1.1
There was a man of Armathaim Sipha, of mount Ephraim, and his name
[was] Helkana, a son of Jeremeel the son of Elias the son of Thoke, in
Nasib Ephraim.
1.2 And he [had] two wives; the name of the one
[was] Anna, and the name of the second Phennana. And Phennana had
children, but Anna had no child.
1.3 And the man went up from year to year from
his city, from Armathaim, to worship and sacrifice to the Lord God of
Sabaoth at Selom: and [there were] Heli and his two sons Ophni and
Phinees, the priests of the Lord.
1.4 And the day came, and Helkana sacrificed, and gave portions to his wife Phennana and her children.
1.5 And to Anna he gave a prime portion,
because she had no child, only Helkana loved Anna more than the other;
but the Lord [had] closed her womb.
1.6 For the Lord gave her no child in her
affliction, and according to the despondency of her affliction; and she
was dispirited on this account, that the Lord shut up her womb so as
not to give her a child.
1.7 So she did year by year, in going up to the
house of the Lord; and she was dispirited, and wept, and did not eat.
1.8 And Helkana her husband said to her, Anna:
and she said to him, Here [am] I, my lord: and he said to her, What
ails thee that thou weepest? and why dost thou not eat? and why does
thy heart smite thee? [am] I not better to thee than ten children?
1.9 And Anna rose up after they had eaten in
Selom, and stood before the Lord: and Heli the priest [was] on a seat
by the threshold of the temple of the Lord.
1.10 And she [was] very much grieved in spirit, and prayed to the Lord, and wept abundantly.
1.11 And she vowed a vow to the Lord, saying, O Lord
God of Sabaoth, if thou welt indeed look upon the humiliation of thine
handmaid, and remember me, and give to thine handmaid a man-child, then
will I indeed dedicate him to thee till the day of his death; and he
shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and no razor shall come upon his
head.
1.12 And it came to pass, while she was long praying before the Lord, that Heli the priest marked her mouth.
1.13 And she was speaking in her heart, and her lips
moved, but her voice was not heard: and Heli accounted her a drunken
woman.
1.14 And the servant of Heli said to her, How long
wilt thou be drunken? take away thy wine from thee, and go out from the
presence of the Lord.
1.15 And Anna answered and said, Nay, my lord, [I
live] in a hard day, and I have not drunk wine or strong drink, and I
pour out my soul before the Lord.
1.16 Count not thy handmaid for a pestilent woman,
for by reason of the abundance of my importunity I have continued [my
prayer] until now.
1.17 And Heli answered and said to her, Go in peace:
the God of Israel give thee all thy petition, which thou hast asked of
him.
1.18 And she said, Thine handmaid has found favour in
thine eyes: and the woman went her way, and entered into her lodging,
and ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was no more sad.
1.19 And they rise early in the morning, and worship
the Lord, and they go their way: and Helkana went into his house at
Armathaim, and knew his wife Anna; and the Lord remembered her, and she
conceived.
1.20 And it came to pass when the time was come, that
she brought forth a son, and called his name Samuel, and said, Because
I asked him of the Lord God of Sabaoth.
1.21 And the man Helkana and all his house went up to
offer in Selom the yearly sacrifice, and his vows, and all the tithes
of his land.
1.22 But Anna did not go up with him, for she said to
her husband, [I will not go up] until the child goes up, when I have
weaned him, and he shall be presented before the Lord, and he shall
abide there continually.
1.23 And Helkana her husband said to her, Do that
which is good in thine eyes, abide still until thou shalt have weaned
him; but may the Lord establish that which comes out of thy mouth: and
the woman tarried, and suckled her son until she had weaned him.
1.24 And she went up with him to Selom with a calf of
three years old, and loaves, and an ephah of fine flour, and a bottle
of wine: and she entered into the house of the Lord in Selom, and the
child with them.
1.25 And they brought him before the Lord; and his
father slew his offering which he offered from year to year to the
Lord; and he brought near the child, and slew the calf; and Anna the
mother of the child brought him to Heli.
1.26 And she said, I pray thee, my lord, as thy soul
liveth, I [am] the woman that stood in thy presence with thee while
praying to the Lord.
1.27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my request that I asked of him.
1.28 And I lend him to the Lord all his days that he lives, a loan to the Lord: and she said,
2.1
My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God; my
mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I have rejoiced in thy salvation.
2.2 For there is none holy as the Lord, and
there is none righteous as our God; there is none holy besides thee.
2.3 Boast not, and utter not high things; let
not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord [is] a God
of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs.
2.4 The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength.
2.5 They that were full of bread are brought
low; and the hungry have forsaken the land; for the barren has born
seven, and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble.
2.6 The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave, and brings up.
2.7 The Lord makes poor, and makes rich; he brings low, and lifts up.
2.8 He lifts up the poor from the earth, and
raises the needy from the dunghill; to seat him with the princes of the
people, and causing them to inherit the throne of glory:
2.9 granting his petition to him that prays;
and he blesses the years of the righteous, for by strength cannot man
prevail.
2.10 The Lord will weaken his adversary; the Lord
[is] holy. Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the mighty
man boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his
wealth; but let him that boasts boast in this, to understand and know
the Lord, and to execute judgement and justice in the midst of the
earth. The Lord has gone up to the heavens, and has thundered: he will
judge the extremities of the earth, and he gives strength to our kings,
and will exalt the horn of his Christ. And she left him there before
the Lord,
2.11 and departed to Armathaim: and the child ministered in the presence of the Lord before Heli the priest.
2.12 And the sons of Heli the priest [were] evil sons, not knowing the Lord.
2.13 And the priest's claim from every one of the
people that sacrificed [was this:] the servant of the priest came when
the flesh was in seething, and a flesh-hook of three teeth [was] in his
hand.
2.14 And he struck it into the great caldron, or into
the brazen vessel, or into the pot, and whatever came up with the
flesh-hook, the priest took for himself: so they did to all Israel that
came to sacrifice to the Lord in Selom.
2.15 And before the fat was burnt for a sweet savour,
the servant of the priest would come, and say to the man that
sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, and I will by no means
take of thee sodden flesh out of the caldron.
2.16 And [if] the man that sacrificed said, First let
the fat be burned, as it is fit, and take for thyself of all things
which thy soul desires: then he would say, Nay, for thou shalt give it
me now; and if not I will take it by force.
2.17 So the sin of the young men was very great
before the Lord, for they set at nought the offering of the Lord.
2.18 And Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girt with a linen ephod.
2.19 And his mother made him a little doublet, and
brought it to him from year to year, in her going up in company with
her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
2.20 And Heli blessed Helcana and his wife, saying
The Lord recompense to thee seed of this woman, in return for the loan
which thou hast lent to the Lord: and the man returned to his place.
2.21 And the Lord visited Anna, and she bore yet
three sons, and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the
Lord.
2.22 And Heli [was] very old, and he heard what his sons did to the children of Israel.
2.23 And he said to them, Why do ye according to this
thing, which I hear from the mouth of all the people of the Lord?
2.24 Nay [my] sons, for the report which I hear [is]
not good; do not so, for the reports which I hear [are] not good, so
that the people do not serve God.
2.25 If a man should at all sin against another, then
shall they pray for him to the Lord; but if a man sin against the Lord,
who shall intreat for him? But they hearkened not to the voice of their
father, because the Lord would by all means destroy them.
2.26 And the child Samuel advanced, and was in favour with God and with men.
2.27 And a man of God came to Heli, and said, Thus
says the Lord, I plainly revealed myself to the house of thy father,
when they were servants in Egypt to the house of Pharao.
2.28 And I chose the house of thy father out of all
the tribes of Israel to minister to me in the priest's office, to go up
to my altar, and to burn incense, and to wear an ephod. And I gave to
the house of thy father all the offerings by fire of the children of
Israel for food.
2.29 And wherefore hast thou looked upon my
incense-offering and my meat-offering with a shameless eye, and hast
honoured thy sons above me, so that they should bless themselves with
the first-fruits of every sacrifice of Israel before me?
2.30 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel, I
said, Thy house and the house of thy father shall pass before me for
ever: but now the Lord says, That be far from me; for will only honour
them that honour me, and he that sets me at nought shall be despised.
2.31 Behold, the days come when I will destroy thy seed and the seed of thy father's house.
2.32 And thou shalt not have an old man in my house for ever.
2.33 And [if] I do not destroy a man of thine from my
altar, [it shall be] that his eyes may fail and his soul may perish;
and every one that remains in thy house shall fall by the sword of men.
2.34 And this which shall come upon thy two sons
Ophni and Phinees shall be a sign to thee; in one day they shall both
die.
2.35 And I will raise up to myself a faithful priest,
who shall do all that is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build
him a sure house, and he shall walk before my Christ for ever.
2.36 And it shall come to pass that he that survives
in thy house, shall come to do obeisance before him for a little piece
of silver, saying, Put me into one of thy priest's offices to eat bread.
3.1
And the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli the priest: and
the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no distinct
vision.
3.2 And it came to pass at that time that Heli
was sleeping in his place; and his eyes began to fail, and could not
see.
3.3 And the lamp of God [was burning] before it
was trimmed, and Samuel slept in the temple, where [was] the ark of God.
3.4 And the Lord called, Samuel, Samuel; and he said, Behold, [here am] I.
3.5 And he ran to Heli, and said, [Here am] I,
for thou didst call me: and he said, I did not call thee; return, go to
sleep; and he returned and went to sleep.
3.6 And the Lord called again, Samuel, Samuel:
and he went to Heli the second time, and said, Behold [here am] I, for
thou didst call me: and he said, I called thee not; return, go to sleep.
3.7 And [it was] before Samuel knew the Lord, and [before] the word of the Lord was revealed to him.
3.8 And the Lord called Samuel again for the
third time: and he arose and went to Heli, and said, Behold, I [am
here], for thou didst call me: and Heli perceived that the Lord [had]
called the child.
3.9 And he said, Return, child, go to sleep;
and it shall come to pass if he shall call thee, that thou shalt say,
Speak for thy servant hears: and Samuel went and lay down in his place.
3.10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called him as before: and Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant hears.
3.11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I execute
my words in Israel; whoever hears them, both his ears shall tingle.
3.12 In that day I will raise up against Heli all
things that I have said against his house; I will begin, and I will
make an end.
3.13 And I have told him that I will be avenged on
his house perpetually for the iniquities of his sons, because his sons
spoke evil against God, and he did not admonish them.
3.14 And [it shall] not [go on] so; I have sworn to
the house of Eli, the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be atoned
for with incense or sacrifices for ever.
3.15 And Samuel slept till morning, and rose early in
the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel
feared to tell [Heli] the vision.
3.16 And Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, [my] son; and he said, Behold, [here am] I.
3.17 And he said, What [was] the word that was spoken
to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: may God do these things to
thee, and more also, if thou hide from me any thing of all the words
that were spoken to thee in thine ears.
3.18 And Samuel reported all the words, and hid them
not from him. And Heli said, He [is] the Lord, he shall do that which
is good in his sight.
3.19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and there did not fall one of his words to the ground.
3.20 And all Israel knew from Dan even to Bersabee, that Samuel [was] faithful as a prophet to the Lord.
3.21 And the Lord manifested himself again in Selom,
for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel; and Samuel was accredited to
all Israel as a prophet to the Lord from one end of the land to the
other: and Heli [was] very old, and his sons kept advancing [in
wickedness], and their way [was] evil before the Lord.
4.1
And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered
themselves together against Israel to war; and Israel went out to meet
them and encamped at Abenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphec.
4.2 And the Philistines prepare to fight with
Israel, and the battle was turned against them; and the men of Israel
fell before the Philistines, and there were smitten in the battle in
the field four thousand men.
4.3 And the people came to the camp, and the
elders of Israel said, Why has the Lord caused us to fall this day
before the Philistines? let us take the ark of our God out of Selom,
and let it proceed from the midst of us, and it shall save us from the
hand of our enemies.
4.4 And the people sent to Selom, and they take
thence the ark of the Lord who dwells between the cherubs: and both the
sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, [were] with the ark.
4.5 And it came to pass when the ark of the
Lord entered into the camp, that all Israel cried out with a loud
voice, and the earth resounded.
4.6 And the Philistines heard the cry, and the
Philistines said, What [is] this great cry in the camp of the Hebrews:
and they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp.
4.7 And the Philistines feared, and said, These are the Gods that are come to them into the camp.
4.8 Woe to us, O Lord, deliver us to-day for
such a thing has not happened aforetime: woe to us, who shall deliver
us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these [are] the Gods that
smote Egypt with every plague, and in the wilderness.
4.9 Strengthen yourselves and behave yourselves
like men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not serve the Hebrews as they
have served us, but be ye men and fight with them.
4.10 And they fought with them; and the men of Israel
fall, and they fled every man to his ten; and there was a very great
slaughter; and there fell of Israel thirty thousand fighting men.
4.11 And the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Heli, Ophni, and Phinees, died.
4.12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the
battle, and he came to Selom on that day: and his clothes [were] rent,
and earth [was] upon his head.
