no [e]food all day and all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Behold, your servant-woman has listened to your voice, and (Y)I have [f]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 So now also, please listen to the voice of your servant-woman, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.” 23 But he refused and said, “(Z)I will not eat.” (AA)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to [g]them. So he arose from the ground and sat on (AB)the bed. 24 And the woman had a (AC)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly sacrificed it; and she (AD)took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 And she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.
Achish Makes David Leave the Battle
29 Then (AE)the Philistines gathered together all their camps to (AF)Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in (AG)Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and (AH)David and his men were proceeding on in 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, (AI)who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and (AJ)I have found no fault in him from the day he [h]deserted to me to this day?” 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may return (AK)to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, (AL)or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of [i]these men? 5 Is this not David, (AM)of whom they sing in the dances, saying,
‘Saul has struck his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “As Yahweh lives, you have been upright, and (AN)your going out and your coming in with me in the camp are pleasing in my sight; (AO)for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. 7 So now, return and go in peace, that you may not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines.” 8 And David said to Achish, “(AP)But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 But Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are pleasing in my sight, (AQ)like an angel of God; nevertheless (AR)the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 So now, arise early in the morning (AS)with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, go.” 11 So David arose early, he and his men, to go in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
David Strikes Down the Amalekites
30 Then it happened when David and his men came to (AT)Ziklag on the third day, that (AU)the Amalekites had made a raid on the [j]Negev and on (AV)Ziklag and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great—(AW)they did not put anyone to death—and carried them off and went their way. 3 Then David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 So David and the people who were with him (AX)lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. 5 Now (AY)David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the [k]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 Moreover David was greatly distressed because (AZ)the people said to stone him, for all the people were [l]embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But (BA)David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.
7 Then (BB)David said to (BC)Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod near to David. 8 (BD)And David asked of Yahweh, saying, “(BE)Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, (BF)and you will surely deliver all.” 9 So David went, (BG)he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for (BH)two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind.
11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread, and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. 12 And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; (BI)then his spirit [m]revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a slave of an Amalekite; and my master forsook me when I fell sick three days ago. 14 We made a raid on (BJ)the [n]Negev of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on (BK)the [o]Negev of Caleb, and (BL)we burned Ziklag with fire.” 15 Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not put me to death or surrender me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”
16 So he brought him down, and behold, they were [p]spread over all the land, (BM)eating and drinking and [q]celebrating because of (BN)all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 17 Then David struck them (BO)down from the twilight [r]until the evening of [s]the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on (BP)camels and fled. 18 So David (BQ)delivered all that the Amalekites had taken and [t]delivered his two wives. 19 Indeed nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; (BR)David brought it all back. 20 And David took all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of [u]the other livestock, and they said, “(BS)This is David’s spoil.”
David Apportions the Spoils
21 Then (BT)David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also remained at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and greeted them. 22 Then all the evil and vile men among those who went with David said, “Because they did not go with [v]us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have delivered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.” 23 Then David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what Yahweh has given us, who has kept us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 And who will listen to you in this matter? For (BU)as is the portion of the one who goes down to the battle, so shall the portion be of the one who remains by the baggage; they shall be apportioned together.” 25 So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and a judgment for Israel to this day.
26 Then David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, (BV)a [w]gift for you from the spoil of (BW)the enemies of Yahweh: 27 to those who were in (BX)Bethel, and to those who were in (BY)Ramoth of the [x]Negev, and to those who were in (BZ)Jattir, 28 and to those who were in (CA)Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in (CB)Eshtemoa, 29 and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of (CC)the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of (CD)the Kenites, 30 and to those who were in (CE)Hormah, and to those who were in (CF)Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, 31 and to those who were in (CG)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men (CH)went about.”
The Death of Saul and His Sons
31 (CI)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain (CJ)on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down (CK)Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 (CL)And the battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers [y]hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 (CM)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, lest (CN)these uncircumcised come and pierce me through and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was not willing, for he was greatly afraid. (CO)So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 Then his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, so he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
7 Then the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead. So they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 Now it happened on the [z]next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 Then they cut off his head and stripped off his weapons and sent them all around the land of the Philistines, (CP)to proclaim the good news (CQ)to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 And they placed his weapons in the [aa]house of (CR)Ashtaroth and (CS)fastened his body to the wall of (CT)Beth-shan. 11 Then (CU)the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard [ab]what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 (CV)so all the valiant men arose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and (CW)burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and (CX)buried them under (CY)the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and (CZ)fasted seven days.
Yahweh Is My Rock and My Fortress
For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David, [a]who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
18 He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, (A)my strength.”
2 Yahweh is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon Yahweh, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of vileness [c]terrified me.
5 The (L)cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon Yahweh,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [d]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [e]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 Yahweh also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High gave forth His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [f]threw them into confusion.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [g]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Yahweh,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my disaster,
But (AK)Yahweh was my support.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of Yahweh,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all (AR)His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [h](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore Yahweh has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.
25 With (AW)the [i]kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless (AX)You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [j]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But (BB)eyes which are lifted up, You bring down.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
Yahweh my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [k](BE)run upon a troop;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [l](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of Yahweh is [m]tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but Yahweh?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [n]makes my way [o](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [p]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my (BV)ankles have not given way.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I crushed them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [q](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 [r]You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [s](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to Yahweh, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners [t](CK)cower before me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [u]fortresses.
46 Yahweh (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And let (CP)the God of my salvation be lifted high,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 Who (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Yahweh,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [v](CX)salvation to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his seed forever.
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