The First Book of Samuel

1

1 And there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to Jehovah of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of Jehovah, were there. 4 And it came to pass on the day that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters portions; 5 but to Hannah he used to give a double portion, for he loved Hannah; but Jehovah had shut up her womb. 6 And her adversary provoked her much also, to make her fret, because Jehovah had shut up her womb. 7 And [ as] he did so year by year, as often as she went up to the house of Jehovah, she provoked her thus; and she wept and did not eat. 8 And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons? 9 And Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk; ( now Eli the priest sat upon the seat by the door-post of the temple of Jehovah;) 10 and she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Jehovah, and wept much. 11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man child, then I will give him to Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 12 And it came to pass as she continued praying before Jehovah, that Eli marked her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; and Eli thought she was drunken. 14 And Eli said to her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. 15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before Jehovah. 16 Take not thy handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my grief and provocation have I spoken hitherto. 17 And Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the° 1.17 Elohim God of Israel grant thee thy petition which thou hast asked of him. 18 And she said, Let thy bondwoman find grace in thy sight. And the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more [ as before]. 19 And they rose up early in the morning and worshipped before Jehovah, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Jehovah remembered her. 20 And it came to pass when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bore a son, and called his name Samuel, [saying,] Because I have asked him of Jehovah. 21 And Elkanah her husband, and all his house, went up to sacrifice to Jehovah the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, [ I will wait] until the child is weaned; then will I bring him, that he may appear before Jehovah, and there abide for ever. 23 And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what is good in thy sight: abide until thou hast weaned him; only, may Jehovah fulfil his word. And the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. 24 And she took him up with her when she had weaned him, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a flask of wine, and brought him to the house of Jehovah to Shiloh; and the boy was young. 25 And they slaughtered the bullock, and brought the boy to Eli. 26 And she said, Oh my lord, [ as] thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here to pray to Jehovah. 27 For this boy I prayed; and Jehovah has granted me my petition which I asked of him. 28 And also I have lent him to Jehovah: all the days that he lives, he is lent to Jehovah. And he worshipped Jehovah there.

2

1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exulteth in Jehovah, my horn is lifted up in Jehovah; my mouth is opened wide over mine enemies; for I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as Jehovah, for there is none beside thee, neither is there any rock like our° 2.2 Elohim God. 3 Do not multiply your words of pride, let not vain-glory come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a* 2.3 El God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bow of the mighty is broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired themselves out for bread; and the hungry are [ so] no more: Even the barren beareth seven, and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up. 7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich, he bringeth low, also he lifteth up: 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; from the dung-hill he lifteth up the needy, To set [ him] among nobles; and he maketh them inherit a throne of glory; For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s, and he hath set the world upon them. 9 He keepeth the feet of his saints, but the wicked are silenced in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; in the heavens will he thunder upon them. Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; and he will give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. 11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the boy ministered to Jehovah in the presence of Eli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not Jehovah. 13 And the priests’ custom with the people was, when any man sacrificed a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, when the flesh was cooked, with a flesh-hook of three prongs in his hand; 14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; the priest took of it all that the flesh-hook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came there. 15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, and he will not accept sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 16 If the man said to him, They will immediately burn the fat entire, then take as thy soul desires; he would say [ to him], No, but thou shalt give [ it] now; and if not, I will take [ it] by force. 17 And the sin of the young men was very great before Jehovah, for men despised the offering of Jehovah. 18 And Samuel ministered before Jehovah, a boy girded with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to sacrifice the yearly sacrifice. 20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, Jehovah give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to Jehovah. And they went to their own home. 21 So Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before Jehovah. 22 And Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they lay with the women that served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil deeds from all this people. 24 No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah’s people transgress. 25 If one man sin against another, ° 2.25 Elohim God will judge him; but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall intreat for him? But they hearkened not to the voice of their father, for Jehovah was minded to slay them. 26 And the boy Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with Jehovah and also with men. 27 And there came a man of° 2.27 Elohim God to Eli and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah: Did I plainly reveal myself to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh’s house, 28 and choose him out of all the tribes of Israel, to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear the ephod before me? and I gave unto the house of thy father all the offerings by fire of the children of Israel. 29 Wherefore do ye trample upon my sacrifice and upon mine oblation which I have commanded [ in my] habitation? And thou honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the primest of all the oblations of Israel my people. 30 Wherefore Jehovah the° 2.30 Elohim God of Israel saith, I said indeed, Thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever. But now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. 32 And thou shalt see an oppressor [ in my] habitation, amidst all the good that shall be done to Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. 33 And the man of thine [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to cause thine eyes to fail and to grieve thy soul; and all the increase of thy house shall die in their vigour. 34 And this shall be the sign to thee, which shall come upon thy two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. 35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, [ who] shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed continually. 36 And it shall come to pass [ that] every one that is left of thy house shall come to crouch to him for a small piece of silver and for a cake of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.

3

1 And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; a vision was not frequent. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli lay in his place ( now his eyes began to grow dim, he could not see), 3 and the lamp of° 3.3 Elohim God had not yet gone out, and Samuel lay in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of° 3.3 Elohim God was, 4 that Jehovah called to Samuel. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call: lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And Jehovah called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call, my son: lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither had the word of Jehovah yet been revealed to him. 8 And Jehovah called again the third time, Samuel! And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down; and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Jehovah, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at the other times, Samuel, Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant heareth. 11 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house; I will begin and make an end. 13 For I have declared to him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he hath known: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated with sacrifice or oblation for ever. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to declare the vision to Eli. 16 And Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I. 17 And he said, What is the word that he has spoken to thee? I pray thee, keep it not back from me: ° 3.17 Elohim God do so to thee, and more also, if thou keep back anything from me of all the word that he spoke to thee. 18 And Samuel told him all the words, and kept nothing back from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what is good in his sight. 19 And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel was established a prophet of Jehovah. 21 And Jehovah appeared again at Shiloh; for Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Jehovah.