4.13 And he came, an behold, Heli was upon the seat
by the gate looking along the way, for his heart was greatly alarmed
for the ark of God: and the man entered into the city to bring tidings;
and the city cried out.
4.14 And Heli heard the sound of the cry, and said,
What [is] the voice of this cry? and the men hasted and went in, and
reported to Heli.
4.15 Now Heli [was] ninety years old, and his eyes were fixed, and he saw not.
4.16 And Heli said to them that stood round about
him, What [is] the voice of this sound? And the man hasted and advanced
to Heli, and said to him, I am he that is come out of the camp, and I
have fled from the battle to-day: and Heli said, What [is] the even,
[my] son?
4.17 And they young man answered and said, The men of
Israel fled from the face of the Philistines, and there was a great
slaughter among the people, and both thy sons are dead, and the ark of
God is taken.
4.18 And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark
of God, that he fell from the seat backward near the gate, and his back
was broken, and he died, for [he was] an old man and heavy: and he
judged Israel twenty years.
4.19 And his daughter-in-law the wife of Phinees
[was] with child, [about] to bring forth; and she heard the tidings,
that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her
husband were dead; and she wept and was delivered, for her pains came
upon her.
4.20 And in her time she was at the point of death;
and the women that stood by her, said to her, Fear not, for thou hast
born a son: but she answered not, and her heart did not regard it.
4.21 And she called the child Uaebarchaboth, because
of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law, and because of her
husband.
4.22 And they said, The glory of Israel is departed, forasmuch as the ark of the Lord is taken.
5.1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Abenezer to Azotus.
5.2 And the Philistines took the ark of the
Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
5.3 And the people of Azotus rose early, and
entered into the house of Dagon; and looked, and behold, Dagon had
fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord: and they lifted up
Dagon, and set him in his place. And the hand of the Lord was heavy
upon the Azotians, and he plagued them, and he smote them in their
secret parts, Azotus and her coasts.
5.4 And it came to pass when they rose early in
the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the
covenant of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his
hands [were] cut off each before the threshold, and both the wrists of
his hands had fallen on the floor of the porch; only the stump of Dagon
was left.
5.5 Therefore the priests of Dagon, and every
one that enters into the house of Dagon, do not tread upon the
threshold of the house of Dagon in Azotus until this day, for they step
over.
5.6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon
Azotus, and he brought evil upon them, and it burst out upon them into
the ships, and mice sprang up in the midst of their country, and there
was a great and indiscriminate mortality in the city.
5.7 And the men of Azotus saw that [it was] so,
and they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us,
for his hand [is] heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.
5.8 And they send and gather the lords of the
Philistines to them, and say, What shall we do to the ark of the God of
Israel? and the Gittites say, Let the ark of God come over to us; and
the ark of the God of Israel came to Geth.
5.9 And it came to pass after it went about to
Geth, that the hand of the Lord comes upon the city, a very great
confusion; and he smote the men of the city small and great, and smote
them in their secret parts: and the Gittites made to themselves images
of emerods.
5.10 And they send away the ark of God to Ascalon;
and it came to pass when the ark of God went into Ascalon, that the men
of Ascalon cried out, saying, Why have ye brought back the ark of the
God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people?
5.11 And they send and gather the lords of the
Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and
let it lodge in its place; and let it not slay us and our people.
5.12 For there was a very great confusion in all the
city, when the ark of the God of Israel entered there; and those, who
lived and died not were smitten with emerods; and the cry of the city
went up to heaven.
6.1
And the ark was seven months in the country of the Philistines, and
their land brought forth swarms of mice.
6.2 And the Philistines call their priests, and
their prophets, and their enchanters, saying, What shall we do to the
ark of the Lord? teach us wherewith we shall send it away to its place.
6.3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of
the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not on any account send it
away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague;
and then shall ye be healed, and an atonement shall be made for you:
should not his hand be [thus] stayed from off you?
6.4 And they say, What [is] the offering for the plague [which] we shall return to it? and they said,
6.5 According to the number of the lords of the
Philistines, five golden emerods, for the plague was on you, and on
your rulers, and on the people; and golden mice, the likeness of the
mice that destroy your land: and ye shall give glory to the Lord, that
he may lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from
off your land.
6.6 And why do ye harden your hearts, as Egypt
and Pharao hardened their hearts? [was it] not [so] when he mocked
them, [that] they let the people go, and they departed?
6.7 And now take wood and make a new wagon, and
take two cows, that have calved for the first time, without their
calves; and do ye yoke the cows to the wagon, and lead away the calves
from behind them home.
6.8 And ye shall take the ark and put it on the
wagon; and ye shall restore to it the golden articles for the
trespass-offering in a coffer by the side of it: and ye shall let it g,
and sent it away, and ye shall depart.
6.9 And ye shall see, if it shall go the way of
its coasts along by Baethsamys, he has brought upon us this great
affliction; and if not, then shall we know that his hand has not
touched us, but this [is a] chance [which] has happened to us.
6.10 And the Philistines did so; and they took two
cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the waggon,
and shut up their calves at home.
6.11 And they set the ark of the Lord, and the coffer, and the golden mice, on the waggon.
6.12 And the cows went straight on the way to the way
of Baethsamys, they went along one track; and laboured, and turned not
aside to the right hand or to the left, and the lords of the
Philistines went after it as far as the coasts of Baethsamys.
6.13 And the men of Baethsamys were reaping the wheat
harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark
of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it.
6.14 And the waggon entered into the field of Osee,
which was in Baethsamys, and they set there by it a great stone; and
they split the wood of the waggon, and offered up the cows for a
whole-burnt-offering to the Lord.
6.15 And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord,
and the coffer with it, and the golden articles upon it, and placed
them on the great stone, and the men of Baethsamys offered
whole-burnt-offerings and meat offerings on that day to the Lord.
6.16 And the five lords of the Philistines saw, and returned to Ascalon in that day.
6.17 And these [are] the golden emerods which the
lords of the Philistines gave as a trespass-offering to the Lord; for
Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron
one.
6.18 And the golden mice according to the number of
all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five lords, from
the fenced city to the village of the Pherezite, and to the great
stone, on which they placed the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that
was in the field of Osee the Baethsamysite.
6.19 And the sons of Jechonias were not pleased with
the men of Baethsamys, because they saw the ark of the Lord; and [the
Lord] smote among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the
people mourned, because the Lord had inflicted on the people, a very
great plague.
6.20 And the men of Baethsamys said, Who shall be
able to pass before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall the ark of
the Lord go up from us?
6.21 And they send messengers to the inhabitants of
Cariathiarim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of the
Lord, go down and take it home to yourselves.
7.1
And the men of Cariathiarim come, and bring up the ark of the covenant
of the Lord: and they bring it into the house of Aminadab in the hill;
and they sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the covenant of
the Lord.
7.2 And it came to pass from the time that the
ark was in Cariathiarim, the days were multiplied, and [the time] was
twenty years; and all the house of Israel looked after the Lord.
7.3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of
Israel, saying, If ye do with all your heart return to the Lord, take
away the strange gods from the midst of you, and the groves, and
prepare your hearts to [serve] the Lord, and serve him only; and he
shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.
7.4 And the children of Israel took away Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord only.
7.5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Massephath, and I will pray for you to the Lord.
7.6 And they were gathered together to
Massephath, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth
before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, We have sinned
before the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Massephath.
7.7 And the Philistines heard that all the
children of Israel were gathered together to Massephath: and the lords
of the Philistines went up against Israel: and the children of Israel
heard, and they feared before the Philistines.
7.8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel,
Cease not to cry to the Lord thy God for us, and he shall save us out
of the hand of the Philistines.
7.9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered
it up as a whole-burnt-offering with all the people to the Lord: and
Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him.
7.10 And Samuel was offering the
whole-burnt-offering; and the Philistines drew near to war against
Israel; and the Lord thundered with a mighty sound in that day upon the
Philistines, and they were confounded and overthrown before Israel.
7.11 And the men of Israel went forth out of
Massephath, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them to the parts
under Baethchor.
7.12 And Samuel took a stone, and set it up between
Massephath and the old [city]; and he called the name of it Abenezer,
stone of the helper; and he said, Hitherto has the Lord helped us.
7.13 So the Lord humbled the Philistines, and they
did not anymore come into the border of Israel; and the hand of the
Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
7.14 And the cities which the Philistines took from
the children of Israel were restored; and they restored them to Israel
from Ascalon to Azob: and they took the coast of Israel out of the hand
of the Philistines; and there was peace between Israel and the Amorite.
7.15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
7.16 And he went year by year, and went round
Baethel, and Galgala, and Massephath; and he judged Israel in all these
consecrated places.
7.17 And his return was to Armathaim, because there
was his house; and there he judged Israel, and built there an altar to
the Lord.
8.1 And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
8.2 And these [are] the names of his sons; Joel
the first-born, and the name of the second Abia, judges in Bersabee.
8.3 And his sons did not walk in his way; and
they turned aside after gain, and took gifts, and perverted judgments.
8.4 And the men of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Armathaim to Samuel,
8.5 and they said to him, Behold, thou art
grown old, and thy sons walk not in thy way; and now set over us a king
to judge us as also the other nations [have].
8.6 And the thing [was] evil in the eyes of
Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed
to the Lord.
8.7 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear the voice
of the people, in whatever they shall say to thee; for they have not
rejected thee, but they have rejected me from reigning over them.
8.8 According to all their doings which they
have done to me, from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until
this day, even [as] they have deserted me, and served other gods, so
they do also to thee.
8.9 And now hearken to their voice; only thou
shalt solemnly testify to them, and thou shalt describe to them the
manner of the king who shall reign over them.
8.10 And Samuel spoke every word of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king.
8.11 And he said, This shall be the manner of the
king that shall rule over you: he shall take your sons, and put them in
his chariots, and among his horsemen, and running before his chariots,
8.12 and [his manner shall be] to make them to
himself captains of hundreds and captains of thousands; and to reap his
harvest, and gather his vintage, and prepare his instruments of war,
and the implements of his chariots.
8.13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and cooks, and bakers.
8.14 And he will take your fields, and your
vineyards, and your good oliveyards, and give them to his servants.
8.15 And he will take the tithe of your seeds and
your vineyards, and give [it] to his eunuchs, and to his servants.
8.16 And he will take your servants, and your
handmaids, and your good herds and your asses, and will take the tenth
of them for his works.
8.17 And he will tithe your flocks; and ye shall be his servants.
8.18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your
king whom ye have chosen to yourselves, and the Lord shall not hear you
in those days, because ye have chosen to yourselves a king.
8.19 But the people would not hearken to Samuel; and they said to him, Nay, but there shall be a king over us.
8.20 And we also will be like all the nations; and
our king shall judge us, and shall go out before us, and fight our
battles.
8.21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and spoke them in the ears of the Lord.
8.22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their
voice, and appoint them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel,
Let each man depart to his city.
9.1
And [there was] a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name [was] Kis,
the son of Abiel, the son of Jared, the son of Bachir, the son of
Aphec, the son of a Benjamite, a man of might.
9.2 And this man [had] a son, and his name was
Saul, of great stature, a goodly man; and there was not among the sons
of Israel a goodlier than he, high above all the people from his
shoulders and upward.
9.3 And the asses of Kis the father of Saul
were lost; and Kis said to Saul his son, Take with thee one of the
young men, and arise ye, and go seek the asses.
9.4 And they went through mount Ephraim, and
they went through the land of Selcha, and found them not: and they
passed through the land of Segalim, and they were not there: and they
passed through the land of Jamin, and found them not.
9.5 And when they came to Sigh, then Saul said
to his young man that was with him, Come and let us return, lest my
father leave the asses, and take care for us.
9.6 And the young man said to him, Behold now,
[there is] a man of God in this city, and the man [is] of high repute;
all that he shall speak will surely come to pass: now then let us go,
that he may tell us our way on which we have set out.
9.7 And Saul said to his young man that was
with him, Lo, then, we will go; but what shall we bring the man of God?
for the loaves are spent out of our vessels, and we have nothing more
with us that belongs to us to bring to the man of God.
9.8 And the young man answered Saul again, and
said, Behold, there is found in my hand a fourth part of a shekel of
silver; and thou shalt give it to the man of God, and he shall tell us
our way.
9.9 Now before time in Israel every one in
going to enquire of God said, Come and let us go to the seer; for the
people beforetime called the prophet, the seer.
9.10 And Saul said to his servant, Well said, come
and let us go: and they went to the city where the man of God was.
9.11 As they went up the ascent to the city, they
find damsels come out to draw water, and they say to them, Is the seer
here?
9.12 And the virgins answered them, and they say to
them, He is: behold, [he is] before you: now he is coming to the city,
because of the day, for to-day [there is] a sacrifice for the people in
Bama.
9.13 As soon as ye shall enter into the city, so
shall ye find him in the city, before he goes up to Bama to eat; for
the people will not eat until he comes in, for he blesses the
sacrifice, and afterwards the guests eat; now then go up, for ye shall
find him because of the holiday.
