Chronological
28 And it came to pass in those yamim, that the Pelishtim gathered their machanot together for tzava (warfare), to fight with Yisroel. And Achish said unto Dovid, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to machaneh, thou and thy anashim.
2 And Dovid said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy eved will do. And Achish said to Dovid, Therefore will I make thee my shomer rosh (head bodyguard) kol hayamim.
3 Now Shmuel was dead, and kol Yisroel had mourned him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own town. And Sha’ul had deported the ovot (mediums, those with familiar spirits), and the yidonim (spiritists) from HaAretz.
4 And the Pelishtim gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem; and Sha’ul gathered kol Yisroel together, and they encamped in Gilboa.
5 And when Sha’ul saw the machaneh of the Pelishtim, he was afraid, and his lev greatly trembled.
6 And when Sha’ul inquired of Hashem, Hashem answered him not, neither by chalomot (dreams), nor by Urim, nor by nevi’im.
7 Then said Sha’ul unto his avadim, Seek me an isha that is a ba’alat ov (medium, a person with a familiar spirit), that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his avadim said to him, Hinei, there is an eshet ba’alat ov at Ein-Dor.
8 And Sha’ul disguised himself, and put on begadim acherim, and he went, and two anashim with him, and they came to the isha by lailah; and he said, divine for me by the ov (familiar spirit), and bring him up for me, whom I shall name unto thee.
9 And the isha said unto him, Hinei, thou knowest what Sha’ul hath done, how he hath cut off the ovot (mediums, those with familiar spirits), and the yidoni (spiritist) from HaAretz; why then layest thou a snare for my nefesh, to cause me to die?
10 And Sha’ul vowed to her by Hashem, saying, As Hashem liveth, there shall no avon (punishment) happen to thee for this thing.
11 Then said the isha, Whom shall I bring up for thee? And he said, Bring up Shmuel for me.
12 And when the isha saw Shmuel, she cried with a kol gadol (loud voice); and the isha spoke to Sha’ul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Sha’ul.
13 And HaMelech said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the isha said unto Sha’ul, I see elohim olim (spirits, ones ascending, a spirit ascending) from HaAretz.
14 And he said unto her, Of what form is he? And she said, An ish zaken cometh up; and he is wearing a me’il (robe). And Sha’ul had da’as that it was Shmuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and prostrated himself.
15 And Shmuel said to Sha’ul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Sha’ul answered, I am greatly distressed; for the Pelishtim make war against me, and Elohim has turned away from me, and answereth me no more, neither by nevi’im, nor by chalomot (dreams): therefore I have called on thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I should do.
16 Then said Shmuel, Why then dost thou ask of me, seeing Hashem is turned away from thee, and is become thine adversary?
17 And Hashem hath done for Himself just as He spoke by me; for Hashem hath torn the Mamlachah out of thine yad, and given it to thy re’a (neighbor), even to Dovid:
18 Because thou obeyedst not the kol (voice) of Hashem, nor executedst His charon af upon Amalek, therefore hath Hashem done this thing unto thee this day.
19 Moreover Hashem will also deliver Yisroel with thee into the yad (hand, power) of the Pelishtim; and makhar (tomorrow) shalt thou and thy banim be with me; Hashem also shall deliver the machaneh Yisroel into the yad Pelishtim.
20 Then at once Sha’ul fell his full length on the ground, and was greatly afraid, because of the divrei Shmuel; and there was no ko’ach in him; for he had eaten no lechem all the yom, nor all the lailah.
21 And the isha came unto Sha’ul, and saw that he was greatly terrified, and said unto him, Hinei, thine shifcha hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my nefesh in my palm, and have paid heed unto thy devarim which thou spoke unto me.
22 Now therefore, shema (pay heed) thou now also unto the voice of thine shifcha, and let me set some lechem before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have ko’ach, when thou goest on thy derech.
23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his avadim, together with the isha, urged him; and he paid heed unto their voice. So he arose from ha’aretz, and sat upon the mittah (bed).
24 And the isha had a fattened egel in the bais; and she hasted, and slaughtered it, and took kemakh (flour), and kneaded it, and did bake matzot thereof;
25 And she brought it before Sha’ul, and before his avadim; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that lailah.
29 Now the Pelishtim gathered together all their machanot to Aphek; and Yisroel encamped by an ayin (spring) which is in Yizre’el.
2 And the rulers of the Pelishtim (Philistines) were passing by with me’ot, and with alafim; but Dovid and his anashim were passing at the rearguard with Achish.
