1 Kingdoms

 

Chapter 1

 

1 There was a man from Armathaim Sipha, from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, son of Jeremeel, son of Elihu, son of Thoke, in Nasib of Ephraim.

 

2 And he had two wives: the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no child.

 

3 And the man went up from year to year from his city, from Armathaim, to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord God Sabaoth at Shiloh; and there Eli and his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.

 

4 And the day came, and Elkanah sacrificed, and he gave portions to Peninnah his wife and to her sons and to her daughters;

 

5 and to Hannah he gave a single portion, because she had no child; yet Elkanah loved Hannah more than the other, though the Lord had closed her womb.

 

6 For the Lord had not given her a child, according to her affliction and according to the despondency of her affliction; and she was despondent on this account, because the Lord had shut up her womb so as not to give her a child.

 

7 So she did year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord; and she was despondent and wept and did not eat.

 

8 And Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah." And she said to him, "Here I am, lord." And he said to her, "What is it with you, that you weep? And why do you not eat? And why does your heart smite you? Am I not better to you than ten children?"

 

9 And Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and stood before the Lord; and Eli the priest was sitting on the seat at the doorposts of the temple of the Lord.

 

10 And she was deeply grieved in soul, and she prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.

 

11 And she vowed a vow to the Lord, saying, "Adonai Lord, Eloai Sabaoth, if you will indeed look upon the humiliation of your servant and remember me and give to your servant the seed of men, then I will give him before you as a gift until the day of his death; and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and no iron shall come upon his head."

 

 

12 And it happened, as she prolonged her praying before the Lord, that Eli the priest watched her mouth.

 

13 And she was speaking in her heart, and her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; and Eli reckoned her to be drunk.

 

14 And the young man of Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine and go from before the Lord."

 

15 And Hannah answered and said, "No, lord; I am a woman for whom the day is hard, and I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, and I am pouring out my soul before the Lord.

 

16 Do not take your servant for a pestilent daughter, for out of the abundance of my complaint I have continued until now."

 

17 And Eli answered and said to her, "Go in peace; may the God of Israel grant you your whole petition which you have asked of him."

 

18 And she said, "Your servant has found favor in your eyes." And the woman went her way and entered her lodging and ate with her husband and drank, and her face was downcast no longer.

 

19 And they rose early in the morning and worshiped the Lord and went their way. And Elkanah came to his house at Armathaim and knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her,

 

20 and she conceived. And it came to pass in the season of the days that she bore a son; and she called his name Samuel, and said, "Because I asked him of the Lord God Sabaoth."

 

21 And the man Elkanah went up, and all his house, to offer at Shiloh the sacrifice of the days and his vows and all the tithes of his land.

 

22 But Hannah did not go up with him, for she said to her husband, "Until the child goes up, when I have weaned him; then he shall appear before the face of the Lord and shall abide there forever."

 

23 And Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what is good in your eyes; stay until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish what has gone out of your mouth." And the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

 

24 And she went up with him to Shiloh with a three-year-old calf and loaves and an ephah of fine flour and a nebel of wine, and she entered the house of the Lord at Shiloh, and the child with them.

 

25 And they brought him before the Lord, and his father slaughtered the sacrifice which he offered from year to year to the Lord; and he brought the child near and slaughtered the calf. And Hannah the mother of the child brought him to Eli

 

26 and said, "By me, lord, as your soul lives, I am the woman who stood before you here praying to the Lord.

 

27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him.

 

28 And I lend him to the Lord all the days that he lives, a loan to the Lord." 

 

Chapter 2

 

1 And she said, "My heart has been made firm in the Lord; my horn has been exalted in my God. My mouth has been opened wide against my enemies; I have rejoiced in your salvation.

 

2 For there is none holy like the Lord, and there is none righteous like our God; there is none holy besides you.

 

3 Do not boast, and do not speak lofty things; let no arrogant speech come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and a God who prepares his own designs.

 

4 The bow of the mighty has grown weak, and the weak have girded themselves with strength.

 

5 Those full of bread have been diminished, and the hungry have left the land behind; for the barren woman has borne seven, and she who has many children has grown weak.

 

6 The Lord puts to death and brings to life; he brings down to Hades and brings up.

 

7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he humbles and exalts.

 

8 He raises the needy from the earth, and from the dunghill he lifts up the poor, to seat them with the mighty of peoples, giving them as inheritance a throne of glory.

 

9 He grants the vow to the one who vows, and he has blessed the years of the righteous; for not by strength is a man mighty.

 

10 The Lord will make his adversary weak; the Lord is holy. Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast in his might, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth; but let him who boasts boast in this: to understand and to know the Lord, and to do judgment and righteousness in the midst of the earth. The Lord has gone up into the heavens and has thundered; he will judge the ends of the earth, and he gives strength to our kings, and he will exalt the horn of his anointed."

 

11 And they left him there before the Lord and went away to Armathaim, and the boy was ministering to the face of the Lord before Eli the priest.

 

12 And the sons of Eli the priest were pestilent sons, not knowing the Lord.

 

13 And the priest's due from the people, from everyone sacrificing: the priest's servant would come, whenever the meat was boiled, with a three-pronged flesh-hook in his hand,

 

14 and he would strike it into the great cauldron or into the bronze pot or into the kettle; everything that came up on the flesh-hook, the priest would take for himself. Thus they did to all Israel who came to sacrifice to the Lord at Selom.

 

15 And before the fat was burned as incense, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat for the priest to roast, and I will not take boiled meat from you out of the cauldron."

 

16 And the man who was sacrificing would say, "Let the fat first be burned, as is fitting, and take for yourself from all that your soul desires." And he would say, "No, for you shall give it now, and if not, I will take it by force."

 

17 And the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for they despised the sacrifice of the Lord.

 

18 And Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy girded with an ephod bar,

 

19 and his mother made him a little double cloak and brought it up to him from year to year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

 

20 And Eli blessed Elkana and his wife, saying, "May the Lord repay you seed from this woman in return for the loan which you lent to the Lord." And the man went away to his own place.

 

21 And the Lord visited Anna, and she bore three more sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew great before the Lord.

 

22 And Eli was very old; and he heard what his sons were doing to the sons of Israel,

 

23 and he said to them, "Why do you do according to this thing which I hear from the mouth of all the people of the Lord?

 

24 No, children, for the report which I hear is not good; do not do so, for the reports which I hear are not good, so that the people do not serve God.

 

25 If a man sins against a man, then they shall pray for him to the Lord; but if he sins against the Lord, who shall pray for him?" And they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord earnestly desired to destroy them.

 

26 And the boy Samuel went on and grew great, and was in favor both with the Lord and with men.

 

27 And a man of God came to Eli and said, "Thus says the Lord: I plainly revealed myself to the house of your father when they were in the land of Egypt, slaves to the house of Pharaoh,

 

28 and I chose the house of your father out of all the scepters of Israel to serve me as priests, and to go up to my altar, and to burn incense, and to carry the ephod; and I gave to the house of your father all the offerings by fire of the sons of Israel for food.

 

29 And why have you looked upon my incense and upon my sacrifice with a shameless eye, and honored your sons above me, to be blessed with the firstfruits of every sacrifice of Israel before me?

 

30 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I said, Your house and the house of your father shall pass before me forever. But now the Lord says: Far be it from me; for I will honor those who honor me, and he who despises me shall be dishonored.

 

31 Behold, days are coming when I will utterly destroy your seed and the seed of your father's house,

 

32 and you shall not have an old man in my house all the days.

 

33 And I will not cut off a man of yours from my altar, so that his eyes may fail and his soul waste away; and everyone remaining of your house shall fall by the sword of men.

 

34 And this shall be the sign for you, which shall come upon these two sons of yours, Ophni and Phinees: in one day they shall both die.

 

35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do all that is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build him a faithful house, and he shall walk before my anointed all the days.

 

36 And it shall be that he who remains in your house shall come to bow down to him for an obol of silver, saying, 'Cast me into one of your priestly offices to eat bread.'" 

 

Chapter 3

 

1 And the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Heli the priest; and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no vision that made things clear.

 

2 And it happened on that day that Heli was sleeping in his place, and his eyes had begun to grow heavy, and he could not see,

 

3 and the lamp of God, before it was tended—and Samuel was sleeping in the temple, where the ark of God was

 

4 and the Lord called, "Samuel, Samuel!" And he said, "Here I am."

 

5 And he ran to Heli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call you; go back, sleep." And he went back and slept.

 

6 And the Lord did so again and called, "Samuel, Samuel!" And he went to Heli a second time and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call you; go back, sleep."

 

7 And Samuel had not yet come to know God, nor had the word of the Lord been revealed to him.

 

8 And the Lord called Samuel yet again, a third time. And he arose and went to Heli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And Heli perceived that the Lord had called the boy,

 

9 and he said, "Go back, sleep, child, and it shall be, if he calls you, then you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" And Samuel went and lay down in his place.

 

10 And the Lord came and stood there and called him as before, again and again, and Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

 

11 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am doing my words in Israel, such that, for everyone who hears them, both his ears will ring.

 

12 On that day I will raise up against Heli everything that I said concerning his house; I will begin and I will finish.

 

13 And I have declared to him that I am avenging his house forever for the injustices of his sons, because his sons were speaking evil of God, and he did not admonish them, not even so.

 

14 I have sworn to the house of Heli: the injustice of the house of Heli shall never be atoned for, with incense or with sacrifices, forever."

 

15 And Samuel slept until morning, and he rose early in the morning and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel was afraid to report the vision to Heli.

 

16 And Heli said to Samuel, "Samuel, child." And he said, "Here I am."

 

17 And he said, "What is the word that was spoken to you? Do not hide it from me. May God do such things to you and add such things, if you hide from me a word out of all the words that were spoken to you in your ears."

 

18 And Samuel reported all the words and did not hide them from him, and Heli said, "The Lord himself; he will do what is good before him."

 

19 And Samuel grew great, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground.

 

20 And all Israel, from Dan and as far as Bersabee, knew that Samuel was trustworthy as a prophet to the Lord.

 

21 And the Lord continued to make himself manifest in Selom, for the Lord was revealed to Samuel; and Samuel was believed to have become a prophet to the Lord for all Israel from the ends of the earth even to the ends. And Heli was very old, and his sons kept going on in their way, and their way was wicked before the Lord. 

 

Chapter 4

 

1 And it came to pass in those days that the foreigners gathered themselves together for war against Israel; and Israel went out to meet them for battle, and they encamp at Abenezer, and the foreigners encamp in Aphek.

 

2 And the foreigners draw up in battle order against Israel; and the battle turned, and the men of Israel were struck down before the foreigners, and there were smitten in the battle line in the field four thousand men.

 

3 And the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, "Why has the Lord struck us down today before the foreigners? Let us take the ark of our God from Shiloh, and let it go out in our midst, and it will save us from the hand of our enemies."

 

4 And the people sent to Shiloh, and they take up from there the ark of the Lord who is seated upon the cherubim; and both the sons of Eli were with the ark, Ophni and Phinees.

 

5 And it came to pass, when the ark of the Lord came into the camp, that all Israel cried out with a loud voice, and the earth resounded.

 

6 And the foreigners heard the outcry, and the foreigners said, "What is this great outcry in the camp of the Hebrews?" And they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp.

 

7 And the foreigners were afraid and said, "These gods have come to them into the camp. Woe to us! Deliver us, Lord, today, for nothing like this has happened yesterday or the day before.