9.14 And they go up to the city; and as they were
entering into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel came out to meet
them, to go up to Bama.
9.15 And the Lord uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before Saul came to him, saying,
9.16 At this time to-morrow I will send to thee a man
out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be ruler over
my people Israel, and he shall save my people out of the hand of the
Philistines; for I have looked upon the humiliation of my people, for
their cry is come unto me.
9.17 And Samuel looked upon Saul, and the Lord
answered him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee, this one shall
rule over my people.
9.18 And Saul drew near to Samuel into the midst of
the city, and said, Tell me now which [is] the house of the seer?
9.19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am he: go
up before me to Bama, and eat with me to-day, and I will send thee away
in the morning, and I will tell thee all that is in thine heart.
9.20 And concerning thine asses that have been lost
now these three days, care not for them, for they are found. And to
whom does the excellency of Israel belong? does it not to thee and to
thy father's house?
9.21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I the son of
a Benjamite, the least tribe of the people of Israel? and of the least
family of the whole tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken to me
according to this word?
9.22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and
brought them to the inn, and set them there a place among the chief of
those that were called, about seventy men.
9.23 And Samuel said to the cook, Give me the portion which I gave thee, which I told thee to set by thee.
9.24 Now the cook [had] boiled the shoulder, and he
set it before Saul; and Samuel said to Saul, Behold that which is left:
set before thee, an eat; for it is set thee for a testimony in
preference to the others; take [of it]: and Saul ate with Samuel on
that day.
9.25 And he went down from Bama into the city; and
they prepared a lodging for Saul on the roof, and he lay down.
9.26 An it came to pass when the morning dawned, that
Samuel called Saul on the roof, saying, Rise up, and I will dismiss
thee. And Saul arose, and he and Samuel went out.
9.27 As they went down to a part of the city, Samuel
said to Saul, Speak to the young man, and let him pass on before us;
and do thou stand as to-day, and hearken to the word of God.
10.1
And Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured [it] on his head, and kissed
him, and said to him, Has not the Lord anointed thee for a ruler over
his people, over Israel? and thou shalt rule among the people of the
Lord, and thou shalt save them out of the hand of their enemies; and
this [shall be] the sign to thee that the Lord has anointed thee for a
ruler over his inheritance.
10.2 [As soon] as thou shalt have departed this day
from me, thou shalt find two men by the burial-place of Rachel on the
mount of Benjamin, exulting greatly; and they shall say to thee, The
asses are found which ye went to seek; and, behold, thy father has
given up the matter of the asses, and he is anxious for you, saying,
What shall I do for my son?
10.3 And thou shalt depart thence, and shalt go
beyond that as far as the oak of Thabor, and thou shalt find there
three men going up To God to Baethel, one bearing three kids, and
another bearing three vessels of bread, and another bearing a bottle of
wine.
10.4 And they shall ask thee how thou doest, and
shall give thee two presents of bread, and thou shall receive them of
their hand.
10.5 And afterward thou shalt go to the hill of God,
where is the encampment of the Philistines; there [is] Nasib the
Philistine: an it shall come to pass when ye shall have entered into
the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the
Bama; and before them will be lutes, and a drum, and a pipe, and a
harp, and they shall prophesy.
10.6 And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee,
and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
10.7 And it shall come to pass when these signs shall
come upon thee,-- [then] do thou whatsoever thy hand shall find,
because God [is] with thee.
10.8 And thou shalt go down in front of Galgal, and
behold, I come down to thee to offer a whole-burnt-offering and
peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou wait until I shall come to thee,
and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do.
10.9 And it came to pass when he turned his back to
depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs
came to pass in that day.
10.10 And he comes thence to the hill, and behold a band of
prophets opposite to him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he
prophesied in the midst of them.
10.11 And all that had known him before came, and saw, and
behold, he [was] in the midst of the prophets: and the people said
every one to his neighbour, What [is] this that has happened to the son
of Kis? [is] Saul also among the prophets?
10.12 And one of them answered and said, And who [is] his
father? and therefore it became a proverb, [Is] Saul also among the
prophets?
10.13 And he ceased prophesying, and comes to the hill.
10.14 And his kinsman said to him and to his servant,
Whither went ye? and they said, To seek the asses; and we saw that they
were lost, and we went in to Samuel.
10.15 And his kinsman said to Saul, Tell me, I pray thee, What did Samuel say to thee?
10.16 And Saul said to his kinsman, he verily told me that
the asses were found. But the matter of the kingdom he told him not.
10.17 And Samuel summoned all the people before the Lord to Massephath.
10.18 And he said to the children of Israel, Thus has the
Lord God of Israel spoken, saying, I brought up the children of Israel
out of Egypt, and I rescued you out of the hand of Pharao king of
Egypt, and out of all the kingdoms that afflicted you.
10.19 And ye have this day rejected God, who is himself
your Deliverer out of all your evils and afflictions; and ye said, Nay,
but thou shalt set a king over us: and now stand before the Lord
according to your tribes, and according to your families.
10.20 And Samuel brought nigh all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is taken by lot.
10.21 And he brings near the tribe of Benjamin by families,
and the family of Mattari is taken by lot: and they bring near the
family of Mattari, man by man, and Saul the son of Kis is taken; and he
sought him, but he was not found.
10.22 And Samuel asked yet again of the Lord, Will the man
come hither? and the Lord said, Behold, he is hid among the stuff.
10.23 And he ran and took him thence, and he set him in the
midst of the people; and he was higher than all the people by his
shoulders and upwards.
10.24 And Samuel said to all the people, Have ye seen whom
the Lord has chosen to himself, that there is none like to him among
you all? And all the people took notice, and said, Let the king live!
10.25 And Samuel told the people the manner of the king,
and wrote it in a book, and set it before the Lord: and Samuel sent
away all the people, and each went to his place.
10.26 And Saul departed to his house to Gabaa; and there went with Saul mighty men whose hearts God had touched.
10.27 But evil men said, Who [is] this man [that] shall save us? and they despised him, and brought him no gifts.
11.1
And it came to pass about a month after this, that Naas the Ammanie
went up, and encamped against Jabis Galaad: and all the men of Jabis
said to Naas the Ammanite, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve
thee.
11.2 Naas the Ammanite said to them, On these terms
will I make a covenant with you, that I should put out all your right
eyes, and I will lay a reproach upon Israel.
11.3 And the men of Jabis say to him, Allow us seven
days, and we will send messengers into all the coasts of Israel: if
there should be no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.
11.4 And the messengers came to Gabaa to Saul, and
they speak the words into the ears of the people; and all the people
lifted up their voice, and wept.
11.5 And, behold, Saul came after the early morning
out of the field: and Saul said, Why does the people week? and they
tell him the words of the men of Jabis.
11.6 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when
he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled against them.
11.7 And he took two cows, and cut them in pieces,
and sent them into all the coasts of Israel by the hand of messengers,
saying, Whoso comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall
they do to his oxen: and a transport from the Lord came upon the people
of Israel, and they came out to battle as one man.
11.8 And he reviews them at Bezec in Bama, every man
of Israel six hundred thousand, and the men of Juda seventy thousand.
11.9 And he said to the messengers that came, Thus
shall ye say to the men of Jabis, To-morrow ye shall have deliverance
when the sun is hot; and the messengers came to the city, and told the
men of Jabis, and they rejoiced.
11.10 And the men of Jabis said to Naas the Ammanite,
To-morrow we will come forth to you, and ye shall do to us what seems
good in your sight.
11.11 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Saul divided
the people into three companies, and they go into the midst of the camp
in the morning watch, and they smote the children of Ammon until the
day was hot; at it came to pass that those who were left were
scattered, and there were not left among them two together.
11.12 And the people said to Samuel, Who has said that Saul
shall not reign over us? Give up the men, and we will put them to death.
11.13 And Saul said, No man shall die this day, for to-day the Lord has wrought deliverance in Israel.
11.14 And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, Let us go to Galgala, and there renew the kingdom.
11.15 And all the people went to Galgala, and Samuel
anointed Saul there to be king before the Lord in Galgala, and there he
offered meat-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord: and Samuel
and all Israel rejoiced exceedingly.
12.1
And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice
in all things that ye have said to me, and I have set a king over you.
12.2 And now, behold, the king goes before you; and I
am grown old and shall rest; and, behold, my sons [are] among you; and,
behold, I have gone about before you from my youth to this day.
12.3 Behold, [here am] I, answer against me before
the Lord and before his anointed: whose calf have I taken? or whose ass
have I taken? or whom of you have I oppressed? or from whose hand have
I taken a bribe, even [to] a sandal? bear witness against me, and I
will make restitution to you.
12.4 And they said to Samuel, Thou hast not injured
us, and thou hast not oppressed us; and thou hast not afflicted us, and
thou hast not taken anything from any one's hand.
12.5 And Samuel said to the people, The Lord [is]
witness among you, and his anointed [is] witness this day, that ye have
not found anything in my hand: and they said, [He is] witness.
12.6 And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, The Lord
who appointed Moses and Aaron [is] witness, who brought our fathers up
out of Egypt.
12.7 And now stand still, and I will judge you before
the Lord; and I will relate to you all the righteousness of the Lord,
the things which he has wrought among you and your fathers.
12.8 When Jacob and his sons went into Egypt, and
Egypt humbled them, then our fathers cried to the Lord, and the Lord
sent Moses and Aaron; and they brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he
made them to dwell in this place.
12.9 And they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold
them into the hands of Sisara captain of the host of Jabis king of
Asor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the
king of Moab; and he fought with them.
12.10 And they cried to the Lord, and said, We have sinned,
for we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and the groves:
and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve
thee.
12.11 And he sent Jerobaal, and Barac, and Jephthae, and
Samuel, and rescued us out of the hand of our enemies round about, and
ye dwelt in security.
12.12 And ye saw that Naas king of the children of Ammon
came against you, and ye said, Nay, none but a king shall reign over
us; whereas the Lord our God [is] our king.
12.13 And now behold the king whom ye have chosen; and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.
12.14 If ye should fear the Lord, and serve him, and
hearken to his voice, and not resist the mouth of the Lord, and ye and
your king that reigns over you should follow the Lord, [well].
12.15 But if ye should not hearken to the voice of the
Lord, and ye should resist the mouth of the Lord, then shall the hand
of the Lord be upon you and upon your king.
12.16 And now stand still, and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.
12.17 [Is it] not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call upon
the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; and know ye and see, that
your wickedness [is] great which ye have wrought before the Lord,
having asked for yourselves a king.
12.18 And Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent
thunders and rain in that day; and all the people feared greatly the
Lord and Samuel.
12.19 And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy
servants to the Lord thy God, and let us not die; for we have added to
all our sins this iniquity, in asking for us a king.
12.20 And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have
[indeed] wrought all this iniquity; only turn not from following the
Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart.
12.21 And turn not aside after the [gods] that are nothing,
who will do nothing, and will not deliver [you], because they are
nothing.
12.22 For the Lord will not cast off his people for his
great name's sake, because the Lord graciously took you to himself for
a people.
12.23 And far be it from me to sin against the Lord in
ceasing to pray for you: but I will serve the Lord, and shew you the
good and the right way.
12.24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and with
all your heart, for ye see what great things he has wrought with you.
12.25 But if ye continue to do evil, then shall ye and your king be consumed.
13.1 And Saul chooses for himself three thousand men of the men of Israel:
13.2 and there were with Saul two thousand who were
in Machmas, and in mount Baethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in
Gabaa of Benjamin: and he sent the rest of the people every man to his
tent.
13.3 And Jonathan smote Nasib the Philistine that
dwelt in the hill; and the Philistines hear of it, and Saul sounds the
trumpet through all the land, saying, The servants have despised [us].
13.4 And all Israel heard say, Saul has smitten Nasib
the Philistine; now Israel had been put to shame before the
Philistines; and the children of Israel went up after Saul in Galgala.
13.5 And the Philistines gather together to war with
Israel; and then come up against Israel thirty thousand chariots, and
six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand by the seashore for
multitude: and they come up, and encamp in Machmas, opposite Baethoron
southward.
13.6 And the men of Israel saw that they were in a
strait so that they could not draw nigh, and the people hid themselves
in caves, and sheepfolds, and rocks, and ditches, and pits.
13.7 And they that went over went over Jordan to the
land of Gad and Galaad: and Saul was yet in Galgala, and all the people
followed after him in amazement.
13.8 And he continued seven days for the appointed
testimony, as Samuel told him, and Samuel came not to Gagala, and his
people were dispersed from him.
13.9 And Saul said, Bring hither [victims], that I
may offer whole-burnt-offerings and peace-offerings: and he offered the
whole-burnt-offering.
13.10 And it came to pass when he had finished offering the
whole-burnt-offering, that Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to meet
him, [and] to bless him.