3 Then said the sarim of the Pelishtim, What are these Ivrim doing here? And Achish said unto the sarim of the Pelishtim, Is not this Dovid, the eved of Sha’ul Melech Yisroel, which hath been with me these yamim, or these shanim, and unto this day I have found no fault in him since he defected?
4 And the sarim of the Pelishtim were angry with him; and the sarim of the Pelishtim said unto him, Send the ish back, that he may turn again to his makom (place, home) which thou hast assigned him, and let him not go down with us to milchamah, lest in the milchamah he be as satan (adversary, antagonist) to us; for wherewith should he make himself acceptable unto his adon? Is it not with the heads of these anashim?
5 Is not this Dovid, of whom they sang one to another in mecholot (dances), saying, Sha’ul slaughtered his alafim, and Dovid his revavot (myriads)?
6 Then Achish called Dovid, and said unto him, Surely, as Hashem liveth, thou hast been yashar (upright), and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the machaneh is tov in my sight; for I have not found ra’ah in thee since the day of thy coming unto me until this day; nevertheless, in the eyes of the rulers thou art not tov.
7 Wherefore now shuv (turn, turn back), and go in shalom, that thou displease not the rulers of the Pelishtim.
8 And Dovid said unto Achish, But what have I done? And what hast thou found in thy eved from the day that I am before thee until this day, that I may not go fight against the oyevei adoni HaMelech?
9 And Achish answered and said to Dovid, I know that thou art tov in my sight, as a malach Elohim; notwithstanding, the sarim of the Pelishtim have said, He shall not go up with us to the milchamah.
10 Wherefore now rise up early in the boker with the avadim of thy adon that are come with thee; and as soon as ye get up early in the boker, and have ohr, depart.
11 So Dovid and his anashim rose up early to depart in the boker, to return to Eretz Pelishtim. And the Pelishtim went up to Yizre’el.
30 And it came to pass, when Dovid and his anashim were come to Tziklag on the Yom HaShelishi, that the Amaleki had made a raid on the Negev and Tziklag and attacked Tziklag, and burned it with eish;
2 And had captured the nashim, that were therein; they killed not any, either gadol or katon, but carried them off, and went on their derech.
3 So Dovid and his anashim came to the Ir, and, hinei, it was aflame with eish; and their nashim, and their banim, and their banot, had been taken captive.
4 Then Dovid and HaAm that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more ko’ach to weep.
5 And Dovid’s two nashim were taken captive, Achinoam the Yizre’elit, and Avigal eshet Naval the Carmeli.
6 And Dovid was greatly distressed; for HaAm spoke of stoning him, because the nefesh of kol HaAm was marah (bitter), every ish for his banim and for his banot; but Dovid made himself chazak in Hashem Elohav.
7 And Dovid said to Evyatar HaKohen Ben Achimelech, Bring me now here the Ephod. And Evyatar brought the Ephod to Dovid.
8 And Dovid inquired of Hashem, saying, Shall I pursue after this gedood? Shall I overtake it? And He answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake, and without fail save.
9 So Dovid went, he and shesh me’ot ish that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10 But Dovid pursued, he and arba me’ot ish; for two hundred stayed behind, which were so exhausted that they could not go over the brook Besor.
11 And they found an Egyptian in the sadeh, and brought him to Dovid, gave him lechem, and he did eat; they made him drink mayim;
12 And they gave him a piece of pressed fig cake, and two raisin cakes; and when he had eaten, his ruach returned to him; for he had eaten no lechem, nor drunk any mayim, shloshah yamim and shloshah lailot.
13 And Dovid said unto him, To whom belongest thou? And from where art thou? And he said, I am a na’ar Mitzri, eved to an Amaleki; and my adon left me, because yamim sheloshah ago I fell sick.
14 We made a raid upon the south of the Kereti, and upon the territory of Yehudah, and upon the south of Kalev; and we burned Tziklag with eish.
15 And Dovid said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this gedood? And he said, Swear unto me by Elohim, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my adon, and I will lead thee down to this gedood.
16 And when he had led him down, hinei, they were spread out over the surface of kol ha’aretz, eating and drinking, and revelling, because of all the great plunder that they had taken from Eretz Pelishtim, and from Eretz Yehudah.
17 And Dovid struck them from the neshef (twilight, evening) even unto the erev of the next day; and there escaped not an ish of them, except four hundred na’ar, which rode off upon gemalim, and fled.
