Translation:1 Samuel

For other English-language translations of this work, see 1 Samuel (Bible).

Chapter 1

¹There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the mountain of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph the Ephraimite. ²He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, whereas Hannah did not.

³This man went up from his city every year to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of Armies in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there. ⁴ And when the day came that Elkanah would sacrifice, he gave portions of food^[1] to Peninah his wife, and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ and to Hannah he gave one double^[2] portion, because he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had made her unable to bear children.^{[3] 6} Her rival would taunt her and provoke her, because Yahweh had made her infertile. ⁷ And so, each year, whenever she would go to the House of Yahweh, this is how she provoked her, and she would weep and would not eat. ⁸ Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

⁹ Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat on his seat by a post of the temple of Yahweh. ¹⁰ Her soul was bitter, and she prayed to Yahweh and wept. ¹¹ She took a vow, and said, "Yahweh of Armies, if you will look at the affliction of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your slave, and give your servant a male child,^[4] then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor will touch his head."

¹² It happened, as she continued praying before Yahweh, that Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ Now Hannah was speaking in her heart, and only moving her lips without making a sound, so Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Get rid of your wine."

¹⁵ Hannah replied, "No, my lord, I am a woman with a sorrowful heart. I have not had wine or beer, but I have poured out my soul before Yahweh. ¹⁶ Do not consider me a bad person. It is because of my frustration and grief that I have been speaking until now."

¹⁷ Eli replied, "Go in peace. May the god of Israel give you what you have asked of him."

¹⁸ She said, "May your servant find favor in your sight." The woman went on her way, and ate, and her face was no longer [sad]. ¹⁹ The rose up early in the morning and worshipped before Yahweh, and returned, and arrived at their house in Ramah. Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah, and Yahweh remembered her. ²⁰ And by the time the days had come around [for the next annual sacrifice], Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son, and called his name Samuel, "Because I borrowed him from Yahweh."

²¹ Then the man Elkanah and all his household went up to give Yahweh the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, because she said to her husband, "[Wait] until the child is weaned, and I will bring him to appear in Yahweh's presence, and live there forever."

²³ Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good to you. Stay till you have weaned him. Only may Yahweh do what he said." So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him.

²⁴ When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three young bulls and one ephah of flour and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the House of Yahweh at Shiloh. The child was young. ²⁵ They slaughtered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ She said, My lord, as my soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and Yahweh gave me what I requested of him. ²⁸ And now I dedicate him to Yahweh. All the days that he lives he will be dedicated to Yahweh. And he worshipped Yahweh there.

Chapter 2

¹ And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoices in Yahweh. My horn is exalted in Yahweh. My mouth is enlarged against my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. ² No one is holy like Yahweh, because there is none besides him, and there is no rock like our god. ³ Do not talk so much, puffed up with pride. Arrogance comes from your mouths, but Yahweh is a god of knowledge, by whom actions are weighed. ⁴ The bow of the mighty is broken, and the feeble are girded with power. ⁵ The full hire themselves out for bread, and the hungry are sated. Even the barren gives birth to seven; the mother of many grows weak. ⁶ Yahweh kills and preserves life, brings down to Sheol and brings up. ⁷ Yahweh impoverishes and enriches, lowers and raises. ⁸ He raises the low from dust, lifts paupers from dunghills to sit among nobles, to inherit a dignified throne, because earth's columns are Yahweh's, and he set the world on them. ⁹ He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked, silenced, in darkness, for no man will prevail by strength. ¹⁰ Yahweh's foes will shatter; from heaven he thunders against them. Yahweh judges the ends of the earth, and gives strength to his king, and raises the horn of his anointed.

¹¹ And Elkana went to the Ramah, to his house. And the lad ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

¹² Now the sons of Eli were sons of corruption; they did not know Yahweh. ¹³ The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's lad would come while the flesh was boiling with a three-pronged flesh-hook in hand. ¹⁴ He would stick it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. Whatever the flesh-hook brought up the priest would take with it. This is what they would do to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. ¹⁵ Also, before they would burn the fat, the priest's lad would come, and would say to the man offering the sacrifice, Give meat for the priest to roast, because he will not take boiled meat from you, but rather raw.

¹⁶ And the man might say to him, Let them burn up the fat now, and then you can take whatever your soul desires.

And he would say to him, No. Now give it! And if not, I will take it by force.

¹⁷ And the sin of the lads was very great before Yahweh, because the people came to loath Yahweh's offering.