 

8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck Egypt with every plague, and in the wilderness.

 

9 Be strong and become men, O foreigners, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were slaves to us; and you shall be men and fight them."

 

10 And they fought them; and the men of Israel are struck down, and each fled to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand of the ranks.

 

11 And the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Eli died, Ophni and Phinees.

 

12And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh on that day, and his garments were torn, and there was earth upon his head.

 

13 And he came, and behold, Eli was sitting upon the seat by the gate, watching the road, for his heart was in a state of dismay concerning the ark of God. And the man entered the city to report, and the city cried out.

 

14 And Eli heard the sound of the crying and said, "What is this sound of crying?" And the man hastened and came in and reported to Eli.

 

15 And Eli was ninety years old, and his eyes had failed, and he could not see. And Eli said to the men standing about him, "What is the sound of this noise?"

 

16 And the man hastened and came to Eli and said to him, "I am the one who has come from the camp, and I have fled today from the battle line." And he said, "What is the thing that has happened, child?"

 

17 And the young man answered and said, "The men of Israel have fled before the foreigners, and there was a great slaughter among the people, and both your sons are dead, and the ark of God has been taken."

 

18 And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of God, that he fell from the seat backwards beside the gate, and his back was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy; and he had judged Israel twenty years.

 

19And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinees, was pregnant and about to give birth; and she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, and she crouched down and gave birth, for her birth pangs came upon her.

 

20 And in her hour she dies, and the women who stood by her said to her, "Do not fear, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer, and her heart did not understand.

 

21 And she called the child Ouai-barchaboth, on account of the ark of God and on account of her father-in-law and on account of her husband.

 

22 And they said, "The glory of Israel has been carried away, in that the ark of the Lord has been taken." 

 

Chapter 5

 

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Abennezer to Azotus.

 

2 And the Philistines took the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it beside Dagon.

 

3 And the Azotians rose early and went into the house of Dagon, and looked, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of God; and they raised up Dagon and set him in his place. And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he tormented them and struck them in their seats, Azotus and its borders.

 

4 And it came to pass when they rose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off, each upon the threshold, and both the wrists of his hands had fallen on the porch; only the trunk of Dagon was left.

 

5 Therefore the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the house of Dagon do not step on the threshold of the house of Dagon in Azotus to this day, but stepping over they step over it.

 

6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon Azotus, and he brought upon them and it broke out upon them into the ships, and in the midst of its land mice sprang up, and there was a great confusion of death in the city.

 

7 And the men of Azotus saw that it was so, and they say, "The ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us, for his hand is hard upon us and upon Dagon our god."

 

8 And they send and gather the satraps of the Philistines to them and say, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And the Gittites say, "Let the ark of God come over to us." And the ark of God came over to Geth.

 

9 And it came to pass after it came over, that the hand of the Lord comes upon the city, an exceedingly great tumult, and he struck the men of the city from small to great, and struck them in their seats, and the Gittites made for themselves seats.

 

10 And they send away the ark of God to Ascalon; and it came to pass, as the ark of God entered Ascalon, that the Ascalonites cried out, saying, "Why have you brought back to us the ark of the God of Israel, to put us and our people to death?"

 

11 And they send and gather the satraps of the Philistines, and they said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it sit in its own place, and let it not put us and our people to death"; for there was a confusion of death in the whole city, exceedingly heavy, when the ark of the God of Israel entered there,

 

12 and the living who did not die were struck in their seats, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. 

  

Chapter 6

 

1 And the ark was in the country of the Philistines seven months, and their land swarmed with mice.

 

2 And the Philistines call their priests and their diviners and their enchanters, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Make known to us by what means we shall send it away to its place."

 

3 And they said, "If you send away the ark of the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague, and then you shall be healed, and atonement shall be made for you; will not his hand then depart from you?"

 

4 And they say, "What is the offering for the plague that we shall render to it?" And they said, "According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden tumors, for one calamity was upon you and upon your rulers and upon the people,

 

5 and golden mice, a likeness of your mice that destroy the land; and you shall give glory to the Lord, that he may lighten his hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.

 

6 And why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Was it not when he made sport of them that they sent them away, and they departed?

 

7 Now therefore take and make a new cart and two milch cows that have calved for the first time, without their young, and yoke the cows to the cart, and lead their young home away from behind them.

 

8 And you shall take the ark and set it upon the cart, and the golden vessels you shall render to it as an offering for the plague, and you shall put them in a coffer, bersechthan, at its side, and you shall send it away and drive it off, and it will go.

 

9 And you shall watch: if it goes on the way to its own borders, toward Baithsamys, then he has done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that has touched us, but this has happened to us by chance."

 

10 And the Philistines did so, and took two milch cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the cart, and shut up their young at home,

 

11 and they set the ark upon the cart, and the coffer ergab and the golden mice.

 

12 And the cows went straight on the road, on the way to Baithsamys; they went along one path, lowing as they went, and turned aside neither to the right nor to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after it as far as the borders of Baithsamys.

 

13 And those in Baithsamys were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it.

 

14 And the cart came into the field of Hosee, which is in Baithsamys, and they set up there beside it a great stone; and they split the wood of the cart, and offered up the cows as a whole burnt offering to the Lord.

 

15 And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord and the coffer ergab with it, and the golden vessels that were upon it, and set them upon the great stone; and the men of Baithsamys offered up whole burnt offerings and sacrifices on that day to the Lord.

 

16 And the five lords of the Philistines saw it, and returned to Ascalon on that day.

 

17 And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines rendered as an offering for the plague to the Lord: one for Azotus, one for Gaza, one for Ascalon, one for Geth, one for Akkaron.

 

18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines of the five lords, from fortified city even to the village of the Pherezite, and even to the great stone whereon they set the ark of the covenant of the Lord, which is in the field of Hosee the Baithsamysite.

 

19 And the sons of Jechonias did not rejoice among the men of Baithsamys, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord; and he smote among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men. And the people mourned, because the Lord smote among the people a very great blow.

 

20 And the men of Baithsamys said, "Who shall be able to pass through before the Lord, this holy one? And to whom shall the ark of the Lord go up from us?"

 

21 And they send messengers to the inhabitants of Kariathiarim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to yourselves." 

 

Chapter 7

 

1 And the men of Kariathiarim come and bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and bring it into the house of Aminadab, the one on the hill; and Eleazar his son they consecrated to guard the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

 

2 And it came to pass, from the day that the ark was in Kariathiarim, the days multiplied and became twenty years, and all the house of Israel looked after the Lord.

 

3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying: If with your whole heart you are turning back to the Lord, remove the foreign gods from among you, and the sacred groves, and prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve him alone, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the foreigners.

 

4 And the sons of Israel removed the Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord alone.

 

5 And Samuel said: Gather all Israel together at Massephath, and I will pray for you to the Lord.

 

6 And they were gathered at Massephath and they draw water and poured it out before the Lord upon the ground, and they fasted on that day and said: We have sinned before the Lord; and Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Massephath.

 

7 And the foreigners heard that all the sons of Israel had been gathered together at Massephath, and the satraps of the foreigners went up against Israel; and the sons of Israel hear, and they were afraid before the face of the foreigners.

 

8 And the sons of Israel said to Samuel: Do not keep silence toward us, so as not to cry out to the Lord your God, and he will save us out of the hand of the foreigners.

 

9 And Samuel took one suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering together with all the people to the Lord, and Samuel cried out to the Lord concerning Israel, and the Lord hearkened to him.

 

10 And Samuel was offering up the whole burnt offering, and the foreigners were drawing near for battle against Israel. And the Lord thundered with a great voice on that day upon the foreigners, and they were thrown into confusion and were routed before Israel.

 

11 And the men of Israel went out from Massephath and pursued the foreigners and struck them down as far as below Baithchor.

 

12 And Samuel took one stone and set it up between Massephath and the old city, and called its name Abenezer, Stone of the helper, and said: Thus far the Lord has helped us.

 

13 And the Lord humbled the foreigners, and they no longer continued to come against the territory of Israel; and the hand of the Lord was upon the foreigners all the days of Samuel.

 

14 And the cities which the foreigners had taken from the sons of Israel were given back, and they returned them to Israel from Ascalon as far as Azob, and they took away the territory of Israel out of the hand of the foreigners. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorite.

 

15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life;

 

16 and he used to go year by year and go around Baithel and Galgala and Massephath, and he judged Israel in all these consecrated places,

 

17 and his return was to Armathaim, because there was his house, and there he judged Israel and there he built an altar to the Lord. 

 

Chapter 8

 

1 And it happened, when Samuel had grown old, that he appointed his sons as judges for Israel.

 

2 And these are the names of his sons: the firstborn Joel, and the name of the second Abia, judges in Bersabee.

 

3 And his sons did not walk in his way, but turned aside after gain, and they took gifts and perverted judgments.

 

4 And the men of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Armathaim to Samuel,

 

5 and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your way; so now appoint over us a king to judge us, just as the rest of the nations also have."

 

6 And the matter was evil in the eyes of Samuel, that they said, "Give us a king to judge us"; and Samuel prayed to the Lord.

 

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people, according to whatever they may say to you; for it is not you they have set at naught, but rather me they have set at naught, that I should not be king over them.

 

8 According to all the deeds which they have done to me from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day and they forsook me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

 

9 And now listen to their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and shall declare to them the right of the king who will be king over them."

 

10 And Samuel spoke every word of the Lord to the people who were asking of him a king,

 

11 and he said, "This shall be the right of the king who will be king over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and his horsemen and to run before his chariots,

 

12 and to appoint them for himself as commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and to reap his harvest and to gather his vintage and to make his weapons of war and the gear of his chariots.

 

13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

 

14 And your fields and your vineyards and your good olive orchards he will take and give to his slaves.

 

15 And of your seed and your vineyards he will take a tenth and will give it to his eunuchs and to his slaves.

 

16 And your male slaves and your female slaves and your good herds of cattle and your donkeys he will take, and he will take a tenth for his works.

 

17 And your flocks he will tithe; and you yourselves will be slaves to him.

 

18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in those days, because you have chosen for yourselves a king."

 

19 But the people were not willing to listen to Samuel, and they said to him, "No, but rather there shall be a king over us,

 

20 and we too shall be like all the nations, and our king will judge us and will go out before us and will fight our war."

 

21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people and spoke them into the ears of the Lord.

 

22 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and set a king to reign over them." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Let each one go off to his own city." 

  

Chapter 9

 

1 And there was a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name was Kis, son of Abiel, son of Sared, son of Bachir, son of Aphek, son of a Iemenite man, a mighty man.

 

2 And he had a son, and his name was Saoul, of great stature, a goodly man, and there was not among the sons of Israel a goodlier one than he: from his shoulder and upward he was taller than all the land.

 

3 And the she-asses of Kis, Saoul's father, were lost, and Kis said to Saoul his son, "Take with you one of the servant lads, and arise and go and seek the she-asses."

 

4 And they went through the hill country of Ephraim, and they went through the land of Selcha, and they did not find them; and they went through the land of Easakem, and they were not there; and they went through the land of Iakim, and they did not find them.

 

5 When they had come to Siph, then Saoul said to his lad who was with him, "Come, let us turn back, lest my father let go of concern for the she-asses and be anxious about us."

 

6 And the lad said to him, "Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he may say will surely come to pass. And now let us go, that he may tell us our way, on which we have set out."