4

1 And what Samuel had said happened to all Israel. And Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel; and the battle spread, and Israel was routed before the Philistines; and they slew in battle array in the field about four thousand men. 3 And the people came into the camp; and the elders of Israel said, Why has Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch ourselves the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of hosts, who sitteth between the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there by the ark of the covenant of° 4.4 Elohim God. 5 And it came to pass when the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came into the camp, that all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth shook. 6 And the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, and said, What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of Jehovah had come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, ° 4.7 Elohim God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there has not been such a thing heretofore. 8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty° 4.8 Elohim gods? these are the° 4.8 Elohim gods that smote the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness. 9 Shew yourselves valiant and be men, ye Philistines, that ye may not have to be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been servants to you: be men, and fight. 10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was routed, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11 And the ark of° 4.11 Elohim God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head. 13 And when he came, behold, Eli was sitting upon the seat by the way-side watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of° 4.13 Elohim God. And the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 And Eli heard the noise of the crying, and said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man came hastily, and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the battle, and I have fled to-day out of the battle. And he said, What has taken place, my son? 17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of° 4.17 Elohim God is taken. 18 And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of° 4.18 Elohim God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for the man was old, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 19 And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark of° 4.19 Elohim God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. 20 And as she was dying, the women that stood by her said, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she did not answer, neither did she take it to heart. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of° 4.21 Elohim God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of° 4.22 Elohim God is taken.

5

1 And the Philistines took the ark of° 5.1 Elohim God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. 2 And the Philistines took the ark of° 5.2 Elohim God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3 And when they of Ashdod arose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the fish-stump was left to him. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any that come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6 And the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he laid them waste, and smote them with hemorrhoids, — Ashdod and its borders. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the° 5.7 Elohim God of Israel shall not abide with us; for his hand is severe upon us, and upon Dagon our° 5.7 Elohim god. 8 And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the° 5.8 Elohim God of Israel? And they said, Let the ark of the° 5.8 Elohim God of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried the ark of the° 5.8 Elohim God of Israel about [thither]. 9 And it came to pass that, after they had carried it about, the hand of Jehovah was against the city with very great panic; and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and hemorrhoids broke out upon them. 10 And they sent the ark of° 5.10 Elohim God to Ekron. And it came to pass, when the ark of° 5.10 Elohim God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the° 5.10 Elohim God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people. 11 And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the° 5.11 Elohim God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it kill us not, and our people. For there was deadly alarm throughout the city: the hand of° 5.11 Elohim God was very heavy there; 12 and the men that died not were smitten with the hemorrhoids; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

6

1 And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah? tell us wherewith we shall send it to its place. 3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the° 6.3 Elohim God of Israel, send it not empty; ye must at any rate return him a trespass-offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4 Then they said, What is the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice, the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague is upon them all, and upon your lords. 5 And ye shall make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice that destroy the land, and give glory to the° 6.5 Elohim God of Israel: perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your° 6.5 Elohim gods, and from off your land. 6 And why will ye harden your heart, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? When he had wrought mightily among them, did they not let them go, and they departed? 7 And now make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there has come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them; 8 and take the ark of Jehovah, and lay it upon the cart, and the golden jewels, which ye return him as a trespass-offering, put in the coffer by the side thereof; and send it away that it may go. 9 And see, if it go up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, it is he who has done us this great evil; if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that touched us; it was a chance [ that] happened to us. 10 And the men did so, and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they laid the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer with the golden mice and the images of their sores. 12 And the kine went straight forward on the way to Beth-shemesh; they went by the one high way, lowing as they went; and they turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 And [ they of] Beth-shemesh were reaping the wheat-harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite, and stood there; and a great stone was there. And they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine as a burnt-offering to Jehovah. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer that was with it, in which were the golden jewels, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered up burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to Jehovah. 16 And the five lords of the Philistines saw [ it], and returned to Ekron the same day. 17 And these are the golden sores which the Philistines returned as a trespass-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gazah one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 and the golden mice, [ according to] the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and villages of the peasantry; [ and they brought them] as far as the great [ stone of] Abel, whereon they set down the ark of Jehovah, [ which] is to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite. 19 And he smote among the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah, and smote of the people seventy men; and the people lamented, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy° 6.20 Elohim God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of Jehovah; come down, fetch it up to you.

7

1 And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of Jehovah, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and hallowed Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Jehovah. 2 And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah. 3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye return to Jehovah with all your heart, put away the strange° 7.3 Elohim gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and apply your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. 4 And the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths and served Jehovah only. 5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray Jehovah for you. 6 And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah. 7 And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah; and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel; and the children of Israel heard [ it], and were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to Jehovah our° 7.8 Elohim God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 9 And Samuel took a sucking-lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to Jehovah; and Samuel cried to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him. 10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines advanced to battle against Israel. And Jehovah thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were routed before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, as far as below Beth-car. 12 And Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, and said, Hitherto Jehovah has helped us. 13 And the Philistines were subdued, and came no more into the borders of Israel; and the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 And the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and their territory did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorite. 15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house, and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to Jehovah.

8

1 And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 And the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah; they judged in Beer-sheba. 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah, 5 and said to him, Behold, thou art become old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now appoint us a king to judge us, like all the nations. 6 And the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to Jehovah. 7 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other° 8.8 Elohim gods, so do they also unto thee. 9 And now hearken unto their voice; only, testify solemnly unto them, and declare unto them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10 And Samuel spoke all the words of Jehovah to the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, on his chariot and among his horsemen, and they shall run before his chariots; 12 and [ he will take them] that he may appoint for himself captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and that they may plough his ground, and reap his harvest, and make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters for perfumers, and cooks, and bakers. 14 And your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, the best, will he take and give to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his chamberlains and to his servants. 16 And he will take your bondmen, and your bondwomen, and your comeliest young men, and your asses, and use them for his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep. And ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye have chosen; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day. 19 And the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations; and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and conduct our wars. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of Jehovah. 22 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye every man to his city.