13.11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? and Saul said,
Because I saw how the people were scattered from me, and thou was not
present as thou purposedst according to the set time of the days, and
the Philistines were gathered to Machmas.
13.12 Then I said, Now will the Philistines come down to me
to Galgala, and I have not sought the face of the Lord: so I forced
myself and offered the whole-burnt-offering.
13.13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly;
for thou hast not kept my command, which the Lord commanded thee, as
now the Lord would have confirmed thy kingdom over Israel for ever.
13.14 But now thy kingdom shall not stand to thee, and the
Lord shall seek for himself a man after his own heart; and the Lord
shall appoint him to be a ruler over his people, because thou hast not
kept all that the Lord commanded thee.
13.15 And Samuel arose, and departed from Galgala, and the
remnant of the people went after Saul to meet [him] after the men of
war, when they had come out of Galgala to Gabaa of Benjamin. And Saul
numbered the people that were found with him, about six hundred men.
13.16 And Saul and Jonathan his son, and the people that
were found with them, halted in Gabaa, of Benjamin; and they wept: and
the Philistines had encamped in Machmas.
13.17 And men came forth to destroy out of the land of the
Philistines in three companies; one company turning by the way of
Gophera toward the land of Sogal,
13.18 and another company turning the way of Baethoron, and
another company turning by the way of Gabae that turns aside to Gai of
Sabim.
13.19 And there was not found a smith in all the land of
Israel, for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make themselves
sword or spear.
13.20 And all Israel went down to the Land of the
Philistines to forge every one his reaping-hook and his tool, and every
one his axe and his sickle.
13.21 And it was near the time of vintage: and their tools
were [valued at] three shekels for a plough-share, and there was the
same rate for the axe and the sickle.
13.22 And it came to pass in the days of the war of
Machmas, that there was not a sword or spear found in the hand of all
the people, that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and
Jonathan his son was there found.
13.23 And there went out some from the camp of the Philistines to the place beyond Machmas.
14.1
And when a certain day arrived, Jonathan the son of Saul said to the
young man that bore his armour, Come, and let us go over to Messab of
the Philistines that is on the other side yonder; but he told not his
father.
14.2 And Saul sat on the top of the hill under the
pomegranate tree that is in Magdon, and there were with him about six
hundred men.
14.3 And Achia son of Achitob, the brother of
Jochabed the son of Phinees, the son of Heli, [was] the priest of God
in Selom wearing an ephod: and the people knew not that Jonathan was
gone.
14.4 And in the midst of the passage whereby Jonathan
sought to pass over to the encampment of the Philistines, there was
both a sharp rock on this side, and a sharp rock on the other side: the
name of the one [was] Bases, and the name of the other Senna.
14.5 The one way [was] northward to one coming to
Machmas, and the other way [was] southward to one coming to Gabae.
14.6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his
armour, Come, let us go over to Messab of these uncircumcised, if
[peradventure] the Lord may do something for us; for the Lord is not
straitened to save by many or by few.
14.7 And his armour-bearer said to him, Do all that
thine heart inclines toward: behold, I [am] with thee, my heart [is] as
thy heart.
14.8 And Jonathan said, Behold, we will go over to the men, and will come down suddenly upon them.
14.9 If they should say thus to us, Stand aloof there
until we shall send you word; then we will stand still by ourselves,
and will not go up against them.
14.10 [But] if they should say thus to us, Come up to us;
then will we go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hands;
this [shall be] a sign to us.
14.11 And they both went in to Messab of the Philistines;
and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of their
Caves, where they had hidden themselves.
14.12 And the men of Messab answered Jonathan and his
armour-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing:
and Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord
has delivered them into the hands of Israel.
14.13 And Jonathan went up on his hands and feet, and his
armour-bearer with him; and they looked on the face of Jonathan, and he
smote them, and his armour-bearer did smite [them] after him.
14.14 And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his
armour-bearer effected was twenty men, with darts and slings, and
pebbles of the field.
14.15 And there was dismay in the camp, and in the field;
and all the people in Messab, and the spoilers were amazed; and they
would not act, and the land was terror-struck, and there was dismay
from the lord.
14.16 And the watchmen of Saul beheld in Gabaa of Benjamin,
and, behold, the army was thrown into confusion on every side.
14.17 And Saul said to the people with him, Number
yourselves now, and see who has gone out from you: and they numbered
themselves, and behold, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not found.
14.18 And Saul said to Achia, Bring the ephod; for he wore the ephod in that day before Israel.
14.19 And it came to pass while Saul was speaking to the
priest, that the sound in the camp of the Philistines continued to
increase greatly; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thy hands.
14.20 And Saul went up and all the people that were with
him, and they come to the battle: and, behold, [every] man's sword was
against his neighbour, a very great confusion.
14.21 And the servants who had been before with the
Philistines, who had gone up to the army, turned themselves also to be
with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
14.22 And all the Israelites who were hidden in mount
Ephraim heard also that the Philistines fled; and they also gather
themselves after them to battle: and the Lord saved Israel in that day;
and the war passed through Bamoth; and all the people with Saul were
about ten thousand men.
14.23 And the battle extended itself to every city in the mount Ephraim.
14.24 And Saul committed a great trespass of ignorance in
that day, and he lays a curse on the people, saying, Cursed [is] the
man who shall eat bread before the evening; so I will avenge myself on
my enemy: and none of the people tasted bread, though all the land was
dining.
14.25 And Jaal was a wood abounding in swarms of bees on the face of the ground.
14.26 And the people went into the place of the bees, and,
behold, they continued speaking; and, behold, there was none that put
his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath of the Lord.
14.27 And Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured
the people; and he reached forth the end of the staff that was in his
hand, an dipped it into the honeycomb, and returned his hand to his
mouth, and his eyes recovered their sight.
14.28 And one of the people answered and said, Thy father
solemnly adjured the people, saying, Cursed [is] the man who shall eat
bread to-day. And the people were very faint,
14.29 and Jonathan knew it, and said, My father has
destroyed the land: see how my eyes have received sight [now] that I
have tasted a little of this honey.
14.30 Surely if the people had this day eaten freely of the
spoils of their enemies which they found, the slaughter among the
Philistines would have been greater.
14.31 And on that day he smote some of the Philistines in Machmas; and the people were very weary.
14.32 And the people turned to the spoil; and the people
took flocks, and herds, and calves, and slew them on the ground, and
the people ate with the blood.
14.33 And it was reported to Saul, saying, The people have
sinned against the Lord, eating with the blood: and Saul said, Out of
Getthaim roll a great stone to me hither.
14.34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people,
and tell them to bring hither every one his calf, and every one his
sheep: and let them slay it on this [stone] and sin not against the
Lord in eating with the blood: and the people brought each one that
which was in his hand, and they slew [them] there.
14.35 And Saul built an altar there to the Lord: this was the first altar that Saul built to the Lord.
14.36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines
this night, and let us plunder among them till the day break, and let
us not leave a man among them. And they said, Do all that is good in
thy sight: and the priest said, let us draw nigh hither to God.
14.37 And Saul enquired of God, If I go down after the
Philistines, wilt thou deliver them into the hands of Israel? And he
answered him not in that day.
14.38 And Saul said, Bring hither all the chiefs of Israel,
and know and see by whom this sin has been committed this day.
14.39 For as the Lord lives who has saved Israel, if answer
should be against my son Jonathan, he shall surely die. And there was
no one that answered out of all the people.
14.40 And he said to all the men of Israel, Ye shall be
under subjection, and I an Jonathan my son will be under subjection:
and the people said to Saul, Do that which is good in thy sight.
14.41 And Saul said, O Lord God of Israel, why hast thou
not answered thy servant this day? [is] the iniquity in me, or in
Jonathan my son? Lord God of Israel, give clear [manifestations]; and
if [the lot] should declare this, give, I pray thee, to thy people of
Israel, give, I pray, holiness. And Jonathan and Saul are taken, and
the people escaped.
14.42 And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and my son
Jonathan: whomsoever the Lord shall cause to be taken by lot, let him
die: and the people said to Saul, This thing is not [to be done: and
Saul prevailed against the people, and they cast [lots] between him and
Jonathan his son, and Jonathan is taken by lot.
14.43 And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast
done: and Jonathan told him, and said, I did indeed taste a little
honey, with the end of my staff that was in my hand, and, lo! I [am to]
die.
14.44 And Saul said to him, God do so to me, and more also, thou shalt surely die to-day.
14.45 And the people said to Saul, Shall he that has
wrought this great salvation in Israel be put to death this day? [As]
the Lord lives, there shall not fall to the ground one of the hairs of
his head; for the people of God have wrought successfully this day. And
the people prayed for Jonathan in that day, and he died not.
14.46 And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines departed to their place.
14.47 And Saul received the kingdom, by lot he inherits the
office [of ruling] over Israel: and he fought against all his enemies
round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and
against the children of Edom, and against Baethaeor, and against the
king of Suba, and against the Philistines: whithersoever he turned, he
was victorious.
14.48 And he wrought valiantly, and smote Amalec, and rescued Israel out of the hand of them that trampled on him.
14.49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jessiu, and
Melchisa: and [these were] the names of his two daughters, the name of
the first-born Merob, and the name of the second Melchol.
14.50 And the name of his wife was Achinoom, the daughter
of Achimaa: and the name of his captain of the host was Abenner, the
son of Ner, son of a kinsman of Saul.
14.51 And Kis [was] the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abenezer, [was] son of Jamin, son of Abiel.
14.52 And the war was vehement against the Philistines all
the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, and any valiant
man, then he took them to himself.
15.1
And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over
Israel: and now hear the voice of the Lord.
15.2 Thus said the Lord of hosts, Now will I take
vengeance for what Amalec did to Israel, when he met him in the way as
he came up out of Egypt.
15.3 And now go, and thou shalt smite Amalec and
Hierim and all that belongs to him, and thou shalt not save anything of
him alive, but thou shalt utterly destroy him: and thou shalt devote
him and all his to [destruction], and thou shalt spare nothing
belonging to him; and thou shalt slay both man and woman, and infant
and suckling, and calf and sheep, and camel and ass.
15.4 And Saul summoned the people, and he numbered
them in Galgala, four hundred thousand regular troops, and Juda thirty
thousand regular troops.
15.5 And Saul came to the cities of Amalec, and laid wait in the valley.
15.6 And Saul said to the Kinite, Go, and depart out
of the midst of the Amalekites, lest I put thee with them; for thou
dealedst mercifully with the children of Israel when they went up out
of Egypt. So the Kinite departed from the midst of Amalec.
15.7 And Saul smote Amalec from Evilat to Sur fronting Egypt.
15.8 And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive, and
he slew all the people and Hierim with the edge of the sword.
15.9 And Saul and all the people saved Agag alive,
and the best of the flocks, and of the herds, and of the fruits, of the
vineyards, and of all the good things; and they would not destroy them:
but every worthless and refuse thing they destroyed.
15.10 And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,
15.11 I have repented that I have made Saul to be king: for
he has turned back from following me, and has not kept my word. And
Samuel was grieved, and cried to the Lord all night.
15.12 And Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the
morning, and it was told Saul, saying, Samuel has come to Carmel, and
he has raised up help for himself: and he turned his chariot, and came
down to Galgala to Saul; and, behold, he was offering up a
whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, the chief of the spoils which he
brought out of Amalec.
15.13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him,
Blessed [art] thou of the Lord: I have performed all that the Lord said.
15.14 And Samuel said, What then [is] the bleating of this flock in my ears, and the sound of the oxen which I hear?
15.15 And Saul said, I have brought them out of Amalec,
that which the people preserved, even the best of the sheep, and of the
cattle, that it might be sacrificed to the Lord thy God, and the rest
have I utterly destroyed.
15.16 And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee
what the Lord has said to me this night: and he said to him, Say on.
15.17 And Samuel said to Saul, Art thou not little in his
eyes, [though] a leader of one of the tribes of Israel? and [yet] the
Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel.
15.18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said to
thee, Go, and utterly destroy: thou shalt slay the sinners against me,
[even] the Amalekites; and thou shalt war against them until thou have
consumed them.
15.19 And why didst not thou hearken to the voice of the
Lord, but didst haste to fasten upon the spoils, and didst that which
was evil in the sight of the Lord?
15.20 And Saul said to Samuel, Because I listened to the
voice of the people: yet I went the way by which the Lord sent me, and
I brought Agag the king of Amalec, and I destroyed Amalec.
15.21 But the people took of the spoils the best flocks and
herds [out] of that which was destroyed, to sacrifice before the Lord
our God in Galgal.
15.22 And Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in
whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of the
Lord? behold, obedience [is] better than a good sacrifice, and
hearkening than the fat of rams.
15.23 For sin is [as] divination; idols bring on pain and
grief. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord also
shall reject thee from being king over Israel.
15.24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, in that I
have transgressed the word of the Lord and thy direction; for I feared
the people, and I hearkened to their voice.
15.25 And now remove, I pray thee, my sin, and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord thy God.
15.26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn back with
thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord will
reject thee from being king over Israel.