 

7 And Saoul said to his lad who was with him, "And behold, if we go, what shall we bring to the man of God? For the loaves have run out from our vessels, and there is nothing more with us to bring in to the man of God from what we have."

 

8 And the lad answered Saoul again and said, "Behold, there is found in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver, and you shall give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way."

 

9 And formerly in Israel each man used to say this when going to inquire of God: "Come, let us go to the one who sees"; for the people formerly called the prophet "the one who sees."

 

10 And Saoul said to his lad, "The word is good; come, let us go." And they went to the city where the man of God was.

 

11 As they were going up the ascent of the city, they came upon the girls who had come out to draw water, and they said to them, "Is the one who sees here?"

 

12 And the girls answered them and said to them, "He is; behold, he is right before you. Just now, because of the day, he has come to the city, for there is a sacrifice today for the people at Bama.

 

13 As soon as you enter the city, so you will find him in the city before he goes up to Bama to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes in, because he blesses the sacrifice, and after that the guests eat. So now go up, for because of the day you will find him."

 

14 And they go up to the city. As they were entering into the middle of the city, behold, Samouel came out to meet them, to go up to Bama.

 

15 And the Lord had uncovered Samouel's ear one day before Saoul came to him, saying,

 

16 "At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler over my people Israel, and he will save my people out of the hand of the foreigners; for I have looked upon the humiliation of my people, because their cry has come to me."

 

17 And Samouel saw Saoul; and the Lord answered him, "Behold the man of whom I spoke to you: this one shall rule over my people."

 

18 And Saoul approached Samouel in the middle of the city and said, "Tell me, pray, which is the house of the one who sees?"

 

19 And Samouel answered Saoul and said, "I myself am he. Go up before me to Bama and eat with me today, and I will send you off in the morning, and I will tell you all that is in your heart.

 

20 And as for your she-asses that were lost three days ago, do not set your heart upon them, for they have been found. And to whom belong the fair things of Israel? Are they not yours and your father's house's?"

 

21 And Saoul answered and said, "Am I not the son of a Iemenite man, of the smallest tribe of the tribes of Israel, and of the least clan of the whole tribe of Benjamin? And why have you spoken to me according to this word?"

 

22 And Samouel took Saoul and his lad and brought them into the lodging and gave them a place among the first of those who had been invited, about seventy men.

 

23 And Samouel said to the cook, "Give me the portion that I gave you, which I told you to set aside beside you."

 

24 And the cook lifted up the thigh and set it before Saoul; and Samouel said to Saoul, "Behold what is left over; set it before yourself and eat, for it has been placed for you as a testimony, above the others. Break off a piece." And Saoul ate with Samouel on that day.

 

25 And he came down from Bama into the city; and they spread a bed for Saoul on the housetop,

 

26 and he slept. And it happened, as the dawn was coming up, that Samouel called Saoul on the housetop, saying, "Arise, and I will send you off." And Saoul arose, and he and Samouel went out to the outskirts.

 

27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, then Samouel said to Saoul, "Tell the young man to go on ahead of us, and you stand still, as today, and hear the word of God." 

  

Chapter 10

 

1 And Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him and said to him, "Has not the Lord anointed you as ruler over his people, over Israel? And you shall rule among the people of the Lord, and you shall save him from the hand of his enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you as ruler over his inheritance:

 

2 when you depart from me today, you shall also find two men by the tombs of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin, leaping mightily, and they will say to you, 'The donkeys that you went to seek have been found; and behold, your father has put away the matter of the donkeys and is greatly troubled on your account, saying, What shall I do about my son?'

 

3 And you shall go away from there, and beyond you shall come as far as the oak of Thabor, and you shall find there three men going up to God at Baithel, one carrying three kids, and one carrying three vessels of loaves, and one carrying a skin of wine.

 

4 And they will greet you with words of peace and will give you two firstfruits of bread, and you shall take them from their hand.

 

5 And after these things you shall enter into the hill of God, where the garrison of the foreigners is, there Nasib the foreigner; and it shall be, as you enter there into the city, that you shall meet a company of prophets coming down from Bama, and before them a harp and a drum and a pipe and a lyre, and they prophesying.

 

6 And the spirit of the Lord shall leap upon you, and you shall prophesy with them and shall be turned into another man.

 

7 And it shall be, when these signs come upon you, do all that your hand may find, for God is with you.

 

8 And you shall go down before Galgala, and behold, I am coming down to you to offer up a whole burnt offering and peace sacrifices; seven days you shall wait until I come to you, and I will make known to you what you shall do."

 

9And it came to pass, as he turned his shoulder to go away from Samuel, that God changed his heart into another; and all the signs came in that day.

 

10 And he comes from there to the hill, and behold, a company of prophets over against him; and the spirit of God leapt upon him, and he prophesied in their midst.

 

11 And all who had known him formerly came and saw, and behold, he himself was in the midst of the prophets; and the people said, each man to his neighbor, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kis? Is Saul also among prophets?"

 

12 And one of them answered and said, "And who is his father?" Therefore it became a proverb: "Is Saul also among prophets?"

 

13 And he ceased prophesying and comes to the hill.

 

14 And his kinsman said to him and to his servant lad, "Where did you go?" And they said, "To seek the donkeys; and we saw that they were not to be found, and we went in to Samuel."

 

15 And the kinsman said to Saul, "Tell me, then, what Samuel said to you."

 

16 And Saul said to his kinsman, "He plainly told me that the donkeys have been found." But the matter of the kingship he did not tell him.

 

17And Samuel commanded all the people to come to the Lord at Massepha,

 

18 and he said to the sons of Israel, "Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: 'I brought up the sons of Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of Pharao king of Egypt and out of all the kingdoms that oppressed you;

 

19 but you today have made nothing of God, who himself is your savior out of all your evils and your afflictions, and you said, "No, but rather you shall set a king over us." And now take your stand before the Lord according to your tribes and according to your clans.'"

 

20 And Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot;

 

21 and he brings forward the tribe of Benjamin by clans, and the clan of Mattari was taken by lot; and they bring forward the clan of Mattari man by man, and Saul son of Kis was taken by lot. And he sought him, and he was not found.

 

22 And Samuel inquired further of the Lord, "Is the man coming here?" And the Lord said, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

 

23 And he ran and takes him from there and set him in the midst of the people, and he was taller than all the people from the shoulder upward.

 

24 And Samuel said to all the people, "Have you seen him whom the Lord has chosen for himself, that there is none like him among you all?" And all the people understood and said, "Long live the king!"

 

25 And Samuel told the people the ordinance of the king, and he wrote it in a book and placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent away all the people, and each went off to his own place.

 

26 And Saul went off to his house at Gabaa; and there went with Saul men of valor, whose hearts the Lord had touched.

 

27 But pestilent fellows said, "What, will this man save us?" And they dishonored him and brought him no gifts. 

 

Chapter 11

 

1 And it came to pass about a month later that Naas the Ammanite went up and encamped against Jabis Galaad. And all the men of Jabis said to Naas the Ammanite, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you."

 

2 And Naas the Ammanite said to them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you: that I gouge out every right eye of yours, and I will lay a reproach upon Israel."

 

3 And the men of Jabis said to him, "Give us seven days' respite, and we will send messengers into all the territory of Israel; if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you."

 

4 And the messengers came to Gabaa, to Saul, and spoke the words in the ears of the people, and all the people lifted up their voice and wept.

 

5 And behold, Saul was coming in from the field after the morning, and Saul said, "Why is the people weeping?" And they related to him the words of the men of Jabis.

 

6 And the spirit of the Lord leapt upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled against them.

 

7 And he took two oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them into all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, thus shall they do to his oxen." And a terror of the Lord came upon the people of Israel, and they cried out as one man.

 

8 And Abiezek mustered them at Bama: every man of Israel, six hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, seventy thousand.

 

9 And he said to the messengers who had come, "Thus shall you say to the men of Jabis: 'Tomorrow you shall have deliverance, when the sun is hot.'" And the messengers came to the city and reported to the men of Jabis, and they rejoiced.

 

10 And the men of Jabis said to Naas the Ammanite, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you shall do to us whatever is good in your sight."

 

11 And it came to pass on the morrow that Saul set the people in three companies, and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the sons of Ammon until the day grew hot; and those who were left were scattered, and there were not left among them two together.

 

12 And the people said to Samuel, "Who is it that said, 'Saul shall not reign over us'? Hand over the men, and we will put them to death."

 

13 And Saul said, "No one shall die on this day, for today the Lord has wrought deliverance in Israel."

 

14 And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, "Let us go to Galgala and there renew the kingdom."

 

15 And all the people went to Galgala, and Samuel there anointed Saul as king before the Lord in Galgala, and he offered there sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord; and Samuel and all Israel rejoiced exceedingly. 

  

Chapter 12

 

1 And Samuel said to every man of Israel, "Behold, I have listened to your voice in everything you said to me, and I have set a king over you.

 

2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I have grown old and will sit still, and my sons, behold, are among you; and I, behold, have walked before you from my youth until this day.

 

3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed: whose calf have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom of you have I oppressed, or whom have I extorted, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe or a sandal? Testify against me, and I will restore it to you."

 

4 And they said to Samuel, "You have not wronged us, nor oppressed us, nor crushed us, nor have you taken anything from anyone's hand."

 

5 And Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is witness among you, and his anointed is witness today, on this day, that you have found nothing in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."

 

6 And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, "The Lord is witness, who made Moses and Aaron, who brought our fathers up out of Egypt.

 

7 And now stand still, and I will plead with you before the Lord, and I will declare to you all the righteousness of the Lord, which he did among you and among your fathers:

 

8 when Jacob and his sons went into Egypt, and Egypt humbled them, and our fathers cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and brought our fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

 

9 And they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hands of Sisera, commander of the army of Jabin king of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

 

10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, 'We have sinned, because we forsook the Lord and served the Baals and the groves; and now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.'

 

11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt in security.

 

12 And you saw that Nahash, king of the sons of Ammon, came against you, and you said, 'No, but a king shall reign over us'—though the Lord our God was our king.

 

13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen; and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

 

14 If you fear the Lord and serve him and listen to his voice and do not contend with the mouth of the Lord, and both you and the king who reigns over you walk after the Lord

 

15 but if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord and contend with the mouth of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be upon you and upon your king.

 

16 And now stand still and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

 

17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain; and know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done before the Lord in asking for yourselves a king."

 

18 And Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain on that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

 

19 And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for ourselves a king."

 

20 And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear; you have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart,

 

21 and do not turn aside after the things that are nothing, which will accomplish nothing and will not deliver, because they are nothing.

 

22 For the Lord will not cast off his people, for the sake of his great name, because the Lord has graciously taken you to himself as a people.

 

23 And as for me, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will serve the Lord and will show you the good and straight way.

 

24 Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth and with all your heart, for you have seen the great things he has done with you.

 

25 But if you do evil in wickedness, both you and your king will be swept away." 

 

Chapter 13

 

2 And Saul chose for himself three thousand men out of the men of Israel; and two thousand were with Saul in Machemas and in the mountain of Baithel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gabee of Benjamin; and the remainder of the people he sent away, each man to his tent.

 

3 And Jonathan smote Nasib the Philistine who was on the hill; and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul sounded the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, The slaves have revolted.

 

4 And all Israel heard men saying, Saul has smitten Nasib the Philistine; and Israel was put to shame before the Philistines. And the people cried out after Saul at Galgala.