9

1 And there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, a mighty man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, choice and comely; and there was not among the children of Israel a comelier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. 3 And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take, I pray, one of the young men with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found [ them] not; and they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there; and they passed through the land of Benjamin, and they found [ them] not. 5 They had come to the land of Zuph when Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come and let us return; lest my father give up the asses, and be anxious about us. 6 And he said to him, Behold now, a man of° 9.6 Elohim God is in this city, and the man is held in honour; all that he says comes surely to pass. Let us now go thither: perhaps he will shew us the way that we should go. 7 And Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and we have no present to give to the man of° 9.7 Elohim God: what have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver; that will I give to the man of° 9.8 Elohim God, to tell us our way. 9 ( In former time in Israel, when a man went to ask counsel of° 9.9 Elohim God, he said, Come and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was in former time called a Seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, Well said: come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of° 9.10 Elohim God was. 11 As they went up the ascent to the city, they met maidens going forth to draw water; and they said to them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them and said, He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he came to-day to the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place. 13 As soon as ye come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people eat not until he has come, because he blesses the sacrifice; afterwards they eat that are invited. And now go up; for this very day shall ye find him. 14 And they went up into the city. As they were coming into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel was coming out towards them, to go up to the high place. 15 Now Jehovah had apprised Samuel one day before Saul came, saying, 16 To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him prince over my people Israel; and he will save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. 17 And as Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah answered him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee! this man shall rule over my people. 18 And Saul drew near to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. 19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer: go up before me to the high place, and ye shall eat with me to-day; and to-morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart. 20 And as for the asses that thou didst lose three days ago, set not thy heart on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel [ set]? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? 21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why dost thou speak such words to me? 22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the chamber, and gave them a place at the head of them that were invited; and they were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion that I gave thee, of which I said to thee, Set it by thee. 24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and what was on it, and set [ it] before Saul. And he said, Behold that which has been reserved! set it before thee, eat; for against the set time has it been kept for thee, since I said, I will invite the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And they came down from the high place into the city, and he spoke with Saul upon the roof. 26 And they arose early; and when it was about the dawning of the day, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, Arise, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, into the street. 27 As they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to pass on before us ( and he passed on), but stand thou still now, that I may cause thee to hear the word of° 9.27 Elohim God.

10

1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because Jehovah has anointed thee prince over his inheritance? 2 When thou goest from me to-day, thou shalt meet two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to thee, The asses are found which thou wentest to seek, and behold, thy father has dismissed the matter of the asses, and is anxious about you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3 And thou shalt go on forward from thence, and shalt come to the oak of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to° 10.3 Elohim God, to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three cakes of bread, and another carrying a flask of wine. 4 And they will ask after thy welfare, and give thee two loaves, which thou shalt receive of their hands. 5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of° 10.5 Elohim God, where are the outposts of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou comest thither, into the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with lute and tambour and pipe and harp before them; and they themselves prophesying. 6 And the Spirit of Jehovah will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7 And it shall be, when these signs shall come to thee, thou shalt do as thy hand shall find; for° 10.7 Elohim God is with thee. 8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to thee, to offer up burnt-offerings, [ and] to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou wait, until I come to thee and inform thee what thou shalt do. 9 And it was [ so] that when he turned his back to go away from Samuel, ° 10.9 Elohim God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of° 10.10 Elohim God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 12 And a man of that place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 13 And when he had ended prophesying, he came to the high place. 14 And Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were nowhere, we went to Samuel. 15 And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you. 16 And Saul said to his uncle, He told us for certain that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he told him not. 17 And Samuel called the people together to Jehovah to Mizpah. 18 And he said to the children of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, the° 10.18 Elohim God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you; 19 but ye have this day rejected your° 10.19 Elohim God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your troubles, and have said unto him, [Nay,] but a king shalt thou set over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands. 20 And Samuel caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21 And he caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, and the family of Matri was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they sought him, but he was not to be found. 22 Therefore they inquired of Jehovah further, Will the man yet come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage. 23 And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted and said, May the king live. 25 And Samuel told the people the right of the kingdom, and wrote it in the book, and laid it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and with him went the band, whose hearts° 10.26 Elohim God had touched. 27 But the children of Belial said, How should this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no gifts. But he was as one deaf.

11

1 And Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh-Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. 2 And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this [condition] will I treat with you, that I thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. 3 And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Allow us seven days, and we will send messengers into all the districts of Israel; and if there be no man to deliver us, we will come out to thee. 4 And the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told these words in the ears of the people. And all the people lifted up their voice and wept. 5 And behold, Saul came after the oxen from the field; and Saul said, What [aileth] the people that they weep? And they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of° 11.6 Elohim God came upon Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was kindled greatly. 7 And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoever comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen! And the fear of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man. 8 And he numbered them in Bezek, and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers that had come, Thus shall ye say to the men of Jabesh-Gilead: To-morrow ye shall have deliverance when the sun is hot. And the messengers came and informed the men of Jabesh-Gilead; and they were glad. 10 And the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out to you, and ye may do with us according to all that is good in your sight. 11 And it came to pass the next day that Saul set the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and smote Ammon until the heat of the day: and it came to pass that they who remained were scattered, and not two of them were left together. 12 And the people said to Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. 13 But Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day Jehovah has wrought deliverance in Israel. 14 And Samuel said to the people, Come and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed peace-offerings before Jehovah. And there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced exceedingly.

12

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and grey-headed; and behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my youth up to this day. 3 Here I am: testify against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I injured? or of whose hand have I received any ransom and blinded mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it to you. 4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, and thou hast not injured us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man’s hand. 5 And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand! And [ the people] said, [ He is] witness! 6 And Samuel said to the people, [ It is] Jehovah who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 And now stand still, that I may plead with you before Jehovah of all the righteous acts of Jehovah which he did to you and to your fathers. 8 When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought your fathers forth out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. 9 And they forgot Jehovah their° 12.9 Elohim God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 And they cried to Jehovah and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths; and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11 And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies round about, so that ye dwelt in safety. 12 But when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us; when Jehovah your° 12.12 Elohim God was your king. 13 And now behold, the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have asked for! and behold, Jehovah has set a king over you. 14 If ye fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and rebel not against the commandment of Jehovah, then both ye and the king also that reigns over you shall continue following Jehovah your° 12.14 Elohim God. 15 But if ye will not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and if ye rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as against your fathers. 16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing which Jehovah will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call unto Jehovah, and he will send thunder and rain; and ye shall perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah in asking for yourselves a king. 18 And Samuel called to Jehovah; and Jehovah sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel. 19 And all the people said to Samuel, Pray to Jehovah thy ° 12.19 Elohim God for thy servants, that we die not; for we have added to all our sins the wickedness to ask for ourselves a king. 20 And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, and serve Jehovah with all your heart; 21 and turn ye not aside; for [ it would be] after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22 For Jehovah will not cast away his people for his great name’s sake; because it has pleased Jehovah to make you his people. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you; and I will teach you the good and right way. 24 Only, fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth, with all your heart; for see how great things he has done for you. 25 But if ye do wickedly, ye shall perish, both ye and your king.

