Samuel Chapters

The Story of Hannah

1 | • ¹There was a man from Ramathaim named Elkanah in the hills of Ephraim. He was the son of Tohu, son of Jeroham, of the clan of Zuph. ²He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³Elkanah went to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh every year. The priests there were the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. ⁴Whenever Elkanah offered sacrifice; he gave portions to his wife, Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵To Hannah, however, he gave the more delightful portion because he loved her more, although she had no child. ⁶Yet Hannah’s rival used to tease her for being barren.

⁷It happened every year when they went to the Lord’s house. Peninnah irritated Hannah, and she would weep and refuse to eat. ⁸Once, Elkanah, her husband, asked, “Hannah, why do you weep instead of eating? Why are you sad? Are you not better off with me than with many sons?”

⁹After eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up not far from Eli, the priest whose seat was beside the doorpost of the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ Deeply distressed, she wept and prayed to the Lord ¹¹and made this vow: “O Lord of Hosts, if you will have compassion on your maidservant and give me a son, I will put him in your service for as long as he lives and no razor shall touch his head.”

¹²As she prayed before the Lord, Eli observed the movement of her lips. ¹³Hannah prayed silently; she moved her lips but uttered no sound, and Eli thought Hannah was drunk. ¹⁴He, therefore, said to her: “For how long will you be drunk? Let your drunkenness pass.” ¹⁵But Hannah answered: “No, my lord, I am a woman in great distress, not drunk. I have not drunk wine or strong drink, but I am pouring out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶Do not take me for a bad woman. I was so afflicted that my prayer flowed continuously.” ¹⁷Then Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you asked for.” ¹⁸Hannah answered, “Let your maidservant deserve your kindness.” Then she left the temple, and when she was at the table, she seemed a different woman.

¹⁹Elkanah rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord with his wives. Then they went back home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with his wife, Hannah, the Lord took compassion on her, ²⁰ and she became pregnant. She gave birth to a son and called him Samuel because she said: “I have asked the Lord to give him to me.”

²¹Once more, Elkanah went to the temple with his family to make his yearly sacrifice and pay his vow to the Lord. ²²Hannah would not go along but said to her husband, “I will bring the child there as soon as he is weaned. He shall be presented to the Lord and stay there forever.” ²³Her husband answered, “Do what seems best to you. Stay here until you have weaned the child, and may the Lord confirm your vow.” So Hannah stayed behind and continued to nurse her son until he was weaned.

²⁴When the child was weaned, Hannah took him with her along with a three-year-old bull, a measure of flour, and a flask of wine, and she brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. The child was still young.

²⁵After slaying the bull, they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶Hannah exclaimed: “Oh, my lord, look! I am the woman standing in your presence, praying to the Lord. ²⁷I asked for this child, and the Lord granted me the favor I begged of him. ²⁸I think the Lord is now asking for this child. As long as he lives, he belongs to the Lord.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 | • ¹And this is the song of Hannah:

“My heart exults in the Lord,

I feel strong in my God.

I rejoice and laugh at my enemies

for you came with power to save me.

²The Lord alone is holy; no one is like you;

there is no Rock like our God.

³Speak proudly no more;

no more arrogance on your lips,

for the Lord is an all-knowing God;

it is he who weighs the deeds of all.

⁴The bow of the mighty is broken,

but the weak are girded with strength.

⁵The well-fed must labor for bread,

but the hungry need work no more.

The childless wife has borne seven children,

but the proud mother is left alone.

⁶The Lord is Lord of life and death.

He brings down to the grave and raises up.

⁷The Lord makes poor and rich;

he brings low and exalts.

⁸He lifts up the lowly from the dust

and raises the poor from the ash heap;

they will be called to the company of princes,

and inherit a seat of honor.

The earth to its pillars belong to the Lord;

he has set the world on them.

⁹He guards the steps of his faithful ones,

but the wicked perish in darkness;

for no one succeeds by his own strength.

¹⁰ The enemies of the Lord are shattered,

against them he thunders in heaven.

The Lord rules over the whole world.

He will raise his own king.

His anointed feels strong in Him.”

¹¹After that, Elkanah went home to Ramah while the boy served the Lord in the presence of Eli, the priest.

The Story of Eli

¹²The sons of Eli were worthless men who had no regard for the Lord. ¹³This is how they acted with the people: When someone offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was still boiling. ¹⁴With a fork, he would reach into the pan, kettle, caldron, or pot, and all that the fork brought up would be for the priests. This is how these priests treated the Israelites who went to Shiloh. ¹⁵Sometimes, the priest’s servant would come before the fat was burned and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶And if the man answered, “Let the fat be burned first and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, give it to me now, or else I will take it by force.” ¹⁷The sin of these young priests was very great in the sight of the Lord because they defiled the offering of the Lord.

¹⁸Meanwhile, Samuel, now a boy wearing a priest’s garment, was ministering before the Lord. ¹⁹From time to time, his mother made him a little robe, which she handed him when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife with these words: “May the Lord give you more children by this woman for the sake of the boy she asked for and then gave to the Lord.”

²¹After the man returned home, the Lord blessed Hannah with more children. She had three sons and two daughters, while the boy Samuel grew in the Lord's presence.

²²Eli was now very old. He heard how his sons dealt with the Israelites and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ²³So he told them, “How can you do the things I hear about you from everyone? ²⁴No, my sons, what I hear from the pilgrims of the Lord’s people is bad news for me. ²⁵When anyone sins against another person, God will mediate for him. But who can intercede for him if he sins against the Lord?” Yet the two would not listen to their father, for the Lord had already decided that they should die.

²⁶Meanwhile, the boy Samuel was growing in stature and worth before the Lord and the people.

²⁷One day, a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is the Lord’s word: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. ²⁸I chose them out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense and to wear a priest’s robe in my presence, and I gave them all the burnt offerings of Israel. ²⁹Why do you now despise my sacrifice and the offerings that I myself ordered? Why do you give more importance to your sons than to me and fatten yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering made by my people Israel? ³⁰ Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: I promised that your family and that of your father should go on ministering before me forever; but now, far be it from me! Those who honor me I shall honor; those who despise me will be despised. ³¹The days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of all your relatives. ³²No one will live to a ripe old age. ³³Those of your household that I do not reject from my service will be spared only to weep bitterly and live in grief, but the rest shall die by the sword. ³⁴What will happen to your sons Hophni and Phinehas shall be a sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. ³⁵I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall act according to my heart and mind. I will give him a lasting succession that will serve me and my anointed one forever. ³⁶And everyone that is left of your family shall ask him for money or a loaf of bread, saying: Appoint me, I beg you, for a priestly function so that I may have something to eat.”

God Calls Samuel

3 | • ¹The boy Samuel ministered to the Lord under Eli’s care in a time in which the word of the Lord was rarely heard. Visions were not seen.

²One night, Eli was lying down in his room, half blind as he was. ³The lamp of God was still lighted, and Samuel also lay in the house of the Lord near the Ark of God. ⁴Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “I am here!” ⁵And ran to Eli, saying, “I am here. Did you not call me?” But Eli said, “I did not call. Go back to sleep.” So he went and lay down.

⁶Then the Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel stood up and went to Eli saying, “You called me; I am here.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”

⁷Samuel did not yet know the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸But the Lord called Samuel for the third time; and he went again to Eli saying, “I am here for you have called me.” Eli realized that it was the Lord calling the boy. ⁹So he told Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you again, answer: “Speak, the Lord, your servant listens.”

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood there calling “Samuel! Samuel!” as he did before. And Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant listens.” ¹¹Then the Lord spoke to Samuel, “Look, I am about to do something in Israel which will scare everyone who hears about it. ¹²On that day, I will carry out what I told Eli regarding his family. All will be fulfilled from beginning to end. ¹³For I told him that I was about to sentence his family forever. He himself knew that his sons were blaspheming God, but he did not stop them. ¹⁴This is why I have cursed the family of Eli. Their sin shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or any offering.”

¹⁵Samuel lay down until morning and rose up early. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. ¹⁶But Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel answered, “I am here.” ¹⁷Eli asked, “What did the Lord tell you? Do not hide it from me. Fear the punishment of God if you hide from me even one thing he told you.” ¹⁸Samuel told him everything, and Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

¹⁹Samuel grew. The Lord was with him and made all his words come true. ²⁰ All Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was the Lord’s prophet. ²¹The Lord would appear at Shiloh. There he revealed himself to Samuel by giving him his word.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4 | • ¹At that time, Samuel was a prophet of Israel. The Israelites went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines encamped at Aphek. ²The Philistines then drew up in battle formation. They attacked Israel, and after fierce fighting, Israel was defeated, leaving about four thousand men dead on the battlefield. ³When the troops retreated to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated by the Philistines? Let us take the Ark of God from Shiloh and bring it here so that the Lord may be with us and save us from our enemies.” ⁴So the people sent messengers to Shiloh to take the Ark of the Lord seated on the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, accompanied the Ark.

⁵As soon as the Ark of the Lord entered the camp, the Israelites began to cheer so loudly that the earth resounded. ⁶The Philistines heard the shouting and asked, “What does this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And they were told that the Ark of the Lord had been brought to the camp.

⁷The Philistines were overcome with fear. They exclaimed, “A god has come into the camp. ⁸Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These gods struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues—and in the desert. ⁹Take courage and conduct yourselves like men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews in the same way they have been slaves to you. Be manly and fight.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. Everyone fled to his home. It was a disastrous defeat; thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel were killed. ¹¹The Ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

¹²A man from the tribe of Benjamin fled from the battle line and arrived that same day in Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and his head was covered with dust. ¹³When this man arrived, Eli was on his seat by the road, watching, for his heart trembled for what might happen to the Ark of God. When the people heard the news the man had brought, the whole city cried out. ¹⁴Eli heard their outcry and asked, “What is all this noise?” The man came to Eli at once and told him what happened. ¹⁵Eli was by then ninety-eight years old and was already blind. ¹⁶The man said to him, “I came from the battle, for I was able to flee from it.” Then Eli asked him, “How did the battle go, my son?” ¹⁷The news bearer answered, “Israel fled before the Philistines. It has been a disaster for our men. Your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are among the dead, and the Ark of God has been taken.” ¹⁸As soon as the man mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat by the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was an old and heavy man. Eli judged Israel for forty years.

¹⁹Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and was about to give birth. When she heard that the Ark of God was taken and that both her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she gave birth prematurely. ²⁰ As she lay dying, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she neither answered nor listened. ²¹She then named the child Ichabod, saying: “The glory has departed from Israel!” ²²And she said “the glory,” meaning the Ark of God that had been captured.

