[I Samuel – 1917 Jewish Publication Society]

Chapter 1

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill- country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²And he had two wives: the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there priests unto the LORD. ⁴And it came to pass upon a day, when Elkanah sacrificed, that he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions; ⁵but unto Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had shut up her womb. ⁶And her rival vexed her sore, to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. ⁷And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she vexed her; therefore she wept, and would not eat. ⁸And Elkanah her husband said unto her: ‘Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?’ ⁹So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk—now Eli the priest sat upon his seat by the door-post of the temple of the LORD; ¹⁰and she was in bitterness of soul—and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. ¹¹And she vowed a vow, and said: ‘O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thy handmaid, but wilt give unto Thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.’ ¹²And it came to pass, as she prayed long before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. ¹³Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard; therefore, Eli thought she had been drunken. ¹⁴And Eli said unto her: ‘How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.’ ¹⁵And Hannah answered and said: ‘No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the LORD. ¹⁶Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman: for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation have I spoken hitherto.’ ¹⁷Then Eli answered and said: ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou hast asked of Him.’ ¹⁸And she said: ‘Let thy servant find favour in thy sight.’ So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. ¹⁹And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah; and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰And it came to pass, when the time was come about, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she called his name Samuel: ‘because I have asked him of the LORD.’

²¹And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. ²²But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband: ‘Until the child be weaned, when I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.’ ²³And Elkanah her husband said unto her: ‘Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish His word.’ So the woman tarried and gave her son suck, until she weaned him. ²⁴And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh; and the child was young. ²⁵And when the bullock was slain, the child was brought to Eli. ²⁶And she said: ‘Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. ²⁷For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath granted me my petition which I asked of Him; ²⁸therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he is lent to the LORD.’ And he worshipped the LORD there.

Chapter 2

And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in the LORD,

My horn is exalted in the LORD;

My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;

Because I rejoice in Thy salvation. ²There is none holy as the LORD, For there is none beside Thee; Neither is there any rock like our God.

³Multiply not exceeding proud talk;

Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;

For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And by Him actions are weighed.

⁴The bows of the mighty men are broken,

And they that stumbled are girded with strength.

⁵They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;

And they that were hungry have ceased;

While the barren hath borne seven,

She that had many children hath languished.

⁶The LORD killeth, and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

⁷The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich;

He bringeth low, He also lifteth up.

⁸He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,

He lifteth up the needy from the dung-hill,

To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S,

And He hath set the world upon them.

⁹He will keep the feet of His holy ones,

But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;

For not by strength shall man prevail.

¹⁰They that strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces;

Against them will He thunder in heaven;

The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;

And He will give strength unto His king,

And exalt the horn of His anointed.

¹¹And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not the LORD. ¹³And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his band; ¹⁴and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did unto all the Israelites that came thither in Shiloh. ¹⁵Yea, before the fat was made to smoke, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed: ‘Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.’ ¹⁶And if the man said unto him: ‘Let the fat be made to smoke first of all, and then take as much as thy soul desireth’; then he would say: ‘Nay, but thou shalt give it me now; and if not, I will take it by force.’ ¹⁷And the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD; for the men dealt contemptuously with the offering of the LORD.

¹⁸But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁹Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say: ‘The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which was lent to the LORD.’ And they would go unto their own home. ²¹So the LORD remembered Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. ²³And he said unto them: ‘Why do ye such things? for I hear evil reports concerning you from all this people. ²⁴Nay, my sons; for it is no good report which I hear the LORD’S people do spread abroad. ²⁵If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him?’ But they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. ²⁶And the child Samuel grew on, and increased in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.

²⁷And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him: ‘Thus saith the LORD: Did I reveal Myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up unto Mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? ²⁹Wherefore kick ye at My sacrifice and at Mine offering, which I have commanded in My habitation; and honourest thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel My people? ³⁰Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, saith: I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever; but now the LORD saith: Be it far from Me: for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. ³²And thou shalt behold a rival in My habitation, in all the good which shall be done to Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. ³³Yet will I not cut off every man of thine from Mine altar, to make thine eyes to fail, and thy heart to languish; and all the increase of thy house shall die young men. ³⁴And this shall be the sign unto thee, that which shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. ³⁵And I will raise Me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in My heart and in My mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine anointed for ever. ³⁶And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say: Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.’

Chapter 3

And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. ²And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place—now his eyes had begun to wax dim, that he could not see— ³and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down to sleep in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, ⁴that the LORD called Samuel; and he said: ‘Here am I.’

⁵And he ran unto Eli, and said: ‘Here am I; for thou didst call me.’ And he said: ‘I called not; lie down again.’ And he went and lay down. ⁶And the LORD called yet again Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said: ‘Here am I; for thou didst call me.’ And he answered: ‘I called not, my son; lie down again.’ ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. ⁸And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said: ‘Here am I; for thou didst call me.’ And Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the child. ⁹Therefore Eli said unto Samuel: ‘Go, lie down; and it shall be, if thou be called, that thou shalt say: Speak, LORD; for Thy servant heareth.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times: ‘Samuel, Samuel.’ Then Samuel said: ‘Speak; for Thy servant heareth.’ ¹¹And the LORD said to Samuel: ‘Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. ¹²In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end. ¹³For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity, in that he knew that his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he rebuked them not. ¹⁴And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering for ever.’ ¹⁵And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to tell Eli the vision. ¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel, and said: ‘Samuel, my son.’ And he said: ‘Here am I.’ ¹⁷And he said: ‘What is the thing that He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me, God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that He spoke unto thee.’ ¹⁸And Samuel told him all the words, and hid nothing from him. And he said: ‘It is the LORD; let Him do what seemeth Him good.’