15.27 And Samuel turned his face to depart, and Saul caught hold of the skirt of his garment, and tore it.
15.28 And Samuel said to him, The Lord has rent thy kingdom
from Israel out of thy hand this day, and will give it to thy neighbour
who is better than thou.
15.29 And Israel shall be divided to two: and [God] will not turn nor repent, for he is not as a man to repent.
15.30 And Saul said, I have sinned; yet honour me, I pray
thee, before the elders of Israel, and before my people; and turn back
with me, and I will worship the Lord thy God.
15.31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and he worshipped the Lord.
15.32 And Samuel said, Bring me Agag the king of Amalec:
and Agag came to him trembling; and Agag said Is death thus bitter?
15.33 And Samuel said to Agag, As thy sword has bereaved
women of their children, so shall thy mother be made childless among
women: and Samuel slew Agag before the Lord in Galgal.
15.34 And Samuel departed to Armathaim, and Saul went up to his house at Gabaa.
15.35 And Samuel did not see Saul again till the day of his
death, for Samuel mourned after Saul, and the Lord repented that he had
made Saul king over Israel.
16.1
And the Lord said to Samuel, How long dost thou mourn for Saul, whereas
I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil,
and come, I will send thee to Jessae, to Bethleem; for I have seen
among his sons a king for me.
16.2 And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will
hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in thine hand
and thou shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.
16.3 And thou shalt call Jessae to the sacrifice, and
I will make known to thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint him
whom I shall mention to thee.
16.4 And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and
he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting
him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably, thou Seer?
16.5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice
to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he
sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice.
16.6 And it came to pass when they came in, that he
saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed [is] before him.
16.7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his
appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees
not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God
looks at the heart.
16.8 And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.
16.9 And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.
16.10 And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen these.
16.11 And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast thou no more sons?
And Jessae said, [There is] yet a little one; behold, he tends the
flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit
down till he comes.
16.12 And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with
beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel,
Arise, and anoint David, for he is good.
16.13 And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in
the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David
from that day forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim.
16.14 And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
16.15 And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, and evil spirit from the Lord torments thee.
16.16 Let now thy servants speak before thee, and let them
seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come
to pass when an evil spirit comes upon thee and he shall play on his
harp, that thou shalt be well, and he shall refresh thee.
16.17 And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, and bring him tome.
16.18 And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I
have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing
[on the harp], and the man [is] prudent, and a warrior, and wise in
speech, and the man [is] handsome, and the Lord [is] with him.
16.19 And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me thy son David who is with thy flock.
16.20 And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of
wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son
David to Saul.
16.21 And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer.
16.22 And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes.
16.23 And it came to pass when the evil spirit was upon
Saul, that David took his harp, and played with his hand: and Saul was
refreshed, and [it was] well with him, and the evil spirit departed
from him.
17.1
And the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather
themselves to Socchoth of Judaea, and encamp between Socchoth and Azeca
Ephermen.
17.2 And Saul and the men of Israel gather together,
and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the
Philistines.
17.3 And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one
side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the
valley was between them.
17.4 And there went forth a mighty man out of the
army of the Philistines, Goliath, by name, out of Geth, his height
[was] four cubits and a span.
17.5 And [he had] a helmet upon his head, and he wore
a breastplate of chain armour; and the weight of his breastplate [was]
five thousand shekels of brass and iron.
17.6 And greaves of grass [were] upon his legs, and a brazen target [was] between his shoulders.
17.7 And the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver's
beam, and the spear's head [was formed] of six hundred shekels of iron;
and his armour-bearer went before him.
17.8 And he stood and cried to the army of Israel,
and said to them, Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in battle
array against us? Am not I a Philistine, and ye He brews of Saul?
Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.
17.9 And if he shall be able to fight against me, and
shall smite me, then will we be your servants: but if I should prevail
and smite him, ye shall be our servants, and serve us.
17.10 And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the
armies of Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us
fight in single combat.
17.11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified.
17.12 [vide]
17.13 [vide]
17.14 [vide]
17.15 [vide]
17.16 [vide]
17.17 [vide]
17.18 [vide]
17.19 [vide]
17.20 [vide]
17.21 [vide]
17.22 [vide]
17.23 [vide]
17.24 [vide]
17.25 [vide]
17.26 [vide]
17.27 [vide]
17.28 [vide]
17.29 [vide]
17.30 [vide]
17.31 [vide]
17.32 And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray thee, the
heart of my lord be dejected within him: thy servant will go, and fight
with this Philistine.
17.33 And Saul said to David, Thou wilt not in anywise be
able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art a
mere youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
17.34 And David said to Saul, Thy servant was tending the
flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a
sheep out of the flock,
17.35 then I went forth after him, and smote him, and drew
[the spoil] out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I
caught hold of his throat, and smote him, and slew him.
17.36 Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear, and the
uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and
smite him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? For who [is]
this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God?
17.37 The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion
and out the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this
uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord
shall be with thee.
17.38 And Saul clothed David with a military coat, and [put] his brazen helmet on his head.
17.39 And he girt David with his sword over his coat: an he
made trial walking [with them] once and again: and David said to Saul,
I shall not be able to go with these, for I have not proved [them]: so
they remove them from him.
17.40 And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for
himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the
shepherd's scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his
hand; and he approached the Philistine.
17.41 [vide]
17.42 And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair countenance.
17.43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that
thou comest against me with a staff and stones? [[and David said, Nay,
but worse than a dog.]] And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
17.44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I
will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the
earth.
17.45 And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me
with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to thee in the
name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which thou hast
defied
17.46 this day. And the Lord shall deliver thee this day
into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from off
thee, and will give thy limbs and the limbs of the army of the
Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of
the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel.
17.47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord
delivers not by sword or spear, for the battle [is] the Lord's, and the
Lord will deliver you into our hands.
17.48 And the Philistine arose and went to meet David.
17.49 And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and
took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine on his
forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his
forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground.
17.50 [vide]
17.51 And David ran, and stood upon him, and took his
sword, and slew him, and cut off his head: and the Philistines saw that
their champion was dead, and they fled.
17.52 And the men of Israel and Juda arose, and shouted and
pursued them as far as the entrance to Geth, and as far as the gate of
Ascalon: and the slain men of the Philistines fell in the way of the
gates, both to Geth, and to Accaron.
17.53 And the men of Israel returned from pursuing after the Philistines, and they destroyed their camp.
17.54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
17.55 [vide]
17.56 [vide]
17.57 [vide]
17.58 [vide]
18.1 [vide]
18.2 [vide]
18.3 [vide]
18.4 [vide]
18.5 [vide]
18.6 And there came out women in dances to meet David
out of all the cities of Israel, with timbrels, and with rejoicing, and
with cymbals.
18.7 And the women began [the strain], and said, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
18.8 And it seemed evil in the eyes of Saul
concerning this matter, and he said, To David they have given ten
thousands, and to me they have given thousands.
18.9 [vide]
18.10 [vide]
18.11 [vide]
18.12 And Saul was alarmed on account of David.
18.13 And he removed him from him, and made him a captain
of a thousand for himself; and he went out and came in before the
people.
18.14 And David was prudent in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.
18.15 And Saul saw that he was very wise, and he was afraid of him.
18.16 And all Israel and Juda loved David, because he came in and went out before the people.
18.17 [vide]
18.18 [vide]
18.19 [vide]
18.20 And Melchol the daughter of Saul loved David; and it was told Saul, and the thing was pleasing in his eyes.
18.21 And Saul said, I will give her to him, and she shall
be a stumbling-block to him. Now the hand of the Philistines was
against Saul.
18.22 And Saul charged his servants, saying, Speak ye
privately to David, saying, Behold, the king delights in thee, and all
his servants love thee, and do thou becomes the king's son-in-law.
18.23 And the servants of Saul spoke these words in the
ears of David; and David said, [Is it] a light thing in your eyes to
become son-in-law to the king? Whereas I [am] an humble man, an not
honourable?
18.24 And the servants of Saul reported to him according to these words, which David spoke.
18.25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye speak to David, The king
wants no gift but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to avenge
himself on the kings enemies. Now Saul thought to cast him into the
hands of the Philistines.
18.26 And the servants of Saul report these words to David,
and David was well pleased to become the son-in-law to the king.
18.27 And David arose, and went, he and his men, and smote
among the Philistines a hundred men: and he brought their foreskins,
and he becomes the king's son-in-law, and [Saul] gives him Melchol his
daughter to wife.
18.28 And Saul saw that the Lord [was] with David, and [that] all Israel loved him.
18.29 And he was yet more afraid of David.
18.30 [vide]
19.1 And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, to slay David.
19.2 And Jonathan, Saul's son, loved David much: and
Jonathan told David, saying, Saul seeks to kill thee: take heed to
thyself therefore to-morrow morning, and hide thyself, and dwell in
secret.
19.3 And I will go forth, and stand near my father in
the field where thou shalt be, and I will speak concerning thee to my
father; and I will see what his answer may be, and I will tell thee.
19.4 And Jonathan spoke favorably concerning David to
Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against thy
servant David, for he has not sinned against thee, and his deeds [are]
very good.
19.5 And he put his life in his hand, and smote the
Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great deliverance; and all Israel
saw, and rejoined: why then dost thou sin against innocent blood, to
slay David without a cause?
19.6 And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan; and
Saul swore, saying, [As] the Lord lives, he shall not die.
19.7 And Jonathan called David, and told him all
these words; and Jonathan brought David in to Saul, and he was before
him as in former times.
19.8 And there was again war against Saul; and David
did valiantly, and fought against the Philistines, and smote them with
a very great slaughter, and they fled from before him.
19.9 And an evil spirit from God was upon Saul, and
he was resting in his house, and a spear [was] in his hand, and David
was playing on the harp with his hands.
19.10 And Saul sought to smite David with the spear; and
David withdrew [suddenly] from the presence of Saul; and he drove the
spear into the wall; and David retreated and escaped.
19.11 And it came to pass in that night, that Saul sent
messengers to the house of David to watch him, in order to slay him in
the morning; and Melchol David's wife told him, saying, Unless thou
save thy life this night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain.
19.12 So Melchol lets David down by the window, and he departed, and fled, and escaped.
19.13 And Melchol took images, and laid them on the bed,
and she put the liver of a goat by his head, and covered them with
clothes.
19.14 And Saul sent messengers to take David; and they say that he is sick.
19.15 And he sends to David, saying, Bring him to me on the bed, that I may slay him.
19.16 And the messengers come, and, behold, the images [were] on the bed, and the goat's liver at his head.
19.17 And Saul said to Melchol, Why hast thou thus deceived
me, and suffered my enemy to depart, and he has escaped? and Melchol
said to Saul, He said, let me go, and if not, I will slay thee.
19.18 So David fled, and escaped, and comes to Samuel to
Armathaim, and tells him all that Saul had done to him: and Samuel and
David went, and dwelt in Navath in Rama.
19.19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David [is] in Navath in Rama.
19.20 And Saul sent messengers to take David, and they saw
the assembly of the prophets, and Samuel stood [as] appointed over
them; and the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they
prophesy.
19.21 And it was told Saul, and he sent other messengers,
and they also prophesied: and Saul sent again a third set of
messengers, and they also prophesied.
19.22 And Saul was very angry, and went himself also to
Armathaim, and he comes as far as the well of the threshing floor that
is in Sephi; and he asked and said, Where [are] Samuel and David? And
they said, Behold, in Navath in Rama.
19.23 And he went thence to Navath in Rama: and there came
the Spirit of God upon him also, and he went on prophesying till he
came to Navath in Rama.
19.24 And he took off his clothes, and prophesied before
them; and lay down naked all that day and all that night: therefore
they said, [Is] Saul also among the prophets?
20.1
And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of
Jonathan; and he said, What have I done, and what [is] my fault, and
wherein have I sinned before thy father, that he seeks my life?
20.2 And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from thee:
thou shalt not die: behold, my father will not do any thing great or
small without discovering it to me; and why should my father hide this
matter from me? This thing is not [so].
20.3 And David answered Jonathan, and said, Thy
father knows surely that I have found grace in thy sight, and he said,
Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent: but [as] the
Lord lives and thy soul lives, as I said, [the space] is filled up
between me and death.
20.4 And Jonathan said to David, What does thy soul desire, and what shall I do for thee.
20.5 And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow
[is] the new moon, and I shall not on any account sit down to eat, but
thou shalt let me go, and I will hide in the plain till the evening.
20.6 And if thy father do in anywise enquire for me,
then shalt thou say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to
Bethleem his city, for [there is] there, a yearly sacrifice for all the
family.
20.7 If he shall say thus, Well,-- [all is] safe for
thy servant: but if he shall answer harshly to thee, know that evil is
determined by him.
20.8 And thou shalt deal mercifully with thy servant;
for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with
thyself: and if there is iniquity in thy servant, slay me thyself; but
why dost thou thus bring me to thy father?