¹⁸ And Samuel ministered before Yahweh, a lad clothed in a linen ephod. ¹⁹ His mother would make a little robe and bring it up to him each year when she came up with her husband for the annual sacrifice. ²⁰ And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and would say, May Yahweh give you seed by this woman in place of the one she asked for and gave to Yahweh. And they would go back to their home.

²¹ When Yahweh visited Hannah, she conceived and had three sons and two daughters. And the lad Samuel grew up with Yahweh.

²² Now Eli was very old, and heard everything he sons would do to all Israel, and how they would have relations with the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ²³ And he said to them, Why do you do these things? I hear about your evil deeds from all this people. ²⁴ No, my sons. It is not a good report that I hear Yahweh's people spreading. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, God may mediate. But if a man sins against Yahweh, who will mediate for him?

But they would not listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh wanted to kill them.

²⁶ And the lad Samuel continued growing, and was favored by Yahweh and men both.

²⁷ And a man of God came to Eli, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh. Did I reveal myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt, belonging to Pharaoh's house? ²⁸ And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer on my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me. And I gave to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire of the Israelites. ²⁹ Why do you trample my sacrifice and my offering, which I commanded [for my] dwelling-place, and honor your sons above me, to fatten yourselves on the choicest of all the offerings of my people Israel? ³⁰ Therefore -- a decree of Yahwe -- I did say that your house, and the house of your father, would walk before me forever. But now -- a decree of Yahweh -- far be it from me, because those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed. ³¹ Yes, the days are coming when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, when there will no longer be an old when in your house. ³² And you will behold enemy dwelling-place^[5] wherever it goes well for Israel. And there will be no old man in your household again. ³³ And the man of yours which I do not cut off from my altar will only destroy your eyes and cause your soul to perish, and all your descendants will die [by the sword] of men.^{[6] 34} And this will be the sign for you, which will befall your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on a single day the two of them will die. ³⁵ And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do what is in my heart and my soul, and I will build him a lasting house, and he will walk before my anointed forever. ³⁶ And then everyone who remains of your household will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will say, Please, appoint me to a priestly position, so that I can have a bit of bread to eat.

Chapter 3

¹ And the lad Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. And the word of Yahweh was rare in those days; prophetic vision was not common. ² And then, at that time, as Eli was lying down at his place (now his eyes were beginning to grow dim, so that he could not see), ³ before the lamp of God went out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of God, where the ark of God was, ⁴ Yahweh called to Samuel. And he said, Here I am.

⁵ And he ran to Eli, and said, Here I am, because you called me.

And he said, I did not call. Go lie down again. And he went and laid down.

⁶ Yet again Yahweh called, Samuel.

And Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, because you called me.

And he said, I did not call, my son. Go lie down again.

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, and no message from Yahweh had yet been revealed to him. ⁸ And Yahweh called again to Samuel, the third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, because you called me.

And Eli realized that Yahweh was calling the lad. ⁹ And Eli said to Samuel, Go lie down. And if he calls you, then say, Speak, Yahweh, because your servant is listening. And Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ And Yahweh came, and stood, and called like the other times, Samuel, Samuel.

And Samuel said, Speak, because your servant is listening.

¹¹ And Yahweh said to Samuel, I am now about to do something in Israel, which will cause both the ears of whoever hears it to ring. ¹² On that day I will carry out against Eli all that I said about his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ I told him that I will judge his house forever for the evil he knows, because his sons have blasphemed, and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the guilt of the house of Eli will not be covered with sacrifice or offering, forever.

¹⁵ And Samuel lay there till the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

¹⁶ And Eli called Samuel, and said, My son.

And he said, Here I am.

¹⁷ And he said, What is it that he told you? Please, do not hide it from me. May God punish you ever so severely^[7] if you conceal from me anything of all that he said to you.

¹⁸ And Samuel told him all the things he said, and concealed nothing from him.

And he said, It is Yahweh. He will do whatever he chooses.

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him, and did not let anything he said fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of Yahweh.

²¹ And again Yahweh appeared to him in Shiloh.

When Yahweh appeared to Samuel in Shiloh with a message of Yahweh,

Chapter 4

¹ the word of Samuel came to all Israel. And Israel went out against Philistines to battle, and encamped by Eben-ezer, and Philistines encamped at Aphek. ² And Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was struck down before Philistines, and they killed about four thousand men of their ranks in the field. ³ And when the people returned to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why did Yahweh strike us down before Philistines? Let us take ourselves the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, and then, when it is brought among us, it will save us from the hand of our enemies. ⁴ And the people sent messengers to Shilah, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Armies, who sits between the Cherubim, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ And when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came to the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so the ground trembled. ⁶ And when Philistines heard the sound of the shouting, they said, What is this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews? And they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come to the camp. ⁷ And the Philistines were afraid, so that they said, A god has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us, because nothing like this happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will rescue us from these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with all the plagues in the wilderness. ⁹ Be strong, and act like men, Philistines, or else you will become slaves of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Act like men, and fight!