 

5 And the Philistines gathered together for war against Israel, and there came up against Israel thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and a people like the sand by the sea in multitude; and they came up and encamped at Machemas, opposite Baithon, toward the south.

 

6 And the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, so that they could not draw near; and the people hid themselves in the caves and in the sheepfolds and in the rocks and in the pits and in the cisterns.

 

7 And those who crossed over crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Galaad. And Saul was still at Galgala, and all the people were dismayed behind him.

 

8 And he waited seven days for the appointed testimony, as Samuel had said; and Samuel did not come to Galgala, and his people were scattered from him.

 

9 And Saul said, Bring them near, that I may offer a whole burnt offering and peace offerings; and he offered up the whole burnt offering.

 

10 And it came to pass, when he had finished offering the whole burnt offering, that Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him, to bless him.

 

11 And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and you did not come, as you had appointed, at the testimony of the days, and the Philistines were gathered at Machemas,

 

12 then I said, Now the Philistines will come down against me to Galgala, and I have not entreated the face of the Lord; so I forced myself and offered up the whole burnt offering.

 

13 And Samuel said to Saul, It has been done foolishly by you, because you did not keep my commandment, which the Lord commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever;

 

14 but now your kingdom shall not stand, and the Lord will seek for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord will appoint him as ruler over his people, because you did not keep all that the Lord commanded you.

 

15 And Samuel arose and departed from Galgala on his way. And the remnant of the people went up after Saul to meet the people of war. When they had come from Galgala to Gabaa of Benjamin, Saul numbered the people found with him, about six hundred men.

 

16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people found with them stayed in Gabee of Benjamin and wept; and the Philistines had encamped at Machemas.

 

17 And raiders went out from the field of the Philistines in three companies: one company facing the road of Gophera toward the land of Sogal,

 

18 and one company facing the road of Baithoron, and one company facing the road of Gabee, which looks down upon Gai of Sabin.

 

19 And no smith of iron was found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make sword or spear.

 

20 And all Israel went down to the land of the Philistines to forge, each man his sickle and his implement, and each man his axe and his pruning hook.

 

21 And the harvest was ready for reaping; and the charge for the tools was three shekels for a tooth, and for the axe and the pruning hook the rate was the same.

 

22 And it came to pass in the days of the war of Machemas, that neither sword nor spear was found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and with Jonathan; but they were found with Saul and with Jonathan his son.

 

23 And there went out some of the garrison of the Philistines to the place beyond Machemas. 

 

Chapter 14

 

1 And day comes, and Jonathan son of Saul said to the lad who carried his gear, "Come, and let us cross over to the messab of the foreigners that is on that further side"; but he did not tell his father.

 

2 And Saul was sitting at the top of the hill under the pomegranate tree that is in Magdon, and there were with him about six hundred men;

 

3 and Achia son of Achitob, brother of Iochabed son of Phinees son of Heli, priest of God in Selom, bearing an ephoud. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

 

4 And in the midst of the crossing, where Jonathan sought to cross over to the outpost of the foreigners, there was a crag of rock on this side and a crag of rock on that side; the name of the one was Bazes and the name of the other Senna.

 

5 The one road comes from the north as one goes to Machmas, and the other road from the south as one goes to Gabee.

 

6 And Jonathan said to the lad who carried his gear, "Come, let us cross over to the messab of these uncircumcised men, in the hope that the Lord may do something for us; for there is nothing to constrain the Lord from saving by many or by few."

 

7 And his gear-bearer said to him, "Do all that your heart inclines to; behold, I am with you: as your heart is, so is my heart."

 

8 And Jonathan said, "Behold, we are crossing over to the men, and we shall roll down upon them.

 

9 If they say this to us, 'Stay away there until we report to you,' then we shall stand still where we are and shall not go up against them;

 

10 but if they say this to us, 'Come up to us,' then we shall go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hands; this is the sign for us."

 

11 And they both went into the messab of the foreigners; and the foreigners say, "Behold, the Hebrews are coming out of their holes, where they hid themselves."

 

12 And the men of the messab answered Jonathan and the one carrying his gear, and they say, "Come up to us, and we will make a matter known to you." And Jonathan said to the one carrying his gear, "Come up behind me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hands of Israel."

 

13 And Jonathan went up on his hands and on his feet, and the one carrying his gear with him; and they looked toward Jonathan's face, and he struck them down, and the one carrying his gear kept supplying him from behind.

 

14 And the first blow, which Jonathan and the one carrying his gear struck, was of about twenty men, with darts and with slings and with the pebbles of the plain.

 

15 And there came a panic in the camp and in the field, and all the people, both those in the messab and the raiders, were panic-stricken, and they were unwilling to act; and the earth was astounded, and there came a panic from the Lord.

 

16 And Saul's watchmen in Gabee of Benjamin saw, and behold, the camp was in confusion this way and that.

 

17 And Saul said to the people who were with him, "Muster now and see who has gone from among you." And they mustered, and behold, Jonathan and the one carrying his gear were not found.

 

18 And Saul said to Achia, "Bring the ephoud near"; for he bore the ephoud on that day before Israel.

 

19 And it came about, as Saul was speaking to the priest, that the din in the camp of the foreigners went on and on and grew greater; and Saul said to the priest, "Draw back your hands."

 

20 And Saul shouted, and all the people with him, and they come as far as the battle, and behold, every man's sword was against his neighbour, an exceedingly great confusion.

 

21 And the slaves who yesterday and the day before were with the foreigners, those who had gone up into the camp, turned about, so as to be themselves also with Israel, with those who were with Saul and Jonathan.

 

22 And all Israel, those who were hiding in Mount Ephraim, also heard that the foreigners had fled, and they too joined in behind them for the battle.

 

23 And the Lord saved Israel on that day. And the battle passed through Baithon, and all the people who were with Saul were about ten thousand men; and the battle was spread over the whole city in Mount Ephraim.

 

24 And Saul committed a great act of folly on that day, and he curses the people, saying, "Accursed be the man who eats bread before evening, and I shall be avenged on my enemy." And none of the people tasted bread.

 

25 And all the land was taking its meal. And Iaar, there was a wood of bee-pasture facing the field,

 

26 and the people came into the bee-pasture, and behold, they went along talking, and behold, there was no one turning his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath of the Lord.

 

27 But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he stretched out the tip of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb and turned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes regained their sight.

 

28 And one of the people answered and said, "Your father solemnly adjured the people, saying, 'Accursed be the man who eats bread today'"—and the people had grown faint.

 

29 And Jonathan understood and said, "My father has ruined the land; see now that my eyes have gained sight, because I tasted a little of this honey.

 

30 But if only the people had eaten today of the spoils of their enemies which he found, for then the blow among the foreigners would now have been greater."

 

31 And on that day he struck down some of the foreigners in Machemas, and the people was exceedingly weary.

 

32 And the people turned aside to the spoils, and the people took flocks and herds and calves of cattle and slaughtered them on the ground, and the people ate together with the blood.

 

33 And it was reported to Saul, they saying, "The people has sinned against the Lord by eating with the blood." And Saul said, in Geththem, "Roll me a great stone here."

 

34 And Saul said, "Disperse among the people and tell them to bring here each man his calf and each man his sheep, and let him slaughter upon this, and you shall not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood." And all the people brought, each man what was in his hand, and they slaughtered there.

 

35 And Saul built there an altar to the Lord; this was the first altar Saul began to build to the Lord.

 

36 And Saul said, "Let us go down after the foreigners by night and plunder among them until the day dawns, and let us not leave a man among them." And they said, "Do all that is good in your sight." And the priest said, "Let us draw near here to God."

 

37 And Saul inquired of God, "Shall I go down after the foreigners? Will you deliver them into the hands of Israel?" And he did not answer him on that day.

 

38 And Saul said, "Bring near here all the corners of Israel, and know and see in whom this sin has come about today;

 

39 for as the Lord lives who saved Israel, even if the answer be against Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." And there was no one answering out of all the people.

 

40 And he said to all Israel, "You shall be on the one part, and I and Jonathan my son shall be on the other part." And the people said to Saul, "Do what is good in your sight."

 

41 And Saul said, "O Lord, God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If the iniquity is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give clear signs; and if you should say thus, 'It is in your people Israel,' give holiness." And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the people went out.

 

42 And Saul said, "Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son; whomever the Lord takes by lot, let him die." And the people said to Saul, "This thing shall not be." But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and Jonathan his son, and Jonathan was taken by lot.

 

43 And Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." And Jonathan told him and said, "I did indeed taste a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand; behold, I am to die."

 

44 And Saul said to him, "May God do thus to me and more also, for you shall surely die today."

 

45 And the people said to Saul, "Shall he who has wrought this great salvation in Israel be put to death today? As the Lord lives, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground; for the people of God have wrought this day." And the people prayed for Jonathan on that day, and he did not die.

 

46 And Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines departed to their own place.

 

47 And Saul was allotted the task over Israel. And he fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab and against the sons of Ammon and against the sons of Edom and against Baithe-or and against the king of Zobah and against the Philistines; wherever he turned, he was delivered.

 

48 And he gathered strength and struck Amalek, and delivered Israel from the hand of those who trampled him.

 

49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan and Jessiou and Melchisa; and the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn was Merob, and the name of the second Melchol;

 

50 and the name of his wife was Achinoom, daughter of Achimaas. And the name of his commander-in-chief was Abenner, son of Ner, son of a kinsman of Saul;

 

51 and Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abenner was the son of Jamin, son of Abiel.

 

52 And the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man and any man who was a son of valor, he gathered them to himself.

 

Chapter 15

 

1 And Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over Israel, and now hear the voice of the Lord.

 

2 Thus said the Lord of Sabaoth: Now I will avenge what Amalek did to Israel, how he met him on the way as he was coming up out of Egypt.

 

3 And now go and you shall strike Amalek and Ierim and all that is his, and you shall not spare anything of his, and you shall utterly destroy him and put him under a curse, him and all that is his, and you shall not spare him, but shall kill from man to woman, and from infant to nursing child, and from calf to sheep, and from camel to donkey."

 

4 And Saul commanded the people, and he mustered them in Galgala: four hundred thousand ranks, and Judah thirty thousand ranks.

 

5 And Saul came as far as the cities of Amalek and lay in ambush in the ravine.

 

6 And Saul said to the Kenite, "Depart and turn away from the midst of the Amalekite, lest I add you along with him; for you showed mercy to the sons of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." And the Kenite turned away from the midst of Amalek.

 

7 And Saul struck Amalek from Evilat as far as Sour, facing Egypt.

 

8 And he took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, and all the people of Ierim he killed with the edge of the sword.

 

9 And Saul and all the people spared Agag alive, and the best of the flocks and the herds and the foods and the vineyards and all the good things, and he was not willing to destroy them utterly; but every work that was dishonored and despised they utterly destroyed.

 

10 And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,

 

11 "I have relented that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not kept my words." And Samuel was despondent and cried out to the Lord all night.

 

12 And Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the morning. And it was reported to Samuel, saying, "Saul has come to Carmel, and he has raised up for himself a hand-monument, and has turned his chariot around." And he went down to Galgala to Saul, and behold, he was offering up as a whole burnt offering to the Lord the first of the spoils which he had brought from Amalek.

 

13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you to the Lord; I have carried out all that the Lord spoke."