5 | ¹After taking the Ark of God, the Philistines carried it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ²Once there, they brought it into the temple of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon’s image. ³Rising early the following day, the people saw that Dagon had fallen, face downward on the ground, before the Ark of the Lord. So they picked up Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴But when they rose the following morning, the people saw Dagon on the ground again, face downward before the Ark of the Lord. His head and hands were broken off and lay on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left where he fell. ⁵This is why the priests of Dagon and his worshipers do not tread on the threshold of his temple in Ashdod until today.

⁶The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod. The Lord afflicted the people of Ashdod and its vicinity with hemorrhoids. ⁷Seeing this, the people of Ashdod said, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel not remain with us. His hand is heavy on us and Dagon, our god.” ⁸So they had all the chiefs of the Philistine cities gathered together to ask them, “What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel be brought to Gath.” So they brought the Ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹But as soon as they brought it to Gath, the Lord raised his hand against the city, causing a great panic. He afflicted the people there, both young and old, with hemorrhoids. ¹⁰ So they moved the Ark of God to Ekron. But when the Ark entered Ekron, the people there cried out, “They have brought us the Ark of the God of Israel to slay us all.” ¹¹So they gathered the chiefs of the Philistine cities together to tell them, “Send away the Ark of the God of Israel. Let it return to its own place lest we all die.” There was deadly panic throughout the city because of God’s heavy hand. ¹²Those who did not die were stricken with hemorrhoids, and the cry of the city reached heaven.

6 | ¹The Ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines for seven months. ²The Philistines called their priests and diviners and asked them, “What shall we do with the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how we shall send it back to its place.” ³The priests and diviners answered, “If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it alone. Instead, provide him with a guilt offering. Then you may be healed; and you will know why God dealt with you so severely.” ⁴The chiefs then asked, “What guilt offering shall we provide him with?” The priests and diviners answered, “Make five golden figures of hemorrhoids and five golden figures of mice corresponding to the number of Philistine cities, for the same plague was on all of you and your chiefs. ⁵So you must make images of your hemorrhoids and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will remove his hand from you, your gods, and your land. ⁶But do not harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did. After the Lord had afflicted them, did they not have to let the people go?

⁷Now, then, prepare a new cart and take two milking cows that have never carried a yoke. Yoke the cows to the cart but take their calves away from them. ⁸Then, place the Ark of the Lord on the cart. Put the golden figures you give him as a guilt offering in a box beside it. Then send it off and let it go its way. ⁹Then, watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, through Beth-shemesh, then he has done us this great harm. If not, we shall know that not his hand struck us, that all these things happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ The people carried out these instructions. They took two milking cows, yoked them to the cart, and shut their calves in their shed. ¹¹They then put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the box with the golden mice and the images of their hemorrhoids. ¹²The cows went straight toward Beth-shemesh along the way; they went mooing, and they turned neither to the right nor the left. Meanwhile, the chiefs of the Philistine cities followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley when they saw the Ark drawing near, and they rejoiced greatly. ¹⁴The cart arrived in Beth-shemesh in Joshua’s field and stopped there. A big stone lay nearby, so the people split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows over the stone as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵Meanwhile, the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord and the box containing the golden figures, and they set these up on the big stone.

That day, the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. The five chiefs of the Philistine cities, however, ¹⁶upon seeing what happened, immediately returned to Ekron.

¹⁷These Philistine cities sent back golden tumors as a guilt offering to the Lord: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Akron. ¹⁸Similarly, there were golden figures of mice corresponding in number to all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five leaders, counting fortified cities and unwalled villages. The big stone beside which the people set down the Ark of the Lord in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh is a witness to this day.

¹⁹The Lord caused the death of seventy men of Beth-shemesh who had looked at the Ark of the Lord. On seeing this, the people mourned greatly. ²⁰ The people of Beth-shemesh said, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? And where can we send the Ark away from us?” ²¹So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim with this word: “The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up with you.”

7 | ¹The people of Kiriath-jearim came for the Ark of the Lord. They brought it into Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated his son, Eleazar, to take charge of it.

Samuel Awakens Israel

•  ²A very long time passed from when the Ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim. For some twenty years, all Israel mourned and longed for the Lord.

³Then Samuel told the Israelites, “If you turn back to the Lord in all sincerity, get rid of the foreign gods and your Astartes, then, when you have set your heart on the Lord and serve no one but him, he will deliver you from the Philistines.” ⁴So the Israelites rid themselves of their Baals and Astartes and began serving no one but the Lord.

⁵Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel in Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” ⁶They gathered at Mizpah. They drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” It was Samuel who led this assembly of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the chiefs of the Philistine cities went up to Israel’s land. The Israelites became afraid when they learned this, ⁸and they said to Samuel, “Pray without ceasing to the Lord our God on our behalf so that he may save us from the Philistines.” ⁹Samuel then took a suckling lamb and offered it to the Lord as a burnt offering, appealing to him on behalf of the people. And the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ At the very time Samuel was offering the sacrifice, the Philistines launched an attack against Israel. But the Lord’s voice thundered loudly amid the Philistines; they were suddenly confused and defeated by Israel. ¹¹The Israelites left Mizpah, pursuing and slaying the Philistines to a point beyond Beth-car.

¹²Samuel, then, took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer, for he said, “Unto this place, the Lord has helped us.” ¹³After this defeat, the Philistines did not dare enter the territory of Israel and the Lord held them in check for as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴The Israelites recovered the towns from Ekron to Gath, which the Philistines had seized from Israel. Israel rescued their territories. And there was peace, even between the Israelites and the Amorites.

¹⁵Samuel was the judge in Israel for the rest of his life. ¹⁶He went to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah every year and judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷Then he would return to Ramah, where his home was. He judged Israel there, and he built an altar to the Lord.

The People Ask for a King

8 | • ¹When Samuel grew old, he made his sons judges over Israel. ²His elder son was Joel, and the second was Abijah. Both sons were judges in Beersheba. ³But they were not like their father. They had their vested interests, taking bribes and perverting justice.

⁴Because of this, all the chiefs of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel in Ramah. ⁵They told him, “You are already old, and your sons are not following your ways. Give us a king to rule over us as in all the other nations.”

⁶Samuel was very displeased with what they said, “Give us a king to rule us,” and he prayed to the Lord. ⁷And the Lord told him, “Give to this people all they ask for. ⁸They have not rejected you but have rejected me as their king. They are now doing to you what they have done to me from the day I brought them out of Egypt until now, forsaking me and serving other gods. ⁹Nevertheless, listen to them and give them a serious warning. Tell them how their king will treat them.”

¹⁰ So Samuel answered those who were asking him for a king, ¹¹He told them all that the Lord said to him, “Look, these will be the demands of your king: he will take your sons and assign them to his chariot and his horses and have them run before his chariot. ¹²Some he will assign as commanders over a thousand men and commanders over fifty. Others will till his ground and reap his harvest, make his implements of war and the equipment for his chariots. ¹³He will take your daughters as well to prepare perfumes, to cook and to bake for him. ¹⁴He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive orchards and give them to his officials. ¹⁵He will take a tenth portion of your grain and vineyards and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶He will take your menservants and maidservants, the best of your cattle and your asses for his own work. ¹⁷He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When these things happen, you will cry out because of the king you chose for yourselves. But by then, the Lord will not answer you.”

¹⁹The people paid no attention to all that Samuel said. They insisted, “No! We want a king to govern us as in all the other nations. ²⁰ Our king shall govern us, lead us, and go ahead of us in our battles.” ²¹Upon hearing all that his people said, Samuel repeated it to the Lord. ²²The Lord told him, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Samuel told the Israelites, “Go back, all of you, to your own cities.”

The Story of Saul

9 | • ¹There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a valiant Benjaminite. ²Kish had a son named Saul, a handsome young man who had no equal among the Israelites, for he was a head taller than any of them.

³It happened that the asses of Kish were lost. So he said to his son Saul, “Take one of the boys with you and go look for the asses.” ⁴They went all over the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah but did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim and the land of Benjamin, but the asses were nowhere to be found.

⁵When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his boy, “Let us go back, lest my father be more worried about us than about the asses.” ⁶But his servant said, “Look, there is a man of God in this city. He is a highly respected man. All that he says comes true. Let us see him, for he may be able to help us find what we are looking for.” ⁷Saul replied, “But what can we bring him if we go? We have no more bread in our sacks nor present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸The servant answered, “I still have a quarter silver coin with me. I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” ⁹Now, it used to be in Israel that whenever someone inquired of God, he would say, “Come on, let’s go to the seer.” For today’s prophet used to be called a seer.

¹⁰ And Saul said to his boy, “Well said! Come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

Samuel Anoints Saul

•  ¹¹As they went up the hill to the city, they met young girls coming out to draw water and asked them, “Is the seer here?” ⁹(Formerly, people in Israel who went to consult God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for they did not speak of prophets, but of seers.) ¹²The maidens answered, “The seer is straight ahead. He has just arrived because they have a sacrifice today in the high place. ¹³As soon as you enter the city, you shall find him before he eats at the high place. The people will not eat until he comes because he must first bless the sacrifice, and then those invited may eat. Now go up; you will meet him immediately.”

¹⁴So they went up to the city, entered it, and saw Samuel approaching them on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵The day before Saul came, the Lord had already disclosed this to Samuel: ¹⁶“Tomorrow, about this time, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to rule over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have seen the affliction of my people, and their cry has come to me.”

¹⁷So, when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man I spoke to you about! He shall rule over my people.”

¹⁸Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Tell me, where is the seer's house?” ¹⁹Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go ahead of me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me. Before you leave, I will tell you everything in your heart in the morning. ²⁰ As for your asses that were lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found.”

Samuel added, “For whom is the first place in Israel? Isn’t it for you and all your father’s kin?” ²¹Saul answered, “I am a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the lowest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why do you speak to me in this way?”

²²Samuel took Saul and his boy, brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of the table before some thirty guests. ²³Samuel told the cook, “Bring in the portion which I asked you to put aside.” ²⁴The cook brought the leg with the tail portion and set it before Saul, saying, “This has been set aside for you. Please eat.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵Then they went down from the high place and entered the city. On the terrace, they prepared a bed for Saul, where he lay down to sleep. ²⁶Early the following day, Samuel called to Saul, “Get up, for I must send you on your way.” Saul got up and began to walk down the street with Samuel.

²⁷As they were going down to the city's outskirts, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell your servant to walk ahead. You stay here for a while, and I shall give you a message from God.”