¹⁹And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. ²¹And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh; for the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Chapter 4

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. ²And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel; and when the battle was spread, Israel was smitten before the Philistines; and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. ³And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said: ‘Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that He may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies.’ ⁴So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who sitteth upon the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang. ⁶And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said: ‘What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?’ And they knew that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. ⁷And the Philistines were afraid, for they said: ‘God is come into the camp.’ And they said: ‘Woe unto us! for there was not such a thing yesterday and the day before. ⁸Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues and in the wilderness. ⁹Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you; quit yourselves like men, and fight.’ ¹⁰And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. ¹¹And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. ¹²And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. ¹³And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon his seat by the wayside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. ¹⁴And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said: ‘What meaneth the noise of this tumult?’ And the man made haste, and came and told Eli. ¹⁵Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see. ¹⁶And the man said unto Eli: ‘I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army.’ And he said: ‘How went the matter, my son?’ ¹⁷And he that brought the tidings answered and said: ‘Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.’ ¹⁸And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’wife, was with child, near to be delivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought forth; for her pains came suddenly upon her. ²⁰And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her: ‘Fear not; for thou hast brought forth a son.’ But she answered not, neither did she regard it. ²¹And she named the child Ichabod, saying: ‘The glory is departed from Israel’; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²²And she said: ‘The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.’

Chapter 5

Now Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it ⁶But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof. ⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: ‘The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.’ ⁸They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said: ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ And they answered: ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath.’ And they carried the ark of the God of Israel from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. ²And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. ³And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. ⁴And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

⁶But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof. ⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: ‘The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.’ ⁸They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said: ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ And they answered: ‘Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath.’ And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. ⁹And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great discomfiture; and He smote the men of the city, both small and great, and emerods broke out upon them. ¹⁰So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying: ‘They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.’ ¹¹They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said: ‘Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people’; for there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹²And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Chapter 6

And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may seven months. ²And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: ‘What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? declare unto us wherewith we shall send it to its place.’ ³And they said: ‘If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return Him a guilt-offering; then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.’ ⁴Then said they: ‘What shall be the guilt-offering which we shall return to Him?’ And they said: ‘Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. ⁵Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel; peradventure He will lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. ⁶Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when He had wrought among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? ⁷Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. ⁸And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return Him for a guilt-go. ⁹And see, if it goeth up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then He hath done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.’

¹⁰And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹And they put the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. ¹²And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth- shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh. ¹³And they of Beth- shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth- shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone; and they cleaved the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt-offering unto the LORD. ¹⁵And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. ¹⁶And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a guilt-offering unto the LORD: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; ¹⁸and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even unto Abel by the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. ¹⁹And He smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had gazed upon the ark of the LORD, even He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand men; and the people mourned, because the LORD had smitten the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰And the men of Beth- shemesh said: ‘Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? and to whom shall it go up from us?’ ²¹And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying: ‘The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.’

Chapter 7

And the men of Kiriath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

²And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel yearned after the LORD. ³And Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel, saying: ‘If ye do return unto the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts unto the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ ⁴Then the children of Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.

⁵And Samuel said: ‘Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.’ ⁶And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there: ‘We have sinned against the LORD.’ And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah. ⁷And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸And the children of Israel said to Samuel: ‘Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that He save us out of the hand of the Philistines.’ ⁹And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering unto the LORD; and Samuel cried unto the LORD  for Israel; and the LORD answered him. ¹⁰And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten down before Israel. ¹¹And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. ¹²Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying: ‘Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.’ ¹³So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the border of Israel; and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the border thereof did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. ¹⁵And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷And his return was to Ramah, for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar unto the LORD.

Chapter 8

And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. ²Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. ³And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah. ⁵And they said unto him: ‘Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ ⁶But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said: ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. ⁷And the LORD said unto Samuel: ‘Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be king over them. ⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ⁹Now therefore hearken unto their voice; howbeit thou shalt earnestly forewarn them, and shalt declare unto them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.’

¹⁰And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. ¹¹And he said: ‘This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots. ¹²And he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots. ¹³And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. ¹⁴And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. ¹⁶And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. ¹⁷He will take the tenth of your flocks; and ye shall be his servants. ¹⁸And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not answer you in that day.’ ¹⁹But the people refused to hearken unto the voice of Samuel; and they said: ‘Nay; but there shall be a king over us; ²⁰that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.’ ²¹And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them in the ears of the LORD. ²²And the LORD said to Samuel: ‘Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.’ And Samuel said unto the men of Israel: ‘Go ye every man unto his city.’

Chapter 9

Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valour. ²And he had a son, whose name was Saul, young and goodly, and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. ³Now the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son: ‘Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.’ ⁴And he passed through the hill- country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not; then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not; and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. ⁵When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him: ‘Come and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and become anxious concerning us.’ ⁶And he said unto him: ‘Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honour; all that he saith cometh surely to pass; now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.’ ⁷Then said Saul to his servant: ‘But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God; what have we?’ ⁸And the servant answered Saul again, and said: ‘Behold, I have in my

hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver, that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.’— ⁹Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said: ‘Come and let us go to the seer’; for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer.—¹⁰Then said Saul to his servant: ‘Well said; come, let us go.’ So they went unto the city where the man of God was. ¹¹As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them: ‘Is the seer here?’ ¹²And they answered them, and said: ‘He is; behold, he is before thee; make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place. ¹³As soon as ye are come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall find him.’ ¹⁴And they went up to the city; and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.

¹⁵Now the LORD had revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul came, saying: ¹⁶’To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be prince over My people Israel, and he shall save My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry is come unto Me.’ ¹⁷And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD spoke unto him: ‘Behold the man of whom I said unto thee: This same shall have authority over My people.’ ¹⁸Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said: ‘Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is.’ ¹⁹And Samuel answered Saul, and said: ‘I am the seer; go up before me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me to-day; and in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart. ²⁰And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house?’ ²¹And Saul answered and said: ‘Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou to me after this manner?’

²²And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the chamber, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, who were about thirty persons. ²³And Samuel said unto the cook: ‘Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee: Set it by thee.’ ²⁴And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And [Samuel] said: ‘Behold that which hath been reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept for thee, for I said: I have invited the people.’ So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. ²⁵And when they were come down from the high place into the city, he spoke with Saul upon the housetop. ²⁶And they arose early; and it came to pass about the break of day, that Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying: ‘Up, that I may send thee away.’ And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. ²⁷As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul: ‘Bid the servant pass on before us—and he passed on—but stand thou still at this time, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.’