 

14 And Samuel said, "Then what is this sound of this flock in my ears, and the sound of the cattle which I hear?"

 

15 And Saul said, "I brought them from Amalek — what the people spared, the best of the flock and the cattle, so that it might be sacrificed to the Lord your God; and the rest I utterly destroyed."

 

16 And Samuel said to Saul, "Hold, and I will report to you what the Lord spoke to me during the night." And he said to him, "Speak."

 

17 And Samuel said to Saul, "Were you not small in his sight, a leader of a scepter of a tribe of Israel? And the Lord anointed you as king over Israel.

 

18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said to you, 'Go and utterly destroy those who sin against me, Amalek, and you shall fight them until you finish them.'

 

19 And why did you not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rushed to set upon the spoils and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord?"

 

20 And Saul said to Samuel, "Because I listened to the voice of the people; and I went on the way on which the Lord sent me, and I brought Agag, king of Amalek, and Amalek I utterly destroyed.

 

21 And the people took from the spoils flocks and herds, the first of what was devoted, to sacrifice before the Lord our God in Galgala."

 

22 And Samuel said, "Are whole burnt offerings and sacrifices as pleasing to the Lord as listening to the voice of the Lord? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and heeding better than the fat of rams.

 

23 For sin is divination; teraphim bring pain and toils. Because you have despised the word of the Lord, the Lord will also despise you, that you not be king over Israel."

 

24 And Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I transgressed the word of the Lord and your word, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

 

25 And now, take away, I pray, my sin, and return with me, and I will worship the Lord your God."

 

26 And Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have despised the word of the Lord, and the Lord will despise you, that you not be king over Israel."

 

27 And Samuel turned his face to go away, and Saul seized the hem of his double cloak and tore it.

 

28 And Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel out of your hand today, and will give it to your neighbor who is better than you.

 

29 And Israel will be divided in two; and he will not turn back nor repent, for he is not as a man, that he should repent."

 

30 And Saul said, "I have sinned; but honor me now before the elders of Israel and before my people, and return with me, and I will worship the Lord your God."

 

31 And Samuel returned after Saul, and he worshiped the Lord.

 

32 And Samuel said, "Bring Agag, king of Amalek, to me." And Agag came to him trembling, and Agag said, "Is death indeed so bitter?"

 

33 And Samuel said to Agag, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be made childless among women." And Samuel slaughtered Agag before the Lord in Galgal.

 

34 And Samuel went away to Armathaim, and Saul went up to his house at Gabaa.

 

35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, for Samuel mourned over Saul; and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. 

 

Chapter 16

 

1 And the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, when I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and come, let me send you to Jesse, as far as Bethlehem, for I have seen among his sons one to reign for me."

 

2 And Samuel said, "How shall I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer of the herd in your hand, and you shall say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'

 

3 And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do, and you shall anoint whomever I tell you."

 

4 And Samuel did all that the Lord told him, and he came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city were astonished at meeting him and said, "Is your coming in peace, O seer?"

 

5 And he said, "Peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves and rejoice with me today." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

 

6 And it came to pass, when they came in, that he saw Eliab and said, "Surely his anointed is before the Lord."

 

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look upon his appearance nor upon the stature of his height, for I have rejected him; for God does not see as man looks, for man looks at the face, but God looks at the heart."

 

8 And Jesse called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel; and he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."

 

9 And Jesse brought forward Sama; and he said, "Neither in this one has the Lord chosen."

 

10 And Jesse brought his seven sons before Samuel; and Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen among these."

 

11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are the boys all here?" And he said, "There is still the youngest; behold, he is tending the flock." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and fetch him, for we shall not sit down until he comes."

 

12 And he sent and brought him in; and he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes, and goodly in appearance to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, "Arise and anoint David, for this one is good."

 

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

 

14 And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

 

15 And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from the Lord torments you.

 

16 Let your servants now speak before you, and let them seek for our lord a man who knows how to play on the lyre; and it shall be, when the evil spirit is upon you, that he will play on his lyre, and it shall be well with you, and he will give you rest."

 

17 And Saul said to his servants, "Look now for me a man who plays well, and bring him to me."

 

18 And one of his young men answered and said, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, and he knows how to play, and the man is prudent, and the man is a warrior, and wise in speech, and a man goodly in appearance, and the Lord is with him."

 

19 And Saul sent messengers to Jesse, saying, "Send to me your son David, who is with your flock."

 

20 And Jesse took a homer of loaves and a skin of wine and one kid of the goats and sent them by the hand of David his son to Saul.

 

21 And David came to Saul and stood before him; and he loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.

 

22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes."

 

23 And it came to pass, whenever the evil spirit was upon Saul, that David would take the lyre and play with his hand, and Saul would be refreshed, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him. 

  

Chapter 17

 

1 And the Philistines gather their armies for war, and they gather at Sokchoth of Judea, and they encamp between Sokchoth and Azeka, in Ephermem.

 

2 And Saul and the men of Israel gather and encamp in the valley; they draw up for battle opposite the Philistines.

 

3 And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the ravine was between them.

 

4 And a mighty man came out from the ranks of the Philistines, Goliath by name, from Geth, his height four cubits and a span.

 

5 And a helmet was upon his head, and he was clothed in a coat of chain mail, and the weight of his coat of mail was five thousand shekels of bronze and iron.

 

6 And bronze greaves were upon his legs, and a bronze shield was between his shoulders.

 

7 And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spearhead weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his armor-bearer went before him.

 

8 And he stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up for battle against us? Am I not a Philistine, and you Hebrews of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.

 

9 And if he is able to fight with me and if he strikes me down, then we will be your slaves; but if I am able and strike him down, you shall be our slaves and shall serve us."

 

10 And the Philistine said, "Behold, I have defied the ranks of Israel today, on this day; give me a man, and we two will fight in single combat."

 

11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

 

32 And David said to Saul, "Let not the heart of my lord fail on his account; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

 

33 And Saul said to David, "You will not be able to go against the Philistine to fight with him, for you are a boy, and he is a man of war from his youth."

 

34 And David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's flock, and whenever the lion came, or the bear, and took a sheep from the herd,

 

35 I would go out after it and strike it and snatch it from its mouth; and if it rose up against me, I would seize its throat and strike it and kill it.

 

36 Your servant struck down both the bear and the lion, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them. Shall I not go and strike him down and take away today a reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one, who has defied the ranks of the living God?

 

37 The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he himself will deliver me from the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord will be with you."

 

38 And Saul clothed David with a cloak, and put a bronze helmet on his head,

 

39 and girded David with his sword over his cloak. And he grew weary walking about once and twice; and David said to Saul, "I cannot go in these, for I have not tested them." And they take them off him.

 

40 And he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and placed them in the shepherd's bag which he had for gathering, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine man.

 

42 And Goliath saw David and despised him, for he was a boy, and he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes.

 

43 And the Philistine said to David, "Am I like a dog, that you come against me with a staff and stones?" And David said, "No, but worse than a dog." And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

 

44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and to the beasts of the earth."

 

45 And David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and with spear and with shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Sabaoth, the God of the ranks of Israel, which you have defied today.

 

46 And the Lord will shut you up today into my hand, and I will kill you and take your head from you, and I will give your limbs and the limbs of the camp of the Philistines on this day to the birds of the sky and to the wild beasts of the earth, and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.

 

47 And all this assembly shall know that not by sword and spear does the Lord save, for the battle is the Lord's, and the Lord will deliver you into our hands."

 

48 And the Philistine arose and went to meet David.

 

49 And David stretched out his hand into the bag and took from there one stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sank through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

 

51 And David ran and stood over him and took his sword and killed him and cut off his head. And the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, and they fled.

 

52 And the men of Israel and Judah rise up and shouted and pursued after them as far as the entrance of Geth and as far as the gate of Ashkelon, and the wounded of the Philistines fell on the road of the gates, as far as Geth and as far as Akkaron.

 

53 And the men of Israel turned back from pursuing after the Philistines and trampled their camps.

 

54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and his weapons he placed in his tent. 

  

Chapter 18

 

6 And the dancing women came out to meet David from all the cities of Israel, with timbrels and with rejoicing and with cymbals,

 

7 and the women led the song and said, "Saul has struck down thousands of his own, and David tens of thousands of his own."

 

8 And the saying appeared evil in Saul's eyes concerning this matter, and he said, "To David they have given the tens of thousands, and to me they have given the thousands."

 

9 And Saul was eyeing David with suspicion from that day and thereafter. 12And Saul was afraid before David's face,

 

13 and he removed him from himself and appointed him for himself a commander of a thousand, and he went out and came in before the people.

 

14 And David was prudent in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

 

15 And Saul saw how exceedingly prudent he was, and he was wary before his face.

 

16 And all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before the face of the people.

 

20 And Melchol, Saul's daughter, loved David, and it was reported to Saul, and it was right in his eyes.

 

21 And Saul said, "I will give her to him, and she will be a stumbling block to him." And the hand of the foreigners was upon Saul.

 

22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, "Speak, you yourselves, secretly to David, saying, 'Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; so do you become the king's son-in-law.'"

 

23 And Saul's servants spoke these words in David's ears, and David said, "Is it a light thing in your eyes to become son-in-law to a king? And I am a lowly man and not held in honor."

 

24 And Saul's servants reported to him according to these words, which David spoke.

 

25 And Saul said, "Thus you shall say to David, 'The king does not wish for a gift, but only for a hundred foreskins of the foreigners, to take vengeance on the king's enemies.'" And Saul reckoned to cast him into the hands of the foreigners.

 

26 And Saul's servants report these words to David, and the matter was right in David's eyes, to become son-in-law to the king.

 

27 And David arose and went, he and his men, and struck down among the foreigners a hundred men, and brought up their foreskins to the king, and he becomes son-in-law to the king, and he gives him Melchol his daughter to him as a wife.

 

28 And Saul saw that the Lord was with David and that all Israel loved him, 29and he continued to be wary of David still more. 

  

Chapter 19

 

1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants to put David to death. And Jonathan the son of Saul loved David greatly,

 

2 and Jonathan told David, saying, "Saul seeks to put you to death; be on your guard, therefore, tomorrow morning, and hide yourself and stay in hiding,

 

3 and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field, wherever you may be, and I will speak concerning you to my father, and I will see whatever there may be, and I will tell you."

 

4 And Jonathan spoke good things concerning David to Saul his father, and said to him, "Let not the king sin against your servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and his deeds are very good;

 

5 and he put his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great deliverance, and all Israel saw it and rejoiced. And why do you sin against innocent blood, to put David to death without cause?"

 

6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, saying, "As the Lord lives, he shall not die."

 

7 And Jonathan called David and told him all these words, and Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past.

 

8 And war came again against Saul, and David prevailed and fought the Philistines and struck among them a very great blow, and they fled from before him.

 

9 And an evil spirit of God came upon Saul, and he was sitting in his house with a spear in his hand, and David was playing with his hands;

 

 

10 and Saul sought to strike the spear into David, but David withdrew from before Saul, and the spear struck the wall, and David departed and escaped.

 

11 And it came to pass in that night that Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. And Michal his wife told David, saying, "If you do not save your life this night, tomorrow you will be put to death."

 

12 And Michal let David down through the window, and he departed and fled and escaped.

 

13 And Michal took the household images and placed them on the bed, and placed a liver of goats at his head, and covered them with a garment.