20.9 And Jonathan said, That e far from thee: for if
I surely know that evil is determined by my father to come upon thee,
although it should not be against thy cities, I will tell thee.
20.10 And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if thy father should answer roughly?
20.11 And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into the field.
20.12 And Jonathan said to David, the Lord God of Israel
knows that I will sound my father as I have an opportunity, three
several times, and, behold, [if good] should be determined concerning
David, and I do not send to thee to the field,
20.13 God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shall
[also] report the evil to thee, and make it known to thee, and I will
let thee go; and thou shalt depart in peace, and the Lord shall be with
thee, as he was with my father.
20.14 And if indeed I continue to live, then shalt thou deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die,
20.15 thou shalt not withdraw thy mercy from my house for
ever: and if thou doest not, when the Lord cuts off the enemies of
David each from the face of the earth,
20.16 [should it happen] that the name of Jonathan be
discovered by the house of David, then let the Lord seek out the
enemies of David.
20.17 And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him.
20.18 And Jonathan said, To-morrow [is] the new moon, and
thou wilt be enquired for, because thy seat will be observed as vacant.
20.19 And thou shalt stay three days, and watch an
opportunity, and shalt come to thy place where thou mayest hide thyself
in the day of thy business, and thou shalt wait by that ergab.
20.20 And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark.
20.21 And behold, I [will] send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow.
20.22 If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrow [is]
here, and on this side of thee, take it; [then] come, for it is well
with thee, and there is no reason [for fear, as] the Lord lives: [but]
if I should say thus to the young man, The arrow [is] on that side of
thee, and beyond go, for the Lord hath sent thee away.
20.23 And as for the word which thou and I have spoken, behold, the Lord [is] witness between me and thee for ever.
20.24 So David hides himself in the field, and the [new] month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat.
20.25 And he sat upon his seat as in former times, even on
his seat by the wall, and he went before Jonathan; and Abenner sat on
one side of Saul, and the place of David was empty.
20.26 And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, It
seems to have fallen out that he is not clean, because he has not
purified himself.
20.27 And it came to pass on the morrow, on the second day
of the month, that the place of David was empty; and Saul said to
Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jessae attended both yesterday
and today at the table?
20.28 And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethleem his city;
20.29 and he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for we have a
family sacrifice in the city, and my brethren have sent for me; and
now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, I will even go over and see
my brethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king.
20.30 And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and
said to him, Thou son of traitorous damsels! for do I not know that
thou art an accomplice with the son of Jessae to thy same, and to the
shame of thy mother's nakedness?
20.31 For so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the
earth, thy kingdom shall not be established: now then send and take the
young man, for he shall surely die.
20.32 And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done?
20.33 And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to slay
him: so Jonathan knew that this evil was determined on by his father to
slay David.
20.34 And Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger,
and did not eat bread on the second [day] of the month, for he grieved
bitterly for David, because his father determined [on mischief] against
him.
20.35 And morning came, and Jonathan went out to the field,
as he appointed [to do] for a signal to David, and a little boy [was]
with him.
20.36 And he said to the boy, Run, find me the arrows which
I shoot: and the boy ran, and [Jonathan] shot an arrow, and sent it
beyond [him].
20.37 And the boy came to the place where the arrow was
which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan cried out after the lad, and said,
The arrow [is] on that side of thee and beyond thee.
20.38 And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, Make
all speed, and stay not. And Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows, and
brought the arrows to his master.
20.39 And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David [knew].
20.40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city.
20.41 And when the lad went in, then David arose from the
argab, and fell upon his face, and did obeisance to him three times,
and they kissed each other, and wept for each other, for a great while.
20.42 (20.42a) And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, and
as we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall
be witness between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for
ever-- [even so let it be].
20.43 (20.42b) And David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
21.1
And David comes to Nomba to Abimelech the priest: and Abimelech was
amazed at meeting him, and said to him, Why [art] thou alone, and
nobody with thee?
21.2 And David said to the priest, The king gave me a
command to-day, and said to me, Let no one know the matter on which I
send thee, an concerning which I have charged thee: and I have charged
my servants [to be] in the place that is called, The faithfulness of
God, phellani maemoni.
21.3 And now if there are under thy hand five loaves, give into my hand what is ready.
21.4 And the priest answered David, and said, There
are no common loaves under my hand, for I have none but holy loaves: if
the young men have been kept at least from women, then they shall eat
[them].
21.5 And David answered the priest, and said to him,
Yea, we have been kept from women for three day: when I came forth for
the journey all the young men were purified; but this expedition is
unclean, wherefore it shall be sanctified this day because of my
weapons.
21.6 So Abimelech the priest gave him the shewbread;
for there were no loaves there, but only the presence loaves which had
been removed from the presence of the Lord, in order that hot bread
should be set on, on the day on which he took them.
21.7 And there was there on that day one of Saul's
servants detained before the Lord, and his name [was] Doec the Syrian,
tending the mules of Saul.
21.8 And David said to Abimelech, See if there is
here under thy hand spear or sword, for I have not brought in my hand
my sword or my weapons, for the word of the king was urgent.
21.9 And the priest said, Behold the sword of Goliath
the Philistine, whom thou smotest in the valley of Ela; and it is
wrapped in a cloth: if thou wilt take it, take it for thyself, for
there is no other except it here. And David said, Behold, there is none
like it; give it me.
21.10 And he gave it him; and David arose, and fled in that
day from he presence of Saul: and David came to Anchus king of Geth.
21.11 And the servants of Anchus said to him, [Is] not this
David the king of the land? Did not the dancing women begin the son to
him, saying, Saul has smitten his thousand, and David his ten thousands?
21.12 And David laid up the words in his heart, and was greatly afraid of Anchus king of Geth.
21.13 And he changed his appearance before him, and feigned
himself a false character in that day; and drummed upon the doors of
the city, and used extravagant gestures with his hands, and fell
against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard.
21.14 And Anchus said to his servants, Lo! ye see the man [is] mad: why have ye brought him in to me?
21.15 [Am] I in want of madmen, that ye have brought him in
to me to play the madman? He shall not come into the house.
22.1
And David departed thence, and escaped; and he comes to the cave of
Odollam, and his brethren hear, and the house of his father, and they
go down to him there.
22.2 And there gathered to him every one that was in
distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was
troubled in mind; and he was a leader over them, and there were with
him about four hundred men.
22.3 And David departed thence to Massephath of Moab,
and said to the king of Moab, Let, I pray thee, my father and my mother
be with thee, until I know what God will do to me.
22.4 And he persuaded the King of Moab, and they dwell with him continually, while David was in the hold.
22.5 And Gad the prophet said to David, Dwell not in
the hold: go, and thou shalt enter the land of Juda. So David went, and
came and dwelt in the city of Saric.
22.6 And Saul heard that David was discovered, and
his men with him: now Saul dwelt in the hill below the field that is in
Rama, and his spear [was] in his hand, and all his servants stood near
him.
22.7 And Saul said to his servants that stood by him,
Hear now, ye sons of Benjamin, will the son of Jessae indeed give all
of you fields and vineyards, and will he make you all captains of
hundreds and captains of thousands?
22.8 That ye are conspiring against me, and there is
no one that informs me, whereas my son has made a covenant with the son
of Jessae, and there is no one of you that is sorry for me, or informs
me, that my son has stirred up my servant against me for an enemy, as
[it is] this day?
22.9 And Doec the Syrian who was over the mules of
Saul answered and said, I saw the son of Jessae as he came to Nomba to
Abimelech son of Achitob the priest.
22.10 And [the priest] enquired of God for him, and gave
him provision, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
22.11 And the king sent to call Abimelech son of Achitob
and all his father's sons, the priests that were in Nomba; and they all
came to the king.
22.12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Achitob. And he said, Lo! I [am here], speak, [my] lord.
22.13 And Saul said to him, Why have thou and the son of
Jessae conspired against me, that thou shouldest give him bread and a
sword, and shouldest enquire of God for him, to raise him up against me
as an enemy, as [he is] this day?
22.14 And he answered the king, and said, And who [is]
there among all thy servants faithful as David, and [he is] a
son-in-law of the king, and [he is] executor of all thy commands, and
[is] honourable in thy house?
22.15 Have I begun to-day to enquire of God for him? By no
means: let not the king bring a charge against his servant, and against
thee whole of my father's house; for thy servant knew not in all these
matters anything great or small.
22.16 And king Saul said, Thou shalt surely die, Abimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.
22.17 And the king said to the footmen that attended on
him, Draw nigh and slay the priests of the Lord, because their hand
[is] with David, and because they knew that he fled, and they did not
inform me. But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to
fall upon the priest of the Lord.
22.18 And the king said to Doec, Turn thou, and fall upon
the priests: and Doec the Syrian turned, and slew the priests of the
Lord in that day, three hundred and five men, all wearing an ephod.
22.19 And he smote Nomba the city of the priest with the
edge of the sword, both man, and woman, infant and suckling, and calf,
and ox, and sheep.
22.20 And one son of Abimelech son of Achitob escapes, and his name [was] Abiathar, and he fled after David.
22.21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain all the priests of the Lord.
22.22 And David said to Abiathar, I knew it in that day,
that Doec the Syrian would surely tell Saul: I am guilty of the death
of the house of thy father.
22.23 Dwell with me; fear not, for wherever I shall seek a
place [of safety] for my life, I will also seek a place for thy life,
for thou art safely guarded [while] with me.
23.1
And it was told David, saying, behold, the Philistines war in Keila,
and they rob, they trample on the threshing-floors.
23.2 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I
go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said, Go, and thou shalt
smite these Philistines, and shalt save Keila.
23.3 And the men of David said to him, Behold, we are
afraid here in Judea; and how shall it be if we go to Keila? Shall we
go after the spoils of the Philistines?
23.4 And David enquired yet again of the Lord; and
the Lord answered him, and said to him, Arise and go down to Keila, for
I will deliver the Philistines into thy hands.
23.5 So David and his men with him went to Keila, and
fought with the Philistines; and they fled from before him, and he
carried off their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter, and
David rescued the inhabitants of Keila.
23.6 And it came to pass when Abiathar the son of
Achimelech fled to David, that he went down with David to Keila, having
and ephod in his hand.
23.7 And it was told Saul that David was come to
Keila: and Saul said, God has sold him into my hands, for he is shut
up, having entered into a city that has gates and bars.
23.8 And Saul charged all the people to go down to war to Keila, to besiege David and his men.
23.9 And David knew that Saul spoke openly of
mischief against him: and David said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the
ephod of the Lord.
23.10 And David said, Lord God of Israel, thy servant has
indeed heard, that Saul seeks to come against Keila to destroy the city
on my account.
23.11 Will [the place] be shut up? And now will Saul come
down, as thy servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, tell thy servant.
And the Lord said, It will be shut up.
23.12 [vide]
23.13 And David arose, and the men with him, in number
about four hundred, and they went forth from Keila, and went
whithersoever they could go: and it was told Saul that David had
escaped from Keila, and he forbore to come.
23.14 And he dwelt in Maserem in the wilderness, in the
narrow [passes]; and dwelt in the wilderness in mount Ziph, in the dry
country. And Saul sought him continually, but the Lord delivered him
not into his hands.
23.15 And David perceived that Saul went forth to seek David; and David was in the dry mountain in the New Ziph.
23.16 And Jonathan son of Saul rose, and went to David to Caene, and strengthened his hands in the Lord.
23.17 And he said to him, Fear not, for the hand of Saul my
father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I
shall be second to thee; and Saul my father knows it.
23.18 So they both made a covenant before the Lord; and David dwelt in Caene, and Jonathan went to his home.
23.19 And the Ziphites came up out of the dry country to
Saul to the hill, saying, Behold, is not David hidden with us in
Messara, in the narrows in Caene in the hill of Echela, which is on the
right of Jessaemon?
23.20 And now [according to] all the king's desire to come
down, let him come down to us; they have shut him up into the hands of
the king.
23.21 And Saul said to them, Blessed [be] ye of the Lord, for ye have been grieved on my account.
23.22 Go, I pray you, and make preparations yet, and notice
his place where his foot shall be, quickly, in that place which ye
spoke of, lest by any means he should deal craftily.
23.23 Take notice, then, and learn, and I will go with you;
and it shall come to pass that if he is in the land, I will search him
out among all the thousands of Juda.
23.24 And the Ziphites arose, and went before Saul: and
David and his men [were] in the wilderness of Maon, westward, to the
right of Jessaemon.
23.25 And Saul and his men went to seek him: and they
brought word to David, and he went down to the rock that was in the
wilderness of Maon: and Saul heard, and followed after David to the
wilderness of Maon.
23.26 And Saul and his men go on one side of the mountain,
and David and his men are on the other side of the mountain: and David
was hiding himself to escape from Saul: and Saul and his men encamped
against David and his men, in order to take them.
23.27 And there came a messenger to Saul, saying, Haste
thee, and come hither, for the Philistines have invaded the land.
23.28 So Saul returned from following after David, and went
to meet the Philistines: therefore that place was called The divided
Rock.