13

1 Saul was... years old when he became king; and he reigned two years over Israel. 2 And Saul chose him three thousand men out of Israel: there were with Saul two thousand in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan smote the outpost of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard [ of it]. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4 And all Israel heard say, Saul has smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and Israel also has become odious to the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. 5 And the Philistines were assembled together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude; and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward from Beth-Aven. 6 And the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait ( for the people were distressed); and the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in cliffs, and in strongholds, and in pits. 7 And the Hebrews went over the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. And Saul was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 And he waited seven days, according to the set time that Samuel [ had appointed]; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 And Saul said, Bring hither to me the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings. And he offered up the burnt-offering. 10 And it came to pass, as soon as he had ended offering up the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou didst not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were assembled at Michmash, 12 I said, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to Jehovah; and I forced myself, and offered up the burnt-offering. 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy ° 13.13 Elohim God which he commanded thee; for now would Jehovah have established thy kingdom over Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah has sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah has appointed him ruler over his people; for thou hast not kept what Jehovah commanded thee. 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were found with him, about six hundred men. 16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were found with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin; and the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And the ravagers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned the way of Ophrah, into the land of Shual; 18 and another company turned the way to Beth-horon; and the other company turned the way to the district that looks over the ravine of Zeboim toward the wilderness. 19 Now there was no smith found throughout the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. 20 And all Israel went down to the Philistines, every man to get his ploughshare, and his hoe, and his axe, and his sickle sharpened, 21 when the edges of the sickles, and the hoes, and the forks, and the axes were blunted; and to set the goads. 22 And it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and with Jonathan his son there was found. 23 And a garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

14

1 Now it came to pass one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore his armour, Come and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison which is on the other side. But he did not tell his father. 2 And Saul abode at the extreme end of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which [ was] in Migron; and the people that were with him were about six hundred men. 3 ( And Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, Jehovah’s priest in Shiloh, wore the ephod.) And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone. 4 Now between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side; and the name of the one [ was] Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The one crag [formed] a pillar on the north opposite to Michmash, and the other on the south opposite to Geba. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: perhaps Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few. 7 And his armour-bearer said to him, Do all that is in thy heart; turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. 8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will shew ourselves to them. 9 If they say thus to us, Stand still until we come to you, then we will stay in our place, and will not go up to them. 10 And if they say thus, Come up to us, then we will go up; for Jehovah has given them into our hand; and this shall be the sign to us. 11 And both of them shewed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you something. And Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah has delivered them into the hand of Israel. 13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan; and his armour-bearer slew after him. 14 And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour-bearer wrought was about twenty men, as it were on the half-furrow of an acre of land. 15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the ravagers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; for it was a trembling [ from] ° 14.15 Elohim God. 16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on slaying one another. 17 Then said Saul to the people that were with him, Muster now, and see who is gone from us. And they mustered, and behold, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there. 18 And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ark of° 14.18 Elohim God. For the ark of° 14.18 Elohim God was at that time with the children of Israel. 19 And it came to pass while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thy hand. 20 And Saul and all the people that were with him were called together, and they came to the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, a very great confusion. 21 And there were Hebrews with the Philistines before that time, who had gone up with them into the camp round about; and they also [ turned] to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 And all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in mount Ephraim heard that the Philistines fled, and they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 And Jehovah saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over beyond Beth-Aven. 24 But the men of Israel were distressed that day. Now Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food until evening, and [ until] I am avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food. 25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey on the ground. 26 And the people had come into the wood, and behold, the honey flowed; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he put forth the end of his staff which was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. 28 Then answered one of the people and said, Thy father strictly adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food this day; and the people are faint. 29 And Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land: see, I pray you, that mine eyes are bright, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for would there not now have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon; and the people were very faint. 32 And the people fell on the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate [ them] with the blood. 33 And they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against Jehovah, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have acted perversely: roll me now a great stone. 34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Bring near to me every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat; and sin not against Jehovah in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slaughtered [ them] there. 35 And Saul built an altar to Jehovah: this was the first altar he built to Jehovah. 36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever is good in thy sight. Then said the priest, Let us come near hither to° 14.36 Elohim God. 37 And Saul inquired of° 14.37 Elohim God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou give them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him that day. 38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the heads of the people; and know and see wherein this sin has been this day. 39 For, [ as] Jehovah liveth, who has saved Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall certainly die. And no one answered him among all the people. 40 Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what is good in thy sight. 41 And Saul said to Jehovah the° 14.41 Elohim God of Israel, Give a perfect [testimony]! And Jonathan and Saul were taken, and the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 43 And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him and said, With the end of the staff which is in my hand I tasted a little honey, [ and] behold, I must die! 44 And Saul said, ° 14.44 Elohim God do so [ to me] and more also; thou shalt certainly die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far be it! [ as] Jehovah liveth, there shall not a hair of his head fall to the ground; for he has wrought with° 14.45 Elohim God this day. So the people delivered Jonathan, that he died not. 46 And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place. 47 And Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; and whithersoever he turned himself, he discomfited [ them]. 48 And he did valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of their spoilers. 49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. 50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 And Kish the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner were sons of Abiel. 52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him to himself.

15

1 And Samuel said to Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah. 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I have considered what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and destroy utterly all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of the Amalekites, and set an ambush in the valley. 6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, and go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah as thou comest to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 And Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and oxen, and beasts of the second bearing, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not devote them to destruction; but everything that was mean and weak, that they destroyed utterly. 10 And the word of Jehovah came to Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned away from following me, and hath not fulfilled my words. And Samuel was much grieved; and he cried to Jehovah all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and has turned about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, Blessed art thou of Jehovah: I have fulfilled the word of Jehovah. 14 And Samuel said, What [means] then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy ° 15.15 Elohim God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, that I may tell thee what Jehovah has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, Was it not when thou wast little in thine eyes that thou [becamest] the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And Jehovah sent thee on a way and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, but didst fall upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of Jehovah? 20 And Saul said to Samuel, I have indeed hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy ° 15.21 Elohim God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Has Jehovah delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, As in hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, Attention than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is [ as] the sin of divination, And selfwill is [ as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice. 25 And now, I pray thee, forgive my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah. 26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn again with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned to go away, [ Saul] laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou. 29 And also the Hope of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30 And he said, I have sinned; honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy ° 15.30 Elohim God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah. 32 And Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag came to him gaily. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless above women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal. 34 And Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel saw Saul no more until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned over Saul; and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16