 

14 And Saul sent messengers to take David, and they said he was ill.

 

15 And he sent for David, saying, "Bring him on the bed to me, that I may put him to death."

 

16 And the messengers came, and behold, the images were on the bed, and the goats' liver at his head.

 

17 And Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me thus, and sent away my enemy so that he escaped?" And Michal said to Saul, "He himself said, 'Send me away; if not, I will kill you.'"

 

18 And David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Armathaim, and told him all that Saul had done to him; and David and Samuel went and dwelt in Nauath in Rama.

 

19 And it was reported to Saul, saying, "Behold, David is in Nauath in Rama."

 

20 And Saul sent messengers to take David, and they saw the assembly of the prophets, and Samuel stood presiding over them; and the spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they prophesied.

 

21 And it was reported to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul proceeded to send a third group of messengers, and they also prophesied.

 

22 And Saul was enraged with anger and went himself also to Armathaim, and he came as far as the well of the threshing floor that is in Sephi, and asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And they said, "Behold, in Nauath in Rama."

 

23 And he went from there to Nauath in Rama, and the spirit of God came upon him also, and he went along prophesying until he came to Nauath in Rama.

24 And he stripped off his garments and prophesied before them, and lay naked all that day and all the night; therefore they said, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 

  

Chapter 20

 

1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came before Jonathan and said, "What have I done, and what is my wrongdoing, and how have I sinned before your father, that he seeks my life?"

 

2 And Jonathan said to him, "Far be it from you; you shall by no means die. Behold, my father will not do anything great or small without uncovering my ear; and why should my father hide this thing? It is not so."

 

3 And David answered Jonathan and said, "Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he said, 'Let Jonathan not know this, lest he refuse.' But as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, as I have said, there is but a step between me and death."

 

4 And Jonathan said to David, "What does your soul desire, and what shall I do for you?"

 

5 And David said to Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I will certainly not sit down with the king to eat; and you shall send me away, and I will hide in the field until evening.

 

6 If your father should indeed inquire about me, then you shall say, 'David earnestly asked leave of me to run as far as Bethlehem his city, for there is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole clan.'

 

7 If he says thus: 'Good,' there is peace for your servant; but if he answers you harshly, know that evil has been determined by him.

 

8 And you shall show mercy to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with yourself. And if there is wrongdoing in your servant, kill me yourself; but why should you bring me thus to your father?"

 

9 And Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! For if I know for certain that evil has been determined by my father to come upon you—and if not—I will report it to you in your cities."

 

10 And David said to Jonathan, "Who will report to me, if your father answers harshly?"

 

11 And Jonathan said to David, "Come, and stay in the field." And they both went out into the field.

 

12 And Jonathan said to David, "The Lord God of Israel knows that I will sound out my father, as the time comes, a third time; and behold, if it is good concerning David, then I will surely send to you into the field.

 

13 May God do thus to Jonathan and add thus more, if I do not report the evil against you and uncover your ear and send you away, and you shall depart in peace. And the Lord shall be with you, as he was with my father.

 

14 And while I yet live, you shall show mercy to me; and if I die,

 

15 you shall not remove your mercy from my house forever—not even when the Lord removes the enemies of David, each one, from the face of the earth,

 

16 should the name of Jonathan be removed from the house of David; and may the Lord require it at the hands of David's enemies."

 

17 And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of one who loved him.

 

18 And Jonathan said, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be noted as empty.

 

19 And on the third day you shall be looked for, and you shall come to your place where you hid on the working day, and you shall sit beside that ergab.

 

20 And I will shoot three times with arrows, sending them out toward the amattari.

 

21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, 'Go, find me the arrow.' If I say to the boy, 'The arrow is on this side of you, here, take it,' then come, for it is peace for you and there is no matter, as the Lord lives.

 

22 But if I say thus to the young man, 'The arrow is beyond you, further on,' then go, for the Lord has sent you away.

 

23 And as for the word which we have spoken, I and you, behold, the Lord is witness between me and you forever."

 

24 And David hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the king came to the table to eat.

 

25 And the king sat on his seat as at other times, on the seat by the wall, and he went before Jonathan; and Abner sat at Saul's side, and David's place was noted as empty.

 

26 And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, "It seems a chance occurrence—he is not clean, because he has not been purified."

 

27 And it came to pass on the morrow of the new moon, on the second day, that David's place was noted as empty, and Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to the table, either yesterday or today?"

 

28 And Jonathan answered Saul and said to him, "David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethlehem his city,

 

29 and he said, 'Send me away, I pray, for we have a clan sacrifice in the city, and my brothers have commanded me; and now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me slip away, I pray, and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the king's table."

 

30 And Saul was enraged with anger against Jonathan exceedingly, and he said to him, "Son of deserting wenches! Do I not know that you are a companion of the son of Jesse, to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

 

31 For all the days that the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, your kingdom shall not be established. Now therefore send and take the young man, for he is a son of death."

 

32 And Jonathan answered Saul, "Why should he die? What has he done?"

 

33 And Saul lifted up the spear against Jonathan to kill him. And Jonathan knew that this evil had been determined by his father, to kill David.

 

34 And Jonathan sprang up from the table in fierce anger, and he ate no bread on the second day of the month, for he was grieved over David, because his father had determined against him.

 

35 And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, as he had appointed for the meeting with David, and a little boy was with him.

 

36 And he said to the boy, "Run, find me the arrows that I shoot." And the boy ran, and he shot the arrow and sent it beyond him.

 

37 And the boy came to the place of the arrow where Jonathan had shot, and Jonathan cried out after the young man and said, "The arrow is beyond you, further on."

 

38 And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, "Make haste, hurry, and do not stand still." And Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and brought them to his master.

 

39 And the boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

 

40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to his boy, "Go, enter into the city."

 

41 And when the boy had gone in, David arose from the ergab and fell on his face and bowed down to him three times, and each kissed his fellow, and each wept with his fellow until a great ending.

 

42 And Jonathan said, "Go in peace; and as we both have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord shall be witness between me and you, and between my seed and your seed forever.'" 

  

Chapter 21

 

1 And David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

 

2 And David comes to Nob, to Abimelech the priest. And Abimelech was astonished at meeting him, and said to him, "Why is it that you are alone, and no one is with you?"

 

3 And David said to the priest, "The king has commanded me a matter today, and said to me, 'Let no one know the matter about which I am sending you and concerning which I have commanded you.' And I have solemnly charged the young men at the place called God's Faithfulness, Phellani Alemoni.

 

4 And now, if there are five loaves under your hand, give into my hand whatever is found."

 

5 And the priest answered David and said, "There are no common loaves under my hand, but only holy loaves; if the young men have kept themselves from women, then they may eat."

 

6 And David answered the priest and said to him, "Indeed, we have abstained from women since yesterday and the day before; when I went out on the journey, all the young men were purified, and though the journey itself is common, yet it shall be sanctified today because of my vessels."

 

7 And Abimelech the priest gave him the loaves of the presentation, for there was no bread there except the loaves of the presence, which had been removed from before the Lord so that hot bread might be set out on the day he took them.

 

8 And there was there one of Saul's servants on that day, detained neessaran before the Lord, and his name was Doeg the Syrian, who tended the mules of Saul.

 

9 And David said to Abimelech, "See if there is here under your hand a spear or a sword, for I did not take my sword and my weapons in my hand, because the king's business was urgent."

 

10 And the priest said, "Behold, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, and it is wrapped in a cloth; if you would take it for yourself, take it, for there is no other besides it here." And David said, "Behold, there is none like it; give it to me."

 

11 And he gave it to him; and David arose and fled on that day from the presence of Saul. And David came to Achish, king of Gath.

 

12 And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David, the king of the land? Did not the dancing women lead the song for this man, saying, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

 

13 And David laid up these words in his heart and was greatly afraid of Achish, king of Gath.

 

14 And he changed his countenance before him and feigned madness on that day, and drummed on the doors of the city and staggered about with his hands and fell against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard.

 

15 And Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see a man having fits; why have you brought him in to me?

 

16 Am I in want of madmen, that you have brought him in to have his fits before me? This man shall not enter the house." 

  

Chapter 22

 

1 And David departed from there and escaped, and he came to the cave of Adullam. And his brothers and his father's house heard of it, and they went down to him there.

 

2 And there gathered to him everyone in distress, and everyone in debt, and everyone bitter of soul, and he became leader over them; and there were with him about four hundred men.

 

3 And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, "Let my father and my mother, I pray, be with you until I know what God will do for me."

 

4 And he entreated the face of the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the days that David was in the stronghold.

 

5 And Gad the prophet said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold; go, and you shall come into the land of Judah." And David went and came and settled in the city of Sarich.

 

6 And Saul heard that David and the men with him had been discovered; and Saul was sitting on the hill under the field that is in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing beside him.

 

7 And Saul said to his servants who stood beside him, and he said to them, "Hear now, sons of Benjamin: will the son of Jesse truly give to all of you fields and vineyards, and appoint you all commanders of hundreds and commanders of thousands?

 

8 For you have all conspired against me, and there is no one who uncovers my ear when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who grieves for me and uncovers my ear that my son has stirred up my servant against me as an enemy, as it is this day."

 

9 And Doeg the Syrian, who was set over the mules of Saul, answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub the priest,

 

10 and he inquired of God for him, and he gave him provisions, and he gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

 

11 And the king sent to summon Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the sons of his father, the priests who were in Nob, and they all came to the king.

 

12 And Saul said, "Hear now, son of Ahitub." And he said, "Here I am; speak, my lord."

 

13 And 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 inquired of God for him, so that he has set himself against me as an enemy, as it is this day?"

 

14 And he answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants is like David—faithful, and son-in-law of the king, and captain over all your command, and honored in your house?

 

15 Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? By no means. Let not the king lay a charge against his servant nor against all the house of my father, for your servant knew nothing of all this, whether a small matter or great."

 

16 And King Saul said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house."

 

17 And the king said to the runners who stood about him, "Draw near and put to death the priests of the Lord, for their hand is with David, and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not uncover my ear." But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to fall upon the priests of the Lord.

 

18 And the king said to Doeg, "Turn, and fall upon the priests." And Doeg the Syrian turned and put to death the priests of the Lord on that day—three hundred and five men, all bearing the ephod.

 

19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, from man to woman, from infant to nursling, and calf and donkey and sheep.

 

20 And one son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped, his name was Abiathar and he fled after David.

 

21 And Abiathar reported to David that Saul had put to death all the priests of the Lord.

 

22 And David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day that Doeg the Syrian would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the lives of your father's house.

 

23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for wherever I seek a place for my life, I will seek one for your life also, for you are safe with me." 

  

Chapter 23

 

1 And it was reported to David, saying, "Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are plundering, trampling the threshing floors."

 

2 And David inquired through the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and strike these Philistines?" And the Lord said, "Go, and you shall strike these Philistines and save Keilah."

 

3 And David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judea; how then shall it be if we go to Keilah? We shall go into the spoils of the Philistines."

 

4 And David inquired yet again through the Lord, and the Lord answered him and said to him, "Arise and go down to Keilah, for I am delivering the Philistines into your hands."

 

5 And David and the men with him went to Keilah, and he fought against the Philistines, and they fled from before him, and he carried off their cattle and struck them with a great blow, and David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

 

6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar son of Abimelech fled to David, that he too went down with David to Keilah, having an ephod in his hand.

 

7 And it was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, and Saul said, "God has sold him into my hands, for he has shut himself in by entering a city of doors and bars."