¹⁰ And Philistines fought, and Israel was struck down, and they fled each to his tent, and there was a tremendous slaughter: thirty thousand Israelites footmen fell. ¹¹ And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phihenas, died.

¹² And a Benjamite man ran from the army and came to Shiloh on that day with his clothes torn, and dirt on his head. ¹³ And when he came, there was Eli sitting on his throne by the road watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came and reported it in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ And when Eli heard the sound of them crying out, he said, What is the sound of his commotion?

And the man hurried in and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had failed, and he could not see.

¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, I am the one who came from the army, and I fled from the army today.

And he said, What happened, my son?

¹⁷ And the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter of the people, and also your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are dead, and the ark of God was taken.

¹⁸ And then, when he mentioned the ark of God, he fell backward from his throne by the side of the gate, and he broke his neck, and he died, because he was an old man, and heavy. And he judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was late in her pregnancy, and she heard the news about how the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bent over and went into labor, because the labor pains came upon her. ²⁰ And as she was dying, the women standing by her said, Do not be afraid, because you have had a son.

And she did not respond or pay any attention. ²¹ And she named the lad Ichabod,^[8] saying, The glory is in exile from Israel, because the ark of the covenant was taken, and because of her father-in-law and husband. ²² And she said, The glory is in exile from Israel, because the ark of God is captured.

Chapter 5

¹ And Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. ² When Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it to the house of Dagon, and set it beside Dagon. ³ And when the Ashdodites got up early in the morning, they saw Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground in front of the ark of Yahweh. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again. ⁴ And when they got up early the next morning, they saw Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground in front of the ark of Yahweh, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were cut off on the threshold. Only Dagon was left on him. ⁵ This is why the priests of Dagon, and anyone who comes to the house of Dagon, does not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ And the hand of Yahweh was heavy on the Ashdodites, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors,^[9] Ashdod and its territory. ⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw that this had happened, they said, The ark of the god of Israel must not stay among us, because his hand is severe upon us, and upon Dagon our god. ⁸ And they sent and gathered the Philistine sarens^[10] to themselves, and said, What will we do about the ark of the god of Israel?

And they said, Let the ark of the god of Israel be taken around to Gath. And they took the ark of the god of Israel around there. ⁹ And then, after they carried it around, the hand of Yahweh was against the city with a great disturbance, and he struck the men of the city, from least to greatest, and tumors broke out on them.

¹⁰ And they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And then, when the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people! ¹¹ And they sent and gathered all the Philistine sarens and said, Send away the ark of the god of Israel, and let it return to its place, so that we and our people do not die, because there was a deadly disturbance all throughout the city. The hand of God was very heavy against them. ¹² And the men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the wailing from the city reached the sky.

Chapter 6

¹ And the ark of Yahweh was in Philistine territory seven months. ² And Philistines called for priests and diviners, saying, What should we do about the ark of Yahweh. ³ And they said, If you send away the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it empty, but make sure to return it with a tresspass-offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not released you.

⁴ And they said, What trespass offering should we return to him?

And they said, As many as there are Philistine sarens:^[10] five gold tumors, and five gold rats, because the same plague was on you all, and on your sarens. ⁵ Make likenesses of your tumors, and your rats that destroy the land, and you will give honor to the god of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land. ⁶ And why do you harden your hearts, like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had devastated them, did they not send them on their way? ⁷ So make a new cart, and take two milking cows which have never worn a yoke, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home away from them. ⁸ And take the ark of Yahweh, and said it on the cart, and put the golden objects which you are returning to him as a trespass-offering in a chest beside it, and sent it on its way. ⁹ And see if it goes up to his own territory toward Beth-shemesh, in which case he has caused us this great calamity. And if not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us, but it happened by chance.

¹⁰ And the men did so, and took two milk cows, and tied them to the cart, and confined their calves at home. ¹¹ And they set the ark of Yahweh on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹² And the cows when straight along the way to Beth-shemesh, along that road alone, lowing as they went along, and did not turn right or left, and the Philistine sarens followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. ¹³ And [the people 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. ¹⁴ And the cart came to the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemeshite, and stood there, where there was a large stone, and they split up the wood of the cart, and offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. ¹⁵ And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh, and the chest that was with it, where the golden objects were, and placed them on the large stone, and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offering and made sacrifices on that day to Yahweh. ¹⁶ And the five Philistine sarens saw this, and returned to Ekron on that day.