10 | ¹Then Samuel poured a vial of oil on Saul’s head. And kissing Saul, Samuel said, “The Lord has anointed you to rule over and to lead his people Israel. And this will be the Lord’s sign to you that he has anointed you. ²After we part today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, in the territory of Benjamin. They will say to you: ‘The asses you were looking for have been found. But your father is now worried about you and what might have happened to you.’ ³When you go to the oak of Tabor, you will meet three men going up to see God at Bethel. One will bring three young goats; another, three loaves of bread; and another, a skin of wine. ⁴They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you are to accept from them. 5 After that, you will come to Gibeath-Elohim, where the garrison of the Philistines is. At the city entrance, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place and a choir with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre going before them. They will be in a trance as the prophets used to be. ⁶Then the spirit of the Lord will seize you. You shall prophesy with them and become another man.

⁷Now when these signs are fulfilled, do whatever seems good to you, for God is with you. ⁸You shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me, and I shall join you there to offer burnt and peace offerings. Wait there seven days until I come and tell you what you must do.”

⁹As soon as Saul parted from Samuel, God transformed him into a different person, and all the signs Samuel mentioned to Saul were fulfilled that day. ¹⁰ Upon entering Gibeah, a band of prophets met Saul; then the spirit of God seized him, and he began to prophesy with them.

¹¹Those who knew him and saw him prophesying with the prophets asked one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also one of the prophets?” ¹²One of them exclaimed, “And who is his father!” This, therefore, became a saying, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?” ¹³When Saul finished prophesying, he arrived with them at the Sanctuary.

¹⁴Saul’s uncle asked him and his boy, “Where did you go?” Saul answered, “To look for the asses. When we could not find them, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵His uncle said, “Please, tell me what Samuel told you.” ¹⁶Saul replied, “He merely told us that the asses had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

Saul Is Elected King

•  ¹⁷After that, Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸He then spoke to the Israelites, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms oppressing you. ¹⁹But you have this day rejected your God who saves you from all your calamities and your distress. You have said, ‘No! Give us a king to rule over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord, grouping yourselves into tribes and clans.”

²⁰ Then Samuel made all the tribes of Israel come near him, and when they cast lots, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹He made the families of the tribe of Benjamin come near him, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. He made the members of the family of Matrites come near him, and the lot fell to Saul, son of Kish. They looked for him but could not find him. ²²So they asked the Lord again, “Did the man come here?” The Lord answered, “He has hidden himself among the baggage.” ²³So they found him and brought him out, and when Saul stood among the people, they saw that he was a head taller than the others. ²⁴Samuel said, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵Samuel then told the people the king's rights and duties. He wrote all these in a book and presented it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people home. 26 Saul himself went home to Gibeah, and men of valor, whose hearts God had touched, departed with him. 27 Some evil people, however, remarked, “How can this man save us?” And they ignored Saul and brought him no gift.

Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh

11 | • ¹One month later, Nahash the Ammonite went to Jabesh-Gilead and surrounded the city. The people of Jabesh told Nahash, “Make an agreement with us, and we will serve you.” ²Nahash answered, “I will make an agreement with you on this condition: I will pluck out the right eye of all of you so that Israel will be left disgraced.” ³The elders of Jabesh then told him, “Give us seven days so we may send messengers through all the territories of Israel. If none of them comes to save us, we will surrender to you.”

⁴So the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, breaking the news to the people. And all the people wept aloud.

⁵Just then, Saul came from the field with his oxen. He asked, “What has happened to make the people weep?” And they told him what the men of Jabesh had said. ⁶At once, the spirit of God seized Saul, and he was greatly angered. ⁷He took a yoke of oxen, cut them into pieces, and gave them to the messengers to be taken through all the territories of Israel with this warning: “I will do the same with the oxen of anyone who does not come out after Saul and Samuel.”

Then, a holy fear came upon the people, and they set out as one man.

⁸When Saul inspected them at Bezek, the men of Israel were three hundred thousand; those of Judah, thirty thousand. ⁹And they sent the messengers with this answer to the people of Jabesh: “Tomorrow, by noontime, we shall come to you.” When the messengers returned, the people of Jabesh were very comforted, ¹⁰ and they told Nahash, “Tomorrow we will surrender, and you may do to us whatever you please.”

¹¹The following morning, Saul divided the people into three groups. They broke into the enemy camp early morning and slew the Ammonites until noontime. Those who could escape were scattered, each one running his own way.

¹²Then the people asked Samuel, “Who are these who said: Saul will never reign over us? Bring the men, and we shall put them to death.” ¹³But Saul said, “No man shall be put to death today, for this day the Lord has saved Israel.”

¹⁴Samuel told the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and officially proclaim the kingdom.” ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal and proclaimed Saul king before the Lord there. They sacrificed peace offerings, and Saul and all of Israel celebrated.

Samuel Gives Way to Saul

12 | • ¹Samuel spoke to the Israelites, “Listen, I have paid attention to all that you have told me and have given you a king. ²From now on, the king is here to lead you. As for me, I am old, and my hair is gray. My sons are with you. I have led you from my youth and have continued to this day. ³Now, I am here. Answer me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox have I taken? Whose ass have I stolen? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? Have I taken a bribe from anyone? If so, tell me, and I will restore it to you.” ⁴But they said, “You have not cheated or oppressed us; you have not stolen anything from anyone.”

⁵Then Samuel said, “The Lord is a witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is a witness.”

⁶Samuel then said to the people, “The Lord is witness, he who sent Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt. ⁷Now, stand still, that I may confront you with all the deeds of the Lord who saved you and your ancestors. ⁸Jacob went to Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed your ancestors. Then they cried to the Lord, and he sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your ancestors out of Egypt and brought them to this land. ⁹But they forgot the Lord, their God, and he delivered them into the hands of Sisera, commander of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor, into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab who fought against them. ¹⁰ Then your ancestors cried to the Lord and said: ‘We have sinned, forsaking the Lord and serving the Baals and Astartes. But now, deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ ¹¹And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hands of your enemies from all sides so that you lived in safety in your land.

¹²Now, when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, attacked you, you said to me: ‘No! Let a king rule over us,’ although the Lord your God was your king. ¹³Yet the Lord has given you the king you have chosen and asked for. ¹⁴May you fear and serve the Lord! May you listen to him and not go against his commandments! May both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord, your God! ¹⁵But if you do not listen to the Lord and break his commandments, his hand will be against you and your king.

¹⁶Now, wait awhile to see the wonder the Lord will do before you. ¹⁷Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord that he may send thunder and rain. So you shall know that you have gone very wrong in asking for another king.”

¹⁸Samuel called on the Lord, who sent thunder and rain that day. Then, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹The people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord, your God, for your servants so we may not die, for we have added to our sins this evil of asking for a king.” ²⁰ Samuel told the people, “Fear not! You have done evil, but now you must not turn away from the Lord. Serve him, instead, with all your heart. ²¹Do not go after these useless and vain idols that cannot save. ²²The Lord will not cast away his people because of his great Name since he has been pleased to make you his people. ²³As for me, how can I commit the sin of ceasing to pray for you? I will continue to instruct you in the good and right way. ²⁴Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart, for you have seen the wonderful things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you persist in wickedness, you and your king shall be swept away.”

13 | • ¹Saul became king and ruled over Israel. ²Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with him in Michmash and the hills of Bethel and a thousand with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul sent the rest of the people away, every man to his home. ³Jonathan killed the Philistine governor in Geba, and the Philistines heard of this. Saul then blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴And the news spread throughout Israel, “Saul has killed the Philistine governor, and now Israel is at war with them.” And they called everyone out to join Saul at Gilgal.

The “Sin” of Saul

•  ⁵The Philistines gathered to fight with Israel—three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as many as the sand on the seashore. They went up and encamped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven. ⁶When the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble, they hid themselves in caves, in holes, in rocks, in tombs, and cisterns, ⁷or crossed the fords of the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead.

⁸Saul was still at Gilgal, and everyone with him was afraid. He waited seven days—the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal, and the people began to disperse. ⁹So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt and peace offerings as well.” Saul then offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ He had just finished offering it when Samuel arrived. Saul greeted Samuel, ¹¹ asking him this question: “What have you done?” Saul answered him, “When I saw the people beginning to disperse because you failed to arrive on time, and considering that the Philistines have mustered their forces at Michmash, ¹²I said to myself, ‘The Philistines will launch their attack against me before I get the Lord’s blessings’; and so I decided to offer the burnt offerings.” ¹³Samuel told Saul, “You have done a foolish thing by not obeying the command of the Lord your God who would have established your rule forever. ¹⁴But now your kingship will not last, for the Lord has chosen someone more pleasing to him and appointed commander over his people because you have not done what the Lord commanded you.” ¹⁵Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way. Meanwhile, the people went up from Gilgal with Saul to join the warriors at Gibeah of Benjamin.

Saul reviewed his men, which numbered some six hundred. ¹⁶ While Saul and his son Jonathan stayed with the men in Geba of Benjamin, the Philistines pitched camp in Michmash. ¹⁷ Raiders came out of the Philistine camp in three companies—one company turned to Ophrah, to the land of Shual; ¹⁸ the other to Beth-horon; and the third to the border overlooking the valley of Hyenas, toward the wilderness.

¹⁹The Israelites had no smith anywhere in their land, for the Philistines did not want the Hebrews to make swords or spears. ²⁰ To have their plowshare, hatchet, ax or sickle sharpened, the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines ²¹who would charge them two-thirds of a shekel for plowshares and mattocks and a third of a shekel for sharpening axes and setting goads. ²²And so, on the day of battle, the Israelites had neither sword nor spear. Only Saul and Jonathan had them.

²³Yet the Philistine raiders had moved on toward the pass of Michmash.

14 | • ¹The same day, Jonathan, son of Saul, said to his armor-bearer, “Let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” Jonathan did not inform his father about this. ²Saul was at that time on the outskirts of Gibeah, at Migron, under the pomegranate tree with about six hundred men. ³Also with Saul was Ahijah, son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, priest of the Lord in Shiloh, and he was wearing the ephod to consult the Lord. Not even the soldiers knew that Jonathan had left them.

⁴The pass through which Jonathan planned to go to reach the Philistine garrison was flanked on each side by a rocky crag: one called Bozez, the other, Seneh. ⁵One of the crags was to the north in the direction of Michmash; the other to the south, in the direction of Giba.