 

8 And Saul summoned all the people to go down to war to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

 

9 And David knew that Saul was not keeping silent concerning the evil against him, and David said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring near the ephod of the Lord."

 

10 And David said, "Lord God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come against Keilah to destroy the city on my account.

 

11 Will it be shut up? And now, will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, tell your servant." And the Lord said, "It will be shut up."

 

13 And David arose, and the men with him, about four hundred, and they went out from Keilah and went wherever they could go. And it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, and he gave up going out.

 

14 And David dwelt in the wilderness in Maserem, in the strongholds, and he stayed in the wilderness on the mountain of Ziph, in the parched land. And Saul sought him all the days, but the Lord did not deliver him into his hands.

 

15 And David saw that Saul was going out to seek David; and David was on the parched mountain in New Ziph.

 

16 And Jonathan son of Saul arose and went to David at New Ziph and strengthened his hands in the Lord.

 

17 And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you, and you shall reign over Israel, and I shall be second to you; and Saul my father knows this."

 

18 And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed at New Ziph, and Jonathan went away to his house.

 

19 And the Ziphites came up from the parched land to Saul on the hill, saying, "Behold, is not David hidden among us in Messara, in the strongholds, in New Ziph, on the hill of Echela, which is to the right of Jessaimoun?

 

20 And now, according to all the desire of the king's soul, let him come down to us; they have shut him up into the hands of the king."

 

21 And Saul said to them, "Blessed are you to the Lord, for you have taken pains on my behalf.

 

22 Go now and prepare further, and learn his place, where his foot shall be, quickly, there where you said, lest he act craftily.

 

23 And see and learn, and we shall go with you, and it shall be, if he is in the land, then I shall search him out among all the thousands of Judah."

 

24 And the Ziphites arose and went before Saul; and David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, toward evening, to the right of Jessaimoun.

 

25 And Saul and his men went to seek him; and they reported it to David, and he went down to the rock that is in the wilderness of Maon; and Saul heard and pursued after David into the wilderness of Maon.

 

26 And Saul and his men went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side of the mountain; and David was hiding himself to get away from before Saul, and Saul and his men encamped against David and his men to seize them.

 

27 And a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hasten and come, for the Philistines have attacked the land."

 

28 And Saul turned back from pursuing after David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock of Division. 

 

Chapter 24

 

1 And David went up from there and dwelt in the strongholds of Engaddi.

 

2 And it came to pass, when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, that it was reported to him, saying, "David is in the wilderness of Engaddi."

 

3 And he took with him three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men before the face of Sadaiem.

 

4 And he came to the flocks of sheep that were by the road, and there was a cave there, and Saul went in to relieve himself; and David and his men were sitting in the inner part of the cave.

 

5 And David's men said to him, "Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you that he would deliver your enemy into your hands, and you shall do to him as is good in your eyes." And David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's cloak secretly.

 

6 And it came to pass after this that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off the skirt of his cloak,

 

7 and David said to his men, "Far be it from me, by the Lord, that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to lay my hand upon him, for he is the Lord's anointed."

 

8 And David persuaded his men with words and did not permit them to rise up and kill Saul. And Saul arose and went down to the road.

 

9 And David arose after him out of the cave, and David cried out after Saul, saying, "My lord, O king!" And Saul looked behind him, and David bowed with his face to the ground and did obeisance to him.

 

10 And David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of the people who say, 'Behold, David seeks your life'?

 

11 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and I was not willing to kill you, but spared you, and said, 'I will not lay my hand upon my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.'

 

12 And behold, the skirt of your cloak is in my hand; I cut off the skirt and did not kill you. Know then and see today that there is no evil in my hand, nor impiety, nor treachery, and I have not sinned against you; yet you hunt my life to take it.

 

13 May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you,

 

14 as the ancient proverb says: 'Out of the lawless shall come forth transgression'; but my hand shall not be against you.

 

15 And now, after whom do you go forth, O king of Israel? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog and after a single flea.

 

16 May the Lord be judge and arbiter between me and you; may the Lord see and judge my cause and vindicate me from your hand."

 

17 And it came to pass, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, "Is this your voice, my child David?" And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

 

18 And Saul said to David, "You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me with good, but I have repaid you with evil.

 

19 And you have declared to me today the good things you have done to me, how the Lord shut me up today into your hands and you did not kill me.

 

20 And if a man should find his enemy in distress and send him away on a good road, the Lord will repay him with good, as you have done today.

 

21 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely reign, and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hands.

 

22 And now swear to me by the Lord that you will not destroy my seed after me and will not blot out my name from my father's house."

 

23 And David swore to Saul. And Saul departed to his place, and David and his men went up to the stronghold of Messara. 

 

Chapter 25

 

 1 And Samuel died, and all Israel gathered together and mourned for him, and they buried him at his house in Armathaim. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Maan.

 

2 And there was a man in Maan, and his flocks were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and it came to pass while he was shearing his flock in Carmel.

 

3 And the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail; and his wife was good in understanding and very beautiful in appearance, but the man was harsh and evil in his practices, and the man was churlish.

 

4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal the Carmelite was shearing his flock,

 

5 and David sent ten young men and said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal and greet him in my name with words of peace,

 

6 and you shall say thus: 'May you prosper for seasons to come; may you be in health, and your house and all that is yours be in health.

 

7 And now, behold, I have heard that they are shearing for you. Now your shepherds, who were with us in the wilderness, we did not hinder them, nor did we demand anything of them all the days they were in Carmel.

 

8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we have come on a good day; give, I pray, whatever your hand may find to your son David.'"

 

9 And the young men came and spoke these words to Nabal, according to all these words, in the name of David. And he sprang up

 

10 and Nabal answered the servants of David and said, "Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? Today there are many slaves who break away, each from the presence of his master.

 

11 And shall I take my bread and my wine and my sacrifices which I have slaughtered for my shearers, the sheep, and give them to men of whom I know not whence they are?"

 

12 And David's young men turned back on their way, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words.

 

13 And David said to his men, "Gird on each man his sword." And about four hundred men went up after David, and the two hundred remained with the baggage.

 

14 And one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master, and he turned away from them.

 

15 And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder us nor demand anything of us all the days we were with them; and while we were in the field

 

16 they were like a wall around us both night and day, all the days we were with them tending the flock.

 

17 And now know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against his house; and he is a pestilent son, and one cannot speak to him."

 

18 And Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two vessels of wine and five sheep already prepared and five ephahs of barley meal and one homer of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and set them upon the asses,

 

19 and said to her young men, "Go on before me, and behold, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband.

 

20 And it came to pass, as she rode upon the ass and was going down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she met them.

 

21 And David said, "Perhaps it was in vain that I guarded all that was his in the wilderness, and we ordered that nothing be taken of all that was his, and he has repaid me evil for good.

 

22 So may God do to David and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to Nabal until morning one that urinates against the wall."

 

23 And Abigail saw David, and made haste and leapt down from the ass, and fell before David on her face and did obeisance to him on the ground,

 

24 at his feet, and said, "On me, my lord, be the wrongdoing; let your servant, I pray, speak in your ears, and hear the word of your servant.

 

25 Let not my lord, I pray, set his heart upon this pestilent man, for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see your young men whom you sent.

 

26 And now, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has restrained you from coming into innocent blood and from saving your hand for yourself, now therefore may your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord be as Nabal.

 

27 And now accept this blessing which your servant has brought to my lord, and you shall give it to the young men who attend my lord.

 

28 Forgive, I pray, the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, because my lord fights the battle of the Lord, and evil shall never be found in you.

 

29 And though a man rise up to pursue you and seek your life, yet the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord God, and the life of your enemies you shall sling out from the hollow of the sling.

 

30 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord does for my lord all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and appoints you ruler over Israel,

 

31 then this shall not be to you an abomination and an offense to my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to have saved his hand for himself. And the Lord will deal well with my lord, and you will remember your servant, to do good to her."

 

32 And David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me,

 

33 and blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from coming into bloodshed and from saving my hand for myself.

 

34 Nevertheless, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back this day from doing you harm, if you had not made haste and come to meet me, then surely there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light one that urinates against the wall."

 

35 And David received from her hand all that she brought him, and said to her, "Go up in peace to your house; see, I have heard your voice and have accepted your face."

 

36 And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like a king's feast, and Nabal's heart was merry within him, and he was exceedingly drunk; and she told him nothing, small or great, until the morning light.

 

37 And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal had recovered from the wine, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.

 

38 And it came to pass after about ten days that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

 

39 And David heard, and said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has judged the case of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from the hand of evil, and the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head." And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife.

 

40 And David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel and spoke to her, saying, "David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife."

 

41 And she arose and did obeisance on the ground on her face and said, "Behold, your servant is as a handmaid to wash the feet of your servants."

 

42 And Abigail arose and mounted the ass, and five maidens followed her, and she went after the servants of David and became his wife.

 

43 And David took Achinaam of Jezrael, and both were his wives.

 

44 And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Lais, who was of Romma.

  

Chapter 26

 

1 And the Ziphites come from the parched land to Saul at the hill, saying, "Behold, David is hiding among us in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon."

 

2 And Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, and with him three thousand men chosen out of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

 

3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, facing Jeshimon, by the road; and David was staying in the wilderness. And David saw that Saul had come after him into the wilderness,

 

4 and David sent out scouts and learned that Saul had come ready from Keilah.

 

5 And David arose secretly and goes into the place where Saul was sleeping, and there was Abner son of Ner, his commander-in-chief; and Saul was sleeping in the covered wagon, and the people were encamped round about him.

 

6 And David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, saying, "Who will go in with me to Saul, into the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will go in with you."

 

7 And David and Abishai go in among the people by night, and behold, Saul lay fast asleep in the covered wagon, and his spear was stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and his people were sleeping round about him.

 

8 And Abishai said to David, "Today the Lord has shut up your enemy into your hands; and now let me strike him with the spear to the ground once, and I will not do it to him a second time."

 

9 And David said to Abishai, "Do not lay him low, for who shall bring his hand upon the anointed of the Lord and be held guiltless?"

 

10 And David said, "As the Lord lives, unless the Lord strike him, or his day come and he die, or he go down to war and be gathered

 

11 by no means, from the Lord, may I bring my hand upon the anointed of the Lord. And now take, please, the spear from at his head, and the flask of water, and let us go away by ourselves."

 

12 And David took the spear and the flask of water from at his head, and they went away by themselves; and there was no one who saw, and no one who knew, and no one who awoke, all of them sleeping, because a stupor from the Lord had fallen upon them.

 

13 And David crossed over to the other side and stood on the top of the mountain far off, and the distance between them was great.

 

14 And David called out to the people, and he spoke to Abner, saying, "Will you not answer, Abner?" And Abner answered and said, "Who are you, calling me?"

 

15 And David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? And why then do you not guard your lord the king? For one of the people went in to destroy the king your lord.

 

16 And this thing which you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you are sons of death, you who guard the king your lord, the anointed of the Lord. And now look, please: the king's spear and the flask of water—where are the things that were at his head?"

 

17 And Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is this your voice, my child David?" And David said, "Your servant, my lord the king."

 

18 And he said, "Why is it that my lord pursues after his servant? For what have I sinned, and what wrongdoing has been found in me?

 

19 And now let my lord the king hear, please, the word of his servant: if God is stirring you up against me, may he smell your sacrifice; but if it is the sons of men, cursed are they before the Lord, for they have driven me out today, so that I am not established in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.'

