15:1And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to put the holy oil on you and to make you king over his people, over Israel: so give ear now to the words of the Lord. 15:2The Lord of armies says, I will give punishment to Amalek for what he did to Israel, fighting against him on the way when Israel came out of Egypt. 15:3Go now and put Amalek to the sword, putting to the curse all they have, without mercy: put to death every man and woman, every child and baby at the breast, every ox and sheep, camel and ass. 15:4And Saul sent for the people and had them numbered in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah. 15:5And Saul came to the town of Amalek, and took up his position in the valley secretly. 15:6And Saul said to the Kenites, Go away, take yourselves out from among the Amalekites, or destruction will overtake you with them: for you were kind to the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. So the Kenites went away from among the Amalekites. 15:7And Saul made an attack on the Amalekites from Havilah on the road to Shur, which is before Egypt. 15:8He took Agag, king of the Amalekites, prisoner, and put all the people to the sword without mercy. 15:9But Saul and the people did not put Agag to death, and they kept the best of the sheep and the oxen and the fat beasts and the lambs, and whatever was good, not desiring to put them to the curse: but everything which was bad and of no use they put to the curse. 15:10Then the Lord said to Samuel, 15:11It is no longer my pleasure for Saul to be king; for he is turned back from going in my ways, and has not done my orders. And Samuel was very sad, crying to the Lord in prayer all night. 15:12And early in the morning he got up and went to Saul; and word was given to Samuel that Saul had come to Carmel and put up a pillar, and had gone from there down to Gilgal. 15:13And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, May the blessing of the Lord be with you: I have done what was ordered by the Lord. 15:14And Samuel said, What then is this sound of the crying of sheep and the noise of oxen which comes to my ears? 15:15And Saul said, They have taken them from the Amalekites: for the people have kept the best of the sheep and of the oxen as an offering to the Lord your God; all the rest we have given up to destruction. 15:16Then Samuel said to Saul, Say no more! Let me give you word of what the Lord has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on. 15:17And Samuel said, Though you may seem little to yourself, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord with the holy oil made you king over Israel, 15:18And the Lord sent you on a journey and said, Go and put to the curse those sinners, the Amalekites, fighting against them till every one is dead. 15:19Why then did you not do the orders of the Lord, but by violently taking their goods did evil in the eyes of the Lord? 15:20And Saul said, Truly, I have done the orders of the Lord and have gone the way the Lord sent me; I have taken Agag, the king of Amalek, and have given the Amalekites up to destruction. 15:21But the people took some of their goods, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which were put to the curse, to make an offering of them to the Lord your God in Gilgal. 15:22And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in offerings and burned offerings as in the doing of his orders? Truly, to do his pleasure is better than to make offerings, and to give ear to him than the fat of sheep. 15:23For to go against his orders is like the sin of those who make use of secret arts, and pride is like giving worship to images. Because you have put away from you the word of the Lord, he has put you from your place as king. 15:24And Saul said to Samuel, Great is my sin: for I have gone against the orders of the Lord and against your words: because, fearing the people, I did what they said. 15:25So now, let my sin have forgiveness, and go back with me to give worship to the Lord. 15:26And Samuel said to Saul, I will not go back with you: for you have put away from you the word of the Lord, and the Lord has put you from your place as king over Israel. 15:27And when Samuel was turning round to go away, Saul took the skirt of his robe in his hand, and the cloth came away. 15:28And Samuel said to him, The Lord has taken away the kingdom of Israel from you this day by force, and has given it to a neighbour of yours who is better than you. 15:29And further, the Glory of Israel will not say what is false, and his purpose may not be changed: for he is not a man, whose purpose may be changed. 15:30Then he said, Great is my sin: but still, give me honour now before the heads of my people and before Israel, and come back with me so that I may give worship to the Lord your God. 15:31So Samuel went back after Saul, and Saul gave worship to the Lord. 15:32Then Samuel said, Make Agag, the king of the Amalekites, come here to me. And Agag came to him shaking with fear. And Agag said, Truly the pain of death is past. 15:33And Samuel said, As your sword has made women without children, so now your mother will be without children among women. And Agag was cut up by Samuel, bone from bone, before the Lord in Gilgal. 15:34Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah, in the land of Saul. 15:35And Samuel never saw Saul again till the day of his death; but Samuel was sorrowing for Saul: and it was no longer the Lord's pleasure for Saul to be king over Israel.
16:1And the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on sorrowing for Saul, seeing that I have put him from his place as king over Israel? Take oil in your vessel and go; I will send you to Jesse, the Beth-lehemite: for I have got a king for myself among his sons. 16:2And Samuel said, How is it possible for me to go? If Saul gets news of it he will put me to death. And the Lord said, Take a young cow with you and say, I have come to make an offering to the Lord. 16:3And send for Jesse to be present at the offering, and I will make clear to you what you are to do: and you are to put the holy oil on him whose name I give you. 16:4And Samuel did as the Lord said and came to Beth-lehem. And the responsible men of the town came out to him in fear and said, Do you come in peace? 16:5And he said, In peace: I have come to make an offering to the Lord: make yourselves clean and come with me to make the offering. And he made Jesse and his sons clean, and sent for them to be present at the offering. 16:6Now when they came, looking at Eliab, he said, Clearly the man of the Lord's selection is before him. 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart. 16:8Then Jesse sent for Abinadab and made him come before Samuel. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one. 16:9Then Jesse made Shammah come before him. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one. 16:10And Jesse made his seven sons come before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not taken any of these. 16:11Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your children here? And he said, There is still the youngest, and he is looking after the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and make him come here: for we will not take our seats till he is here. 16:12So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he. 16:13Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on him there among his brothers: and from that day the spirit of the Lord came on David with power. So Samuel went back to Ramah. 16:14Now the spirit of the Lord had gone from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was troubling him. 16:15And Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. 16:16Now give orders to your servants who are here before you to go in search of a man who is an expert player on a corded instrument: and it will be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will make music for you on his instrument, and you will get well. 16:17And Saul said to his servants, Then get me a man who is an expert player, and make him come to me. 16:18Then one of the servants in answer said, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, who is expert at playing, and a strong man and a man of war; and he is wise in his words, and pleasing in looks, and the Lord is with him. 16:19So Saul sent his servants to Jesse and said, Send me your son David who is with the sheep. 16:20And Jesse took five cakes of bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David. 16:21And David came to Saul, waiting before him: and he became very dear to Saul, who made him his servant, giving him the care of his arms. 16:22And Saul sent to Jesse saying, Let David be with me, for he is pleasing to me. 16:23And whenever the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David took his instrument and made music: so new life came to Saul, and he got well, and the evil spirit went away from him.