⁶Jonathan said to his shield-bearer, “Let us go over to the garrison of those uncircumcised fellows. It may be that the Lord will help us, for it is as easy for the Lord to give victory with a few men as with many.” ⁷His armor-bearer replied, “Do whatever you think best. As for me, I follow and obey you.” ⁸Jonathan said, “Look, we will draw near and show ourselves to those men. ⁹When they see us if they cry out: ‘Stay there, and we shall go over to you,’ we shall stay quiet and go no further. ¹⁰ But if they say: ‘Come up to us,’ we shall go up because that will be a sign that the Lord has delivered them into our hands.”

¹¹When the Philistines saw the two, the latter exclaimed, “Look! Hebrews coming out of their hiding places!” ¹²They challenged Jonathan and his shield-bearer, “Come over here, and we will teach you a lesson!” Jonathan then told his armor-bearer, “Follow me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hands of Israel.” ¹³Then Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, his armor-bearer following him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer finished them off. ¹⁴In that first slaying by Jonathan and his armor-bearer, about twenty men lost their lives within half a furlong. ¹⁵Panic struck the camp and the countryside, sowing terror in the garrison. Even the band of raiders was disturbed. It was like an earthquake, and they were filled with a holy terror.

¹⁶Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin saw the commotion in the camp: the Philistines were running and scattering in all directions. ¹⁷Saul told those around him, “Count our men and see who is missing.” And they discovered that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not with them. ¹⁸Saul ordered Ahijah: “Bring the ephod,” because Ahijah had taken it with him. ¹⁹But while Saul talked to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp increased. Saul then told the priest, “Withdraw your hand,” ²⁰ and after consulting his men, he went with them to the camp. They saw complete confusion, and the soldiers struck each other with their swords. ²¹Moreover, the Hebrews who had joined the Philistines turned around and sided with the Israelites under Saul and Jonathan. ²²When the Israelites hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they came out from hiding and pursued them. ²³And so the Lord delivered Israel that day in a battle beyond Beth-horon.

²⁴On that day, however, as the Israelites became weary, Saul took an oath, putting the people under the ban, “Cursed be the man who takes food before evening, before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” Because of this oath, no one dared touch any food. ²⁵As the men wandered into the forest, they saw honey on the ground, and ²⁶although it was freely dripping from the honeycomb, no one tasted it for fear of the oath. ²⁷But Jonathan, who had not heard of this oath, dipped the tip of the rod he held in the honeycomb and put it to his lips. And he felt fortified. ²⁸At this, someone said, “Though the people were tired, your father bound them with this oath: cursed be the man who takes food today.” ²⁹Then Jonathan said, “My father did you wrong. See how I have been fortified by tasting a little of this honey. ³⁰ If only our men had freely eaten today of the spoil of their enemies, the Philistines would have suffered an even greater defeat.”

³¹Nevertheless, they pursued the Philistines all the way from Michmash to Aijalon. Then the people, extremely worn out, ³²rushed to the spoils and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and after they had slaughtered them on the ground, they ate over the blood. ³³Saul was told that the people were sinning against the Lord by eating over the blood. He said, “You have acted like pagan people! Roll a large stone here in front of me.” ³⁴Then he added, “Go around and tell the people to bring their oxen or sheep to me. Slaughter them here and eat, but do not offend the Lord by eating over the blood.” So that night, everyone brought what he had of the spoils and slaughtered it there. ³⁵Then Saul built an altar to the Lord—the first he ever built to Him.

³⁶Then Saul said, “Let us pursue and spoil the Philistines by night and finish them off by morning without leaving a single man alive.” The people replied, “Do what you think is best.” But the priest said, “We must consult the Lord.” ³⁷So Saul asked, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hands of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day. ³⁸Saul said, “Call all the army officers here. We must find out who is responsible for the sin committed today. ³⁹I swear before the Lord, who has just saved Israel, that he shall surely die even if it happens to be my son Jonathan.” No one answered Saul. ⁴⁰ He told the people, “Go, stand on one side while my son Jonathan and I stand on the other.” The people answered, “Do what you think is good.” ⁴¹Then Saul said, “O Lord, God of Israel, why did you not answer your servant this time? If it is my son Jonathan or I who have sinned, O Lord, God of Israel, let the casting of lots show Urim; if it is your people Israel who have sinned, let it show Thummim.” The lot cast pointed to Jonathan and Saul, not to the people. ⁴²Saul then said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” The lot singled out Jonathan. ⁴³Saul told Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan replied, “All I did was taste a little honey from the tip of the rod that I dipped in the honeycomb! Am I to die for this?” ⁴⁴Saul said, “May God strike me down if you are not put to death, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵But the people protested, “By no means shall Jonathan die, he who has brought this resounding victory to Israel! Not at all! Not one hair of his head will fall by the Lord's life, for he has acted today with God’s assistance.” So, the people rescue Jonathan from certain deaths. ⁴⁶After that, Saul ceased to pursue the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own country.

⁴⁷When Saul felt secure as king of Israel, he began to fight against all his surrounding enemies: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines, routing his enemies wherever he went. ⁴⁸He crushed the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who were plundering them.

⁴⁹ Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua, and his two daughters were Merob, his firstborn, and Michal. ⁵⁰ His wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The general of his army was Abner, son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ⁵¹Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner, Abner's father, was Abiel's son.

⁵²Saul struggled fiercely against the Philistines all the days of his life, so whenever he discovered a strong and brave man, he recruited him into his service.

Saul Is Rejected as King

15 | ¹Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. So now listen to what he has to say to you: ²I will punish Amalek for having stood in the way of the Israelites when they were leaving Egypt. ³Now attack Amalek and destroy completely all that he has. Do not spare them—man, woman, infant or suckling, ox or sheep, camel or ass.”

⁴Saul called his men to Telaim and reviewed two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. ⁵He went to Amalek, set an ambush in the valley, and ⁶proceeded to warn the Kenites, “Leave the Amalekites! I do not want to punish you with them since you showed kindness to the people of Israel when they left Egypt.” After the Kenites had left, ⁷Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. ⁸He took Agag, king of the Amalekites, alive but put the rest of the people to the sword. ⁹Saul and his men spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs, and everything that was good but destroyed all that was worthless.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Samuel: ¹¹“I feel sorry that I made Saul king because he has turned his back on me and has not kept my command.” Samuel was troubled and cried to the Lord all night. ¹²Early next morning, he went looking for Saul but was told that Saul had set off for Carmel to erect a monument to himself and then had gone on his way to Gilgal. ¹³When finally they met, Saul greeted Samuel, “May the Lord bless you,” and added, “I have done what the Lord told me to do.” ¹⁴Samuel then asked him, “Why do I still hear the bleating of sheep and the lowing of oxen?” ¹⁵Saul replied, “We have brought them from the Amalekites because the people spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord, your God. But the rest have been destroyed.” ¹⁶Samuel then told Saul, “Enough! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul replied, “Please tell me.” ¹⁷Samuel said, “Though you had no confidence in yourself, you became chief of the tribes of Israel, for the Lord wanted to anoint you king over Israel. ¹⁸Then he sent you with this command, ‘Go. Completely crush the Amalekite offenders, engaging them in battle until they are destroyed.’ ¹⁹Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord but instead swooped down on the spoil, doing what was evil in his sight?” ²⁰ To this, Saul replied, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord and have carried out the mission for which he sent me. I captured Agag, king of Amalek, and completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹If my men spared the best sheep and oxen from among those to be destroyed, it was to sacrifice them to the Lord, your God, in Gilgal.” ²²Samuel then said,

“Does the Lord take as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to his command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than the fat of rams. ²³Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and stubbornness is like holding onto idols. Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he too has rejected you as king.”

²⁴Saul then told Samuel, “I have sinned in disobeying the Lord’s command and your instructions. I feared my own men and obeyed them instead. ²⁵Please forgive my sin and return with me so I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶Samuel refused and said, “I will not return with you because you have rejected the word of the Lord, and he has rejected you as king of Israel.” ²⁷As Samuel turned to leave, Saul held onto the end of his robe, which tore. ²⁸Then, Samuel told Saul, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to someone better than you. ²⁹The Glory of Israel does not change or repent as man does.”

³⁰ Saul then said, “I have sinned. But please honor me now, before the elders of my people and before Israel. Return with me so that I may worship the Lord, your God.” ³¹And Samuel returned with Saul, who went to worship the Lord.

³²Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, king of the Amalekites.” Agag stood before him with a cheerful face, thinking he was now out of danger. ³³But Samuel told him, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” Then Samuel dealt a mortal blow to Agag before the Lord in Gilgal.

³⁴Samuel left for Ramah while Saul went home to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown. ³⁵From that day, Samuel did not see Saul again until he died, but he was grieving over Saul because the Lord regretted making him king of Israel.

Samuel Anoints David

16 | • ¹The Lord asked Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”

²Samuel asked, “How can I go? If Saul hears of this, he will kill me!” The Lord replied, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what to do next. You shall anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

⁴Samuel did what the Lord commanded and left for Bethlehem. When he appeared, the city elders came to him, fearfully asking, “Do you bring us peace?” ⁵Samuel replied, “I come in peace; I am here to sacrifice to the Lord. Cleanse yourselves and join me in the sacrifice.” He also had Jesse and his sons cleansed and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶As they came, Samuel looked at Eliab the older and thought, “This must be the Lord’s anointed.” ⁷The Lord told Samuel, “Do not judge by his looks or stature, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not judge as man judges; humans see with the eyes; the Lord sees the heart.”

⁸Jesse called his son Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹Jesse presented Shammah, and Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, who said, “The Lord has chosen none of them. ¹¹But are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, tending the flock just now.” Samuel said, “Send for him and bring him to me; we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.” ¹²So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him to Samuel. He was a handsome lad with a ruddy complexion and beautiful eyes. And the Lord spoke, “Go, anoint him for he is the one.” ¹³Samuel then took the horn of oil and anointed him in his brothers’ presence. From that day onwards, the Lord’s spirit took hold of David. Then Samuel left for Ramah.

•  ¹⁴The spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit sent by the Lord tormented him. ¹⁵Saul’s servants told him, “We know that an evil spirit sent by God is tormenting you. ¹⁶If you so wish, your servants who stand before you will look for someone who can play the lyre so when the evil spirit from God comes over you, he will play, and you will feel better.”

¹⁷Saul answered them, “Get someone who can play the lyre well.” ¹⁸One said, “A son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, plays very well. He is, moreover, a courageous man, intelligent, and pleasant to talk to, and the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and asked for his son David, who tended the sheep. ²⁰ Jesse loaded an ass with bread, a wineskin, and a kid and had David take all these to Saul. ²¹David then left and entered Saul’s service. Saul grew very fond of David and made him his armor-bearer. ²²Then he sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”

²³So, whenever the evil spirit from God overpowered Saul, David would play on the lyre, and Saul would feel better, for the evil spirit would leave him.