 

20 And now may my blood not fall to the ground away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek my life, as the night raven hunts in the mountains."

 

21 And Saul said, "I have sinned; turn back, my child David, for I will not do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. I have acted foolishly and have been very greatly ignorant."

 

22 And David answered and said, "Behold the king's spear; let one of the young men come over and take it.

 

23 And the Lord will render to each his righteous deeds and his faithfulness, inasmuch as the Lord delivered you today into my hands, and I was not willing to lay my hand upon the anointed of the Lord.

 

24 And behold, just as your life was esteemed great today in my eyes, so may my life be esteemed great before the Lord, and may he shelter me and deliver me out of every affliction."

 

25 And Saul said to David, "Blessed are you, my child, and you shall surely do, and you shall surely prevail." And David went away on his road, and Saul returned to his own place. 

  

Chapter 27

 

1 And David said in his heart, saying, "Now I shall be delivered in a single day into the hands of Saul, and there is nothing good for me unless I escape into the land of the foreigners, and Saul give up seeking me throughout every territory of Israel, and I be saved out of his hand."

 

2 And David arose, and the four hundred men with him, and he went over to Anchous son of Ammach, king of Geth.

 

3 And David settled with Anchous in Geth, he and his men, each with his household, and David and both his wives, Achinaam the Iezraelitess and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

 

4 And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Geth, and he no longer continued to seek him.

 

5 And David said to Anchous, "If indeed your servant has found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of the towns out in the country, and I will dwell there; for why should your servant dwell in a royal city with you?"

 

6 And on that day he gave him Sekelak; therefore Sekelak has belonged to the king of Judea until this day.

 

7 And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the foreigners was four months.

 

8 And David and his men would go up and make raids upon all the Gesiri and upon the Amalekite; and behold, the land was inhabited from the region reaching from Gelampsour of the walled places even as far as the land of Egypt.

 

9 And he would smite the land and leave alive neither man nor woman, and would take flocks and herds and asses and camels and clothing; and they would return and come to Anchous.

 

10 And Anchous said to David, "Upon whom did you make a raid today?" And David said to Anchous, "Toward the south of Judea, and toward the south of Iesmega, and toward the south of the Kenezi."

 

11 And neither man nor woman did he leave alive to bring into Geth, saying, "Lest they report against us in Geth, saying, 'Thus David does.'" And this was his practice all the days that David dwelt in the country of the foreigners.

 

12 And David was greatly trusted by Anchous, who said, "He has been utterly disgraced among his own people in Israel, and he shall be my slave forever." 

  

Chapter 28

 

1 And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together in their camps to go out to fight with Israel, and Anchous said to David, "Know surely that you shall go out with me to war, you and your men."

 

2 And David said to Anchous, "Thus now you shall know what your servant will do." And Anchous said to David, "Thus I will make you chief of my bodyguard for all your days."

 

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

 

4 And the Philistines gathered together and came and encamped at Soman, and Saul gathered every man of Israel, and they encamped at Gelboue.

 

5 And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid, and his heart was greatly dismayed.

 

6 And Saul inquired through the Lord, and the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by the manifest signs or by the prophets.

 

7 And Saul said to his servants, "Seek for me a woman who is a ventriloquist, and I will go to her and inquire by her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a ventriloquist woman at Aendor."

 

8 And Saul disguised himself and put on other garments, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night, and he said to her, "Divine for me, I pray, by the ventriloquist spirit, and bring up for me whomever I tell you."

 

9 And the woman said to him, "Behold now, you know what Saul has done, how he has utterly destroyed the ventriloquists and the diviners from the land. And why do you lay a snare for my life, to put it to death?"

 

10 And Saul swore to her, saying, "As the Lord lives, no wrong shall come upon you for this matter."

 

11 And 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 said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul."

 

13 And the king said to her, "Do not be afraid; say whom you have seen." And she said to him, "I have seen gods coming up out of the earth."

 

14 And he said to her, "What did you perceive?" And she said to him, "A man standing upright, coming up out of the earth, and he is wrapped in a double cloak." And Saul knew that this was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and did obeisance to him.

 

15 And Samuel said, "Why have you troubled me, that I should come up?" And Saul said, "I am greatly distressed, and the Philistines are making war against me, and God has departed from me and no longer hearkens to me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; and now I have called you to make known to me what I should do."

 

16 And Samuel said, "Why do you ask me? For the Lord has departed from you and has become with your neighbor.

 

17 And the Lord has done to you as he spoke by my hand, and the Lord will tear the kingdom out of your hand and give it to your neighbor, David,

 

18 because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord and did not execute his fierce anger against Amalek; therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.

 

19 And the Lord will deliver Israel together with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall, and the Lord will give the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines."

 

20 And Saul hastened and fell full length upon the ground, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength left in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day and all that night.

 

21 And the woman came in to Saul and saw that he was greatly troubled, and she said to him, "Behold now, your servant has listened to your voice, and I have put my life in my hand and have heard the words which you spoke to me.

 

22 And now, listen, I pray, to the voice of your servant, and I will set before you a morsel of bread, and eat, and there will be strength in you, for you will go on your way."

 

23 And he was unwilling to eat; but his servants and the woman pressed him, and he listened to their voice, and he arose from the ground and sat upon the seat.

 

24 And the woman had a fatted heifer in the house, and she hastened and slaughtered it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread,

 

25 and she brought it before Saul and before his servants, and they ate. And they arose and departed that night. 

  

Chapter 29

 

1 And the Philistines gathered all their armies together at Aphek, and Israel encamped at Aendor, which is in Jezreel.

 

2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men passed on in the rear with Anchus.

 

3 And the lords of the Philistines said, "Who are these that pass by?" And Anchus said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is not this David, the servant of Saul king of Israel? He has been with us now this second year, and I have found no fault in him from the day he fell in with me until this day."

 

4 And the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him and said to him, "Send the man back to his place where you appointed him, and let him not come with us to the battle, and let him not become a betrayer of the camp. And with what would this man reconcile himself to his master? Would it not be with the heads of those men?

 

5 Is not this David, of whom they sang in dances, saying, 'Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

 

6 And Anchus called David and said to him, "As the Lord lives, you are upright and good in my eyes, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp; and I have found no evil in you from the day you came to me until this day; but in the eyes of the lords you are not good.

 

7 Now therefore return, and go in peace, so that you do no evil in the eyes of the lords of the Philistines."

 

8 And David said to Anchus, "What have I done to you, and what have you found in your servant from the day I was before you until this day, that I may not come to fight the enemies of my lord the king?"

 

9 And Anchus answered David, "I know that you are good in my eyes, but the lords of the Philistines say, 'He shall not come with us to battle.'

 

10 Now therefore rise early in the morning, you and the servants of your lord who have come with you, and go to the place where I appointed you, and do not lay any pestilent word in your heart, for you are good before me; and rise early for the journey, and when it is light for you, go."

 

11 And David rose early, he and his men, to depart and to guard the land of the Philistines; and the Philistines went up to fight against Israel. 

  

Chapter 30

 

1 And it came to pass, when David and his men entered Ziklag on the third day, that Amalek had made a raid on the south and on Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;

 

2 and the women and all that were in it, from small to great, they did not put to death man or woman, but took them captive and went on their way.

 

3 And 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 And David and his men lifted up their voice and wept, until there was no strength in them any longer to weep.

 

5 And both the wives of David had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

 

6 And David was greatly distressed, because the people spoke of stoning him, for the soul of all the people was grieved, each for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

 

7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Bring near the ephod.

 

8 And David inquired through the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he said to him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake, and you shall surely rescue.

 

9 And David went, he and the six hundred men with him, and they come as far as the brook Besor, and the rest stopped.

 

10 And he pursued with four hundred men, but two hundred men stayed behind, who sat down on the other side of the brook Besor.

 

11 And they find an Egyptian man in a field, and they take him and bring him to David in the field; and they give him bread, and he ate, and they gave him water to drink;

 

12 and they give him a piece of a fig cake, and he ate, and his spirit was restored within him, for he had not eaten bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.

 

13 And David said to him, Whose are you, and from where are you? And the Egyptian lad said, I am the servant of an Amalekite man, and my master abandoned me, because I fell sick three days ago.

 

14 And we made a raid on the south of the Cholthites and on the parts of Judea and on the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.

 

15 And David said to him, Will you bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear now to me by God that you will not put me to death and will not deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop.

 

16 And he brought him down there, and behold, they were spread out over the face of all the land, eating and drinking and feasting on all the great spoils which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

 

17 And David came upon them and smote them from the morning star until evening and on the next day, and not a man of them was saved, except four hundred lads who were mounted on camels and fled.

 

18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued both his wives.

 

19 And nothing of theirs was missing, from small to great, neither of the spoils nor of sons and daughters nor of anything they had taken from them; David brought back everything.

 

20 And David took all the flocks and the herds and drove them before the spoil, and of that spoil it was said, This is David's spoil.

 

21 And David comes to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and whom he had made sit at the brook Besor; and they came out to meet David and to meet the people with him, and David came near to the people, and they asked him how he fared.

 

22 And every pestilent and wicked man among the men of war who had gone with David answered and said, Because they did not pursue with us, we will give them nothing from the spoils which we rescued, except that each may lead away his wife and his children and depart.

 

23 And David said, You shall not do so, after the Lord has delivered to us and guarded us, and the Lord has delivered the troop that came against us into our hands.

 

24 And who will listen to these words of yours? For they are not less than you; for as is the share of him who goes down to battle, so shall be the share of him who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.

 

25 And it came to pass from that day and onward that it became an ordinance and a statute for Israel to this day.

 

26 And David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah and to his friends, saying, Behold, of the spoils of the enemies of the Lord;

 

27 to those in Bethzur and to those in Ramah of the south and to those in Jattir

 

28 and to those in Aroer and to those of Ammadi and to those in Siphmoth and to those in Eshtemoa

 

28a and to those in Gath and to those in Kinan and to those in Saphek and to those in Thimath

 

29and to those in Carmel and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and to those in the cities of the Kenizzites

 

30and to those in Jerimuth and to those in Beersheba and to those in Noo

 

31and to those in Hebron, and to all the places through which David had passed, he and his men. 

 

Chapter 31

 

1 And the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and they fall slain on Mount Gilboa.

 

2 And the Philistines close in on Saul and his sons, and the Philistines strike down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

 

3 And the battle presses heavily upon Saul, and the javelin-throwers, men who were archers, find him, and he was wounded in the abdomen.

 

4 And Saul said to the one bearing his armor, "Draw your sword and pierce me with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and pierce me and mock me." But his armor-bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid; and Saul took the sword and fell upon it.

 

5 And his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, and he too fell upon his sword and died with him.

 

6 And Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, on that day together.

 

7 And the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, and they abandon their cities and flee; and the Philistines come and dwell in them.

 

8 And it came to pass on the next day that the Philistines come to strip the dead, and they find Saul and his three sons fallen on the mountains of Gilboa.

 

9 And they turn him over and stripped off his armor, and they send it around into the land of the Philistines, bringing the good news to their idols and to their people.

 

10 And they set up his armor in the temple of Astarte, and they fastened his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

 

11 And the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead hear what the Philistines did to Saul.

 

12 And every man of valor arose, and they journeyed all night and took the body of Saul and the body of Jonathan his son from the wall of Beth-shan, and they bring them to Jabesh and burn them there.

 

13 And they take their bones and bury them under the field of Jabesh, and they fast seven days.