17:1Now the Philistines got their armies together for war, and came together at Socoh in the land of Judah, and took up their position between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. 17:2And Saul and the men of Israel came together and took up their position in the valley of Elah, and put their forces in order against the Philistines. 17:3The Philistines were stationed on the mountain on one side and Israel on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 17:4And a fighter came out from the tents of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath; he was more than six cubits tall. 17:5And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass. 17:6His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass. 17:7The stem of his spear was as long as a cloth-worker's rod, and its head was made of six hundred shekels' weight of iron: and one went before him with his body-cover. 17:8He took up his position and in a loud voice said to the armies of Israel, Why have you come out to make war? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul? Send out a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 17:9If he is able to have a fight with me and overcome me, then we will be your servants: but if I am able to overcome him, then you will be our servants and do work for us. 17:10And the Philistine said, I have put to shame the armies of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may have a fight together. 17:11And Saul and all Israel, hearing those words of the Philistine, were troubled and full of fear. 17:12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah named Jesse, who had eight sons; and he was an old man in Saul's day, and far on in years. 17:13And the three oldest sons of Jesse had gone with Saul to the fight: the names of the three who went to the fight were Eliab, the oldest, and Abinadab the second, and Shammah the third. 17:14And David was the youngest: and the three oldest were with Saul's army. 17:15Now David went to and from Saul, looking after his father's sheep at Beth-lehem. 17:16And the Philistine came near every morning and evening for forty days. 17:17And Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dry grain and these ten cakes of bread, and go quickly with them to the tents to your brothers; 17:18And take these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are and come back with a sign to say how they are. 17:19Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 17:20And David got up early in the morning, and, giving the sheep into the care of a keeper, took the things and went as Jesse had said; and he came to the lines where the carts were, when the army was going out to the fight giving their war-cry. 17:21And Israel and the Philistines had put their forces in position, army against army. 17:22And David gave his parcels into the hands of the keeper of the army stores, and went running to the army and came to his brothers to get knowledge about them. 17:23And while he was talking to them, the fighter, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came out from the Philistines' lines and said the same words, in David's hearing. 17:24And all the men of Israel, when they saw him, went in flight, overcome with fear. 17:25And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man? Clearly he has come out to put shame on Israel: and it is certain that if any man overcomes him, the king will give that man great wealth, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's family free in Israel. 17:26And David said to the men near him, What will be done to the man who overcomes this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? for who is this Philistine, a man without circumcision, that he has put shame on the armies of the living God? 17:27And the people gave him this answer, So it will be done to the man who overcomes him. 17:28And Eliab, his oldest brother, hearing what David said to the men, was moved to wrath against David, and said, Why have you come here? Into whose care have you given that little flock of sheep in the waste land? I have knowledge of your pride and the evil of your heart, you have come down to see the fight. 17:29And David said, What have I done now? was it not only a word? 17:30And turning away from him to one of the other men, he said the same words: and the people gave him the same answer. 17:31And, hearing what David said, they gave Saul word of it: and he sent for him. 17:32And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart become feeble because of him; I, your servant, will go out and have a fight with this Philistine. 17:33And Saul said to David, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and have a fight with him: for you are only a boy, and he has been a man of war from his earliest days. 17:34And David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeper of his father's sheep; and if a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 17:35I went out after him, and overcame him, and took it out of his mouth: and if, turning on me, he came at me, I took him by the hair and overcame him and put him to death. 17:36Your servant has overcome lion and bear: and the fate of this Philistine, who is without circumcision, will be like theirs, seeing that he has put shame on the armies of the living God. 17:37And David said, The Lord, who kept me safe from the grip of the lion and the bear, will be my saviour from the hands of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go! and may the Lord be with you. 17:38Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal. 17:39And David took Saul's sword and put the band round him over the metal coat, and was unable to go forward; for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, It is not possible for me to go out with these, for I am not used to them. So David took them off. 17:40Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine. 17:41And the Philistine came nearer to David; and the man who had his body-cover went before him. 17:42And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking. 17:43And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come out to me with sticks? And the Philistine put curses on David by all his gods. 17:44And the Philistine said to David, Come here to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. 17:45Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin: but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel on which you have put shame. 17:46This day the Lord will give you up into my hands, and I will overcome you, and take your head off you; and I will give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth today, so that all the earth may see that Israel has a God; 17:47And all these people who are here today may see that the Lord does not give salvation by sword and spear: for the fight is the Lord's, and he will give you up into our hands. 17:48Now when the Philistine made a move and came near to David, David quickly went at a run in the direction of the army, meeting the Philistine face to face. 17:49And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and sent it from his leather band straight at the Philistine, and the stone went deep into his brow, and he went down to the earth, falling on his face. 17:50So David overcame the Philistine with his leather band and a stone, wounding the Philistine and causing his death: but David had no sword in his hand. 17:51So running up to the Philistine and putting his foot on him, David took his sword out of its cover, and put him to death, cutting off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their fighter was dead, they went in flight. 17:52And the men of Israel and of Judah got up, and gave a cry, and went after the Philistines as far as Gath and the town doors of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines were falling down by the road from Shaaraim all the way to Gath and Ekron. 17:53Then the children of Israel came back from going after the Philistines, and took their goods from the tents. 17:54And David took the head of the Philistine to Jerusalem, but the metal war-dress and the arms he put in his tent. 17:55And when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this young man? And Abner said, On your life, O king, I have no idea. 17:56And the king said, Make search and see whose son this young man is. 17:57And when David was coming back after the destruction of the Philistine, Abner took him to Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 17:58And Saul said to him, Young man, whose son are you? And David in answer said, I am the son of your servant Jesse of Beth-lehem.
18:1Now after David's talk with Saul was ended, the soul of Jonathan was joined with the soul of David, and David became as dear to him as his very life. 18:2And that day Saul took David and would not let him go back to his father's house. 18:3Then Jonathan and David made an agreement together, because of Jonathan's love for David. 18:4And Jonathan took off the robe he had on and gave it to David, with all his military dress, even to his sword and his bow and the band round his body. 18:5And David went wherever Saul sent him, and did wisely: and Saul put him at the head of his men of war, and this was pleasing to all the people as well as to Saul's servants. 18:6Now on their way, when David came back after the destruction of the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, with songs and dances, meeting David with melody and joy and instruments of music. 18:7And the women, answering one another in their song, said, Saul has put to death his thousands and David his tens of thousands. 18:8And Saul was very angry and this saying was unpleasing to him; and he said, They have given David credit for tens of thousands, and to me for only thousands: what more is there for him but the kingdom? 18:9And from that day Saul was looking with envy on David. 18:10Now on the day after, an evil spirit from God came on Saul with great force and he was acting like a prophet among the men of his house, while David was making music for him, as he did day by day: and Saul had his spear in his hand. 18:11And Saul, balancing the spear in his hand, said, I will give David a blow, pinning him to the wall. And David got away from him twice. 18:12And Saul went in fear of David, because the Lord was with David and had gone away from Saul. 18:13So Saul sent him away, and made him a captain over a thousand; and he went about his business before the people. 18:14And in all his undertakings David did wisely; and the Lord was with him. 18:15And when Saul saw how wisely he did, he was in fear of him. 18:16But David was loved by all Israel and Judah, for he went out and came in before them. 18:17And Saul said to David, Here is my oldest daughter Merab, whom I will give you for your wife: only be strong for me, fighting in the Lord's wars. For Saul said, Let it not be through me that his fate comes to him, but through the Philistines. 18:18And David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my father's family in Israel, that I am to be son-in-law to the king? 18:19But when the time came to give Merab, Saul's daughter, to David, she was given to Adriel of Meholath. 18:20And Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David: and Saul had word of it and was pleased. 18:21And Saul said, I will give her to him, so that she may be a cause of danger to him, and so that the hands of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David, Today you are to become my son-in-law for the second time. 18:22And Saul gave his servants orders saying, Have talk with David secretly and say to him, See how the king has delight in you, and how you are loved by all his servants: then be the king's son-in-law. 18:23And Saul's servants said these things to David. And David said, Does it seem to you a small thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, of no great name? 18:24And the servants of Saul gave him an account of what David had said. 18:25And Saul said, Then say to David, The king has no desire for any bride-price, but only for the private parts of a hundred Philistines so that the king may get the better of his haters. But it was in Saul's mind that David might come to his end by the hands of the Philistines. 18:26And when his servants said these words to David, he was well pleased to be the son-in-law of the king. And the days were still not past. 18:27So David and his men got up and went, and put to death two hundred of the Philistines; and David took their private parts and gave the full number of them to the king, so that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. 18:28And it was clear to Saul that the Lord was with David; and he was loved by all Israel. 18:29And Saul's fear of David became all the greater, and he went on hating him, day by day. 18:30Then the rulers of the Philistines went out to war: and whenever they went out, David did more wisely than all the other servants of Saul, so that his name became greatly honoured.