17 | ¹The Philistines prepared their forces for battle and gathered together at Socoh, a territory of Judah. They encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-Dammam. ²Saul and the Israelites assembled and pitched camp in the valley of Elah, ready for their encounter with the Philistines. ³The Philistines took their position on one hill while the Israelites took theirs on another, with a valley separating the two forces.

David and Goliath

•  ⁴Then a champion named Goliath came out from the Philistine camp. He was from Gath and was about three meters tall. ⁵He wore a helmet of bronze and a coat covered with bronze scales. His armor weighed sixty kilos. ⁶He had bronze greaves strapped on his legs and a bronze spear slung between his shoulders. ⁷The shaft of his spear was the size of a weaver’s rod; its head weighed seven kilos. His shield-bearer went before him.

⁸He stood before the Israelite ranks and shouted, “Why have you come out in battle array? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s men! Choose a man from among yourselves who can challenge me. ⁹If he fights better and kills me, we shall be subject to you, but if I overpower him and kill him, you shall be subject to us.”          

¹⁰ The Philistine added, “This is my challenge to the Israelite troops this day. Give me a man who can fight with me alone!” ¹¹When they heard this challenge of the Philistine, Saul and his men were afraid and greatly terrified.

¹²Now, David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah who had eight sons. Jesse was already old during Saul’s reign but had sent men to the army. ¹³Three of his eldest sons had joined Saul in battle: Eliab, the firstborn; Abinadab, the second; and Shammah, the third. ¹⁴David was Jesse’s youngest and, while the three eldest followed Saul, ¹⁵he would alternate his goings and comings to the army with the care of his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

¹⁶Every morning and again in the evening, the Philistine would come out to throw his challenge; this he did for forty days. ¹⁷One day, Jesse told his son, David, “Bring a measure of this roasted grain and these ten loaves to your brothers; ¹⁸ and take this ten kind of cheeses to the field officer. Find out how your brothers are and bring me back some token from them.” ¹⁹David’s brothers and the field officer were with Saul and the Israelites in the valley of Elah, facing the Philistines.

²⁰ David woke up early the next morning and entrusted the sheep to a shepherd. Taking the food with him, he left in obedience to Jesse’s command. He arrived at the encampment just when the army was leaving for the battleground, shouting out their battle cry. ²¹Israel and the Philistine drew up facing one another. ²²On seeing this, David entrusted his load to the baggage keeper and rushed to the ranks to greet his brothers. ²³While he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion of Gath, came up from the ranks of the Philistines and shouted out the same challenge as before, this time reaching David’s ears.

²⁴When the Israelites saw the man, they fled from him, terrified. ²⁵One of them said, “Have you seen this man who comes up challenging Israel? Whoever succeeds in killing him will be richly rewarded by the king. He will give him his daughter in marriage and set his family free of every contribution.”

²⁶David asked those who were around him, “What will be the reward for the person who kills this Philistine and lifts this disgrace from Israel? And who is this uncircumcised Philistine who defies the armies of the living God?” ²⁷The people answered him in the same way, “This will be the reward of whoever kills him.”

²⁸When he saw David talking to the men, his eldest brother Eliab angrily said, “Why did you come here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know you are an insolent fellow. You have come only to see the battle.” ²⁹David asked, “What have I done this time? I was merely asking something!” ³⁰ Leaving his brother, David turned to another man and asked him the same question, and the people answered him the same way as before.

³¹David’s remarks spread around and reached Saul, who asked for him.

³²David said to Saul, “Let no one be discouraged on account of this Philistine, for your servant will engage him in battle.” ³³Saul told David, “You cannot fight with this Philistine, for you are still young, whereas this man has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴But David said, “When I was tending my father’s sheep, whenever a lion or bear came to snatch a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I would run after it, kill it, and rescue the victim from its mouth. If it attacked me, I would hold it by its beard and slay it. ³⁶I have killed lions and bears and will do the same with this uncircumcised Philistine, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷David continued, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paws of lions and bears, will deliver me from the hands of the Philistine.”

Saul told David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

³⁸Saul fitted his armor on David, put a bronze helmet on his head, and clothed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹David secured his sword over the armor but could not walk because it was his first time. So he said to Saul, “I cannot move with all these trappings on me because I am not accustomed to wearing them.” David got rid of all this armor, ⁴⁰ took his staff, picked up five smooth stones from the brook and dropped them inside his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹The Philistine moved forward, closing in on David, his shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴²When he saw that David was only a lad (of fresh complexion and handsome), he despised him ⁴³and said, “Am I a dog that you should approach me with a stick?” Cursing David by his gods, ⁴⁴continued, “Come, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field!”

⁴⁵David answered the Philistine, “You have come against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you with the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. ⁴⁶The Lord will deliver you this day into my hands and I will strike you down and cut off your head. I will give the corpses of the Philistine army today to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, and all the earth shall know that there is a God of Israel. ⁴⁷All the people gathered here shall know that the Lord saves not by sword or spear; the battle belongs to the Lord, and he will deliver you into our hands.”

⁴⁸No sooner had the Philistine moved to attack him than David rushed to the battleground. ⁴⁹Putting his hand into his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; it penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. ⁵⁰ David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, felling him without using a sword. ⁵¹He rushed forward, stood over him, took the Philistine’s sword, and slew him by cutting off his head.

When the Philistines saw their champion dead, they scattered in all directions. ⁵²The men of Israel and Judah raised the battle cry and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. Wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³Returning from their pursuit of the Philistines, the Israelites plundered their camp. ⁵⁴David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem but left the armor in his tent.

⁵⁵When Saul saw David come out to oppose the Philistine, he asked his general, Abner, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner answered, “I swear, O king, I do not know.” ⁵⁶The king said, “Ask whose son that lad is.” ⁵⁷So when David returned after killing the Philistine, Abner took him to Saul. ⁵⁸Saul asked David, who stood before him holding the head of the Philistine, “Whose son are you, young man?” David answered, “I am the son of your servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

David, Saul, and Jonathan

18 | • ¹When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan felt a deep affection for David and began to love him as himself. ²Saul kept David with him from that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house. ³Then Jonathan agreed with David because he loved him as himself. ⁴Jonathan, taking off the cloak he was wearing, gave it to David; he also gave him his own armor, sword, bow, and belt.

⁵Wherever Saul sent David, he went and succeeded. For this reason, Saul put David in charge of the soldiers—a move which pleased Saul’s men and his officers as well. ⁶When they arrived after David had slain the Philistine, the women came out from the cities of Israel to meet king Saul singing and dancing with timbrels and musical instruments. ⁷They merrily sang this song: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David, his tens of thousands.”

⁸Saul was very displeased with this song and said, “They have given tens of thousands to David but to me only thousands! By now, he has everything but the kingdom!” ⁹From then on, Saul became very distrustful of David.

¹⁰ The following day, an evil spirit from God seized Saul, causing him to rave in his house. David then played on the lyre as he used to while Saul had his spear in hand. ¹¹Then Saul pointed it at David, thinking, “I will nail David to the wall.” But David escaped on two occasions.

¹²Saul saw that the Lord was with David and had left him. And he was afraid. ¹³So he removed David from his presence by making him chief of a thousand men. David went ahead of his troops ¹⁴and was successful each time because the Lord was with him. ¹⁵The more successful David was, the more afraid Saul became. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David because he led them in their expeditions.

¹⁷Saul told David, “You know my eldest daughter, Merob. I will give her to you as your wife; be brave and fight the Lord’s battles.” Saul thought, “Let the Philistines strike him instead of myself.” ¹⁸David answered Saul, “Who am I? And what is my father’s family in Israel that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” ¹⁹Yet when it was time for Merob to be married to David, she was given instead to Adriel the Meholathite.

²⁰ Now, Saul’s daughter, Michal, fell in love with David. When this came to Saul’s knowledge, he was very pleased ²¹for he thought, “I shall promise her to him, and it will be a snare to him. The Philistines will kill him.” So, Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.” ²²Then he commanded his servants to talk to David privately, saying, “The king and all his servants like you. You should become the king’s son-in-law!” ²³Saul’s servants repeated these words to David, who replied, “Do you think it is easy to become the king’s son-in-law, poor and unknown as I am?” ²⁴When Saul’s servants repeated to the king what David had said, ²⁵Saul ordered them to tell David, “The king wants no marriage gift other than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.” For Saul wanted David to fall into the hands of the Philistines. ²⁶Saul’s servants told David this, and it seemed to him that he could easily become the king’s son-in-law. ²⁷David and his men set out and killed two hundred Philistines. And they brought the king the foreskins so that David could become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul had to give his daughter Michal to David to become his wife.

²⁸Saul feared David, knowing that the Lord was with him. But Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him. ²⁹Saul feared David increasingly and was his enemy until the end.

³⁰ Whenever the Philistine chiefs engaged David in battle, he succeeded more than any of Saul’s officers, earning great fame.

19 | • ¹Saul told his son Jonathan and his servants of his intention to kill David. But Jonathan, who liked David very much, ²said to David, “My father Saul wants to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning and hide yourself in a secret place. ³I will go out and keep my father company in the countryside where you are, and I will speak to him about you. If I find out something, I will let you know.” ⁴Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying, “Let not the king sin against his servant David for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, what he has done has benefited you. ⁵He risked his life in killing the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for Israel. You yourself saw this and greatly rejoiced. Why then sin against innocent blood and kill David without cause?” ⁶Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷So Jonathan called David and told him all these things. He then brought him to Saul and David was back in Saul’s service as before.

⁸War broke out again, and David set out to fight the Philistines. David crushed them so badly that they had to flee. ⁹Then an evil spirit from the Lord seized Saul as he held his spear in his house while David played on the lyre. ¹⁰ Saul attempted to pin David to the wall with his spear. David, however, dodged the blow, and the spear hit the wall instead. David fled and escaped.

¹¹That night, Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep an eye on him as he intended to kill him the following morning. But David’s wife, Michal, told him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹²So Michal let David down through the window, allowing him to escape.

¹³Next, Michal took the household idol, laid it on the bed, and put a bundle of goat’s hair on its head. She then covered this with a blanket. ¹⁴When Saul sent messengers to capture David, Michal told them, “He is sick.” ¹⁵Saul sent messengers back to David and said, “Bring him up to me on his bed for me to kill him.” ¹⁶But when the messengers entered, they saw the household idol in the bed with the bundle of goat’s hair at its head. ¹⁷Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me and allow my enemy to escape?” Michal answered, “He threatened to kill me if I did not let him go!”