Chapter 10

Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: ‘Is it not that the LORD hath anointed thee to be prince over His inheritance? ²When thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by the tomb of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee: The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious concerning you, saying: What shall I do for my son? ³Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the terebinth of Tabor, and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine. ⁴And they will salute thee, and give thee two cakes of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hand. ⁵After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying. ⁶And the spirit of the LORD will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. ⁷And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as thy hand shall find; for God is with thee. ⁸And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace- offerings; seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come unto thee, and tell thee what thou shalt do.’

⁹And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another: ‘What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?’ ¹²And one of the same place answered and said: ‘And who is their father?’ Therefore it became a proverb: ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’ ¹³And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant: ‘Whither went ye?’ And he said: ‘To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.’ ¹⁵And Saul’s uncle said: ‘Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.’ ¹⁶And Saul said unto his uncle: ‘He told us plainly that the asses were found.’ But concerning the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not.

¹⁷And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpah. ¹⁸And he said unto the children of Israel: ‘Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. ¹⁹But ye have this day rejected your God, who Himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said unto Him: Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.’ ²⁰So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. ²¹And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families, and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they sought him, he could not be found. ²²Therefore they asked of the LORD further: ‘Is there yet a man come hither?’ And the LORD answered: ‘Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.’ ²³And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. ²⁴And Samuel said to all the people: ‘See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?’ And all the people shouted, and said: ‘Long live the king.’

²⁵Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. ²⁶And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the men of valour, whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷But certain base fellows said: ‘How shall this man save us?’ And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he was as one that held his peace.

Chapter 11

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash: ‘Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.’ ²And Nahash the Ammonite said unto them: ‘On this condition will I make it with you, that all your right eyes be put out; and I will lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.’ ³And the elders of Jabesh said unto him: ‘Give us seven days’respite, that we may send messengers unto all the borders of Israel; and then, if there be none to deliver us, we will come out to thee.’ ⁴Then came the messengers to Gibeath-shaul, and spoke these words in the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept. ⁵And, behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said: ‘What aileth the people that they weep?’ And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶And the spirit of God came mightily upon Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was kindled greatly. ⁷And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying: ‘Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen.’ And the dread of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out as one man. ⁸And he numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ⁹And they said unto the messengers that came: ‘Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead: To- morrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have deliverance.’ And the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. ¹⁰And the men of Jabesh said: ‘To-morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.’

¹¹And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and smote the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and it came to pass, that they that remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together. ¹²And the people said unto Samuel: ‘Who is he that said: Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.’ ¹³And Saul said: ‘There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to- day the LORD hath wrought deliverance in Israel.’

¹⁴Then said Samuel to the people: ‘Come and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.’ ¹⁵And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Chapter 12

And Samuel said unto all Israel: ‘Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. ²And now, behold, the king walketh before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my youth unto this day. ³Here I am; witness against me before the LORD, and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? or whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.’ ⁴And they said: ‘Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man’s hand.’ ⁵And he said unto them: ‘The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand.’ And they said: ‘He is witness.’

⁶And Samuel said unto the people: ‘It is the LORD that made Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD, which He did to you and to your fathers. ⁸When Jacob was come into Egypt, then your fathers cried unto the LORD, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and they were made to dwell in this place. ⁹But they forgot the LORD their God, and He gave them over into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰And they cried unto the LORD, and said: We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve Thee. ¹¹And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelt in safety. ¹²And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me: Nay, but a king shall reign over us; when the LORD your God was your king. ¹³Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have asked for; and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you. ¹⁴If ye will fear the LORD, and serve Him, and hearken unto His voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and both ye and also the king that reigneth over you be followers of the LORD your God—; ¹⁵but if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, and against your fathers. ¹⁶Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. ¹⁷Is it not wheat harvest to-day? I will call unto the LORD, that He may send thunder and rain; and ye shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.’ ¹⁸So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. ¹⁹And all the people said unto Samuel: ‘Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.’ ²⁰And Samuel said unto the people: ‘Fear not; ye have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; ²¹and turn ye not aside; for then should ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. ²²For the LORD will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake; because it hath pleased the LORD to make you a people unto Himself. ²³Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and the right way. ²⁴Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things He hath done for you. ²⁵But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be swept away, both ye and your king.’

Chapter 13

Saul was ^a—years old when he began to reign; and two years he reigned over Israel. ²And Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmas and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeath-benjamin; and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. ³And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the horn throughout all the land, saying: ‘Let the Hebrews hear.’ ⁴And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also had made himself odious with the Philistines. And the people were gathered together after Saul to Gilgal. ⁵And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude; and they came up, and pitched in Michmas, eastward of Beth- aven. ⁶When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait—for the people were distressed—then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in holds, and in pits. ⁷Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed; but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹And Saul said: ‘Bring hither to me the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings.’ And he offered the burnt-offering. ¹⁰And it came to pass that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. ¹¹And Samuel said: ‘What hast thou done?’ And Saul said: ‘Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together against Michmas; ¹²therefore said I: Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favour of the LORD; I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering.’ ¹³And Samuel said to Saul: ‘Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which He commanded thee; for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. ¹⁴But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the LORD hath sought him a man after His own heart, and the LORD hath appointed him to be prince over His people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.’

¹⁵And Samuel arose, and got him up from Gilgal unto Gibeath-benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. ¹⁶And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeath-benjamin; but the Philistines encamped in Michmas. ¹⁷And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual; ¹⁸and another company turned the way to Beth-horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looketh down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said: ‘Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears’; ²⁰but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his plowshare, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. ²¹And the price of the filing was a pim for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks with three teeth, and for the axes; and to set the goads. ²²So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. ²³And the garrison of the Philistines went out unto the pass of Michmas.

^a The number is wanting in the Hebrew.

