1 Sam. 14:1‑15:35• 1Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side, but he told not his father.
2And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men.
3{i}(And Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, Jehovah's priest in Shiloh, wore the ephod.) And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.{/i}
4And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side. {i}and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.{/i}
5{i}The one crag formed a pillar on the north opposite to Michmash, and the other on the south opposite to Geba.{/i}
6And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Jehovah will work for us: for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.
7And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
8Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover 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 Jehovah hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.
11And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
12And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for Jehovah hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
13And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.
14And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
15And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people. {i}and among all the people; the garrison, and the ravagers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; for it was a trembling from God.{/i}
16And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
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 armourbearer were not there.
18And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
19And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
20And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle; {i}and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, a very great confusion{/i}.
21Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, {i}who had gone up with them into the camp round about;{/i} even they also turned to be with the Israelites {i}who were with Saul and Jonathan{/i}.
22Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
23{i}And Jehovah saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over beyond Beth-Aven.{/i}
24{i}But{/i} the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. {i}So none of the people tasted food.{/i}
25{i}And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey on the ground.{/i}
26{i}And the people had come into the wood, and behold, the honey flowed; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.{/i}
27{i}But{/i} Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
28Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
29Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? {i}for would there not now have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?{/i}
31{i}And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon; and the people were very faint.{/i}
32{i}And the people fell on the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.{/i}
33They told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against Jehovah, {i}in that they eat with the blood{/i}. And he said, Ye have transgressed: 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 Jehovah in eating with the blood. {i}And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slaughtered them there.{/i}
35{i}And Saul{/i} built an altar unto Jehovah: the same was the first altar that he built unto Jehovah.
36{i}And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever is good in thy sight{/i}. 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? {i}But he did not answer him that day{/i}.
38And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.
39For, as Jehovah liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. {i}And no one answered him among all the people.{/i}
40{i}Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what is good in thy sight.{/i}
41{i}And Saul said to Jehovah the God of Israel, Give a perfect testimony! And Jonathan and Saul were taken, and the people escaped.{/i}
42{i}And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.{/i}
43Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
44And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
45And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid; as Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. {i}So the people delivered Jonathan, that he died not.{/i}
46{i}And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.{/i}
47{i}And Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; and whithersoever he turned himself, he discomfited them.{/i}
48{i}And he did valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of their spoilers.{/i}
49{i}And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.{/i}
50{i}And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.{/i}
51{i}And Kish the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner were sons of Abiel.{/i}
52{i}And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him to himself.{/i}
1Samuel also said unto Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah.
2Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, {i}how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up from Egypt{/i}.
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 gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6{i}And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, and go 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. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.{/i}
7{i}And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah as thou comest to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt.{/i}
8{i}And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.{/i}
9But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying,
11It 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 Jehovah all night.
12And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, 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 Jehovah: I have performed the commandment of Jehovah.
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 Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel?
18And Jehovah 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 obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of Jehovah?
20And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
22And Samuel said,{HR}Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,{HR}As in obeying the voice of Jehovah?{HR}Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,{HR}And to hearken than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.{HR}And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.{HR}Because thou hast rejected the word, of Jehovah,{HR}He hath also rejected thee from being king.
24And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.
26And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28And Samuel said unto him, Jehovah 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 Strength 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 turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.
31{i}So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah.{/i}
32{i}And Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek.{/i} And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
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 Jehovah in Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul. and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. (1 Sam. 14:1‑15:35)
1 Sam. 17:1‑58• 1Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
3And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4And there went out a champion out of 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 armed 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 target of brass between his shoulders.
7And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
8And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are 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 to 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 defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.
11When 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-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
13And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
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 run to the camp to thy brethren;
18and carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
19Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley 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 trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24{i}And{/i} 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 defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
26And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy 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.
28{i}And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard while he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said{/i}, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
31And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
32And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of 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 there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35and I 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 slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37{i}And David said,{/i} Jehovah 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 Jehovah be with thee.
38And Saul armed David with his armour, {i}and put a helmet of bronze upon his head, and clothed him with a corselet.{/i}
39{i}And David girded his sword upon his dress, and endeavoured to go; for he had not yet tried it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go in these; for I have never tried them{/i}. 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 a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
41And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare 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 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 gods.
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 shield: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46This day will Jehovah deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasss 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 all this assembly shall know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hands.
48And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and he ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk 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.
51Therefore David ran, and stood upon 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 their champion was dead, they fled.
52And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, {i}until thou comest to the ravine and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down on the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.{/i}
53{i}And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they pillaged their camps.{/i}
54{i}And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.{/i}
55And when Saul saw David {i}go forth against the Philistine{/i}, 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 Bethlehemite. (1 Sam. 17:1‑58)