¹⁷ And these are the gold tumors which Philistines returned as a trespass-offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron. ¹⁸ And the gold rats, numbering as many as all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five sarens, of fortified cities, and of country villages, as far as the great stone of Abel, on which they set the ark of Yahweh. [It remains] to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite.

¹⁹ And he struck down the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked at the ark of Yahweh, and he struck down fifty thousand and seventy men, and the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck down many of the people with great slaughter.

²⁰ And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy god? And to whom should he go up from us?

²² And they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, saying, Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh. Come down and take it up for yourselves.

Chapter 7

¹ And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and brought up the ark of Yahweh, and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to watch over the ark of Yahweh.

² Now the ark stayed in Kiriath-jearim a long while -- it was twenty years -- and all the house of Israel began to seek Yahweh.

³ And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, If you are sincere about returning to Yahweh, put away the foreign gods from among you, and the Ashtaroth, and prepare your hearts for Yahweh, and serve him only, and he will deliver you from the hand of Philistines. ⁴ And the Israelites put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served Yahweh alone.

⁵ And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to Yahweh. ⁶ And they assembled at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Yahweh. And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

⁷ And the Philistines heard that the Israelites were assembled at Mizpah, and the Philistine sarens went up against Israel. And the Israelites heard, and they were afraid of Philistines. ⁸ And the Israelites said to Samuel, Do not stop crying out to Yahweh our god for us, to save us from the hand of Philistines.

⁹ And Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh. And Samuel cried out to Yahweh on behalf of Israel, and Yahweh answered him. ¹⁰ As Samuel was offering the burnt offering, Philistines approached to battle with Israel, and Yahweh thunder with a loud sound that day against Philistines, and threw them into chaos, and they were struck down before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued Philistines, and struck them down until until they were below Beth-kar. ¹² And Samuel took a stone, and set it between the Mizpah and the Shen, and named it Eben-ezer, and said, To this day Yahweh has helped us.

¹³ And the Philistines were subdued, and they never again came into Israelite territory, and the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ And the towns which Philistines had taken from Israel were returned. From Ekron to Gath, and their borders, Israel delivered them from the hand of Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ And each year he would go around to Bethel, and the Gilgal, and the Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷ Then he would return to the Ramah, because his house was there, and there he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to Yahweh.

Chapter 8

¹ Now, when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges of Israel. ² And the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of the second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. ³ And his sons did not comport themselves in his manner, and turned aside after unjust gains, and accepted bribes, and corrupted justice.

⁴ And all the elders of Israel gathered together, and came to Samuel at the Ramah. ⁵ And they said to him, Now you are old, and your sons do not act like you. So appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.

⁶ But the matter seemed wrong to Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

⁷ And Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people, to everything say to you, because they have not rejected you. No, it is me that they have rejected as their king. ⁸ As they have always done, from the day I brought them up from Egypt to the present, as they have abandoned me and served other gods, they are doing the same to you as well. ⁹ So listen to their voice, but make sure to testify against them, and tell them how the king will rule over them.

¹⁰ And Samuel told all of Yahweh's words to the people who asked him for a king. ¹¹ And he said, This is how the king will rule over you. He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, among his chariots and horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. ¹² He will set them as captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and to plow his fields, and to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons and chariot equipment. ¹³ And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive trees, the best of them, and give them to his officials. ¹⁵ And he will tax your seeds, and your vineyards, at ten percent, and give it to his officers and officials. ¹⁶ And he will take your male and female slaves, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your sheep, and you will become his slaves. ¹⁸ And you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen, and Yahweh will not listen to you on that day.

¹⁹ And the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No, we want a king over us, ²⁰ so that we too can be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, and lead us out to fight our battles.

²¹ And Samuel listened to all the things the people said, and repeated them to Yahweh. ²² And Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and appoint them a king.

And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go back each of you to his city.

Chapter 9

¹ Now there there was a man of Benjamin, and his name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Appiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty warrior. ² And he had a son, and his name was Saul, a choice and fair young man, and there was no one among the Israelites fairer than him. From his shoulders up he was taller than all the people.

³ And the donkeys that belonged to Saul's father Kish were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, Please take with you one of my young men and go looking for the donkeys. ⁴ And he passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. And he passed through the land of the Benjamites, and they were not found.

⁵ They came to the land of Zuph, and Saul said to his young man who was with him, Let us go back, or else my father will stop caring about the donkeys, and worry about us.

⁶ And he said to him, Look here. There is a man of God in this city, and he is a respected man. All that he says comes to pass. Now let us go there. Maybe he can tell us what way we should go.