Chapter 14

Now it fell upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bore his armour: ‘Come and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on yonder side. But he told not his father. ²And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron; and the people that were with him were about six hundred men, ³and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. ⁴And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmas, and the other on the south in front of Geba. ⁶And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour: ‘Come and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us; for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.’ ⁷And his armour-bearer said unto him: ‘Do all that is in thy heart; turn thee, behold I am with thee according to thy heart.’ ⁸Then said Jonathan: ‘Behold, we will pass over unto the men, and we will disclose ourselves unto them. ⁹If they say thus unto us: Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. ¹⁰But if they say thus: Come up unto us; then we will go up; for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand; and this shall be the sign unto us.’ ¹¹And both of them disclosed themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said: ‘Behold Hebrews coming forth out of the holes where they hid themselves.’ ¹²And the men of the garrison spoke to Jonathan and his armour-bearer, and said: ‘Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.’ And Jonathan said unto his armour- bearer: ‘Come up after me; for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.’ ¹³And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan; and his armour- bearer slew them after him. ¹⁴And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armour-bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. ¹⁵And there was a trembling in the camp in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the earth quaked; so it grew into a terror from God. ¹⁶And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeath-benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went hither and thither.

¹⁷Then said Saul unto the people that were with him: ‘Number now, and see who is gone from us.’ And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there. ¹⁸And Saul said unto Ahijah: ‘Bring hither the ark of God.’ For the ark of God was there at that time with the children of Israel. ¹⁹And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased; and Saul said unto the priest: ‘Withdraw thy hand.’ ²⁰And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle; and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. ²¹Now the Hebrews that were with the Philistines as beforetime, and that went up with them into the camp round about; even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²Likewise all the men of Israel that had hid themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. ²³So the LORD saved Israel that day; and the battle passed on as far as Beth-aven.

²⁴And the men of Israel were distressed that day; but Saul adjured the people, saying: ‘Cursed be the man that eateth any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on mine enemies.’ So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵And all the people came into the forest; and there was honey upon the ground. ²⁶And when the people were come unto the forest, behold a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath. ²⁷But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath; and he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened. ²⁸Then answered one of the people, and said: ‘Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying: Cursed be the man that eateth food this day; and the people are faint.’ ²⁹Then said Jonathan: ‘My father hath troubled the land; see, I pray you, how mine eyes are brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? had there not been then a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?’ ³¹And they smote of the Philistines that day from Michmas to Aijalon; and the people were very faint. ³²And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people did eat them with the blood. ³³Then they told Saul, saying: ‘Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood.’ And he said: ‘Ye have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone unto me this day.’ ³⁴And Saul said: ‘Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them: Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood.’ And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. ³⁵And Saul built an altar unto the LORD; the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.

³⁶And Saul said: ‘Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.’ And they said: ‘Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee.’ Then said the priest: ‘Let us draw near hither unto God.’ ³⁷And Saul asked counsel of God: ‘Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt Thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?’ But He answered him not that day. ³⁸And Saul said: ‘Draw nigh hither, all ye chiefs of the people; and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. ³⁹For, as the LORD liveth, who saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.’ But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. ⁴⁰Then said he unto all Israel: ‘Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.’ And the people said unto Saul: ‘Do what seemeth good unto thee.’ ⁴¹Therefore Saul said unto the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Declare the right.’ And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot; but the people escaped. ⁴²And Saul said: ‘Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.’ And Jonathan was taken. ⁴³Then Saul said to Jonathan: ‘Tell me what thou hast done.’ And Jonathan told him, and said: ‘I did certainly taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand; here am I: I will die.’ ⁴⁴And Saul said: ‘God do so and more also; thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.’ ⁴⁵And the people said unto Saul: ‘Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far from it; as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day.’ So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. ⁴⁶Then Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.

⁴⁷So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines;  and  whithersoever  he turned himself, he put them to the worse. ⁴⁸And he did valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.

⁴⁹Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger Michal; ⁵⁰and the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ⁵¹And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. ⁵²And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.

Chapter 15

And Samuel said unto Saul: ‘The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel; now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. ²Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. ³Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.’

⁴And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶And Saul said unto the Kenites: ‘Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.’ So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is in front of Egypt. ⁸And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, even the young of the second birth, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but every thing that was of no account and feeble, that they destroyed utterly.

¹⁰Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying: ¹¹’It repenteth Me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following Me, and hath not performed My commandments.’ And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. ¹²And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying: ‘Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he is setting him up a monument, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.’ ¹³And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him: ‘Blessed be thou of the LORD; I have performed the commandment of the LORD.’ ¹⁴And Samuel said: ‘What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’ ¹⁵And Saul said: ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.’ ¹⁶Then Samuel said unto Saul: ‘Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night.’ And he said unto him: ‘Say on.’

¹⁷And Samuel said: ‘Though thou be little in thine own sight, art thou not head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed thee king over Israel; ¹⁸and the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said: Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. ¹⁹Wherefore then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of the LORD?’ ²⁰And Saul said unto Samuel: ‘Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.’ ²²And Samuel said:

‘Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices,

As in hearkening to the voice of the LORD?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to hearken than the fat of rams.

²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim.

Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from being king.’ ²⁴And Saul said unto Samuel: ‘I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words; because I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice. ²⁵Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.’ ²⁶And Samuel said unto Saul: ‘I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.’ ²⁷And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent. ²⁸And Samuel said unto him: ‘The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. ²⁹And also the Glory of Israel will not lie nor repent; for He is not a man, that He should repent.’ ³⁰Then he said: ‘I have sinned; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.’ ³¹So Samuel returned after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.

³²Then said Samuel: ‘Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.’ And Agag came unto him in chains. And Agag said: ‘Surely the bitterness of death is at hand.’ ³³And Samuel said:

As thy sword hath made women childless,

So shall thy mother be childless among women.