24.1 (23.29) And David rose up from thence, and dwelt in the narrow passes of Engaddi.
24.2 (24.1) And it came to pass when Saul returned
from pursuing after the Philistines, that it was reported to him,
saying, David [is] in the wilderness of Engaddi.
24.3 (24.2) And he took with him three thousand men,
chosen out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men in front
of Saddaeem.
24.4 (24.3) And he came to the flocks of sheep that
were by the way, and there was a cave there; and Saul went in to make
preparation, and David and his men were sitting in the inner part of
the cave.
24.5 (24.4) And the men of David said to him, Behold,
this [is] the day of which the Lord spoke to thee, that he would
deliver thine enemy into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as [it is]
good in thy sight. So David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's
garment secretly.
24.6 (24.5) And it came to pass after this that
David's heart smote him, because he had cut off the skirt of his
garment.
24.7 (24.6) And David said to his men, The Lord
forbid it me, that I should do this ting to my lord the anointed of the
Lord, to lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.
24.8 (24.7) So David persuaded his men by [his]
words, and did not suffer them to arise and slay Saul: and Saul arose
and went his way.
24.9 (24.8) And David rose up [and went] after him
out of the cave: and David cried after Saul, saying, [My] lord, [O]
king! and Saul looked behind him, and David bowed with his face to the
ground, and did obeisance to him.
24.10 (24.9) And David said to Saul, Why dost thou hearken
to the words of the people, saying, Behold, David seeks thy life?
24.11 (24.10) Behold, thine eyes have seen this day how
that the Lord has delivered thee this day into my hands in the cave;
and I would not slay thee, but spared thee, and said, I will not lift
up my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.
24.12 (24.11) And behold, the skirt of thy mantle [is] in
my hand, I cut off the skirt, and did not slay thee: know then and see
to-day, there is no evil in my hand, nor impiety, nor rebellion; and I
have not sinned against thee, yet thou layest snares for my soul to
take it.
24.13 (24.12) The Lord judge between me and thee, and the
Lord requite thee on thyself: but my hand shall not be upon thee.
24.14 (24.13) As the old proverb says, Transgression will
proceed from the wicked ones: but my hand shall not be upon thee.
24.15 (24.14) And now after whom dost thou come forth, O
king of Israel? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, and
after a flea?
24.16 (24.15) The Lord be judge and umpire between me and
thee, the Lord look upon and judge my cause, and rescue me out of thy
hand.
24.17 (24.16) And it came to pass when David had finished
speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, [Is] this thy voice, Son
David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
24.18 (24.17) And Saul said to David, Thou [art] more
righteous that I, for thou hast recompensed me good, but I have
recompensed thee evil.
24.19 (24.18) And thou hast told me to-day what good thou
hast done me, how the Lord shut me up into thy hands to-day, and thou
didst not slay me.
24.20 (24.19) And if any one should find his enemy in
distress, and should send him forth in a good way, then the Lord will
reward him good, as thou has done this day.
24.21 (24.20) And now, behold, I know that thou shalt
surely reign, and the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy
hand.
24.22 (24.21) Now then swear to me by the Lord, that thou
wilt not destroy my seed after me, that thou wilt not blot out my name
from the house of my father.
24.23 (24.22) So David swore to Saul: and Saul departed to
his place, and David and his men went up to the strong-hold of Messera.
25.1
And Samuel died, and all Israel assembled, and bewailed him, and they
bury him in his house in Armathaim: and David arose, and went down to
the wilderness of Maon.
25.2 And there was a man in Maon, and his flocks were
in Carmel, and [he was] a very great man; and he had three thousand
sheep, and a thousand she-goats: and he happened to be shearing his
flock in Carmel.
25.3 And the man's name [was] Nabal, and his wife's
name [was] Abigaia: and his wife [was] of good understanding and very
beautiful in person: but the man [was] harsh, and evil in his doings,
and the man [was] churlish.
25.4 And David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal the Carmelite was shearing his sheep.
25.5 And David sent ten young men, and he said to the
young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and ask him in my name how
he is.
25.6 And thus shall ye say, May thou and thy house seasonably prosper, and all thine be in prosperity.
25.7 And now, behold, I have heard that thy shepherds
who were with is in the wilderness are shearing thy sheep, and we
hindered them not, neither did we demand any thing from them all the
time they were in Carmel.
25.8 Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Let
then thy servants find grace in thine eyes, for we are come on a good
day; give we pray thee, whatsoever thy hand may find, to thy son David.
25.9 So the servants come and speak these words to Nabal, according to all these words in the name of David.
25.10 And Nabal sprang up, and answered the servants of
David, and said, Who [is] David? and who [is] the son of Jessae?
Now-a-days there is abundance of servants who depart every one from his
master.
25.11 And shall I take my bread, and my wine, and my beasts
that I have slain for my shearers, and shall I give them to men of whom
I know not whence they are?
25.12 So the servants of David turned back, and returned, and came and reported to David according to these words.
25.13 And David said to his men, Gird on every man his
sword. And they went up after David, about four hundred men: and two
hundred abode with the stuff.
25.14 And one of the servants reported to Abigaia the wife
of Nabal, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness
to salute our lord; but he turned away from them.
25.15 And the men were very good to us; they did not hinder
us, neither did they demand from us any thing all the days that we were
with them.
25.16 And when we were in the field, they were as a wall
round about us, both y night and by day, all the days that we were with
them feeding the flock.
25.17 And now do thou consider, and see what thou wilt do;
for mischief is determined against our lord and against his house; and
he [is] a vile character, and one cannot speak to him.
25.18 And Abigaia hasted, and took two hundred loaves, and
two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five ephahs of
fine flour, and one homer of dried grapes, and two hundred cakes of
figs, and put them upon asses.
25.19 And she said to her servants, Go on before me, and behold I come after you: but she told not her husband.
25.20 And it came to pass when she had mounted her ass and
was going down by the covert of the mountain, behold, David and his men
came down to meet her, and she met them.
25.21 And David said, Perhaps I have kept all his
possessions in the wilderness that he should wrong me, and we did not
order the taking anything of all his goods; yet he has rewarded me evil
for good.
25.22 So God do to David and more also, if I leave one male of all that belong to Nabal until the morning.
25.23 And Abigaia saw David, and she hasted and alighted
from her ass; and she felt before David on her face, and did obeisance
to him, [bowing] to the ground
25.24 [even] to his feet, and said, On me, my lord, be my
wrong: let, I pray thee, thy servant speak in thine ears, and hear thou
the words of thy servant.
25.25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this
pestilent man, for according to his name, so is he; Nabal [is] his
name, and folly [is] with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the servants
of my lord whom thou didst send.
25.26 And now, my lord, [as] the Lord lives, and thy soul
lives, as the Lord has kept thee from coming against innocent blood,
and from executing vengeance for thyself, now therefore let thine
enemies, and those that seek evil against my lord, become as Nabal.
25.27 And now accept this token of goodwill, which thy
servant has brought to my lord, and thou shalt give it to the servants
that wait on my lord.
25.28 Remove, I pray thee, the trespass of thy servant; for
the Lord will surely make for my lord a sure house, for the Lord fights
the battles of my lord, and there shall no evil be ever found in thee.
25.29 And [if] a man shall rise up persecuting thee and
seeking thy life, yet shall the life of my lord be bound up in the
bundle of life with the Lord God, and thou shalt whirl the life of
thine enemies [as] in the midst of a sling.
25.30 And it shall be when the Lord shall have wrought for
my lord all the good things he has spoken concerning thee, and shall
appoint thee to be ruler over Israel;
25.31 then this shall not be an abomination and offence to
my lord, to have shed innocent blood without cause, and for my lord to
have avenged himself: and so may the Lord do good to my lord, and thou
shalt remember thine handmaid to do her good.
25.32 And David said to Abigaia, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who sent thee this very day to meet me:
25.33 and blessed [be] thy conduct, and blessed [be] thou,
who hast hindered me this very day from coming to shed blood, and from
avenging myself.
25.34 But surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, who
hindered me this day from doing thee harm, if thou hadst not hasted and
come to meet me, then I said, There shall [surely] not be left to Nabal
till the morning one male.
25.35 And David took of her hand all that she brought to
him, and said to her, Go in peace to thy house: see, I have hearkened
to thy voice, and accepted thy petition.
25.36 And Abigaia came to Nabal: and, behold, he had a
banquet in this house, as the banquet of a king, and the heart of Nabal
[was] merry within him, and he [was] very drunken: and she told him
nothing great or small till the morning light.
25.37 And it came to pass in the morning, when Nabal
recovered from his wine, his wife told him these words; and his heart
died within him, and he became as a stone.
25.38 And it came to pass after about ten days, that the Lord smote Nabal, and he died.
25.39 And David heard it and said, Blessed [be] the Lord,
wh has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and has
delivered his servant from the power of evil; and the Lord has returned
the mischief of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and spoke
concerning Abigaia, to take her to himself for a wife.
25.40 So the servants of David came to Abigaia to Carmel,
and spoke to her, saying, David has sent us to thee, to take thee to
himself for a wife.
25.41 And she arose, and did reverence with her face to the
earth, and said, Behold, thy servant [is] for an handmaid to wash the
feet of thy servants.
25.42 And Abigaia arose, and mounted her ass, and five
damsels followed her: and she went after the servants of David, and
became his wife.
25.43 And David took Achinaam out of Jezrael, and they were both his wives.
25.44 And Saul gave Melchol his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Amis who was of Romma.
26.1
And the Ziphites come out of the dry country to Saul to the hill,
saying, Behold, David hides himself with us in the hill Echela,
opposite Jessemon.
26.2 And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness
of Ziph, and with him [went] three thousand men chosen out of Israel,
to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
26.3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Echela in front
of Jessemon, by the way, and David dwelt in the wilderness: and David
saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.
26.4 And David sent spies, and ascertained that Saul was come prepared out of Keila.
26.5 And David arose secretly, and goes into the
place where Saul was sleeping, and there [was] Abenner the son of Ner,
the captain of his host: and Saul was sleeping in a chariot, and the
people had encamped along round about him.
26.6 And David answered and spoke to Abimelech the
Chettite, and to Abessa the son Saruia the brother of Joab, saying, Who
will go in with me to Saul into the camp? And Abessa said, I will go in
with thee.
26.7 So David and Abessa go in among the people by
night: and behold, Saul was fast asleep in the chariot, and his spear
was stuck in the ground near his head, and Abenner and his people slept
round about him.
26.8 And Abessa said to David, The Lord has this day
shut up thine enemy into thine hands, and now I will smite him to the
earth with the spear to the ground once [for all], and I will not smite
him again.
26.9 And David said to Abessa, Do not lay him low,
for who shall lift up his hand against the anointed of the Lord, and be
guiltless?
26.10 And David said, [As] the Lord lives, if the Lord
smite him not, or his day come and he die, or he go down to battle and
be added [to his fathers, do not so].
26.11 The Lord forbid it me that I should lift up my hand
against the anointed of the Lord: and now take, I pray thee, the spear
from his bolster, and the pitcher of water, and let us return home.
26.12 So David took the spear, and the pitcher of water
from his bolster, and they went home: and there was no one that saw,
and no one that knew, and there was no one that awoke, all being
asleep, for a stupor from the Lord had fallen upon them.
26.13 So David went over to the other side, and stood on
the top of a hill afar off, and [there was] a good distance between
them.
26.14 And David called to the people, and spoke to Abenner,
saying, Wilt thou not answer, Abenner? and Abenner answered and said,
Who art thou that callest?
26.15 And David said to Abenner, [Art] not thou a man? and
who [is] like thee in Israel? Why then dost thou not guard thy lord the
king? for one out of the people went in to destroy thy lord the king.
26.16 And this thing [is] not good which thou hast done.
[As] the Lord lives, ye are worthy of death, ye who guard your lord the
king, the anointed of the Lord: and now behold, I pray you, the spear
of the king, and the cruse of water: where are the articles that should
be at his head?
26.17 And Saul recognized the voice of David, and said,
[Is] this thy voice, son David? and David said, I [am] thy servant,
[my] lord, O king.
26.18 And he said, Why does my lord thus pursue after his
servant? for in what have I sinned? and what unrighteousness ha been
found in me?
26.19 And now let my lord the king hear the word of his
servant. If God stirs thee up against me, let thine offering be
acceptable: but if the sons of men, they [are] cursed before the Lord,
for they have cast me out this day so that I should not be established
in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other Gods.
26.20 And now let not my blood fall to the ground before
the Lord, for the king of Israel has come forth to seek thy life, as
the night hawk pursues [its prey] in the mountains.
26.21 And Saul said, I have sinned: turn, son David, for I
will not hurt thee, because my life was precious in thine eyes; and
to-day I have been foolish and have erred exceedingly.
26.22 And David answered and said, Behold, the spear of the king: let one of the servants come over and take it.
26.23 And the Lord shall recompense each according to his
righteousness and his truth, since the Lord delivered thee this day
into my hands, and I would not lift my hand against the Lord's anointed.