Saul and the Prophets

•  ¹⁸David had fled and was in safety. He went to Samuel at Ramah and related all Saul had done to him. He and Samuel then went to live at Naioth. ¹⁹Saul was told that David stayed at Naioth in Ramah, ²⁰ so he sent messengers to capture David. But when they saw the band of prophets prophesying (signifying that they had fallen into a trance) with Samuel leading them, the spirit of the Lord came upon them and made them prophesy.

²¹Upon hearing what happened, Saul sent more messengers who also began to prophesy. Saul sent more the third time, and the same thing happened.

²²Then Saul went to Ramah and arrived at the deep well in Secu. He asked, “Where can I find Samuel and David?” The people answered, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³So Saul proceeded to Naioth in Ramah, but the Lord's spirit also came upon him. And he walked along, prophesying, until he reached the entrance of Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴He took off his clothes and prophesied in Samuel’s presence. Then he fell down naked, remaining in that position all day and all night. Hence sprang the saying, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

20 | ¹David fled from Naioth in Ramah and went to Jonathan to ask him, “What have I done? What am I guilty of? What sin have I committed against your father that he wants to kill me?” ²Jonathan, however, assured him, “No! You shall not die. My father does nothing small or great without informing me. Why should he hide this from me? No, this cannot be.”

³David replied, “Your father knows very well that you are pleased with me, so he thinks it is better not to tell you and grieve you. But I swear there is but one step between death and me!” ⁴Then Jonathan told David, “What can I do for you?” ⁵David answered, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I should be dining with the king. But let me hide in the open country until the evening of the third day. ⁶If your father looks for me, say, 'David asked me to let him go over to Bethlehem because they have their yearly sacrifice there with the entire family.’ ⁷If he says, ‘Good,’ then I am in no danger. But if he gets angry, then you can be certain that he wants to harm me. ⁸Do this for me according to our agreement. But if I am guilty, kill me yourself. Why hand me over to your father to be killed?”

⁹Jonathan answered, “Nonsense! If I knew that my father wanted to harm you, would I not warn you?” ¹⁰ David then asked him, “Who will tell me if your father answers you angrily?” ¹¹Jonathan said, “Come, let us enter the open country.” So they both left for the open country.

•  ¹²Then Jonathan told David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be our witness. About this time tomorrow or the following day, I shall be sounding out my father. If he is well-disposed toward you, I shall send you word. ¹³But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord punish me if I do not warn you, that you might escape safely. Surely, the Lord will be with you, as he has been with my father. ¹⁴If I live, always be kind to me. But if I die, ¹⁵never cut off your friendship with my family even when the Lord takes vengeance on David’s enemies and wipes them out from the face of the earth.”

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with David's family. ¹⁷And he made David swear once more because of his affection for him, for he loved David as himself.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow is the new moon. Your absence will be noticed because your seat will be vacant. ¹⁹On the third day, it will be noticed all the more. So go and hide where you hid before and stay beside the heap of stones there. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows near the stones as if aiming at a target. ²¹I will then send a lad with this instruction: ‘Go, look for the arrows.’ If I say to the lad: ‘The arrows are on this side, pick them up,’ then you may come out for, I swear, you are not in danger. ²²But if I say to the lad: ‘The arrows are beyond you,’ leave, for the Lord is sending you away. ²³But as to our covenant, the Lord is our witness forever.”

²⁴So David hid himself in the open country. On the day of the new moon, the king came to dine. ²⁵He took his usual place on the seat against the wall while Jonathan sat facing him and Abner was beside him. David’s seat remained vacant.

²⁶Saul did not say anything that day, thinking that something might have happened and David was unclean. ²⁷On the second day of the new moon, David’s seat was still vacant. Saul asked his son, Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the table yesterday and today?” ²⁸Jonathan answered, “David asked to leave to go over to Bethlehem for he said, ²⁹‘Our family is offering a sacrifice in the city, and my brothers insisted that I be present. So please allow me to go and visit my brothers.’ This is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Saul became very angry at Jonathan and told him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you prefer the son of Jesse to your shame and your mother’s shame? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives, neither you nor your Kingdom can stand. Send for him and bring him to me, for he is doomed to die!” ³²Then Jonathan asked his father, “Why should he die? What has he done?” ³³At this, Saul pointed his spear at him, and Jonathan understood that his father intended to kill David. ³⁴Jonathan rose angrily from the table and did not eat that second day of the month, grieving for David because of what his father said against him.

³⁵Jonathan went to the open country with a young man the following day, according to what he and David had agreed. ³⁶He told the lad, “Run, fetch the arrows.” While the lad was running, Jonathan shot an arrow that flew beyond the lad. ³⁷When the lad reached the spot where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called after him and said, “The arrow is beyond you! ³⁸Run quickly and do not waste time!” The lad picked up the arrow and ran back to his master. ³⁹The lad knew nothing of Jonathan and David’s agreement.

⁴⁰ After that, Jonathan gave his weapons to the lad and commanded him to take them to the city. ⁴¹David came out from behind the mound and lay on the ground when the lad had gone. The two embraced each other and wept until David was through. ⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have made an oath to one another in the Lord’s name when we said: the Lord shall be between you and me and between your descendants and mine forever.”

David and the Priest Ahimelech

21 | • ¹David went on his way while Jonathan returned home. ²David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came to meet him and asked, trembling, “Why are you alone?” ³David replied, “The king sent me on a mission and strictly ordered me not to tell anyone about it. Because of this, I have decided where I shall meet my men. ⁴What do you have here? Can you give me five loaves of bread or whatever you have?” ⁵The priest answered David, “I do not have ordinary bread at hand; there is only holy bread. If your men have had no relations with women, they may eat it.” ⁶ David answered, “Indeed, we have abstained from women these days since I set out. The young men remained sexually clean though it was an ordinary expedition, and today they are clean.” ⁷So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no other bread. This was the bread of Presence, which had been replaced by fresh bread the day it was removed.

⁸Yet one of Saul’s men was there on that day. He was Doeg, the Edomite, and Saul’s chief shepherd.

⁹David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or a sword with you? I did not take my arms with me because the king’s order was urgent.” ¹⁰ The priest replied, “I have here, wrapped in a piece of cloth behind the ephod, the sword of Goliath, the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of Elah. You can take this if you wish, for I have nothing else here.” David said, “There is none like it. Give it to me.”

•  ¹¹That same day, David fled far from Saul. He went to Achish, king of Gath. ¹²Achish’s servants remarked, “O king, is this not David? Did the people not dance on his account and sing: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousand?’” ¹³David understood these words and began to fear Achish, king of Gath. ¹⁴So he pretended to be mad, marking the gate's doors as he let his spittle run down his beard. ¹⁵Achish told his servants, “Look, it is a madman. Why did you bring him to me? ¹⁶Am I short of madmen that you must bring this fellow to act foolishly in my presence? Will this fellow come into my house?”

David Begins His Wanderings

22 | • ¹David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam, where his brothers and his father’s family came down to him. ²Then those who had problems or debts or were embittered joined him there. Thus, he became their chief. He had about four hundred men with him.

³From there, David went to Mizpeh in Moab and asked the king of Moab to let his father and mother stay with him until he found out what God would do for him. ⁴So David left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed there as long as David remained in the refuge.

⁵The prophet Gad told David, “Do not stay in the refuge; go to the land of Judah.” So David left and entered the forest of Hereth.

⁶Saul heard that David and his men had been seen. Saul was in Gibeah then, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the high place, his spear in hand, while his servants were standing by. ⁷Saul addressed them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make each of you a commander over a thousand or over a hundred men that you should all be conspiring against me? ⁸Why, then, did no one tell me that my son agreed with the son of Jesse? No one among you had mercy on me and told me that my own son had stirred up my servant to conspire against me as is the case today.”

⁹At this, Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with the officers of Saul, spoke up, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, in Nob. ¹⁰ Ahimelech consulted the Lord for him, provided him with food and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine as well.”

¹¹On hearing this, the king sent for Ahimelech, the priest, son of Ahitub, and all his family who were priests in Nob. They all came to the king. ¹²Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Yes, my lord.” ¹³Saul asked him, “Why did you conspire with the son of Jesse, giving him food and a sword and consulting the Lord for him so that he could rebel against me as is the case today?” ¹⁴Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and honored in your house? ¹⁵Is today the first time I have consulted the Lord for him? By no means! Let not the king accuse me or any family member of such a thing, for I knew nothing about the entire matter.” ¹⁶The king said, “You and your entire family shall die, Ahimelech.” ¹⁷And the king at once commanded the guards standing by, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord for having assisted David. They knew very well that David was a fugitive but did not tell me anything.” The king’s servants, however, refused to lift their hands against the priests of the Lord. ¹⁸The king turned to Doeg and commanded him, “Come and stab the priests.” And so Doeg the Edomite drew near and stabbed the priests.

On that day, he killed eighty-five persons who were wearing the linen ephod. ¹⁹After that, Saul put Nob, the city of priests, to the sword, killing men and women, children and infants, oxen, asses and sheep.

²⁰ A son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to David. ²¹Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. ²²David said, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. So I am responsible for the death of all your family. ²³Stay with me and do not be afraid, for he who wants to kill you must also kill me. You will be safe with me.”

How David Consulted God

23 | ¹David received a report that the Philistines were attacking Keilah and plundering the threshing floors. ²He consulted the Lord and asked, “Shall I go and fight with these Philistines?” The answer was, “Go and attack the Philistines and rescue Keilah.” ³David’s men protested, saying, “Look, we are in danger and afraid here in Judah. What then if we go to Keilah and face the Philistines?”

⁴So David consulted the Lord again and got this answer, “Go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hands.” ⁵David went with his men to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, seizing their cattle and causing great slaughter among them, and he rescued the inhabitants of the place.

⁶When Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, fled to David at Keilah, he took along the ephod. ⁷When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for he has shut himself in by entering a city with gates and bars.” ⁸He then called on all the people to go down to Keilah and engage David and his men in battle. ⁹When David learned that Saul meant to harm him, he told the priest Abiathar to bring the ephod. ¹⁰ Then he consulted the Lord, “O Lord, God of Israel, listen to your servant, for I have heard that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account. ¹¹Will Saul come down, as I heard? O Lord, God of Israel, speak to your servant.” The Lord answered, “He will come down.” ¹²Then David asked, “Will the lords of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” The Lord answered, “They will hand you over to him.” ¹³So David set out with his six hundred men. He left Keilah and wandered from one place to another. Saul abandoned the expedition when he was informed that David had escaped Keilah. ¹⁴Meanwhile, David stayed in the strongholds in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. However, Saul kept searching for him, but God did not deliver David into his hands.