1 And Jehovah said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How shall I go? if Saul hear [ it], he will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did what Jehovah said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. Hallow yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he hallowed Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah’s anointed is before him. 7 But Jehovah said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth; for man looketh upon the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh upon the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one. 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the young men? And he said, There is yet the youngest remaining, and behold, he is feeding the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit at table till he come hither. 12 And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy, and besides of a lovely countenance and beautiful appearance. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he. 13 And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 14 And the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from° 16.15 Elohim God troubles thee. 16 Let our lord now speak; thy servants are before thee: they shall seek out a man, a skilful player on a harp; and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from° 16.16 Elohim God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18 And one of the young men answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilled in playing, and he is a valiant man and a man of war, and skilled in speech, and of good presence, and Jehovah is with him. 19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep. 20 And Jesse took an ass with bread, and a flask of wine, and a kid, and sent [ them] by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he has found favour in my sight. 23 And it came to pass, when the [ evil] spirit from° 16.23 Elohim God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; and Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

17

1 And the Philistines assembled their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of terebinths, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and the ravine was between them. 4 And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he was clothed with a corselet of scales; and the weight of the corselet was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had greaves of bronze upon his legs, and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders. 7 And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and the shield-bearer went before him. 8 And he stood and cried to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I the Philistine, and ye servants of Saul? choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to smite me, then will we be your servants; but if I overcome and smite him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I have defied the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-Judah whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons; and the man was old in the days of Saul, advanced [ in years] among men. 13 And the three eldest of the sons of Jesse had gone and followed Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David was the youngest; and the three eldest had followed Saul. 15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 17 And Jesse said to David his son, Take, I pray, for thy brethren, this ephah of parched [corn] and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren; 18 and carry these ten cheeses to the captain of the thousand, and visit thy brethren to see how they are, and take a pledge of them. 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel [ were] in the valley of terebinths, fighting against the Philistines. 20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took his charge and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the wagon-defence; and the host which was going forth to the battle-array shouted for the fight. 21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, rank against rank. 22 And David left the things he was carrying in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran into the ranks, and came and saluted his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, behold there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words; and David heard [ them]. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that comes up? for to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who smites him, him will the king enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. 26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that smites this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living° 17.26 Elohim God? 27 And the people told him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that smites him. 28 And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard while he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Was it not laid upon me? 30 And he turned from him to another, and spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him again after the former manner. 31 And the words were heard which David spoke, and they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him: thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said to Saul, Thy servant fed his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. 35 And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I seized him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living° 17.36 Elohim God. 37 And David said, Jehovah who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and Jehovah be with thee. 38 And Saul clothed David with his dress, and put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and clothed him with a corselet. 39 And David girded his sword upon his dress, and endeavoured to go; for he had not yet tried [ it]. And David said to Saul, I cannot go in these; for I have never tried [ them]. And David put them off him. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag that he had, into the pocket; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and approached David; and the man that bore the shield was before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was a youth, and ruddy, and besides of a beautiful countenance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his° 17.43 Elohim gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the heavens and to the beasts of the field. 45 And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with javelin; but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the° 17.45 Elohim God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will Jehovah deliver thee up into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens and to the wild beasts of the earth. And all the earth shall know that Israel has a° 17.46 Elohim God; 47 and all this congregation shall know that Jehovah saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is Jehovah’s, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and advanced to meet David, that David hasted, and ran towards the ranks to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into the bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead; and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David overcame the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and smote the Philistine and killed him; and there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 And David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him completely, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the ravine and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down on the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they pillaged their camps. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son this youth is. 57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, young man? And David said, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.

18

1 And it came to pass, when he had ended speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his dress, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. 5 And David went forth; whithersoever Saul sent him he prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 6 And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambours, with joy, and with triangles. 7 And the women answered [ one another] as they played, and said, Saul hath smitten his thousands, And David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very wroth, and that saying was evil in his sight; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed the thousands; and [ what] is there more for him but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. 10 And it came to pass the next day that an evil spirit from° 18.10 Elohim God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house, but David played with his hand, as on other days; and the spear was in Saul’s hand. 11 And Saul cast the spear, and thought, I will smite David and the wall. But David turned away from him twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah was with him, and had departed from Saul. 13 And Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David prospered in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him. 15 And Saul saw that he prospered well, and he stood in awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. 17 And Saul said to David, Behold my eldest daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant for me, and fight Jehovah’s battles. But Saul thought, My hand shall not be upon him, but the hand of the Philistines shall be upon him. 18 And David said to Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, [ or] my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? 19 And it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. 20 And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing was right in his sight. 21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be upon him. And Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time. 22 And Saul commanded his servants, Speak with David secretly, saying, Behold, the king has delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king’s son-in-law. 23 And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, Is it a light thing in your eyes to be the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner did David speak. 25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David: The king does not desire any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And his servants told David these words; and the thing was right in David’s sight to be the king’s son-in-law. And the days were not expired, 27 when David arose and went, he and his men, and smote of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they delivered them in full to the king, that he might be the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife. 28 And Saul saw and knew that Jehovah was with David; and Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. 29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy continually. 30 And the princes of the Philistines went forth; and it came to pass, whenever they went forth, that David succeeded better than all the servants of Saul; and his name was much esteemed.