And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeath- shaul. ³⁵And Samuel never beheld Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul; and the LORD repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Chapter 16

And the LORD said unto Samuel: ‘How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided Me a king among his sons.’ ²And Samuel said: ‘How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me.’ And the LORD said: ‘Take a heifer with thee, and say: I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. ³And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto Me him whom I name unto thee.’ ⁴And Samuel did that which the LORD spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said: ‘Comest thou peaceably?’ ⁵And he said: ‘Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. ⁶And it came to pass, when they were come, that he beheld Eliab, and said: ‘Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.’ ⁷But the LORD said unto Samuel: ‘Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.’ ⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said: ‘Neither hath the LORD chosen this.’ ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said: ‘Neither hath the LORD chosen this.’ ¹⁰And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse: ‘The LORD hath not chosen these.’ ¹¹And Samuel said unto Jesse: ‘Are here all thy children?’ And he said: ‘There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.’ And Samuel said unto Jesse: ‘Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither.’ ¹²And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of beautiful eyes, and goodly to look upon. And the LORD said: ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is he.’ ¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

¹⁴Now the spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrified him. ¹⁵And Saul’s servants said unto him: ‘Behold now, an evil spirit from God terrifieth thee. ¹⁶Let our lord now command thy servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp; and it shall be, when the evil spirit from God cometh upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.’ ¹⁷And Saul said unto his servants: ‘Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.’ ¹⁸Then answered one of the young men, and said: ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valour, and a man of war, and prudent in affairs, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.’ ¹⁹Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said: ‘Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.’ ²⁰And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. ²¹And David came to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. ²²And Saul sent to Jesse, saying: ‘Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.’ ²³And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; so Saul found relief, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Chapter 17

Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. ²And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. ³And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and there was a valley between them. ⁴And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. ⁵And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. ⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders. ⁷And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. ⁸And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them: ‘Why do ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. ⁹If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.’ ¹⁰And the Philistine said: ‘I do taunt the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.’ ¹¹And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

¹²Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons; and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men. ¹³And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴And David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.—¹⁵Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Beth- lehem.—¹⁶And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

¹⁷And Jesse said unto David his son: ‘Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren. ¹⁸And bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and to thy brethren shalt thou bring greetings, and take their pledge; ¹⁹now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, are in the vale of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.’ ²⁰And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the barricade, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle. ²¹And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army. ²²And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brethren. ²³And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words; and David heard them. ²⁴And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. ²⁵And the men of Israel said: ‘Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to taunt Israel is he come up; and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.’

²⁶And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying: ‘What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the taunt from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should have taunted the armies of the living God?’ ²⁷And the people answered him after this manner, saying: ‘So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.’ ²⁸And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said: ‘Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy presumptuousness,        and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.’ ²⁹And David said: ‘What have I now done? Was it not but a word?’ ³⁰And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him after the former manner.

³¹And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he was taken to him. ³²And David said to Saul: ‘Let no man’s heart fail within him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ ³³And Saul said to David: ‘Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.’ ³⁴And David said unto Saul: ‘Thy servant kept his father’s sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, ³⁵I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. ³⁶Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath taunted the armies of the living God.’ ³⁷And David said: ‘The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said unto David: ‘Go, and the LORD shall be with thee.’ ³⁸And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. ³⁹And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he essayed to go [, but could not]; for he had not tried it. And David said unto Saul: ‘I cannot go with these; for I have not tried them.’ And David put them off him. ⁴⁰And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his scrip; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹And the Philistine came nearer and nearer unto David; and the man that bore the shield went before him. ⁴²And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance. ⁴³And the Philistine said unto David: ‘Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his god. ⁴⁴And the Philistine said to David: ‘Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.’ ⁴⁵Then said David to the Philistine: ‘Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast taunted. ⁴⁶This day will the LORD deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel; ⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hand.’ ⁴⁸And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. ⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹And David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their mighty man was dead, they fled. ⁵²And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. ⁵³And the children of Israel returned  from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their camp. ⁵⁴And David took the head of the philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

⁵⁵And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host: ‘Abner, whose son is this youth?’ And Abner said: ‘As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.’ ⁵⁶And the king said: ‘Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.’ ⁵⁷And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸And Saul said to him: ‘Whose son art thou, thou young man?’ And David answered: ‘I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.’

Chapter 18

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. ³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. ⁵And David went out; whithersoever Saul sent him, he had good success; and Saul set him over the men of war; and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments. ⁷And the women sang one to another in their play, and said:

Saul hath slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands.

⁸And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said: ‘They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands; and all he lacketh is the kingdom! ’ ⁹And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

¹⁰And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house; and David played with his hand, as he did day by day; and Saul had his spear in his hand. ¹¹And Saul cast the spear; for he said: ‘I will smite David even to the wall.’ And David stepped aside out of his presence twice. ¹²And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul. ¹³Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴And David had great success in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. ¹⁵And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷And Saul said to David: ‘Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife; only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD’S battles.’ For Saul said: ‘Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.’ ¹⁸And David said unto Saul: ‘Who am I, and what is my life, or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?’ ¹⁹But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife. ²⁰And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹And Saul said: ‘I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.’ Wherefore Saul said to David: ‘Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law through the one of the twain.’ ²²And Saul commanded his servants: ‘Speak with David secretly, and say: Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee; now therefore be the king’s son-in-law.’ ²³And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said: ‘Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?’ ²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying: ‘On this manner spoke David.’ ²⁵And Saul said: ‘Thus shall ye say to David: The king desireth not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies.’ For Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. And the days were not expired; ²⁷and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king’s son- in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. ²⁸And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David; and Michal Saul’s daughter loved him. ²⁹And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰Then the princes of the Philistines went forth; and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David prospered more than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.

Chapter 19

And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David; but Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David. ²And Jonathan told David, saying: ‘Saul my father seeketh to slay thee; now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself. ³And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will speak with my father of thee; and if I see aught, I will tell thee.’

⁴And Jonathan spoke good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him: ‘Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his work hath been very good towards thee; ⁵for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great victory for all Israel; thou sawest it, and didst rejoice; wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?’ ⁶And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan; and Saul swore: ‘As the LORD liveth, he shall not be put to death.’ ⁷And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.