19:1And Saul gave orders to his son Jonathan and to all his servants to put David to death. But Saul's son Jonathan had great delight in David. 19:2And Jonathan said to David, Saul, my father, is purposing your death: so now, take care in the morning, and keep yourself safe in a secret place: 19:3And I will go out and take my place by my father's side in the field near where you are; and I will get into talk with my father about you, and when I see how things are, I will give you word. 19:4And Jonathan gave his father Saul a good account of David, and said to him, Let not the king do wrong against his servant, against David; because he has done you no wrong, and all his acts have had a good outcome for you: 19:5For he put his life in danger and overcame the Philistine, and the Lord gave all Israel salvation: you saw it and were glad: why then are you sinning against him who has done no wrong, desiring the death of David without cause? 19:6And Saul gave ear to the voice of Jonathan, and said with an oath, By the living Lord, he is not to be put to death. 19:7Then Jonathan sent for David and gave him word of all these things. And Jonathan took David to Saul, who kept him by his side as in the past. 19:8And there was war again: and David went out fighting the Philistines, causing great destruction among them; and they went in flight before him. 19:9And an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul, when he was seated in his house with his spear in his hand; and David made music for him. 19:10And Saul would have sent his spear through him, pinning him to the wall, but he got away and the spear went into the wall: and that night David went in flight and got away. 19:11Then in that night Saul sent men to David's house to keep watch on him so as to put him to death in the morning: and David's wife Michal said to him, If you do not go away to a safe place tonight you will be put to death in the morning. 19:12So Michal let David down through the window, and he went in flight and got away. 19:13Then Michal took the image and put it in the bed, with a cushion of goat's hair at its head, and she put clothing over it. 19:14And when Saul sent men to take David, she said, He is ill. 19:15And Saul sent his men to see David, saying, Do not come back without him, take him in his bed, so that I may put him to death. 19:16And when the men came in, there was the image in the bed, with the cushion of goat's hair at its head 19:17And Saul said to Michal, why have you been false to me, letting my hater go and get safely away? And in answer Michal said to Saul, He said to me, Let me go, or I will put you to death. 19:18So David went in flight and got away and came to Ramah, to Samuel, and gave him an account of all Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and were living in Naioth. 19:19And word was given to Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah. 19:20And Saul sent men to take David; and when they saw the band of prophets at work, with Samuel in his place at their head, the spirit of God came on Saul's men, and they became like prophets. 19:21And Saul, having news of this, sent other men, who in the same way became like prophets. And a third time Saul sent men, and they like the others became like prophets. 19:22Then he himself went to Ramah, and came to the great water-spring in Secu; and questioning the people he said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, They are at Naioth in Ramah. 19:23And he went on from there to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God came on him, and he went on, acting like a prophet, till he came to Naioth in Ramah. 19:24And he took off his clothing, acting like a prophet before Samuel, and falling down he was stretched out, without his clothing, all that day and all that night. This is the reason for the saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?
20:1And David went in flight from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and said, What have I done? What is my crime and my sin against your father that he is attempting to take my life? 20:2And he said to him, Far be the thought: you will not be put to death: see, my father does nothing, great or small, without giving me word of it: would he keep this secret from me? It is not so. 20:3But David took his oath again and said, Your father sees that I am dear to you; so he says to himself, Let Jonathan have no idea of this, for it will be a grief to him; but as the Lord is living, and as your soul is living, there is only a step between me and death. 20:4Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever your desire is, I will do it for you. 20:5And David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow is the new moon, and I will not be seated with the king at his table: but let me go to a safe place in the country till the evening. 20:6And if your father takes note of the fact that I am away, say, David made a request to me for himself that he might go to Beth-lehem, to his town: for it is the time when his family make their offering year by year. 20:7If he says, It is well, your servant will be at peace: but if he is angry, then it will be clear to you that he has an evil purpose in mind against me. 20:8So, then, be kind to your servant; for you have been united with your servant in an agreement made before the Lord: but if there is any wrongdoing in me, put me to death yourself; why take me to your father? 20:9And Jonathan said, Do not have such a thought: for if I saw that my father was designing evil against you, would I not give you word of it? 20:10Then David said to Jonathan, Who will give me word if your father gives you a rough answer? 20:11And Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go out into the country. And the two of them went out together into the open country. 20:12And Jonathan said to David, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be witness; when I have had a chance of talking to my father, about this time tomorrow, if his feelings to David are good, will I not send and give you the news? 20:13May the Lord's punishment be on Jonathan, if it is my father's pleasure to do you evil and I do not give you word of it and send you away so that you may go in peace: and may the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 20:14And may you, while I am still living, O may you be kind to me, as the Lord is kind, and keep me from death! 20:15And let not your mercy ever be cut off from my family, even when the Lord has sent destruction on all David's haters, cutting them off from the face of the earth. 20:16And if it comes about that the name of Jonathan is cut off from the family of David, the Lord will make David responsible. 20:17And Jonathan again took an oath to David, because of his love for him: for David was as dear to him as his very soul. 20:18Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon: and it will be seen that you are not present, for there will be no one in your seat. 20:19And on the third day it will be specially noted, and you will go to the place where you took cover when the other business was in hand, waiting by the hill over there. 20:20And on the third day I will send arrows from my bow against its side as if at a mark. 20:21And I will send my boy to have a look for the arrow. And if I say to him, See, the arrow is on this side of you; take it up! then you may come; for there is peace for you and no evil, by the living Lord. 20:22But if I say to the boy, See, the arrow has gone past you: then go on your way, for the Lord has sent you away. 20:23As for what you and I were talking of, the Lord is between you and me for ever. 20:24So David went to a secret place in the country: and when the new moon came, the king took his place at the feast. 20:25And the king took his seat, as at other times, by the wall: and Jonathan was in front, and Abner was seated by Saul's side, but there was no one in David's seat. 20:26But Saul said nothing that day, for his thought was, Something has taken place making him unclean; it is clear that he is not clean. 20:27And on the day after the new moon, that is, the second day, there was still no one in David's seat: and Saul said to his son Jonathan, Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast yesterday or today? 20:28And answering Saul, Jonathan said, He made a request to me that he might go to Beth-lehem, 20:29Saying, Our family is making an offering in the town, and my brothers have given me orders to be there: so now, if I have grace in your eyes, let me go away and see my brothers. This is why he has not come to the king's table. 20:30Then Saul was moved to wrath against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of an evil and uncontrolled woman, have I not seen how you have given your love to the son of Jesse, to your shame and the shame of your mother? 20:31For while the son of Jesse is living on the earth, your position is unsafe and your kingdom is in danger. So make him come here to me, for it is certainly right for him to be put to death. 20:32And Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said to him, Why is he to be put to death? What has he done? 20:33And Saul, pointing his spear at him, made an attempt to give him a wound: from which it was clear to Jonathan that his father's purpose was to put David to death. 20:34So Jonathan got up from the table, burning with wrath, and took no part in the feast the second day of the month, being full of grief for David because his father had put shame on him. 20:35Now in the morning, Jonathan went out into the fields at the time he had said to David, and he had a little boy with him. 20:36And he said to the boy, Go and get the arrow I let loose from my bow. And while the boy was running, he sent an arrow past him. 20:37And when the boy came to the place where the arrow was, Jonathan, crying out after the boy, said, Has it not gone past you? 20:38And Jonathan went on crying out after the boy, Be quick, do not keep waiting about, go quickly. And Jonathan's boy got the arrow and came back to his master. 20:39But the boy had no idea what was going on; only Jonathan and David had knowledge of it. 20:40And Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy, and said to him, Take these and go back to the town. 20:41And when the boy had gone, David came from his secret place by the hill, and falling to the earth went down on his face three times: and they gave one another a kiss, weeping together, till David's grief was the greater. 20:42And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we two have taken an oath, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. Then David went away, and Jonathan went into the town.