⁷ And Saul said to his young man, But if we go, what will we bring the man? The bread we packed is has run out, and we have no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?

⁸ And the young man replied to Saul, and said, Look. I have here in my hand a quarter-shekel of silver I can give to the man of God, to tell us which way to go.

⁹ In the past in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, Let us go to the seer, because what is now called a prophet was then called a seer. ¹⁰ And Saul said to his young man, Good idea. Let us go. And they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ They went up the hill to the city, and they found your women going out to draw water. And they said to them, Is the seer here?

¹² And they replied to them, and said, He is here, ahead of you. Hurry now, because he came to the city today, because there is a sacrifice today at the shrine. ¹³ When you get to the city, then you can find him there before he goes up to the shrine to eat, because the people will not eat until he comes, because he blesses the sacrifice, and afterward those who are invited eat. Go up, now, because this is about the time you can find him. ¹⁴ And they went up into the city, and there they saw Samuel coming toward them on his way to the shrine.

¹⁵ And Yahweh had informed Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶ About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you will anoint him as prince over my people Israel, to save my people from the hand of Philistines, because I have seen that the cry of my people has reached me.

¹⁷ And Samuel saw Saul, and Yahweh said, Look: the man that I told you about! This one will govern my people. ¹⁸ And Saul approach Samuel in the gate, and said, Please, tell me where the seer's house is.

¹⁹ And Samuel answered him, I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the shrine, and you will eat with me today, and tomorrow I will send you on your way, and I will tell you all everything that is on my mind. ²⁰ And as for the donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not worry about them, because they have been found. Whom does Israel desire? Is it not you and all your family?

²¹ And Saul replied and said to him, Am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest of Israel's tribes, and my clan the smallest of all the clans of the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me this way?

²² And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the hall and seated them in better place than all the invitees, who were about thirty men. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, Bring me the portion that I gave you, of which I said, Hold on to this.

²⁴ And the cook picked up the thigh and what was on it, and set it in front of Saul. And he said, See what is left! Set it in front of you and eat, because for this time it has been kept for you since I invited the people. And Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ And they came down from the shrine of the city, and he spoke with Saul on the roof. ²⁶ And they got up early, around daybreak, and Samuel called Saul to the roof, saying, Get up, and I will send you off. And Saul got up, and the two of them, he and Samuel, went outside. ²⁷ They were going down to the edge of the city, and Samuel said to Saul, Tell the young man to go on ahead of us -- and he went on ahead -- but you stay here a while, and I will tell you a message from God.

Chapter 10

¹ And Samuel took a flask of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Has not Yahweh anointed you as a prince over his people? ² When you leave me today, you will find two men by Rachel's grave in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, The donkeys that you went looking for are found, and now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, What will I do about my son? ³ And you will go onwards from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor, and come upon three men there going up to God at Bethel, one carrying three young goats, and one carrying three loaves of bread, and one carrying a skin of wine. ⁴ And they will greet you, and give you two [loaves] of bread, and you will accept it from them. ⁵ After that you will come to the hill of God, where there is a Philistine garrison.^[11] And then, when you arrive there at the city, you will encounter a band of prophets coming down from the shrine, preceded by harp, and tambourine, and flute, and lyre, and they will be prophesying.^{[12] 6} The spirit of Yahweh will fall upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and be transformed into another man. ⁷ And then, when these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds, because God is with you. ⁸ And you will go down ahead of me to the Gilgal, and there I will go down to you, to offer burnt offerings, to sacrifice peace-sacrifices. Wait seven days, until I come to you and announce to you what you must do.

⁹ And then, when he had turned away to leave Samuel, God changed his heart, and all these signs came on that day. ¹⁰ And they came there to the hill, and there a band of prophets met him, and the spirit of God fell upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And when all those who knew him before saw him there, prophesying with the prophets, the people said to each other, What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul among the prophets?

¹² And a man replied from there, And who is their father? Therefore it became a saying, Is Saul among the prophets? ¹³ And he finished prophesying, and came to the shrine.

¹⁴ And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Where did you go?

And he said, To look for the donkeys. And when we could not find them, we came to Samuel.

¹⁵ And Saul's uncle said, Please, tell me what Samuel said to you.

¹⁶ And Saul said to his uncle, He told us that the donkeys were found. But concerning the kingdom, Saul did not tell him anything.

¹⁷ And Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah. ¹⁸ And he said to the Israelites: This is what Yahweh, the god of Israel, says. I brought up Israel from Egypt, and rescued you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of all the kingdoms, who oppressed you. ¹⁹ And today you have rejected your god, who saved you from all your disasters and oppressions, and you said to him, No. Set a king over us. So present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and clans.