⁸And there was war again; and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him. ⁹And an evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand. ¹⁰And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall; and David fled, and escaped that night. ¹¹And Saul sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning; and Michal David’s wife told him, saying: ‘If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain.’ ¹²So Michal let David down through the window; and he went, and fled, and escaped. ¹³And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a quilt of goats’hair at the head thereof, and covered it with a cloth. ¹⁴And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said: ‘He is sick.’ ¹⁵And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying: ‘Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.’ ¹⁶And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the quilt of goats’hair at the head thereof. ¹⁷And Saul said unto Michal: ‘Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, that he is escaped?’ And Michal answered Saul: ‘He said unto me: Let me go; why should I kill thee?’

¹⁸Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. ¹⁹And it was told Saul, saying: ‘Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.’ ²⁰And Saul sent messengers to take David; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²²Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great cistern that is in Secu; and he asked and said: ‘Where are Samuel and David?’ And one said: ‘Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.’ ²³And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say: ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’

Chapter 20

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan: ‘What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?’ ²And he said unto him: ‘Far from it; thou shalt not die; behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.’ ³And David swore moreover, and said: ‘Thy father knoweth well that I have found favour in thine eyes; and he saith: Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved; but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.’ ⁴Then said Jonathan unto David: ‘What doth thy soul desire, that I should do it for thee?’ ⁵And David said unto Jonathan: ‘Behold, to-morrow is the new moon, when I should sit with the king to eat; so let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. ⁶If thy father miss me at all, then say: David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. ⁷If he say thus: It is well; thy servant shall have peace; but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him. ⁸Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?’ ⁹And Jonathan said: ‘Far be it from thee; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? ¹⁰Then said David to Jonathan: ‘Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly?’ ¹¹And Jonathan said unto David: ‘Come and let us go out into the field.’ And they went out both of them into the field.

¹²And Jonathan said unto David: ‘The LORD, the God of Israel—when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee? ¹³The LORD do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and the LORD be with thee, as He hath been with my father. ¹⁴And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not; ¹⁵but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.’ ¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David: ‘The LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies.’ ¹⁷And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸And Jonathan said unto him: ‘To- morrow is the new moon; and thou wilt be missed, thy seat will be empty. ¹⁹And in the third day thou shalt hide thyself well, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself in the day of work, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰And I will shoot three arrows to the side-ward, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹And, behold, I will send the lad: Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad: Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, and come; for there is peace to thee and no hurt, as the LORD liveth. ²²But if I say thus unto the boy: Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for the LORD hath sent thee away. ²³And as touching the matter which I and thou have spoken of, behold, the LORD is between me and thee for ever.’

²⁴So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to the meal to eat. ²⁵And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul’s side; but David’s place was empty. ²⁶Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day; for he thought: ‘Something hath befallen him, he is unclean; surely he is not clean.’ ²⁷And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon, which was the second day, that David’s place was empty; and Saul said unto Jonathan his son: ‘Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to the meal, neither yesterday, nor to-day?’ ²⁸And Jonathan answered Saul: ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem; ²⁹and he said: Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me; and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king’s table.’

³⁰Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him: ‘Thou son of perverse rebellion, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame of thy mother’s nakedness? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he deserveth to die.’ ³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him: ‘Wherefore should he be put to death? what hath he done?’ ³³And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death. ³⁴So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, and because his father had put him to shame.

³⁵And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. ³⁶And he said unto his lad: ‘Run, find now the arrows which I shoot.’ And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said: ‘Is not the arrow beyond thee?’ ³⁸And Jonathan cried after the lad: ‘Make speed, hasten, stay not.’ And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. ³⁹But the lad knew not any thing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said unto him: ‘Go, carry them to the city.’ ⁴¹And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. ⁴²And Jonathan said to David: ‘Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying: The LORD shall be between me and thee, and Between my seed and thy seed, for ever.’

Chapter 21

And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.

²Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him: ‘Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?’ ³ And David said unto Ahimelech the priest: ‘The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me: Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee; and the young men have I appointed to such and such a place. ⁴ Now therefore what is under thy hand? five loaves of bread? give them in my hand, or whatsoever there is present.’ ⁵And the priest answered David, and said: ‘There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.’ ⁶ And David answered the priest, and said unto him: ‘Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day, when there shall be holy bread in their vessels?’ ⁷ So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.— ⁸ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.— ⁹ And David said unto Ahimelech: ‘And is there peradventure here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.’ ¹⁰And the priest said: ‘The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no other save that here.’ And David said: ‘There is none like that; give it me.’

¹¹And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. ¹²And the servants of Achish said unto him: ‘Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying:

Saul hath slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands?’

¹³And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. ¹⁴And he changed his demeanour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. ¹⁵Then said Achish unto his servants: ‘Lo, when ye see a man that is mad, wherefore do ye bring him to me? ¹⁶Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?’

Chapter 22

David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. ²And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain over them; and there were with him about four hundred men.

³And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab; and he said unto the king of Moab: ‘Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.’ ⁴And he brought them before the king of Moab; and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold. ⁵And the prophet Gad said unto David: ‘Abide not in the stronghold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah.’ Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.

⁶And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him; now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. ⁷And Saul said unto his servants that stood about him: ‘Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds; ⁸that all of you have conspired against me, and there was none that disclosed it to me when my son made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or discloseth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?’ ⁹Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said: ‘I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.’

¹¹Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob; and they came all of them to the king. ¹²And Saul said: ‘Hear now, thou son of Ahitub.’ And he answered: ‘Here I am, my lord.’ ¹³And Saul said unto him: ‘Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?’ ¹⁴Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said: ‘And who among all thy servants is so trusted as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and giveth heed unto thy bidding, and is honourable in thy house? ¹⁵Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me; let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more.’ ¹⁶And the king said: ‘Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.’ ¹⁷And the king said unto the guard that stood about him: ‘Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me.’ But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. ¹⁸And the king said to Doeg: ‘Turn thou, and fall upon the priests.’ And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and he slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. ¹⁹And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword. ²⁰And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. ²¹And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests. ²²And David said unto Abiathar: ‘I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul; I have brought about the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. ²³Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life; for with me thou shalt be in safeguard.’