26.24 And, behold, as thy life has been precious this very
day in my eyes, so let my life be precious before the Lord, and may he
protect me, and deliver me out of all affliction.
26.25 And Saul said to David, Blessed [be] thou, [my] son;
and thou shalt surely do valiantly, and surely prevail. And David went
on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
27.1
And David said in his heart, Now shall I be one day delivered [for
death] into the hands of Saul; and there is no good thing for me unless
I should escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul should cease
from seeking me through every coast of Israel: so I shall escape out of
his hand.
27.2 So David arose, and the six hundred men that
were with him, and he went to Anchus, son Ammach, king of Geth.
27.3 And David dwelt with Anchus, he and his men,
each with his family; and David and both his wives, Achinaam, the
Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
27.4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Geth; and he no longer sought after him
27.5 And David said to Anchus, If now thy servant has
found grace in thine eyes, let them give me, I pray thee, a place in
one of the cities in the country, and I will dwell there: for why does
thy servant dwell with thee in a royal city?
27.6 And he gave him Sekelac in that day: therefore
Sekelac came into possession of the king of Judea to this day.
27.7 And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was four months.
27.8 And David and his men went up, and made an
attack on all the Gesirites and on the Amalekites: and behold, the land
was inhabited, (even the land from Gelampsur) by those who come from
the fortified [cities] even to the land of Egypt.
27.9 And he smote the land, and saved neither man nor
woman alive; and they took flocks, and herds, and asses, and camels,
and raiment; and they returned and came to Anchus.
27.10 And Anchus said to David, On whom have ye made an
attack to-day? And David said to Anchus, On the south of Judea, and on
the south of Jesmega, and on the south of the Kenezite.
27.11 And I have not saved man or woman alive to bring them
to Geth, saying, Lest they carry a report to Geth against us, saying,
These things David does. And this was his manner all the days that
David dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
27.12 So David had the full confidence of Anchus, who said,
He is thoroughly disgraced among his people in Israel and he shall be
my servant for ever.
28.1
And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered
themselves together with their armies to go out to fight with Israel;
and Anchus said to David, Know surely, that thou shalt go forth to
battle with me, [thou], and thy men.
28.2 And David said to Anchus, Thus now thou shalt
know what thy servant will do. And Anchus said to David, So will I make
thee captain of my body-guard continually.
28.3 And Samuel died, and all Israel lamented for
him, and they bury him in his city, in Armathaim. And Saul had removed
those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards, out of the
land.
28.4 And the Philistines assemble themselves, and
come and encamp in Sonam: and Saul gathers all the men of Israel, and
they encamp in Gelbue.
28.5 And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, and he was alarmed, and his heart was greatly dismayed.
28.6 And Saul enquired of the Lord; and the Lord
answered him not by dreams, nor by manifestations, nor by prophets.
28.7 Then Saul said to his servants, Seek for me a
woman who has in her a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and
enquire of her: and his servants said to him, Behold, [there is] a
woman who has in her a divining spirit at Aendor.
28.8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other
raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman
by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the
divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name
to thee.
28.9 And the woman said to him, Behold now, thou
knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who had in them
divining spirits, and the wizards from the land, and why dost thou
spread a snare for my life to destroy it?
28.10 And Saul swore to her, and said, [As] the Lord lives, no injury shall come upon thee on this account.
28.11 And the woman said, Whom shall I bring up to thee? and he said, Bring up to me Samuel.
28.12 And the woman saw Samuel, and cried out with a loud
voice: and the woman said to Saul, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou
art Saul.
28.13 And the king said to her, Fear not; tell me whom thou
has seen. And the woman said to him, I saw gods ascending out of the
earth.
28.14 And he said to her, What didst thou perceive? and she
said to him, An upright man ascending out of the earth, and he [was]
clothed with a mantle. And Saul knew that this was Samuel, and he
stooped with his face to the earth, and did obeisance to him.
28.15 And Samuel said, Why hast thou troubled me, that I
should come up? And Saul said, I am greatly distressed, and the
Philistines war against me, and God has departed from me, and no longer
hearkens to me either by he hand of the prophets or by dreams: and now
I have called thee to tell me what I shall do.
28.16 And Samuel said, Why askest thou me, whereas the Lord
has departed from thee, and taken part with thy neighbour?
28.17 And the Lord has done to thee, as the Lord spoke by
me; and the Lord will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give
it to thy neighbour David.
28.18 because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the
Lord, and didst not execute his fierce anger upon Amalec, therefore the
Lord has done this thing to thee this day.
28.19 And the Lord shall deliver Israel with thee into the
hands of the Philistines, and to-morrow thou and thy sons with thee
shall fall, and the Lord shall deliver the army of Israel into the
hands of the Philistines.
28.20 And Saul instantly fell at his full length upon the
earth, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there
was no longer any strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that
day, and all that night.
28.21 And the woman went in to Saul, and saw that he was
greatly disquieted, and said to him, Behold now, thine handmaid has
hearkened to thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have
heard the words which thou has spoken to me.
28.22 And now hearken, I pray thee, to the voice of thine
handmaid, and I will set before thee a morsel of bread, and eat, and
thou shalt be strengthened, for thou wilt be going on thy way.
28.23 But he would not eat; so his servants and the woman
constrained him, and he hearkened to their voice, and rose up from the
earth, and sat upon a bench.
28.24 And the woman had a fat heifer in the house; and she
hasted and slew it; and she took meal and kneaded it, and baked
unleavened cakes.
28.25 And she brought [the meat] before Saul, and before
his servants; and they ate, and rose up, and departed that night.
29.1 And the Philistines gather all their armies to Aphec, and Israel encamped in Aendor, which is in Jezrael.
29.2 And the lords of the Philistines went on by
hundreds and thousands, and David and his men wen on in the rear with
Anchus.
29.3 And the lords of the Philistines said, Who [are]
these that pass by? And Anchus said to the captains of the Philistines,
[Is] not this David the servant of Saul king of Israel? He has been
with us some time, even this second year, and I have not found any
fault in him from the day that he attached himself to me even until
this day.
29.4 And the captains of the Philistines were
displeased at him, and they say to him, Send the man away, and let him
return to his place, where thou didst set him; and let him not come
with us to the war, and let him not be a traitor in the camp: and
wherewith will he be reconciled to his master? Will it not be with the
heads of those men?
29.5 [Is] not this David whom they celebrated in
dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten
thousands?
29.6 And Anchus called David, and said to him, [As]
the Lord lives, thou [art] right and approved in my eyes, and [so is]
thy going out and thy coming in with me in the army, and I have not
found [any] evil to charge against thee from the day that thou camest
to me until this day: but thou art not approved in the eyes of the
lords.
29.7 Now then return and go in peace, thus thou shalt
not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines.
29.8 And David said to Anchus, What have I done to
thee? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the [first] day that
I was before thee even until this day, that I should not come and war
against the enemies of the lord my king?
29.9 And Anchus answered David, I know that thou
[art] good in my eyes, but the lords of the Philistines say, He shall
not come with us to the war.
29.10 Now then rise up early in the morning, thou and the
servants of thy lord that are come with thee, and go to the place where
I appointed you, and entertain no evil thought in thy heart, for thou
[art] good in my sight: and rise early for your journey when it is
light, and depart.
29.11 So David arose early, he and his men, to depart and
guard the land of the Philistine: and the Philistines went up to
Jezrael to battle.
30.1
And it came to pass when David and his men had entered Sekelac on the
third day, that Amalec had made an incursion upon the south, and upon
Sekelac, and smitten Sekelac, and burnt it with fire.
30.2 And as to the women and all things that were in
it, great and small, they slew neither man nor woman, but carried them
captives, and went on their way.
30.3 And David and his men came into the city, and,
behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and
their daughters were carried captive.
30.4 And David and his men lifted up their voice, and
wept till there was no longer any power within them to weep.
30.5 And both the wives of David were carried
captive, Achinaam, the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the
Carmelite.
30.6 And David was greatly distressed, because the
people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was
grieved, each for his sons and his daughters: but David strengthened
himself in the Lord his God.
30.7 And David said to Abiathar the priest the son of Achimelech, Bring near the ephod.
30.8 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I
pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? and he said to him,
Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and thou shalt surely
rescue [the captives].
30.9 So David went, he an the six hundred men with
him, an they come as far as the brook Bosor, and the superfluous ones
stopped.
30.10 And he pursued them with four hundred men; and there
remained behind two hundred men, who tarried on the other side of the
brook Bosor.
30.11 And they find an Egyptian in the field, and they take
him, and bring him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and
they caused him to drink water.
30.12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and he
ate, and his spirit was restored in him; for he had not eaten bread,
and had not drunk water three days and three nights.
30.13 And David said to him, Whose art thou? and whence art
thou? and the young man the Egyptian said, I am the servant of an
Amalekite; and my master left me, because I was taken ill three days
ago.
30.14 And we made an incursion on the south of the
Chelethite, and on the parts of Judea, and on the south of Chelub, and
we burnt Sekelac with fire.
30.15 And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to
this troop? And he said, Swear now to me by God, that thou wilt not
kill me, and that thou wilt not deliver me into the hands of my master,
and I will bring thee down upon this troop.
30.16 So be brought him down thither, and behold, they
[were] scattered abroad upon the surface of the whole land, eating and
drinking, and feasting by [reason of] all the great spoils which they
had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of
Juda.
30.17 And David came upon them, and smote them from the
morning till the evening, and on the next day; and not one of them
escaped, except four hundred young men, who were mounted on camels, and
fled.
30.18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued both his wives.
30.19 And nothing was wanting to them of great or small,
either of the spoils, or the sons and daughters, or anything that they
had taken of theirs; and David recovered all.
30.20 And he took all the flocks, and the herds, and led
them away before the spoils: and it was said of these spoils, These
[are] the spoils of David.
30.21 And David comes to the two hundred men who were left
behind that they should not follow after David, and he had caused them
to remain by the brook of Bosor; and they came forth to meet David, and
to meet his people with him: and David drew near to the people, and
they asked him how he did.
30.22 Then every ill-disposed and bad man of the soldiers
who had gone with David, answered and said, Because they did not pursue
together with us, we will not give them of the spoils which we have
recovered, only let each one lead away with him his wife and his
children, and let them return.
30.23 And David said, Ye shall not do so, after the Lord
has delivered [the enemy] to us, and guarded us, and the Lord has
delivered into our hands the troop that came against u.
30.24 And who will hearken to these your words? for they
are not inferior to us; for according to the portion of him that went
down to the battle, so shall be the portion of him that abides with the
baggage; they shall share alike.
30.25 And it came to pass from that day forward, that it became an ordinance and a custom in Israel until this day.
30.26 And David came to Sekelac, and sent of the spoils to
the elders of Juda, and to his friends, saying, Behold [some] of the
spoils of the enemies of the Lord;
30.27 to those in Baethsur, and to those in Rama of the south, and to those in Gethor.
30.28 And to those in Aroer, and to those in Ammadi, and to
those in Saphi, and to those in Esthie, and to those in Geth, and to
those in Cimath, and to those in Saphec, and to those in Themath,
30.29 and to those in Carmel, and to those in the cities of Jeremeel, and to those in the cities of the Kenezite;
30.30 and to those in Jerimuth, and to those in Bersabee, and to those in Nombe,
30.31 and to those in Chebron, and to all the places which David and his men had passed through.
31.1
And the Philistines fought with Israel: and the men of Israel fled from
before the Philistines, and they fall down wounded in the mountain in
Gelbue.
31.2 And the Philistines press closely on Saul and
his sons, and the Philistines smite Jonathan, and Aminadab, and
Melchisa son of Saul.
31.3 And the battle prevails against Saul, and the
shooters with arrows, even the archers find him, and he was wounded
under the ribs.
31.4 And Saul said to his armour-bearer, Draw thy
sword and pierce me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and
pierce me through, and mock me. But his armour-bearer would not, for he
feared greatly: so Saul took his sword and fell upon it.
31.5 And his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, and he fell also himself upon his sword, and died with him.
31.6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, in that dy together.
31.7 And the men of Israel who were on the other side
of the valley, and those beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel
fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead; and they leave their cities
and flee: and the Philistines come and dwell in them.
31.8 And it came to pass on the morrow that the
Philistines come to strip the dead, and they find Saul and his three
sons fallen on the mountains of Gelbue.
31.9 And they turned him, and stripped off his
armour, and sent it into the land of the Philistines, sending round
glad tidings to their idols and to the people.
31.10 And they set up his armour at the temple of Astarte, and they fastened his body on the wall of Baethsam.
31.11 And the inhabitants of Jabis Galaad hear what the Philistines did to Saul.
31.12 And they rose up, [even] every man of might, and
marched all night, and took the body of Saul and the body of Jonathan
his son from the wall of Baethsam; and they bring them to Jabis, and
burn them there.
31.13 And they take their bones, and bury them in the field that is in Jabis, and fast seven days.