21:1Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was full of fear at meeting David, and said to him, Why are you by yourself, having no man with you? 21:2And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has given me orders and has said to me, Say nothing to anyone about the business on which I am sending you and the orders I have given you: and a certain place has been fixed to which the young men are to go. 21:3So now, if you have here five cakes of bread, give them into my hand, or whatever you have. 21:4And the priest, answering David, said, I have no common bread here but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. 21:5And David in answer said to the priest, Certainly women have been kept from us; and as has been done before when I have gone out the arms of the young men were made holy, even though it was a common journey; how much more today will their arms be made holy. 21:6So the priest gave him the holy bread: there was no other, only the holy bread which had been taken from before the Lord, so that new bread might be put in its place on the day when it was taken away. 21:7Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, kept back before the Lord; his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the strongest of Saul's runners. 21:8And David said to Ahimelech, Have you no sword or spear with you here? for I have come without my sword and other arms, because the king's business had to be done quickly. 21:9And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod: take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me. 21:10Then David got up and went in flight that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish, the king of Gath. 21:11And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David, the king of the land? did they not make songs about him in their dances, saying, Saul has put to death thousands, and David tens of thousands? 21:12And David took these words to heart, fearing Achish, the king of Gath. 21:13So changing his behaviour before them, he made it seem as if he was off his head, hammering on the doors of the town, and letting the water from his mouth go down his chin. 21:14Then Achish said to his servants, Look! the man is clearly off his head; why have you let him come before me? 21:15Are there not enough unbalanced men about me, that you have let this person come and do such tricks before me? is such a man to come into my house?
22:1So David went away from there and took cover in a strong place at Adullam; and his brothers and all his father's people, hearing of it, went down to him there. 22:2And everyone who was in trouble, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, came together to him, and he became captain over them: about four hundred men were joined to him. 22:3And from there David went to Mizpeh in the land of Moab: and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and mother come and make their living-place with you till it is clear to me what God will do for me. 22:4And he took them to the king of Moab and they went on living with him while David was in his safe place. 22:5And the prophet Gad said to David, Do not go on living in this place but go into the land of Judah. Then David went away and came to the woodland of Hereth. 22:6And news was given to Saul that David had been seen, and the men who were with him: now Saul was in Gibeah, seated under the tree in the high place, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were in their places before him. 22:7Then Saul said to his servants who were there about him, Give ear now, you Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give to every one of you fields and vine-gardens, will he make you all captains of hundreds and captains of thousands; 22:8That all of you have made designs against me, and not one of you gave me word when my son made an agreement with the son of Jesse, and not one of you has pity for me or has made my eyes open to the fact that my servant has been moved by my son against me, as at this day? 22:9Then Doeg, the Edomite, who was by the side of the servants of Saul, in answer said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub. 22:10And he got directions from the Lord for him, and gave him food, and put in his hand the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 22:11Then the king sent for Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and for all the men of his father's family who were priests in Nob: and they all came to the king. 22:12And Saul said, Give ear now, O son of Ahitub. And answering he said, Here I am, my lord. 22:13And Saul said to him, Why have you made designs against me with the son of Jesse, giving him food and a sword and getting directions from the Lord for him, and helping him to take up arms against me, and to be on the watch to make a secret attack on me as he is doing now? 22:14Then Ahimelech answering said to the king, Who among all your servants is so true to you as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is a captain of your armed men, and has a place of honour in your house? 22:15Is this the first time I have got directions from God for him? Far be the thought! let the king make no such statement against his servant or my father's family, for your servant has no knowledge, great or small, of this thing. 22:16And the king said, You will certainly be put to death, Ahimelech, you and all your father's family. 22:17Then the king said to the runners who were waiting near him, Put the priests of the Lord to death; because they are on David's side, and having knowledge of his flight, did not give me word of it. But the king's servants would not put out their hands to make an attack on the Lord's priests. 22:18Then the king said to Doeg, You are to put the priests to death. And Doeg the Edomite, turning on the priests and attacking them, put to death that day eighty-five men who took up the ephod. 22:19And Nob, the town of the priests, he put to the sword, all the men and women, children and babies at the breast, and oxen and asses and sheep. 22:20And Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, got away and went in flight after David; 22:21And gave him the news of how Saul had put to death the Lord's priests. 22:22And David said to Abiathar, I was certain that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would take the news to Saul: I am responsible for the lives of all your father's family. 22:23Keep here with me and have no fear; for he who has designs on my life has designs on yours: but with me you will be safe.