19

1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. 2 But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeks to kill thee; and now, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place and hide thyself; 3 and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and will speak of thee with my father: and see what it is, and tell thee. 4 And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against thee; for also what he did was very advantageous to thee; 5 for he put his life in hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou didst see [ it], and didst rejoice; why then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, in slaying David without cause? 6 And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, [ As] Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death! 7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan declared to him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as previously. 8 And there was war again; and David went forth and fought with the Philistines, and smote them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him. 9 And an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul. And he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David played with his hand. 10 And Saul sought to smite David and the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped that night. 11 And Saul sent messengers to David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning; and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be put to death. 12 And Michal let David down through a window; and he went, and fled and escaped. 13 And Michal took the image, and laid it in the bed, and put the net of goats’ [hair] at its head, and covered it with the coverlet. 14 And Saul sent messengers to take David, and she said, He is sick. 15 And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may put him to death. 16 And the messengers came in, and behold, the image was in the bed, and the net of goats’ [hair] at its head. 17 Then Saul said to Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal said to Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I slay thee? 18 And David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth by Ramah. 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David; and they saw a company of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as president over them; and the Spirit of° 19.20 Elohim God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 And it was told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Sechu; and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, at Naioth by Ramah. 23 And he went thither to Naioth by Ramah; and the Spirit of° 19.23 Elohim God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth by Ramah. 24 And he himself also stripped off his clothes, and prophesied, himself also, before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

20

1 And David fled from Naioth by Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life? 2 And he said to him, ° 20.2 Elohim God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, and not apprise me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. 3 And David swore again and again, and said, Thy father certainly knows that I have found favour in thy sight: and he has thought, Jonathan shall not know this, lest he be grieved; but truly [ as] Jehovah liveth, and [ as] thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. 4 And Jonathan said to David, What thy soul may say, I will even do it for thee. 5 And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6 If thy father should actually miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7 If he say thus, It is well, — thy servant shall have peace; but if he be very wroth, be sure that evil is determined by him. 8 Deal kindly then with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for, if I knew with certainty that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, would I not tell it thee? 10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? 11 And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. 12 And Jonathan said to David, Jehovah, ° 20.12 Elohim God of Israel, when I sound my father about this time to-morrow, [ or] the next day, and behold, there be good toward David, and I then send not to thee, and apprise thee of it, 13 Jehovah do so and much more to Jonathan. Should it please my father [ to do] thee evil, then I will apprise thee of it, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and Jehovah be with thee, as he has been with my father. 14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of Jehovah, that I die not, 15 but thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever, no, not when Jehovah cuts off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth. 16 And Jonathan made [ a covenant] with the house of David, [saying,] Let Jehovah even require [ it] at the hand of David’s enemies! 17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, by the love he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18 And Jonathan said to him, To-morrow is the new moon; and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty; 19 but on the third day thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the business, and abide by the stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the lad, [ saying,] Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come, for there is peace for thee, and it is nothing; [ as] Jehovah liveth. 22 But if I say thus to the youth: Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, — go thy way; for Jehovah sends thee away. 23 And as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between me and thee for ever. 24 And David hid himself in the field; and it was the new moon, and the king sat at table to eat. 25 And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty. 26 And Saul said nothing that day; for he thought, Something has befallen [ him], that he is not clean: surely he is not clean. 27 And it came to pass the next day after the new moon, the second [ day of the month], as David’s place was empty, that Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jesse come to table, neither yesterday nor to-day? 28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me [ to go] to Bethlehem, 29 and said, Let me go, I pray thee; for we have a family sacrifice in the city; and my brother himself has commanded me [ to be there]; and now, if I have found favour in thy sight, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. He has therefore not come to the king’s table. 30 And Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame and to the shame of thy mother’s nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. And now send and fetch him to me, for he must die. 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why should he be put to death? what has he done? 33 Then Saul cast the spear at him to smite him; and Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to put David to death. 34 And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no meat the second day of the new moon; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 35 And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, to the place agreed on with David, and a little lad with him. 36 And he said to his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. The lad ran, and he shot the arrow beyond him. 37 And when the lad came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad and said, Is not the arrow away beyond thee? 38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not! And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. 39 And the lad knew nothing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city. 41 The lad went, and David arose from the side of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have both of us sworn in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever! And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.

21

1 And David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech trembled at meeting David, and said to him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me, Let no man know anything of the business whereon I send thee, and what I have commanded thee; and I have directed the young men to such and such a place. 3 And now what is under thy hand? give me five loaves in my hand, or what may be found. 4 And the priest answered David and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. 5 And David answered the priest and said to him, Yes indeed, women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the [ bread] is in a manner common, and the more so, because to-day [new] is hallowed in the vessels. 6 And the priest gave him holy [bread]; for there was no bread there but the shew-loaves that were taken from before Jehovah, to put on hot bread in the day when they were taken away. 7 ( Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg, the Edomite, chief of the shepherds that [ belonged] to Saul.) 8 And David said to Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, for the king’s business was urgent. 9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of terebinths, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that: give it me. 10 And David arose, and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David took to heart these words, and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard. 14 And Achish said to his servants, Behold, ye see the man is mad: why did ye bring him to me? 15 have I lack of madmen, that ye have brought this one to rave in my presence? shall this [ man] come into my house?

22

1 And David departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And his brethren and all his father’s house heard [ it], and they went down thither to him. 2 And every one in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one of embittered spirit collected round him; and he became a captain over them; and there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David went thence to Mizpeh in Moab, and said to the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth amongst you, till I know what° 22.3 Elohim God will do for me. 4 And he brought them before the king of Moab; and they abode with him all the while that David was in the stronghold. 5 And the prophet Gad said to David, Abide not in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. 6 And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk upon the height, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing by him. 7 Then Saul said to his servants that stood by him, Hear now, ye Benjaminites: will the son of Jesse give every one of you also fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that informs me when my son has made [ a covenant] with the son of Jesse; and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or informs me that my son has stirred up my servant as a lier-in-wait against me, as at this day? 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he inquired of Jehovah for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob; and they came all of them to the king. 12 And Saul said, Hear now, son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. 13 And Saul said to him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of° 22.13 Elohim God for him, that he should rise against me as a lier-in-wait, as at this day? 14 And Ahimelech answered the king and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and has access to thy secret council, and is honourable in thy house? 15 Was it to-day that I began to inquire of° 22.15 Elohim God for him? be it far from me: let not the king charge anything to his servant, [ nor] to all the house of my father; for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. 16 And the king said, Thou shalt certainly die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. 17 And the king said to the couriers that stood about him, Turn and put the priests of Jehovah to death; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not inform me. But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hand to fall on the priests of Jehovah. 18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall on the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and fell on the priests, and put to death that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, infants and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword. 20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar informed David that Saul had slain Jehovah’s priests. 22 And David said to Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul: I am accountable for all the lives of thy father’s house. 23 Abide with me, fear not; for he that seeks my life seeks thy life; for with me thou art in safe keeping.