²⁰ And when Samuel had brought all the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. ²¹ And he brought up the tribe of Benjamin by their tribal divisions, and the division of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they looked for him, but he was nowhere to be found. ²² And they inquired of Yahweh again, to know if the man would show himself.

And Yahweh said, There he is -- hidden among the baggage.

²³ And they ran and took him from there, and he stood among the people, taller than all the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see whom Yahweh chose, how there is no one like him among all the people?

And all the people shouted, and said, Long live the king!

²⁵ And Samuel spoke to the people about the law of the king, and wrote it in the book, and set it before Yahweh. And Samuel sent away all the people, each to his house. ²⁶ And Samuel himself went to his house at Gibeah, and with him some warriors whose heart God touched. ²⁷ But worthless people said, How can this one save us. And they despised him, and brought him no gift. But he held his peace.

Chapter 11

¹ And Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.

² And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, I will only make a covenant with you if I can dig out all your right eyes, to bring shame on all Israel.

³ And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Let us have three days to send messengers through all the territory of Israel, and if there is no one to save us, then we will go out to you.

⁴ And the messengers of Gibeah came to Saul, and told the news in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ Then there came Saul, following the cattle from the field, and Saul said, Why are the people weeping? And they told him the news from the men of Gilead. ⁶ The spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard that news, and his anger burned very hot.

⁷ And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them to pieces, and sent them through all the territory of Israel by means of the messengers, to say, Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel, the same will be done to his oxen. And terror from Yahweh fell on the people, and they went out as one man. ⁸ And when he counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were three hundred thousand, and the people of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ And they said to the messengers who came, Tell this to the men of Jabesh Gilead. Tomorrow you will be rescued by when the sun is hot. And the messengers came and reported it ot the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.

¹⁰ And the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do to us as you will.

¹¹ And then, the next day, Saul divided the people in three groups, and they came out in the middle of the camp at the morning watch, and struck down Ammon until the heat of the day. Then the survivors scattered, until there were not left two together.

¹² And the people said to Samuel, Who is it that said, Will Saul rule over us? Hand them over to us, and we will kill them.

¹³ And Saul said, No man will be killed this day, because today Yahweh has worked salvation in Israel.

¹⁴ And Samuel said to the people, Come, and let us go to the Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. ¹⁵ And all the people came to the Gilgal, and made Saul king before Yahweh at the Gilgal, and sacrificed peace-sacrifices before Yahweh, and there Saul and all the men of Israel held a great celebration.

Chapter 12

¹ And Samuel said to all Israel, You see, I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have appointed yourselves a king. ² And now, see, the king walks about before you, and I am old and grey, and my sons are there with you, and I have walked before you from my youth up to this day. ³ Now here I am. Speak out against me in front of Yahweh, and in front of his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? And whose donkey have I taken? And whom have I extorted? Whom have I oppressed? And from whose hand have I taken a bribe to look the other way? I will repay you.

⁴ And they said, You have not extorted us, or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone's hand.

⁵ And he said to them, Yahweh is be a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.

And they answered, A witness.

⁶ And Samuel said to the people, It is Yahweh who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought up your fathers from the land of Egypt. ⁷ So present yourselves, and I will judge you before Yahweh with all the righteous deeds of Yahweh that he did for you and your fathers. ⁸ When Jacob came to Egypt, and your fathers cried out to Yahweh, then Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought out your fathers from Egypt, and settled them in this place.

⁹ And they forgot Yahweh their god, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, general of Hazor, and into the hand of Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰ And they cried out to Yahweh, and said, We have sinned, because we abandoned Yahweh and served Baalim and Ashtaroth, but now rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you. ¹¹ And Yahweh sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan,^[13] and Jephthah, and Samuel, and rescued you from the hand of your enemies surrounding you, and you lived in safety. ¹² And you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, and you said to me, No, but a king must rule over us, when Yahweh your god was your king.

¹³ So here is the king you chose, whom you asked for. And now Yahweh has set a king over you. ¹⁴ If you will fear Yahweh and serve him, and heed his voice, and not rebel against Yahweh's command, then both you and also the king who rules over you will follow Yahweh your god. ¹⁵ And if you will not heed the voice of Yahweh, and rebel against Yahweh's command, then Yahweh's hand will be against you, and against your fathers.

¹⁶ Now then, present yourselves and see this great thing that Yahweh is about to do before your eyes. ¹⁷ Is not the wheat harvest today? I will call to Yahweh, and he will send thunder and rain, and you will know and see that your evil is severe, that you have done in Yahweh's sight by requesting a king for yourselves.