Chapter 23

And they told David, saying: ‘Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they rob the threshing-floors.’ ²Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying: ‘Shall I go and smite these Philistines?’ And the LORD said unto David: ‘Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.’ ³And David’s men said unto him: ‘Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?’ ⁴Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said: ‘Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand.’ ⁵And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

⁶And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said: ‘God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.’ ⁸And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. ⁹And David knew that Saul devised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest: ‘Bring hither the ephod.’ ¹⁰Then said David: ‘O LORD, the God of Israel, Thy servant hath surely heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as Thy servant hath heard?’ O LORD, the God of Israel, I beseech Thee, tell Thy servant.’ And the LORD said: ‘He will come down.’ ¹²Then said David: ‘Will the men of Keilah deliver up me and my men into the hand of Saul?’ And the LORD said: ‘They will deliver thee up.’ ¹³Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbore to go forth.

¹⁴And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. ¹⁵And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life; and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the wood. ¹⁶And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷And he said unto 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 next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.’ ¹⁸And they two made a covenant before the LORD; and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying: ‘Doth not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? ²⁰Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king’s hand.’ ²¹And Saul said: ‘Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have had compassion on me. ²²Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. ²³See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking- places where he hideth himself, and come ye back to me with the certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.’ ²⁴And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul; but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of Jeshimon. ²⁵And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David; wherefore he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. ²⁷But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying: ‘Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have made a raid upon the land.’ ²⁸So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines; therefore they called that place Sela- hammahlekoth. 

Chapter 24

And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the strongholds of En-gedi.

²And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying: ‘Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.’ ³Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. ⁴And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. ⁵And the men of David said unto him: ‘Behold the day in which the LORD hath said unto thee: Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.’ Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. ⁶And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. ⁷And he said unto his men: ‘The LORD forbid it me, that I should do this thing unto my lord, the LORD’S anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’S anointed.’ ⁸So David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.

⁹David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying: ‘My lord the king.’ And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and prostrated himself. ¹⁰And David said to Saul: ‘Wherefore hearkenest thou to men’s words, saying: Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? ¹¹Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and some bade me kill thee; but mine eye spared thee; and I said: I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’S anointed. ¹²Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee, though thou layest wait for my soul to take it. ¹³The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁴As saith the proverb of the ancients: Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁵After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. ¹⁶The LORD therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand.’

¹⁷And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said: ‘Is this thy voice, my son David?’ And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹⁸And he said to David: ‘Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rendered unto me good, whereas I have rendered unto thee evil. ¹⁹And thou hast declared this day how that thou hast dealt well with me; forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me up into thy hand, thou didst not kill me. ²⁰For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that which thou hast done unto me this day. ²¹And now, behold, I know that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand. ²²Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house.’ ²³And David swore unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men got them up unto the stronghold.

Chapter 25

And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

²And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful form; but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. ⁴And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men: ‘Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name; ⁶and thus ye shall say: All hail! and peace be both unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. ⁷And now I have heard that thou hast shearers; thy shepherds have now been with us, and we did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. ⁸Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee; wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes; for we come on a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.’

⁹And when David’s young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. ¹⁰And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said: ‘Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a- days that break away every man from his master; ¹¹shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are?’ ¹²So David’s young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words. ¹³And David said unto his men: ‘Gird ye on every man his sword.’ And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword; and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage.

¹⁴But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying: ‘Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he flew upon them. ¹⁵But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields; ¹⁶they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a base fellow, that one cannot speak to him.’

¹⁸Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. ¹⁹And she said unto her young men: ‘Go on before me; behold, I come after you.’ But she told not her husband Nabal. ²⁰And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down towards her; and she met them.— ²¹Now David had said: ‘Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him; and he hath returned me evil for good. ²²God do so unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one male.’— ²³And when Abigail saw David, she made haste, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed down to the ground. ²⁴And she fell at his feet, and said: ‘Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid. ²⁵Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this base fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and churlishness is with him; but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. ²⁶Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from bloodguiltiness, and from finding redress for thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. ²⁷And now this present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord. ²⁸Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid; for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD; and evil is not found in thee all thy days. ²⁹And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel; ³¹that this shall be no stumbling-block unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath found redress for himself. And when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.’

³²And  David  said  to  Abigail: ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me; ³³and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from finding redress for myself with mine own hand. ³⁴For in very deed, as the LORD, the God of Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst made haste and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one male.’ ³⁵So David received of her hand that which she had brought him; and he said unto her: ‘Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.’

³⁶And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken; wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. ³⁷And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, so that he died.

³⁹And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said: ‘Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back His servant from evil; and the evil-doing of Nabal hath the LORD returned upon his own head.’ And David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife. ⁴⁰And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke unto her, saying: ‘David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.’ ⁴¹And she arose, and bowed down with her face to the earth, and said: ‘Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.’ ⁴²And Abigail hastened, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

⁴³David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives. ⁴⁴Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Chapter 26

And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying: ‘Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?’ ²Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty. ⁵And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay within the barricade, and the people pitched round about him.

⁶Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying: ‘Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?’ And Abishai said: ‘I will go down with thee.’ ⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the barricade, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him. ⁸Then said Abishai to David: ‘God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.’ ⁹And David said to Abishai: ‘Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?’ ¹⁰And David said: ‘As the LORD liveth, nay, but the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and be swept away. ¹¹The LORD forbid it me, that I should put forth my hand against the LORD’S anointed; but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water and let us go.’ ¹²So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s head; and they got them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake; for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.

¹³Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them. ¹⁴And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying: ‘Answerest thou not, Abner?’ Then Abner answered and said: ‘Who art thou that criest to the king?’ ¹⁵And David said to Abner: ‘Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. ¹⁶This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye deserve to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, the LORD’S anointed. And now, see, where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.’

¹⁷And Saul knew David’s voice, and said: ‘Is this thy voice, my son David?’ And David said: ‘It is my voice, my lord, O king.’ ¹⁸And he said: ‘Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be the LORD that hath stirred thee up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of the LORD, saying: Go, serve other gods. ²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel is come out to seek a single flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.’