23

1 And they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing-floors. 2 And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And Jehovah said to David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 3 But David’s men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 4 And David inquired of Jehovah yet again. And Jehovah answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into thy hand. 5 And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought against the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7 And it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. Then Saul said, ° 23.7 Elohim God has cast him off into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a city that has gates and bars. 8 And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 And when David knew that Saul devised mischief against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod. 10 Then said David, Jehovah, ° 23.10 Elohim God of Israel, thy servant hath heard for certain that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? Jehovah, ° 23.11 Elohim God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And Jehovah said, He will come down. 12 And David said, Will the citizens of Keilah deliver up me and my men into the hand of Saul? And Jehovah said, They will deliver [thee] up. 13 Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, and he forbore to go forth. 14 And David abode in the wilderness in strongholds, and abode in the mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but° 23.14 Elohim God did not give him into his hand. 15 And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life; and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16 And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in° 23.16 Elohim God. 17 And he said to him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father will not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next to thee; and that also Saul my father knows. 18 And they two made a covenant before Jehovah; and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. 19 And the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the wood, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the waste? 20 And now, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and it will be for us to deliver him up into the king’s hand. 21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of Jehovah; for ye have compassion upon me. 22 Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his track is, who has seen him there; for it is told me that he deals very subtilly. 23 And see, and ascertain all the lurking-places where he hides himself, and come ye again to me with sure information, that I may go with you; and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout the thousands of Judah. 24 And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul; but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of the waste. 25 And Saul and his men went to seek [ him]. And they told David; and he came down from the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul heard [ that], and he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David made haste to get away from Saul; and Saul and his men sought to surround David and his men to take them. 27 But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, Haste thee and come; for the Philistines have made a raid against the land. 28 And Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines; therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth. 29 And David went up from thence, and abode in the strongholds of Engedi.

24

1 And it came to pass when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. 2 And Saul took three thousand men, chosen out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet; and David and his men were abiding in the recesses of the cave. 4 And David’s men said to him, Behold the day of which Jehovah said to thee, Behold, I will give thine enemy into thy hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. And David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly. 5 And it came to pass afterwards that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6 And he said to his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing to my master, Jehovah’s anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, for he is the anointed of Jehovah. 7 And David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on [ his] way. 8 David also arose afterwards, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance. 9 And David said to Saul, Why dost thou listen to words of men, saying, Behold, David seeks thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah had given thee this day into my hand in the cave; and they bade me kill thee; but [mine eye] spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is the anointed of Jehovah. 11 And see, my father, yes, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou liest in wait for my life to take it. 12 Jehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee. 13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked; but my hand shall not be upon thee. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a single flea. 15 Jehovah therefore shall be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and do me justice [ in delivering me] out of thy hand. 16 And as soon as David had ended speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 18 And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me, forasmuch as when Jehovah had delivered me up into thy hand, thou didst not kill me. 19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore Jehovah reward thee good for that thou hast done to me this day. 20 And now behold, I know that thou shalt certainly be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand. 21 Swear now therefore to me by Jehovah, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. 22 And David swore to Saul. And Saul went home; and David and his men went up to the stronghold.

25

1 And Samuel died; and all Israel were gathered together, and lamented him; and they buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man at Maon, whose business was at Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep at Carmel. 3 And the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was a Calebite. 4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 Then David sent out ten young men; and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 And thus shall ye say: Long life [ to thee]! and peace be to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast! 7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missed by them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee. Therefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, what thy hand may find to thy servants, and to thy son David. 9 And David’s young men came, and spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. 11 And shall I take my bread, and my water, and my flesh which I have killed for my shearers, and give [ it] to men whom I know not whence they are? 12 And David’s young men turned their way, and went back, and came and reported to him according to all those words. 13 And David said to his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword; and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage. 14 And one of [Nabal’s] young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to bless our master; and he has insulted them. 15 And the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we companied with them, when we were in the fields. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them feeding the sheep. 17 And now know and consider what thou wilt do, for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household; and he is such a son of Belial, that one cannot speak to him. 18 And Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two skin-bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched [corn], and a hundred raisin-cakes, and two hundred fig-cakes, and laid them on asses. 19 And she said to her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she was riding on the ass, and coming down by the covert of the hill, behold, David and his men came down opposite to her; and she met them. 21 Now David had said, Surely, in vain have I kept all that this [ man] had in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his; and he has requited me evil for good. 22 So and more also do° 25.22 Elohim God to the enemies of David, if I leave of all that is his by the morning light any male. 23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, 24 and fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, [ upon] me let the iniquity be; but let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear the words of thy handmaid. 25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; and I thy handmaid did not see the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. 26 And now, my lord, [ as] Jehovah liveth, and [ as] thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah has restrained thee from coming with bloodshed, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27 And now this blessing which thy bondmaid has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men that follow my lord. 28 I pray thee, forgive the transgression of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a lasting house; because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days. 29 And if a man is risen up to pursue thee and to seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Jehovah thy ° 25.29 Elohim God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out from the hollow of the sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall do to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee, and shall appoint thee ruler over Israel, 31 that this shall be no stumbling-block to thee, nor offence of heart for my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall deal well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid. 32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the° 25.32 Elohim God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me. 33 And blessed be thy discernment, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this day from coming with bloodshed, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. 34 But indeed, as Jehovah the° 25.34 Elohim God of Israel liveth, who has restrained me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any male. 35 So David received of her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person. 36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was drunken to excess; so she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. 37 And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things; and his heart died within him, and he became [ as] a stone. 38 And it came to pass in about ten days that Jehovah smote Nabal, and he died. 39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil; but Jehovah has returned Nabal’s evil upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her as his wife. 40 And the servants of David came to Abigail to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee as his wife. 41 And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a bondwoman to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 42 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David had also taken Ahinoam of Jizreel; and they became, even both of them, his wives. 44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