¹⁸ And Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent lightning and rain that day, and all the people were terrified of Yahweh and Samuel.

¹⁹ And all the people said to Samuel, Pray on behalf of your servants to Yahweh your god that we will not die, because we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting ourselves a king.

²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, Do not be afraid. You have done all this evil, yet do not turn from following Yahweh, and serve Yahweh will all your heart, ²¹ and do not turn aside to follow vanity, which cannot aid or rescue, because they are vanity. ²² For Yahweh will not forsake his people, for the sake of his great name, because Yahweh decided to make you his own people. ²³ And as for me, far be it from me to sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray on your behalf. I will teach you the good and upright way. ²⁴ Only fear Yahweh and serve him faithfully with all your heart, because consider all the great things he has done for you. ²⁵ And if you continue doing evil, both you and your king will be wiped away.

Chapter 13

¹ Saul was [...] years old,^[14] and he reigned over Israel [... and] two years. ² And Saul chose himself three thousand from Israel, and two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in Mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the rest of the people he sent each to his tent.

³ And Jonathan struck the Philistine garrison which was in Geba, and Philistines heard. And Saul blew the shofar through all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear! ⁴ And all Israel heard that Saul struck the Philistine garrison, and that Israel had become odious to Philistines. And the people were mustered to Saul at the Gilgal.

⁵ And Philistines gathered for war with Israel thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and an army like the sand on the seashore in number, and they went up and encamped in Michmash, east of Beth Aven. ⁶ And the men of Israel saw that they were in dire straits, because the people were hard-pressed, and the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets,^[15] and in craigs, and in holes,^[16] and in pits. ⁷ And some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead, and Saul was still in the Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. ⁸ And he waited seven days, for the time that Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to the Gilgal, and the people dispersed away from him. ⁹ And Saul said, Bring me a burnt offering here, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ And when he finished offering the burnt offering, there came Samuel, and Saul came out to meet him and bless him.

¹¹ And Samuel said, What have you done?

And Saul said, Because I saw that the people dispersed away from me, and you did not come at after the set days, and Philistines gathered at Michmash. ¹² And I said, Now Philistines will come down to me at the Gilgal, and I have not entreated favor from Yahweh. So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.

¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, You have been reckless. You have not kept the command of Yahweh your god, which he commanded you, because now Yahweh would have established your kingship over Israel forever. ¹⁴ And now your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought a man with a heart like his own, and Yahweh has commanded him to be prince of his people, because you have not kept Yahweh's command.

¹⁵ And Samuel rose and went up from the Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

¹⁶ And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with him, were staying in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the Philistines were encamped at Michmash. ¹⁷ And raiders went out from the Philistine camp in three groups. One of the groups went along the way to Ophrah, to the land of Saul; ¹⁸ and one of the groups went along the way to Beth Horon, and one groups went along to the way to the border by the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ And no metalworker could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines said, Or else the Hebrew might make swords or spears. ²⁰ So all Israel would go down to the Philistines for each to sharpen his plowshare, and his mattock, and his axe, and his sickle. ²¹ And the charge^[17] was a pim^[18] for plows, mattocks, three-pronged forks,^[19] and axes, and to set goads.^{[20] 22} And so, when it came time for battle, no sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but there were swords for Saul and Jonathan his son.

²³ And the Philistine garrison went out to the passage at Michmash.

Chapter 14

¹ Now, on that day, Jonathan son of Saul said to the lad who carried his things, Come, and we will cross over to the Philistine garrison on the other side. And he did not tell his father. ² And Saul was sitting at the outskirts of the Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which was in Migron, and the people who were with him were about six hundred men. ³ And Ahiah son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas, son of Eli, a priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not realize that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ And between the passes, by which Jonathan was looking to cross over to the Philistine garrison, was a sharp cliff on this side, and a sharp cliff on that side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one cliff faced north toward Michmash, and the other south toward Geba.

⁶ And Jonathan said to the lad who carried his things, Come, and we will cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised^[21]. Perhaps Yahweh will give them to us, because it is no difficulty for Yahweh to grant deliverance by many or few.

⁷ And his porter said to him, Do whatever you intend. Do it: I am with you, whatever you wish.

⁸ And Jonathan said, Then let us cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, Stay until we come to you, then we will stand where we are, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ And if they say, Come up to us, then we will come up, because Yahweh has delivered them into our hand. This will be a sign to us.