18 And Dovid recovered all that Amalek had carried away; and Dovid saved his two nashim.
19 And there was nothing of them missing, lacking neither katon nor gadol, neither banim nor banot, neither plunder, nor anything that they had taken for them; Dovid recovered all.
20 And Dovid took all the tzon and the bakar, which they drove before those other mikneh, and said, This is shalal Dovid (the plunder of David).
21 And Dovid came to the two hundred anashim, which were so exhausted that they could not follow Dovid, whom they had left behind also at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet Dovid, and to meet HaAm that were with him; and when Dovid came near to the people, he gave them a shalom greeting.
22 Then answered all the ish rah and the Beliyaal among the anashim of those that went with Dovid, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them any of the shalal that we have recovered, except to every ish his isha and his banim, that they may take them and leave.
23 Then said Dovid, Ye shall not do so, my achim, with that which Hashem hath given us, Who hath been shomer over us, and delivered the gedood that came against us into our yad.
24 For who will pay heed unto you in this matter? But as his chelek is that goeth down to the milchamah (battle), so shall his chelek be that tarrieth by the kelim (supplies): their chelek they shall share alike.
25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a chok (statute) and a mishpat for Yisroel unto this day.
26 And when Dovid came to Tziklag, he sent of the shalal (plunder) unto the Ziknei Yehudah, even to his re’im (friends), saying, Hinei, a brocha for you of the shalal (plunder) of the oyevim of Hashem;
27 To them which were in Beit-El, and to them which were in Ramot of the South, and to them which were in Yatir,
28 And to them which were in Aro’er, and to them which were in Siphmot, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Yerachme’eli, and to them which were in the cities of the Keni,
30 And to them which were in Chormah, and to them which were in Chor-Ashan, and to them which were in Atach,
31 And to them which were in Chevron, and to all the mekomot (places) where Dovid himself and his anashim were accustomed to visit.
31 Now the Pelishtim fought against Yisroel; and the anshei Yisroel fled from before the Pelishtim, and fell down chalalim (slain ones) on Mt Gilboa.
2 And the Pelishtim followed hard upon Sha’ul and upon his banim; and the Pelishtim slaughtered Yehonatan [Yonatan], and Avinadav, and Malki Shua, the Bnei Sha’ul.
3 And the milchamah became intense against Sha’ul, and the archers overtook him; and he was mortally wounded by the archers.
4 Then said Sha’ul unto his noseh keli (armor bearer), Draw thy cherev, and thrust me through therewith; lest these arelim (uncircumcised ones) come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his noseh keli would not; for he was very afraid. Therefore Sha’ul took a cherev, and fell upon it.
5 And when his noseh keli saw that Sha’ul was dead, he fell likewise upon his cherev, and died with him.
6 So Sha’ul died, and his shloshet banim, and his noseh keli, and kol anashim of him, that same day together.
7 And when the anshei Yisroel that were on the other side of the emek (valley), and they that were on the other side of the Yarden, saw that the anshei Yisroel fled, and that Sha’ul and his banim were dead, they abandoned the towns, and fled; and the Pelishtim came and took occupation of them.
8 And it came to pass on the next day, when the Pelishtim came to strip the chalalim, that they found Sha’ul and his shloshet banim fallen on Mt Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his rosh (head), and stripped off his keli, and sent through eretz Pelishtim all around, to publish it in the bais atzabim, and among the people.
10 And they put his keli in the Bais Ashtarot; and they hung up his body on the chomat Beit Shan.
11 And when the inhabitants of Yavesh Gilead heard of that which the Pelishtim had done to Sha’ul;
12 kol ish chayil arose, and went kol halailah, and took the geviyyat Sha’ul and the geviyyot of his banim from the chomat Beit Shan, and came to Yavesh, and cremated them there.
13 And they took their atzmot, and buried them under a tree at Yavesh, and underwent a tzom shivat yamim.
18 (For the one directing. Of Dovid Eved Hashem who sang to Hashem the lyrics of this shirah on the day Hashem delivered him from the hand of all his oyevim and from the hand of Sha’ul; and he said) I will love Thee, Hashem, my strength.
2 (3) Hashem is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; Eli my Tzur (rock), in whom I take refuge; my mogen, and the keren of my salvation, and my misgav (high place as a refuge).
3 (4) I will call upon Hashem, Who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from mine oyevim.
4 (5) The chevlei mavet entangled me, and the floods of Beliya’al terrorized me.