23:1And they sent word to David, saying, The Philistines are fighting against Keilah and taking the grain from the grain-floors. 23:2So David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go and make an attack on these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, Go and make an attack on the Philistines so that Keilah may be kept from falling into their hands. 23:3And David's men said to him, Even here in Judah we are full of fear: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 23:4Then David put the question to the Lord again, and the Lord answering said, Up! go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into your hands. 23:5So David and his men went to Keilah, and had a fight with the Philistines, and took away their cattle, and put them to the sword with great destruction. So David was the saviour of the people of Keilah. 23:6Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, went in flight to David, he came down to Keilah with the ephod in his hand. 23:7And news was given to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, Now God has given him into my hands; for by going into a walled town with locked doors, he has let himself be shut in. 23:8And Saul sent for all the people to come to the fight, and go down to Keilah to make an attack on David and his men. 23:9And it was clear to David that Saul had evil designs against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Come here with the ephod. 23:10Then David said, O Lord, the God of Israel, news has been given to your servant that it is Saul's purpose to come to Keilah and send destruction on the town because of me. 23:11And now, is it true, as they have said to me, that Saul is coming? O Lord, the God of Israel, give ear to your servant, and say if these things are so. And the Lord said, He is coming down. 23:12Then David said, Will the men of Keilah give me and my men up to Saul? and the Lord said, They will give you up. 23:13Then David and his men, about six hundred of them, went out of Keilah, and got away wherever they were able to go. And Saul, hearing that David had got away from Keilah, did not go there. 23:14And David kept in the waste land, in safe places, waiting in the hill-country in the waste land of Ziph. And Saul was searching for him every day, but God did not give him up into his hands. 23:15And David was full of fear, in the knowledge that Saul had come out to take his life; and David was in the waste land of Ziph, in Horesh. 23:16And Saul's son Jonathan went to David in Horesh, and made his hands strong in God; 23:17And said to him, Have no fear, for Saul my father will not get you into his power; and you will be king of Israel, and I will be by your side, and my father Saul is certain of this. 23:18And the two of them made an agreement before the Lord: and David went on living in Horesh, and Jonathan went back to his house. 23:19Then the Ziphites came up to Gibeah to see Saul, and said, Is not David living secretly among us in the strong places in Horesh, in the hill of Hachilah to the south of the waste land? 23:20So now, O king, have your soul's desire and come down, and we, for our part, will give him up into the king's hands. 23:21And Saul said, The Lord's blessing will be yours, for you have had pity on me. 23:22Go now, and take more steps, and see where he is living: for they say that he is expert in deceit. 23:23So take care to get knowledge of all the secret places where he is taking cover, and be certain to come back to me, and I will go with you: and without doubt, if he is anywhere in the land, I will get him, among all the families of Judah. 23:24And they went back and came to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the waste land of Maon, in the dry land south of the waste land. 23:25And Saul and his men went in search of him. And David had word of it, so he came down to the rock in the waste land of Maon. And Saul, hearing of this, went after David into the waste land of Maon. 23:26And Saul and his men went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men went on the other: and David's purpose was to get away as quickly as possible, for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men were making a circle round David and his men in order to take them. 23:27But a man came to Saul saying, Be quick and come; for the Philistines have made an attack on the land. 23:28So turning back from going after David, Saul went against the Philistines: so that place was named Sela-hammah-lekoth. 23:29And from there, David went up and took cover in the safe place of En-gedi.
24:1Now when Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, news was given him that David was in the waste land of En-gedi. 24:2Then Saul took three thousand of the best men out of all Israel, and went in search of David and his men on the rocks of the mountain goats. 24:3And on the way he came to a place where sheep were kept, where there was a hollow in the rock; and Saul went in for a private purpose. Now David and his men were in the deepest part of the hollow. 24:4And David's men said to him, Now is the time when the Lord says to you, I will give up your hater into your hands to do with him whatever seems good to you. Then David, getting up, took the skirt of Saul's robe in his hand, cutting off the end of it without his knowledge. 24:5And later, David was full of regret for cutting off Saul's skirt. 24:6And David said to his men, Before the Lord, never let it be said that my hand was lifted up against my lord, the man of the Lord's selection, for the Lord's holy oil has been put on him. 24:7So with these words David kept his servants back, and did not let them make an attack on Saul. And Saul got up and went on his way. 24:8And after that David came out of the hollow rock, and crying after Saul said, My lord the king. And when Saul gave a look back, David went down on his face and gave him honour. 24:9And David said to Saul, Why do you give any attention to those who say that it is my desire to do you wrong? 24:10Look! you have seen today how the Lord gave you up into my hands even now in the hollow of the rocks: and some would have had me put you to death, but I had pity on you: for I said, Never will my hand be lifted up against my lord, who has been marked with the holy oil. 24:11And see, my father, see the skirt of your robe in my hand: for the fact that I took off the skirt of your robe and did not put you to death is witness that I have no evil purpose, and I have done you no wrong, though you are waiting for my life to take it. 24:12May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord give me my rights against you, but my hand will never be lifted up against you. 24:13There is an old saying, From the evil-doer comes evil: but my hand will never be lifted up against you. 24:14After whom has the king of Israel come out? for whom are you searching? for a dead dog, an insect. 24:15So let the Lord be judge, and give a decision between me and you, and see and give support to my cause, and keep me from falling into your hands. 24:16Now when David had said these words to Saul, Saul said, Is this your voice, David, my son? And Saul was overcome with weeping. 24:17And he said to David, You are right and I am wrong: for you have given me back good, but I have given you evil. 24:18And you have made clear to me how good you have been to me today: because, when the Lord gave me up into your hands, you did not put me to death. 24:19If a man comes across his hater, will he let him get away safe? so may you be rewarded by the Lord for what you have done for me today. 24:20And now I am certain that you will be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be made strong under your authority. 24:21So give me your oath by the Lord, that you will not put an end to my seed after me or let my name be cut off from my father's family. 24:22And David gave Saul his oath. And Saul went back to his house; but David and his men went up to their safe place.
25:1And death came to Samuel; and all Israel came together, weeping for him, and put his body in its resting-place in his house at Ramah. Then David went down to the waste land of Maon. 25:2Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; he was a great man and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats: and he was cutting the wool of his sheep in Carmel. 25:3Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb. 25:4And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep. 25:5And David sent ten young men, and said to them, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and say kind words to him in my name; 25:6And say this to my brother, May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have. 25:7I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel. 25:8If your young men are questioned they will say the same thing. So now, let my young men have grace in your eyes, for we are come at a good time; please give anything you may have by you to your servants and to your son David. 25:9And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal, in David's name, and said nothing more. 25:10And Nabal gave them his answer and said, Who is David? who is the son of Jesse? there are a number of servants in these days running away from their masters. 25:11Am I to take my bread and my wine and the meat I have got ready for my wool-cutters and give it to men coming from I have no idea where? 25:12So David's young men, turning away, went back and gave him an account of everything he had said. 25:13And David said to his men, Put on your swords, every one of you. And every man put on his sword; and David did the same; and about four hundred men went up with David, and two hundred kept watch over their goods. 25:14But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer. 25:15But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields: 25:16But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep. 25:17So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him. 25:18Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses. 25:19And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal. 25:20Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them. 25:21Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good. 25:22May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living. 25:23And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him. 25:24And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant. 25:25Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent. 25:26So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal. 25:27And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord. 25:28And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days. 25:29And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag. 25:30And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel; 25:31Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant. 25:32And David said to Abigail, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, who sent you to me today: 25:33A blessing on your good sense and on you, who have kept me today from the crime of blood and from taking into my hands the punishment for my wrongs. 25:34For truly, by the living Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from doing you evil, if you had not been so quick in coming to me and meeting me, by dawn there would not have been in Nabal's house so much as one male living. 25:35Then David took from her hands her offering: and he said to her, Go back to your house in peace; see, I have given ear to your voice, and taken your offering with respect. 25:36And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came. 25:37And in the morning, when the effect of the wine was gone, Nabal's wife gave him an account of all these things, and all the heart went out of him, and he became like stone. 25:38And about ten days after, the Lord sent disease on Nabal and death came to him. 25:39And David, hearing that Nabal was dead, said, May the Lord be praised, who has taken up my cause against Nabal for the shame which he put on me, and has kept back his servant from evil, and has sent on Nabal's head the reward of his evil-doing. And David sent word to Abigail, desiring to take her as his wife. 25:40And when David's servants came to Carmel, to Abigail, they said to her, David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife. 25:41And she got up, and going down on her face to the earth, said, See, I am ready to be a servant-girl, washing the feet of the servants of my lord. 25:42Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife. 25:43And David had taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, to be his wife; these two were his wives. 25:44Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish of Gallim.