¹⁵David knew that Saul had come out to kill him. And he remained at Horesh in the desert of Ziph. ¹⁶Saul’s son, Jonathan, went to him and encouraged him in God’s name with these words, ¹⁷“Have no fear, for my father Saul will not harm you. Even my father Saul knows you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you.” ¹⁸The two made an agreement before the Lord in Horesh, after which David remained there while Jonathan returned home.

¹⁹Some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and told him, “David is hiding among us in the refuges of Horesh on the hill of Hachilah, south of Jeshimon. ²⁰ Come down, therefore, O king, whenever it may please you, and we shall deliver him into your hands.” ²¹Saul replied, “May the Lord bless you, for you have had mercy on me. ²²Go and make sure where he has been and who has seen him there, for I am told he is very cunning. ²³Check all the places where he might be hiding and come back to me, and I will go with you. If he is in the region, I will search him out among all the clans of Judah.”

²⁴So they went off to Ziph ahead of Saul. At this time, David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the valley south of Jeshimon.

²⁵When David learned that Saul and his men were looking for him, he went down to a ravine in the desert of Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David into the desert of Maon. ²⁶Saul moved along one side of the mountain and David on the other. David was hurrying to escape from Saul, who, with his forces, was closing in on him and his men. ²⁷It was then that a messenger came to Saul and said, “Come quickly because the Philistines have invaded the land!” ²⁸Saul then left off pursuing David and went to face the Philistines. This is how that place came to be called the Ravine of Parting.

David Spares Saul

24 | • ¹David then went up from there and stayed in the hiding places at Engedi. ²When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told that David was in the desert of Engedi. ³So Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and searched for David and his men east of the Wild Goat crags. ⁴When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he entered a cave to relieve himself.

⁵Now David and his men were far back in the cave. David’s men said to him, “This is the day which the Lord spoke of: ‘Look, I will deliver your enemy into your hands, and you will do with him as you see fit.’” So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul’s robe. ⁶But afterward, David regretted having cut off an end of Saul’s robe, ⁷and he said to his men, “Let me not lay my hands on my master, for he is the Lord’s anointed.” ⁸With these words, David restrained his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way.

⁹Then David himself stepped out of the cave and called after Saul, “My master, the king!” When Saul looked back, David knelt, bowed to the ground in homage, and asked him, ¹⁰ “Why do you listen to those who say that I want to harm you? ¹¹Look, today you have seen that the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I held myself back and said: ‘I will not lift my hands against my master who is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹²My father, look at this end of your robe which I am holding! I cut off the end of your robe but did not kill you. Now, you may know that I mean you no harm or treason. I have done you no wrong, and yet you are hunting me down to kill me. ¹³May the Lord judge you and me, and may he exact justice from you in my case. But I shall do you no harm.

¹⁴As the saying goes, ‘From the wicked comes wickedness’; as for me, my hand shall not harm you. ¹⁵But who is it you are after, O king of Israel? Are you pursuing a dead dog? A flea? ¹⁶May the Lord be judge between you and me. May he see and uphold my cause and deliver me from your hands.”

¹⁷After David had spoken these words, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, my son David?” He wept aloud ¹⁸and said to David, “You are right, and I am wrong, for you have repaid the harm I have inflicted on you with kindness. ¹⁹This day you have shown your righteousness to me by not taking my life when the Lord put me into your hands. ²⁰ If a man finds his enemy, will he let him go unharmed? May the Lord reward you for what you have done for me today. ²¹ Now I know for certain that you shall reign, and the kingdom of Israel will be firm in your hand. ²²Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not wipe out my descendants and erase the name of my family.”

²³David swore to this before Saul, after which Saul went home while David and his men went into hiding.

David and Abigail

25 | • ¹The day Samuel died, all of Israel gathered together to mourn him, after which they buried him at his home in Ramah.

Then David went down to the desert of Maon. ²A wealthy man, owner of three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, lived there and had his farm in Carmel.

³This man was named Nabal, and his wife was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, but the man, a Calebite, was rough and ill-mannered. At that time, he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

⁴When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, ⁵he sent ten young men to the farm with this instruction: “Go to Nabal in Carmel and greet him for me ⁶in these words: peace be with you and your family; peace be with all that is yours. ⁷I hear that you have shearers with you. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harm them; they did not miss anything while they were in Carmel. ⁸Ask your servants, and they will tell. So be kind to my servants since we come on a festive day; please give them and your son David whatever you can.”

⁹When David’s young men arrived, they delivered this message to Nabal in David’s name and then waited. ¹⁰ But Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Many nowadays are the servants who run away from their masters. ¹¹Must I take my bread, my wine, my meat which I have slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men who come from I don’t know where?” ¹²At this, David’s young men left and returned to him, reporting everything Nabal had said. ¹³David told his men, “Let every man strap on his sword!” And every one of them, including David, strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David while two hundred remained with the baggage.

¹⁴One of Nabal’s servants told Abigail, his wife, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but he shouted at them. ¹⁵Yet these men were very good to us. We suffered no harm and did not miss anything while living among them during our stay in the open country. ¹⁶They were like a wall for us night and day while we were tending the sheep in their midst. ¹⁷Now think over what you should do, for our master and his entire family are surely doomed to die, but he is so wicked no one can speak to him.”

¹⁸Abigail hurriedly prepared two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five measures of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs and loaded them on asses. ¹⁹Then she said to her servants, “Go ahead, and I shall follow you.” But she told her husband nothing of this.

²⁰ As she rode down the mountain on her ass, David and his men were coming down from the other direction. When she met them, ²¹David reflected, “It was useless guarding all this fellow has in the desert. Although he lost nothing belonging to him, he has returned me evil for good. ²²May God do so to David and more if I leave a single male alive among those who belong to him by morning.”

²³On seeing David, Abigail quickly dismounted from the ass and threw herself on the ground before him. ²⁴As she fell at his feet, she said, “My lord, let the blame be on me! Let your handmaid speak to you; listen to her words. ²⁵Let not my lord pay attention to this ill-mannered man, Nabal, for he is just what his name says: he is a fool. I, your handmaid, did not see the young men you sent.

²⁶Now, my lord, as the Lord lives and as you live, the Lord prevents you from shedding blood and avenging yourself. Let your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord become like Nabal! ²⁷And now let this present which I have brought you, my lord, be given to the young men who follow you, ²⁸and please forgive me.

The Lord will certainly give you a lasting family because you are fighting the battles of the Lord, and no evil shall be found in you as long as you live. ²⁹Should anyone attempt your life, may the life of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord, your God. May he hurl away the lives of your enemies as from the hollow of a sling.

³⁰ So when the Lord fulfills his promises and appoints you as commander over Israel, ³¹you shall have no reason to grieve or to feel any grief or regret for having unrightfully shed blood or taken revenge yourself. May the Lord bless you, and you, my lord, remember your handmaid.”

³²David told Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! ³³Blessed be your good judgment, and may you yourself be blessed, for you have prevented me from shedding blood and avenging myself today! ³⁴For as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, he has prevented me from hurting you. If you did not hurry to meet me, not a single male belonging to Nabal would have been alive by morning.” ³⁵David accepted what she had brought him and told her, “Go back home in peace. I have listened to you and granted your request.”

³⁶Abigail returned to Nabal and found him holding a feast in his house.

He was joyful and very drunk, so Abigail did not mention anything to him until the following day. ³⁷When morning came, and Nabal had slept it off, his wife told him about everything. On hearing it, Nabal had a stroke and remained paralyzed. ³⁸Ten days later, the Lord let him die.

³⁹When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal and has prevented me from doing wrong. The Lord has made Nabal’s wrongdoings fall on his own head.”

⁴⁰ David then sent his servants to Abigail in Carmel to propose marriage to her saying, “David has sent us to you to say that he wants you to be his wife.” ⁴¹Rising and bowing to the ground, Abigail answered, “May I be as a slave to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” ⁴²She quickly rose and mounted an ass and, attended by five of her servants, she left with David’s messengers and became his wife.

⁴³David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, making her and Abigail his wives. ⁴⁴In the meantime, Saul had given Michal, his daughter, and David’s wife, to Palti, son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

26 | • ¹Ziphites came to Saul in Gibeah to tell him that David was hiding on the hill of Hachilah, east of Jeshimon. ²On hearing this, Saul went down with three thousand picked men of Israel to the desert of Ziph in search of David. ³He encamped on the hill of Hachilah beside the road east of Jeshimon. ⁴When David, who was in the desert, saw that Saul had come after him, he sent out spies who confirmed Saul’s arrival. ⁵David came to Saul’s place of encampment and saw where Saul was resting with Abner, son of Ner, chief of his army. Saul was sleeping in the center, and his men were around him.

⁶David then asked Ahimelech the Hittite, and Abishai, son of Zeruiah and Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?” Abishai answered, “I will go down with you.” ⁷So, that night, David and Abishai went into the camp and found Saul sleeping in the center, his spear thrust into the ground at his head, while Abner and the rest of the soldiers were sleeping around him. ⁸Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hands this day. Let me nail him to the ground with one spear thrust; I will not repeat it.” ⁹But David answered Abishai, “Do not harm him. For who could harm the Lord’s anointed and not be punished? ¹⁰ As the Lord lives, only the Lord may strike him; either he dies on the day appointed or is killed in battle. ¹¹Don’t let me harm the Lord’s anointed! Instead, take the spear and the water jug at his head, and let us be on our way.”

¹²So David took the spear and the water jug from near Saul’s head and they left. Nobody saw, nobody knew, nobody woke up. All remained asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

¹³On the opposite slope, David stood at a distance, on top of the hill, ¹⁴and called out to both Abner, son of Ner, and the soldiers, “Why don’t you answer, Abner?” Abner answered back, “Who are you to awaken the king?” ¹⁵David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why did you not closely guard your lord, the king? An ordinary man has broken into the camp and attempted the life of the king, your lord. ¹⁶Is this the way you fulfill your duties? You deserve to die because you did not guard your lord, the Lord’s anointed. Now look for the king’s spear and the water jug at his head.”