5 (6) The chevlei Sheol snaked around me; the snares of mavet confronted me.
6 (7) In my distress I called upon Hashem, and cried unto Elohai; He heard my voice out of His Heikhal, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.
7 (8) Ha’aretz shook and trembled; the foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because He was angry.
8 (9) Smoke went up from His nostrils, and eish out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.
9 (10) He parted Shomayim, and descended, and dark clouds were under His feet.
10 (11) And He rode upon a keruv (cherub), and did fly; yea, He soared upon the wings of the ruach.
11 (12) He made choshech His secret place; His sukkah round about Him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 (13) Out of the brightness that was before Him there broke through barad (hailstones) and coals of eish out of His clouds.
13 (14) Hashem also thundered in Shomayim, and Elyon gave His voice amid barad and coals of eish.
14 (15) Yea, He sent out His khitzim (arrows), and scattered them; and He shot out great lightning bolts, and did put them to rout.
15 (16) Then the channels of waters were exposed, and the foundations of the tevel (world) were laid bare at Thy rebuke, Hashem, at the blast of the ruach of Thy nostrils.
16 (17) He sent from on high, He took hold of me, He drew me out of mayim rabbim (many waters).
17 (18) He delivered me from my strong oyev, and from them which hated me; for they were too strong for me.
18 (19) They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but Hashem was my stay.
19 (20) He brought me forth also into a place merkhav (spacious); He delivered me, because He delighted in me.
20 (21) Hashem dealt with me according to my tzedek; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He recompensed me.
21 (22) For I have been shomer regarding the Darkhei Hashem, and have not wickedly departed from Elohai.
22 (23) For all His mishpatim were before me, and I did not put away His chukkot from me.
23 (24) I was also tamim (blameless) before Him, and I kept myself from mine avon.
24 (25) Therefore hath Hashem recompensed me according to my tzedek, according to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.
25 (26) With the chasid Thou wilt show Thyself chesed; with a perfect man Thou wilt show Thyself perfect;
26 (27) With the pure Thou wilt show Thyself pure; and with the ikesh (crooked, perverted, false) Thou wilt show Thyself shrewd.
27 (28) For Thou wilt save the ani (poor); but wilt bring down low haughty looks.
28 (29) For Thou wilt light my ner; Hashem Elohai will enlighten my choshech.
29 (30) For by Thee have I scattered a troop; and by Elohai have I leaped over a wall.
30 (31) As for El, His derech is tamim (perfect); the word of Hashem is tzerufah (tested and proved flawless, inerrant); He is a mogen to all those that take refuge in Him.
31 (32) For who is Elohim besides Hashem? Or who is Tzur but Eloheinu?
32 (33) It is El that armeth me with chayil, and maketh my derech tamim (perfect).
33 (34) He maketh my raglayim like deer feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34 (35) He traineth my hands for milchamah, so that a keshet-nechushah mine arms can bend.
35 (36) Thou hast also given me the mogen of Thy salvation; and Thy right hand hath held me up, and Thy lowliness hath made me great.
36 (37) Thou hast made rakhav (broad) the place for my footsteps under me, that my ankles did not turn.
37 (38) I have pursued mine oyevim, and overtaken them; neither did I turn back till they were consumed.
38 (39) I have crushed them that they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my raglayim.
39 (40) For Thou hast armed me with chayil unto the milchamah; Thou hast made bow down under me those that rose up against me.
40 (41) Thou hast also given me the necks of mine oyevim; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41 (42) They cried for help, but there was no Moshi’a to save them, even unto Hashem, but He answered them not.
42 (43) Then did I beat them small as the dust before the ruach; I did empty them out as the dirt in the chutzot (streets).
43 (44) Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and Thou hast made me the Rosh (head) of the Goyim (nations); an Am (people) whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 (45) As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me; the Bnei Nekhar (foreigners) shall submit themselves unto me.
45 (46) The Bnei Nekhar shall fade away, and come forth trembling out of their misgerot (stongholds, fastnesses, secure places).
46 (47) Hashem chai; and baruch be my Tzur; and let the Elohei of my salvation be exalted.
47 (48) It is El that avengeth me, and subdueth the nations under me.
48 (49) He saveth me from mine oyevim; yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me; Thou hast delivered me from the ish chamas.
49 (50) Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, Hashem, among the Goyim, and sing praises unto Shimecha.
50 (51) Great deliverance giveth He to His Melech; and showeth chesed to His Moshiach, to Dovid, and to his Zera ad olam.
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