26:1And the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, and said, Is not David waiting secretly near us in the hill of Hachilah, before the waste land? 26:2Then Saul went down to the waste land of Ziph, taking with him three thousand of the best men of Israel, to make search for David in the waste land of Ziph. 26:3And Saul put up his tents on the hill of Hachilah, which is in front of the waste land on the road. But David was in the waste land, and he saw that Saul was coming after him. 26:4And so David sent out watchers, and got word from them that Saul was certainly coming. 26:5And David got up and came to the place where Saul's tents were: and David had a view of the place where Saul was sleeping with Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his army: and Saul was sleeping inside the ring of carts, and the tents of the people were all round him. 26:6Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me to the tents of Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you. 26:7So David and Abishai came down to the army by night: and Saul was sleeping inside the ring of carts with his spear planted in the earth by his head: and Abner and the people were sleeping round him. 26:8Then Abishai said to David, God has given up your hater into your hands today; now let me give him one blow through to the earth with his spear, and there will be no need to give him a second. 26:9And David said to Abishai Do not put him to death; for who, without sin, may put out his hand against the man on whom the Lord has put the holy oil? 26:10And David said, By the living Lord, the Lord will send destruction on him; the natural day of his death will come, or he will go into the fight and come to his end. 26:11Never will my hand be stretched out against the man marked with the holy oil; but take the spear which is by his head and the vessel of water, and let us go. 26:12So David took the spear and the vessel of water from Saul's head; and they got away without any man seeing them, or being conscious of their coming, or awaking; for they were all sleeping because a deep sleep from the Lord had come on them. 26:13Then David went over to the other side, and took his place on the top of a mountain some distance away, with a great space between them; 26:14And crying out to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, David said, Have you no answer to give, Abner? Then Abner said, Who is that crying out to the king? 26:15And David said to Abner, Are you not a man of war? is there any other like you in Israel? why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? for one of the people came in to put the king your lord to death. 26:16What you have done is not good. By the living Lord, death is the right fate for you, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the man on whom the Lord has put the holy oil. Now see, where is the king's spear, and the vessel of water which was by his head? 26:17And Saul, conscious that the voice was David's, said, Is that your voice, David, my son? And David said, It is my voice, O my lord king. 26:18And he said, Why does my lord go armed against his servant? what have I done? or what evil is there in me? 26:19Let my lord the king give ear now to the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who is moving you against me, let him take an offering: but if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for driving me out today and keeping me from my place in the heritage of the Lord, saying, Go, be the servant of other gods. 26:20Then do not let my blood be drained out on the earth away from the face of the Lord: for the king of Israel has come out to take my life, like one going after birds in the mountains. 26:21Then Saul said, I have done wrong: come back to me, David my son: I will do you no more wrong, because my life was dear to you today truly, I have been foolish and my error is very great. 26:22Then David said, Here is the king's spear! let one of the young men come over and get it. 26:23And the Lord will give to every man the reward of his righteousness and his faith: because the Lord gave you into my hands today, and I would not put out my hand against the man who has been marked with the holy oil. 26:24And so, as your life was dear to me today, may my life be dear to the Lord, and may he make me free from all my troubles. 26:25Then Saul said to David, May a blessing be on you, David, my son; you will do great things and without doubt you will overcome. Then David went on his way, and Saul went back to his place.
27:1And David said to himself, Some day death will come to me by the hand of Saul: the only thing for me to do is to get away into the land of the Philistines; then Saul will give up hope of taking me in any part of the land of Israel: and so I may be able to get away from him. 27:2So David and the six hundred men who were with him went over to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 27:3And David and his men were living with Achish at Gath; every man had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, who had been the wife of Nabal. 27:4And Saul, hearing that David had gone to Gath, went after him no longer. 27:5Then David said to Achish, If now I have grace in your eyes, let me have a place in one of the smaller towns of your land, to be my living-place; for it is not right for your servant to be living with you in the king's town. 27:6So Achish straight away gave him Ziklag: and for that reason Ziklag has been the property of the kings of Judah to this day. 27:7And David was living in the land of the Philistines for the space of a year and four months. 27:8And David and his men went up and made attacks on the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for these were the people who were living in the land from Telam on the way to Shur, as far as Egypt. 27:9And David again and again made attacks on the land till not a man or a woman was still living; and he took away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and the clothing; and he came back to Achish. 27:10And every time Achish said, Where have you been fighting today? David said, Against the South of Judah and the South of the Jerahmeelites and the South of the Kenites. 27:11Not one living man or woman did David ever take back with him to Gath, fearing that they might give an account of what had taken place, and say, This is what David did, and so has he been doing all the time while he has been living in the land of the Philistines. 27:12And Achish had belief in what David said, saying, He has made himself hated by all his people Israel, and so he will be my servant for ever.