²¹Then said Saul: ‘I have sinned; return, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day; behold, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.’ ²²And David answered and said: ‘Behold the king’s spear! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it. ²³And the LORD will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as the LORD delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my hand against the LORD’S anointed. ²⁴And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.’ ²⁵Then Saul said to David: ‘Blessed be thou, my son David; thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail.’ So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Chapter 27

And David said in his heart: ‘I shall now be swept away one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel; so shall I escape out of his hand.’ ²And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife. ⁴And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath; and he sought no more again for him.

⁵And David said unto Achish: ‘If now I have found favour in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may dwell there; for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?’ ⁶Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day; wherefore Ziklag belongeth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

⁷And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. ⁸And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the Gizrites, and the Amalekites; for those were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. ⁹And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel. And he returned, and came to Achish. ¹⁰And Achish said: ‘Whither have ye made a raid to-day?’ And David said: ‘Against the South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.’ ¹¹And David left neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying: ‘Lest they should tell on us, saying: So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath dwelt in the country of the Philistines.’ ¹²And Achish believed David, saying: ‘He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.’

Chapter 28

And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David: ‘Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me in the host, thou and thy men.’ ²And David said to Achish: ‘Therefore thou shalt know what thy servant will do.’ And Achish said to David: ‘Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head for ever.’

³Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit out of the land. ⁴And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. ⁵And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. ⁷Then said Saul unto his servants: ‘Seek me a woman that divineth by a ghost, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.’ And his servants said to him: ‘Behold, there is a woman that divineth by a ghost at En-dor.’

⁸And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said: ‘Divine unto me, I pray thee, by a ghost, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.’ ⁹And the woman said unto him: ‘Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that divine by a ghost or a familiar spirit out of the land; wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?’ ¹⁰And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying: ‘As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.’ ¹¹Then said the woman: ‘Whom shall I bring up unto thee?’ And he said: ‘Bring me up Samuel.’ ¹²And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying: ‘Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.’ ¹³And the king said unto her: ‘Be not afraid; for what seest thou?’ And the woman said unto Saul: ‘I see a godlike being coming up out of the earth.’ ¹⁴And he said unto her: ‘What form is he of?’ And she said: ‘An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe.’ And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and prostrated himself.

¹⁵And Samuel said to Saul: ‘Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?’ And Saul answered: ‘I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.’ ¹⁶And Samuel said: ‘Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine adversary? ¹⁷And the LORD hath wrought for Himself; as He spoke by me; and the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David. ¹⁸Because thou didst not hearken to the voice of the LORD, and didst not execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. ¹⁹Moreover the LORD will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me; the LORD will deliver the host of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.’

²⁰Then Saul fell straightway his full length upon the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. ²¹And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore affrighted, and said unto him: ‘Behold, thy handmaid hath hearkened unto thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spokest unto me. ²²Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thy handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.’ ²³But he refused, and said: ‘I will not eat.’ But his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. ²⁴And the woman had a fatted calf in the house; and she made haste, and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof; ²⁵and she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

Chapter 29

Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts to Aphek; and the Israelites pitched by the fountain which is in Jezreel. ²And the lords of the Philistines passed on

by hundreds, and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish. ³Then said the princes of the Philistines: ‘What do these Hebrews here?’ And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines: ‘Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these days or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away unto me unto this day?’ ⁴But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him: ‘Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us; for wherewith should this fellow reconcile himself unto his lord? should it not be with the heads of these men? ⁵Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying:

Saul hath slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands?’

⁶Then Achish called David, and said unto him: ‘As the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day; nevertheless the lords favour thee not. ⁷Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.’ ⁸And David said unto Achish: ‘But what have I done? and  what  hast  thou found in thy servant so long as I have been before thee unto this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?’ ⁹And Achish answered and said to David: ‘I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God; notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said: He shall not go up with us to the battle. ¹⁰Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with the servants of thy lord that are come with thee; and as soon as ye are up early in the morning, and have light, depart.’ ¹¹So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Chapter 30

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; ²and had taken captive the women and all that were therein, both small and great; they slew not any, but carried them off, and went their way. ³And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. ⁴Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

⁷And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech: ‘I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod.’ And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. ⁸And David inquired of the LORD, saying: ‘Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them?’ And He answered him: ‘Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all.’ ⁹So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. ¹⁰But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. ¹¹And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave him water to drink; ¹²and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his spirit came back to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. ¹³And David said unto him: ‘To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou?’ And he said: ‘I am a young Egyptian, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. ¹⁴We made a raid upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.’ ¹⁵And David said to him: ‘Wilt thou bring me down to this troop?’ And he said: ‘Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.’

¹⁶And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking, and feasting, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. ¹⁷And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled. ¹⁸And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them; David brought back all. ²⁰And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said: ‘This is David’s spoil.’

²¹And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. ²²Then answered all the wicked men and base fellows, of those that went with David, and said: ‘Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart.’ ²³Then said David: ‘Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given unto us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand. ²⁴And who will hearken unto you in this matter? for as is the share of him that goeth down to the battle, so shall be the share of him that tarrieth by the baggage; they shall share alike.’ ²⁵And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

²⁶And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying: ‘Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD’; ²⁷to them that were in Beth-el, and to them that were in Ramoth of the South, and to them that were in Jattir; ²⁸and to them that were in Aroer, and to them that were in Siphmoth, and to them that were in Eshtemoa; ²⁹and to them that were in Racal, and to them that were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them that were in the cities of the Kenites; ³⁰and to them that were in Hormah, and to them that were in Bor-ashan, and to them that were in Athach; ³¹and to them that were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

Chapter 31

Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. ²And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³And the battle went sore against Saul, an the archers overtook him; and he was in great anguish by reason of the archers. ⁴Then said Saul to his armour-bearer: ‘Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and make a mock of me.’ But his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. ⁵And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him. ⁶So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together. ⁷And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. ⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. ⁹And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the house of their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰And they put his armour in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. ¹¹And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning  him      that      which   the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. ¹³And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk-tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.