26

1 And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Does not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, facing the waste? 2 And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which faces the waste, by the way side. And David abode in the wilderness; and when he saw that Saul had come after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies, and learned that Saul was certainly come. 5 And David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay within the wagon-defence, and the people were encamped round about him. 6 And David spake and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. 7 And David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the wagon-defence, and his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him. 8 And Abishai said to David, ° 26.8 Elohim God has delivered thine enemy into thy hand this day; and now let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear, even to the ground once, and I will not do it the second time. 9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can stretch forth his hand against Jehovah’s anointed, and be guiltless? 10 And David said, [ As] Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will surely smite him; either his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish. 11 Jehovah forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against Jehovah’s anointed! But now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go. 12 And David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s head; and they went away, and no man saw [ it], and none knew [ it], and none awaked, for they were all asleep; for a deep sleep from Jehovah had fallen upon them. 13 And David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off; a great space [being] between them. 14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? 15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a man? and who is like to thee in Israel? and why hast thou not guarded thy lord the king? for one of the people came in to destroy the king thy lord. 16 This thing is not good which thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not guarded your master, Jehovah’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head. 17 And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. 18 And he said, Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? 19 And now, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If Jehovah have moved thee against me, let him accept an oblation; but if the sons of men, cursed be they before Jehovah; for they have driven me out this day from adhering to the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other° 26.19 Elohim gods. 20 And now, let not my blood fall to the earth far from the face of Jehovah; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea, as when they hunt a partridge on the mountains. 21 And Saul said, I have sinned: return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have acted foolishly, and have erred exceedingly. 22 And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear, and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. 23 And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; for Jehovah gave thee into [ my] hand this day, and I would not stretch forth my hand against Jehovah’s anointed. 24 And behold, as thy life was highly esteemed this day in mine eyes, so let my life be highly esteemed in the eyes of Jehovah, that he may deliver me out of all distress. 25 And Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt certainly do [great things], and shalt certainly prevail. And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

27

1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me to seek me any more within all the limits of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand. 2 And David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David abode with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household; David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; and he sought no more for him. 5 And David said to Achish, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some country-town, that I may abide there; for why should thy servant abide in the royal city with thee? 6 And Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 And the time that David abode in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months. 8 And David and his men went up and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the Gerzites, and the Amalekites: for those were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, and as far as the land of Egypt. 9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. 10 So Achish said, Have ye not made a raid to-day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. 11 And David left neither man nor woman alive, to bring [ them] to Gath, for he said, Lest they should tell of us, saying, So did David. And such was his custom as long as he abode in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish trusted David, saying, He has made himself utterly odious among his people Israel; and he shall be my servant for ever.

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1 And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered together their armies for warfare to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, Know thou assuredly that thou shalt go out with me to the camp, thou and thy men. 2 And David said to Achish, Thereby thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of my person for ever. 3 (Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and they had buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away the necromancers and the soothsayers out of the land.) 4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. 5 And when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 6 And Saul inquired of Jehovah; but Jehovah did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then said Saul to his servants, Seek me a woman that has a spirit of Python, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has a spirit of Python at En-dor. 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, I pray thee, divine to me by the spirit of Python, and bring me [ him] up whom I shall name to thee. 9 And the woman said to him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off the necromancers and the soothsayers out of the land; and why layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10 And Saul swore unto her by Jehovah, saying, [ As] Jehovah liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? Even thou art Saul. 13 And the king said to her, Be not afraid; but what didst thou see? And the woman said to Saul, I saw a° 28.13 Elohim god ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. 15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul said, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and° 28.15 Elohim God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known to me what I shall do. 16 And Samuel said, Why then dost thou inquire of me, seeing Jehovah is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17 And Jehovah has done for himself as he spoke by me; and Jehovah has rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbour, to David. 18 Because thou didst not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and didst not execute his fierce anger upon Amalek, therefore has Jehovah done this thing to thee this day. 19 And Jehovah will also give Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me; the army of Israel also will Jehovah give into the hand of the Philistines. 20 And Saul fell straightway his full length on the earth, and was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all the day nor all the night. 21 And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said to him, Behold, thy bondmaid has hearkened to thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened to thy words which thou spokest to me. 22 And now, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy bondmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way. 23 But he refused and said, I will not eat. Then his servants, and the woman also, compelled him, and he hearkened to their voice; and he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. 24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread thereof; 25 and she brought it near before Saul, and before his servants, and they ate. And they rose up and went away that night.

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1 And the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and Israel encamped by the spring that is in Jizreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish. 3 And the princes of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found nothing in him since the day of his falling away [ to me] to this day? 4 But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man return, that he may go again to his place where thou hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to the battle, that in the battle he be not an adversary to us; for wherewith should this [ fellow] reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? 5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul smote his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 6 And Achish called David, and said to him, [ As] Jehovah liveth, thou art upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the camp is acceptable to me; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming to me to this day; but thou art not acceptable to the lords. 7 And now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. 8 And David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee to this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art acceptable to me, as an angel of° 29.9 Elohim God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. 10 And now rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee; and rise ye early in the morning, and when ye have daylight, depart. 11 And David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jizreel.

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1 And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire; 2 and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way. 3 And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were taken captives. 4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jizreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him; for the soul of all the people was embittered, every man because of his sons and because of his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Jehovah his° 30.6 Elohim God. 7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, Bring near to me, I pray thee, the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod near to David. 8 And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he said to him, Pursue; for thou shalt assuredly overtake [ them] and shalt certainly recover. 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the torrent Besor; and those that were left stayed behind. 10 And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to go over the torrent Besor. 11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink, 12 and gave him a piece of fig-cake and two raisin-cakes, and he ate, and his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, for three days and three nights. 13 And David said to him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 We made a raid against the south of the Cherethites, and against what [belongs] to Judah, and against the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear to me by° 30.15 Elohim God, that thou wilt neither put me to death nor deliver me up into the hand of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop. 16 And he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over the whole land, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 And David smote them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken: and David recovered his two wives. 19 And there was nothing missed by them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken: David brought all back. 20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, [ which] they drove before the other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil. 21 And David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and whom they had left behind at the torrent Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and David drew near to the people and saluted them. 22 And all the wicked men, and [ men] of Belial, of those that had gone with David, answered and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them [aught] of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead [ them] away and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah has given us, who has preserved us, and given the troop that came against us into our hand. 24 And who will hearken to you in this matter? For as his share is that goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that abides by the baggage: they shall share alike. 25 And it was [ so] from that day forward; and he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. 26 And David came to Ziklag, and he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah: 27 to those in Bethel, and to those in south Ramoth, and to those in Jattir, 28 and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa, 29 and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites, 30 and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-ashan, and to those in Athach, 31 and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men went about.

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1 And the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers came up with him; and he was much terrified by the archers. 4 Then said Saul to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was much afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and [ they] that were on this side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 And it came to pass the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent [ them] into the land of the Philistines round about, to announce the glad tidings in the houses of their idols, and to the people. 10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.