28:1Now in those days the Philistines got their forces together to make war on Israel. And Achish said to David, Certainly you and your men are to go out with me to the fight. 28:2And David said to Achish, You will see now what your servant will do. And Achish said to David, Then I will make you keeper of my head for ever. 28:3Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel, after weeping for him, had put his body in its last resting-place in Ramah, his town. And Saul had put away from the land all those who had control of spirits and who made use of secret arts. 28:4And the Philistines came together and put their forces in position in Shunem; and Saul got all Israel together and they took up their positions in Gilboa. 28:5And when Saul saw the Philistine army he was troubled, and his heart was moved with fear. 28:6And when Saul went for directions to the Lord, the Lord gave him no answer, by a dream or by the Urim or by the prophets. 28:7Then Saul said to his servants, Get me a woman who has control of a spirit so that I may go to her and get directions. And his servants said to him, There is such a woman at En-dor. 28:8So Saul, putting on other clothing, so that he might not be seen to be the king, took two men with him and went to the woman by night; and he said, Now, with the help of the spirit which you have, make the person whose name I will give you come up. 28:9And the woman said to him, But you have knowledge of what Saul has done, how he has put away out of the land those who have control of spirits and the users of secret arts: why would you, by a trick, put me in danger of death? 28:10And Saul made an oath to her by the Lord, saying, By the living Lord, no punishment will come to you for this. 28:11Then the woman said, Who am I to let you see? And he said, Make Samuel come up for me. 28:12And the woman saw that it was Saul, and she gave a loud cry, and said to Saul, Why have you made use of deceit? for you are Saul. 28:13And the king said to her, Have no fear: what do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. 28:14And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, It is an old man coming up covered with a robe. And Saul saw that it was Samuel, and with his face bent down to the earth he gave him honour. 28:15And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you made me come up, troubling my rest? And Saul in answer said, I am in great danger; for the Philistines are making war on me, and God has gone away from me and will no longer give me any answer, by the prophets or by dreams: so I have sent for you to make clear to me what I am to do. 28:16And Samuel said, Why do you put your questions to me, seeing that God has gone away from you and is on the side of him who is against you? 28:17And the Lord himself has done what I said: the Lord has taken the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbour David; 28:18Because you did not do what the Lord said, and did not give effect to his burning wrath against Amalek. So the Lord has done this thing to you today. 28:19And more than this, the Lord will give Israel up with you into the hands of the Philistines: and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me: and the Lord will give up the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. 28:20Then Saul went down flat on the earth, and was full of fear because of Samuel's words: and there was no strength in him, for he had taken no food all that day or all that night. 28:21And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was in great trouble, and said to him, See now, your servant has given ear to your words, and I have put my life in danger by doing what you said. 28:22So now, give ear to the voice of your servant, and let me give you a little bread; and take some food to give you strength when you go on your way. 28:23But he would not, saying, I have no desire for food. But his servants, together with the woman, made him take food, and he gave way to them. So he got up from the earth, and took his seat on the bed. 28:24And the woman had in the house a young cow, made fat for food; and she put it to death straight away; and she took meal and got it mixed and made unleavened bread; 28:25And she put it before Saul and his servants, and they had a meal. Then they got up and went away the same night.
29:1Now the Philistines got all their army together at Aphek: and the Israelites put their forces in position by the fountain in Jezreel. 29:2And the lords of the Philistines went on with their hundreds and their thousands, and David and his men came after with Achish. 29:3Then the rulers of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews doing here? And Achish said to the rulers of the Philistines, Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me for a year or two, and I have never seen any wrong in him from the time when he came to me till now? 29:4But the rulers of the Philistines were angry with him, and said to him, Make the man go back to the place you have given him; do not let him go down with us to the fight, or he may be turned against us and be false to us: for how will this man make peace with his lord? will it not be with the heads of these men? 29:5Is this not David, who was named in their songs, when in the dance they said to one another, Saul has put to death thousands, and David tens of thousands? 29:6Then Achish sent for David and said to him, By the living Lord, you are upright, and everything you have done with me in the army has been pleasing to me: I have seen no evil in you from the day when you came to me till now: but still, the lords are not pleased with you. 29:7So now go back, and go in peace, so that you do not make the lords of the Philistines angry. 29:8And David said to Achish, But what have I done? what have you seen in your servant while I have been with you till this day, that I may not go and take up arms against those who are now making war on my lord the king? 29:9And Achish in answer said, It is true that in my eyes you are good, like an angel of God: but still, the rulers of the Philistines have said, He is not to go up with us to the fight. 29:10So get up early in the morning, with the servants of your lord who are with you, and go to the place I have given you, and have no evil design in your heart, for you are good in my eyes; but when there is light enough in the morning, go away. 29:11So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
30:1Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made an attack on the South and on Ziklag, and had overcome Ziklag and put it on fire; 30:2And had made the women and all who were there, small and great, prisoners: they had not put any of them to death, but had taken them all away. 30:3And when David and his men came to the town, they saw that it had been burned down, and their wives and their sons and daughters had been made prisoners. 30:4Then David and the people who were with him gave themselves up to weeping till they were able to go on weeping no longer. 30:5And David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel, had been made prisoners. 30:6And David was greatly troubled; for the people were talking of stoning him, because their hearts were bitter, every man sorrowing for his sons and his daughters: but David made himself strong in the Lord his God. 30:7And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Come here to me with the ephod. And Abiathar took the ephod to David. 30:8Then David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go after this band? will I be able to overtake them? And in answer he said, Go after them, for you will certainly overtake them, and get back everything. 30:9So David went, and his six hundred men went with him, and they came to the stream Besor. 30:10And David, with four hundred men, went on: but two hundred of them were overcome with weariness, and not able to go across the stream. 30:11And in the fields they saw an Egyptian whom they took to David, and they gave him bread, and he had a meal, and they gave him water for drink; 30:12And they gave him part of a cake of figs and some dry grapes; and after the food, his spirit came back to him, for he had had no food or drink for three days and nights. 30:13And David said to him, Whose man are you and where do you come from? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master went on without me because three days back I became ill. 30:14We made an attack on the south part of the country of the Cherethites, and on the land which is Judah's, and on the south of Caleb; and we put Ziklag on fire. 30:15And David said to him, Will you take me down to this band? And he said, If you give me your oath that you will not put me to death or give me up to my master, I will take you to them. 30:16And when he had taken him down, they saw them all, seated about on all sides, feasting and drinking among all the mass of goods which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. 30:17And David went on fighting them from evening till the evening of the day after; and not one of them got away but only four hundred young men who went in flight on camels. 30:18And David got back everything the Amalekites had taken; and he got back his two wives. 30:19There was no loss of anything, small or great, sons or daughters or goods or anything which they had taken away: David got it all back. 30:20And they took all the flocks and herds, and driving them in front of him, said, These are David's. 30:21And David came to the two hundred men, who because of weariness had not gone with him, but were waiting at the stream Besor: and they went out, meeting David and the people who were with him; and when they came near them, they said, How are you? 30:22Then the bad and good-for-nothing men among those who went with David said, Because they did not go with us, we will give them nothing of the goods which we have got back, but only to every man his wife and children, so that he may take them and go. 30:23Then David said, You are not to do this, my brothers, after what the Lord has given us, who has kept us safe and given up the band which came against us into our hands. 30:24Who is going to give any attention to you in this question? for an equal part will be given to him who went to the fight and to him who was waiting by the goods: they are all to have the same. 30:25And so he made it a rule and an order for Israel from that day till now. 30:26And when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the goods to the responsible men of Judah, and to his friends, saying, Here is an offering for you from the goods of those who were fighting against the Lord; 30:27He sent to those who were in Beth-el, and in Ramah of the South, and in Jattir; 30:28And to those in Arara and Eshtemoa 30:29and Carmel and in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites; 30:30And to those who were in Hormah and in Bor-ashan and in Athach; 30:31And in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had been living.