¹⁷Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, David, my son?” David answered, “It is my voice, my lord, O king! ¹⁸Why does my lord pursue me? What have I done? What am I guilty of? ¹⁹Now, let my lord the king hear my words. If it is the Lord who has incited you against me, may an offering appease him; but if men have done so, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have made me an exile to this day and have driven me from my share of the inheritance of the Lord as if saying to me: ‘Go and serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Let not my blood flow to the ground far from the presence of the Lord! The king of Israel has come to seek out a flea as a man hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

²¹Then Saul said, “I have done wrong. Come back, David, my son. I will not harm you anymore since you value my life that day. I have acted like a fool and have made a great mistake.” ²²David answered, “I have your spear with me, O king! Let one of your servants come over to fetch it. ²³The Lord rewards a righteous and loyal man. Today, he delivered you into my hands, but I refused to harm the Lord’s anointed. ²⁴As I valued your life today, may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all distress.”

²⁵Finally, Saul told David, “Blessed are you, David, my son! You shall succeed in everything you do.” Then David went his way, and Saul went home.

David Among the Philistines

27 | ¹David thought, “Some day I shall die at the hand of Saul. It is better for me to escape to the land of the Philistines where I shall be beyond his reach and Saul will get tired of searching for me within the borders of Israel.” ²So David went with his six hundred men to Achish, son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³He and his men lived with Achish in Gath; each had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow. ⁴When Saul was informed that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

⁵David told Achish, “If I meet with your approval, let me have a place to live in one of the country towns. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?” ⁶That very day, Achish gave David Ziklag, which since then and up to the present time has belonged to the kings of Judah. ⁷David lived for one year and four months in the country of the Philistines.

⁸David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—all these lived in the land extending from Telem to Shur and the land of Egypt. ⁹David would attack the land leaving neither man nor woman alive and carrying off their sheep, oxen, asses, camels, and garments. Then, he would come back to Achish. ¹⁰ Whenever Achish asked, “Whom did you raid this time?” David would answer, “The Negeb of Judah,” or “The Negeb of the Jarahmeelites,” or “The Negeb of the Kenites.” ¹¹David left neither man nor woman alive. He said, “If I brought them to Gath, they could talk against us and say: This is what David did.” Such was his practice as long as he lived in the country of the Philistines. ¹²Achish trusted David and said to himself, “David is now hated by his own people. He shall be my servant forever.”

Saul Consults the Witch of Endor

28 | • ¹In those days, the Philistines mustered their forces to fight against Israel, and Achish told David, “I want you to know that you and your men must join me to fight this battle.” ²David answered, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.” Achish told David, “I will make you my permanent bodyguard.”

³Now Samuel had died, and when all Israel had mourned for him, they buried him in his own city, Ramah. Meanwhile, Saul had driven those who consult spirits of the dead and fortunetellers out of the land.

⁴As the Philistines gathered together and encamped in Shunem, Saul also mustered the Israelite forces. He encamped in Gilboa. ⁵But on seeing the Philistine camp, Saul was afraid, and his heart failed him. 6 Saul consulted the Lord, but the Lord did not answer whether in dreams or by the Urim or through prophets. ⁷Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who consults the spirits of the dead, that I might go and consult her.” His servants told him, “There is a medium at Endor.”

⁸Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and left with two men. He arrived at night and said to the woman: “Tell my fortune through a ghost and call the spirit I shall name.” ⁹But the woman answered him, “Do you not know that Saul has driven medium and fortunetellers out of the land? Why do you set a trap for me to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, you will not be in trouble for this.”

¹¹Then the woman asked him, “Whom do you want me to call up?” Saul said, “Call up Samuel.”

¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and asked Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” ¹³The king told her, “Have no fear. What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see him rising from the ground. He is a god.” ¹⁴Saul asked her, “What does he look like?” She replied, “The one rising is an old man clothed in a mantle.” Saul knew that it was Samuel. He knelt and bowed face to the ground in homage.

¹⁵Samuel asked Saul, “Why did you disturb me by summoning me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me. He no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams. Because of this, I called you to tell me what to do.”

¹⁶Samuel said, “Why do you ask me if the Lord has abandoned you and turned against you? ¹⁷The Lord has done to you what he foretold through me. He has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, David. ¹⁸Remember that you disobeyed the Lord by not executing his fierce anger against Amalek; that is why the Lord has done this to you today. ¹⁹Now the Lord will deliver Israel, together with you, into the hands of the Philistines. By tomorrow, you and your sons shall be with me when the Lord delivers the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

²⁰ Immediately, Saul fell full length on the ground, terrified by what Samuel said. He had no strength left because he had not eaten anything all that day and night.

²¹The woman drew close to Saul and, seeing how frightened he was, said, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed you and risked her life doing what you have asked her to do. ²²Now, it is your turn to listen to me. Let me give you something to eat so you might have strength when you go on your way.” ²³Saul refused and said, “I will not eat.” But on the insistence of his servants and the woman, he agreed, rose from the ground, and sat on the bed. ²⁴The woman had a fattened calf in the house, which she immediately butchered. She also took some flour, kneaded it, baked unleavened bread, ²⁵ and set it before Saul and his servants. They then ate and left that night.

29 | ¹Now the Philistines mustered all their forces at Aphek; the Israelites were encamped beside the spring in Jezreel. ²While the Philistine rulers went ahead of their groups of thousands and hundreds, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. ³The Philistine chiefs asked, “Who are these Hebrews?” Achish replied to the Philistine chiefs, “This is David, servant of Saul, king of Israel. He has been with me for over a year, and since he fled to me up to the present day, I have found no fault in him.” ⁴But the Philistine chiefs were angered at this and said to him, “Send that man back! Let him return to the place where you assigned him. He must not go down into battle with us lest he turn against us during the battle. How better could this fellow regain his master’s favor than by bringing him the heads of our men? ⁵Is this not the David for whom they danced and sang: Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands?”

⁶So Achish called David and said, “As the Lord lives, you are honest, and I would like you to be with me in the camp, for I have found nothing wrong in you since you came to me up to the present day. But you displease the lords. ⁷So it is better for you to leave and return quietly and do nothing to displease the Philistine lords.” ⁸David asked Achish, “But what have I done? Have I done anything since I entered your service until now that would bar me from joining the fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹Achish replied to David, “I myself hold nothing against you, but the Philistine chiefs are determined not to allow you to join us in battle. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, get up early tomorrow morning and leave with the soldiers who came with you.” ¹¹So David and his men left early in the morning and returned to the land of the Philistines. The Philistines, in the meantime, went on to Jezreel.

The Sack of Ziklag

30 | • ¹David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day, but the Amalekites had just raided the Negeb and Ziklag, storming it and burning it to the ground. ²They had taken captive the women and all who were in the city, young and old. They killed no one but carried them off when they left.

³When they reached the town, David and his men found it burned to the ground and their wives, sons, and daughters were taken captive. ⁴Then David and those with him wept aloud until they could weep no more. ⁵David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, widow of Nabal of Carmel, had also been taken captive. ⁶Now David was greatly distressed because the people were talking of stoning him, for they were embittered because of what had happened to their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.

⁷David told Abiathar, the priest, son of Ahimelech, to bring him the ephod. So Abiathar brought the ephod to David, ⁸who then consulted the Lord, “Shall I go after these raiders? Can I overtake them?” The answer was, “Go after them, for you shall surely overtake them and recover the captives.”

⁹David set out with his six hundred men and reached the brook of Besor. There, two hundred men stayed behind, for they were too exhausted to cross the brook; ¹⁰ and David continued the chase with four hundred men.

¹¹They found an Egyptian in the open country and brought him to David. They gave him food, which he ate, and water to drink. ¹²They gave him a piece of fig cake and two pieces of raisin cake. The Egyptian ate and recovered his strength, for he had been without eating or drinking for three days and three nights. ¹³David then questioned him, “To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” He answered, “I am an Egyptian, slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me because I fell sick three days ago. ¹⁴We raided the Negeb of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negeb of Caleb and set Ziklag on fire.” ¹⁵David asked, “Will you lead me to this raiding band?” He replied, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will lead you to this raiding band.”

¹⁶So the Egyptians led David to the raiding band, whom they found scattered all over the ground, eating, drinking, dancing, and feasting on the spoils they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. ¹⁷David fought them from early morning to the following day's evening, allowing no one to escape except four hundred young men who mounted their camels and fled.

¹⁸David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken and rescued his two wives. ¹⁹Nothing and no one was missing, small or great, son or daughter, booty or anything the Amalekites had taken. David brought back everything. ²⁰ He then gathered flocks and herds, and the people drove them before him, saying, “These are David’s spoils!”

²¹David reached the two hundred men who had been too tired to follow him and were left behind at the Besor brook. These men came to meet David and those who were with him. David then drew near and greeted them. ²²But the malicious and worthless people among those who had accompanied David said, “Since they did not come with us, we shall not share the booty with them; let each of them take his wife and children and leave.” ²³But David said, “My brothers, you shall not do that after what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered the band that raided us into our hands. ²⁴Who would agree to what you have said? The share of those who go down to battle and of those who remain with the baggage shall be the same; they shall share alike.” ²⁵From that day to the present, this has been a statute and custom for Israel.

²⁶When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent part of the booty to the elders of Judah, to each of his friends, saying, “This is a gift to you from the booty of the Lord’s enemies: ²⁷to those in Bethel, in Ramoth-Negeb, in Jattir, ²⁸in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, ²⁹in Racal, in the Jerahmeelite cities, in the Kenite cities, ³⁰ in Hormah, in Borashan, ³¹in Athach, in Hebron, and in all the places where David and his men had stayed.

Death of Saul

31 | • ¹Now the Philistines fought against the Israelites who, in their flight, fell mortally wounded on Mount Gilboa. ²The Philistines surrounded Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. ³The battle raged around Saul, and he was afraid when he saw that the archers had found him.

⁴Then Saul commanded his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through lest these uncircumcised men come and stab me themselves, making fun of me.” But his armor-bearer did not move because he was greatly terrified. So Saul drew his sword and fell upon it. ⁵Seeing that Saul was dead, the armor-bearer also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶Thus, Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together on the same day.

⁷When the Israelites on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then, the Philistines came and occupied those cities.

⁸The following day, the Philistines came to strip the slain. They found Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. ⁹They cut off his head and stripped off his armor and then sent messengers throughout the Philistine lands to proclaim this good news in the temples of their idols and among the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and pinned his body on the wall of Beth-shan. ¹¹When the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²all their warriors set out, marched through the night and removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They then returned to Jabesh and burnt the bodies there. ¹³Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, after which they fasted for seven days.