31:1Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel: and the men of Israel went in flight before the Philistines, falling down wounded in Mount Gilboa. 31:2And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they put to death Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 31:3And the fight was going badly for Saul, and the archers came across him, and he was wounded by the archers. 31:4Then Saul said to the servant who had the care of his arms, Take out your sword and put it through me, before these men without circumcision come and make sport of me. But his servant, full of fear, would not do so. Then Saul took out his sword, and falling on it, put an end to himself. 31:5And when his servant saw that Saul was dead, he did the same, and was united with him in death. 31:6So death overtook Saul and his three sons and his servant on the same day. 31:7And when the men of Israel across the valley and on the other side of Jordan saw that the army of Israel was in flight and that Saul and his sons were dead, they came out of their towns and went in flight; and the Philistines came and took them for themselves. 31:8Now on the day after, when the Philistines came to take their goods from the dead, they saw Saul and his three sons dead on the earth in Mount Gilboa. 31:9And cutting off his head and taking away his war-dress, they sent word into the land of the Philistines round about, to take the news to their gods and to the people. 31:10His war-dress they put in the house of Astarte; and his body was fixed on the wall of Beth-shan. 31:11And when the people of Jabesh-gilead had news of what the Philistines had done to Saul, 31:12All the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there. 31:13And their bones they put in the earth under a tree in Jabesh; and for seven days they took no food.
2 Samuel
1:1Now after the death of Saul, when David, having come back from the destruction of the Amalekites, had been in Ziklag for two days; 1:2On the third day a man came from Saul's tents, with his clothing out of order and earth on his head: and when he came to David, he went down on the earth and gave him honour. 1:3And David said to him, Where have you come from? And he said, I have come in flight from the tents of Israel. 1:4And David said to him, How did things go? Give me the news. And in answer he said, The people have gone in flight from the fight, and a great number of them are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are dead. 1:5And David said to the young man who gave him the news, Why are you certain that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? 1:6And the young man said, I came by chance to Mount Gilboa, and I saw Saul supporting himself on his spear; and the war-carriages and horsemen overtook him. 1:7And looking back, he saw me and gave a cry to me. And answering him I said, Here am I. 1:8And he said to me, Who are you? And I said, I am an Amalekite. 1:9Then he said to me, Come here to my side, and put me to death, for the pain of death has me in its grip but my life is still strong in me. 1:10So I put my foot on him and gave him his death-blow, because I was certain that he would not go on living after his fall: and I took the crown from his head and the band from his arm, and I have them here for my lord. 1:11Then David gave way to bitter grief, and so did all the men who were with him: 1:12And till evening they gave themselves to sorrow and weeping, and took no food, weeping for Saul and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord and for the men of Israel; because they had come to their end by the sword. 1:13And David said to the young man who had given him the news, Where do you come from? And he said, I am the son of a man from a strange land; I am an Amalekite. 1:14And David said to him, Had you no fear of stretching out your hand to put to death the one marked with the holy oil? 1:15And David sent for one of his young men and said, Go near and put an end to him. And he put him to death. 1:16And David said to him, May your blood be on your head; for your mouth has given witness against you, saying, I have put to death the man marked with the holy oil. 1:17Then David made this song of grief for Saul and Jonathan, his son: 1:18(It is recorded in the book of Jashar for teaching to the sons of Judah) and he said: 1:19The glory, O Israel, is dead on your high places! How have the great ones been made low! 1:20Give no news of it in Gath, let it not be said in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will be glad, the daughters of men without circumcision will be uplifted in joy. 1:21O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, you fields of death: for there the arms of the strong have been shamed, the arms of Saul, as if he had not been marked with the holy oil. 1:22From the blood of the dead, from the fat of the strong, the bow of Jonathan was not turned back, the sword of Saul did not come back unused. 1:23Saul and Jonathan were loved and pleasing; in their lives and in their death they were not parted; they went more quickly than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 1:24O daughters of Israel, have sorrow for Saul, by whom you were delicately clothed in robes of red, with ornaments of gold on your dresses. 1:25How have the great ones been made low in the fight! Jonathan is dead on your high places. 1:26I am full of grief for you, my brother Jonathan: very dear have you been to me: your love for me was a wonder, greater than the love of women. 1:27How have the great ones been made low, and the arms of war broken!
2:1Now after this, David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go up into any of the towns of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, Where am I to go? And he said, To Hebron. 2:2So David went there, taking with him his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel. 2:3And David took all his men with him, every man with his family: and they were living in the towns round Hebron. 2:4And the men of Judah came there, and with the holy oil made David king over the people of Judah. And word came to David that it was the men of Jabesh-gilead who put Saul's body in its last resting-place. 2:5And David sent to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, May the Lord give you his blessing, because you have done this kind act to Saul your lord, and have put his body to rest! 2:6May the Lord be good and true to you: and I myself will see that your kind act is rewarded, because you have done this thing. 2:7Then let your hands be strong, and have no fear: though Saul your lord is dead, the people of Judah have made me their king. 2:8Now Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth over to Mahanaim, 2:9And made him king over Gilead and the Asherites and over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, that is, over all Israel. 2:10(Saul's son Ish-bosheth was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he was ruler for two years.) But Judah was on the side of David. 2:11And the time when David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah was seven years and six months. 2:12And Abner, the son of Ner, with the servants of Saul's son Ish-bosheth, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 2:13And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and came face to face with them by the pool of Gibeon; and they took up their position, facing one another on opposite sides of the pool. 2:14And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men give a test of their strength before us. And Joab said, Let them do so. 2:15So they got up and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and twelve of the servants of David. 2:16And every one got the other by the head, driving his sword into the other's side, so they all went down together: and that place was named the Field of Sides, and it is in Gibeon. 2:17And there was hard fighting that day; and Abner and the men of Israel gave way before the servants of David. 2:18There were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab and Abishai and Asahel: and Asahel was as quick-footed as a roe of the fields. 2:19Asahel went running after Abner, not turning to the right or to the left. 2:20Then Abner, looking back, said, Is it you, Asahel? And he said, It is I. 2:21And Abner said, Then go to the right or to the left and put your hands on one of the fighting-men and take his arms. But Asahel would not be turned away from going after Abner. 2:22Then again Abner said to Asahel, Go to one side, do not keep on coming after me: why will you make me put an end to you? for then I will be shamed before your brother Joab. 2:23But still he did not go to one side: so Abner gave him a back blow in the stomach with his spear, so that the spear came out at his back; and he went down on the earth, wounded to death: and all those who came to the place where Asahel went down dead, came to a stop. 2:24But Joab and Abishai went after Abner: and the sun went down when they came to the hill of Ammah, which is to the east of the road through the waste land of Geba. 2:25And the men of Benjamin came together after Abner in one band, and took their places on the top of a hill. 2:26Then crying out to Joab, Abner said, Are fighting and destruction to go on for ever? do you not see that the end will only be bitter? how long will it be before you send the people back and make them give up attacking their countrymen? 2:27And Joab said, By the living God, if you had not given the word, the people would have gone on attacking their countrymen till the morning. 2:28So Joab had a horn sounded, and all the people came to a stop, and gave up going after Israel and fighting them. 2:29And all that night Abner and his men went through the Arabah; they went over Jordan and through all Bithron and came to Mahanaim. 2:30And Joab came back from fighting Abner: and when he had got all his men together, it was seen that nineteen of David's men, in addition to Asahel, were not with them. 2:31But David's men had put to death three hundred and sixty of the men of Benjamin and of Abner's men 2:32And they took Asahel's body and put it in the last resting-place of his father in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men, travelling all night, came to Hebron at dawn.