¹¹ And they both showed themselves to the Philistine garrison, and Philistines said, Look -- Hebrews, coming out of the holes where they were hiding. ¹² And the men of the garrison replied to Jonathan and his porter, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you something.

And Jonathan said to his porter, Follow me up, because Yahweh has given them into the hand of Israel. ¹³ And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his porter followed him, and they fell before Jonathan, with his porter killing behind him. ¹⁴ And that first assault which Jonathan and his porter carried out was about twenty men on about a half acre of land.^[22]

¹⁵ Terror fell upon the camp in the field and among all the army. The garrison and the raiders trembled as well, and the land trembled with terror from God. ¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and they saw the crowd scatter, running in all directions. ¹⁷ And Saul said to the people who were with him, Take a roll now, and see who is missing. And when they had taken roll, they realized that Jonathan and his porter were gone.

¹⁸ And Saul said to Ahiah, Bring the ark of God here. Now the ark of God was at that time with the Israelites. ¹⁹ And then, as Saul was talking to the priest, the commotion in the Philistine camp kept on increasing. And Saul said to the priest, Never mind. Leave the ark.^{[23] 20} And Saul and all the people with him assembled and came to the battle, and there each man's sword was against his comrade, a very great confusion. ²¹ And the Hebrews who had been previously with the Philistines, who went up with them in the camp, turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² And all the men of Israel who had been hiding in the hills of Ephraim heard that Philistines fled, and they pursued them hard in the battle. ²³ And Yahweh delivered Israel that day, and the battle reached as far as Beth Aven.

²⁴ And the men of Israel were distressed that day, because Saul had enjoined the people, saying, Cursed is the man who eats food^[24] before evening, so that I can take vengeance against my enemies. So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵ And all the land came to a forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ And the people came to the forest, and there was honey dropping, and no one put his hand to his mouth, because the people were afraid of the oath. ²⁷ And Jonathan did not hear when his father placed the oath on the people, and he reached out the end of rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and set his hand to his mouth, and his eyes lit up.

²⁸ And one of the people saw this and said, You father placed us under oath, saying, Cursed is the man who eats any food today. And the people were faint.

²⁹ And Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land. Look at how my eyes have lit up, because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ If only the people today had eaten freely of the spoil of their enemies which they found, would there not have been an even greater slaughter among the Philistines?

³¹ And on that day they killed the Philistines from Michmash to Ayalon, and the people were very faint. ³² And the people dashed upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground, and the people ate them with the blood. ³³ And it was reported to Saul, Look: the people are sinning against Yahweh, eating with the blood.

And he said, You have done wrong. Roll to me a great stone today.

³⁴ And Saul said, Go out among the people, and say to them, Bring me here every man's ox, and every man's sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat them, and do not sin against Yahweh by eating the blood. All all the people brought each man's ox with him that night, and slaughtered them there. ³⁵ And Saul built an altar to Yahweh. It was the first altar that he built to Yahweh.

³⁶ And Saul said, We will go down after Philistines by night and despoil them until morning light, and we will not leave a man of them.

And they said, Do whatever seems good to you.

And the priest said, Let us draw near to God here.

³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, Should I go down after Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?

But he did not reply that day.

³⁸ And Saul said, Draw near here, all the leaders of the people, and know and see what sort of sin has been committed today. ³⁹ Because, by Yahweh's life, the savior of Israel, even if it is Jonathan my son, yet he will surely die.

And not of the people replied to him.

⁴⁰ And he said to all Israel, You stay on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will stay on the other side.

And the people said to Saul, Do whatever seems good to you.

⁴¹ And Saul said to Yahweh, the god of Israel, Give the truth. And Saul and Jonathan were selected, and the people were not.

⁴² And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was selected.

⁴³ And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what you did.

And Jonathan told him, and said, I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I will die.

⁴⁴ And Saul said, May God punish me ever so severely^[7] if you are not surely put to death, Jonathan.

⁴⁵ And the people said to Saul, Must Jonathan die, who brought this great deliverance to Israel? No so! As Yahweh lives, not one hair will fall from his head to the ground, because he has done this with Yahweh today. And the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

⁴⁶ And Saul went up from following Philistines, and Philistines went to their own place.

⁴⁷ And Saul took the kingship over Israel, and fought against all its surrounding enemies: against Moab, and against the Ammonites, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and wherever he turned, he ruined them. ⁴⁸ And he raised an army, and struck Amalek, and snatched Israel from the hand of those who plundered them.

⁴⁹ And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua, and the names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, and younger. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz, and the name of his army general was Abiner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. ⁵¹ And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵² And there was heavy warfare against Philistines all the days of Saul, and when Saul saw any powerful or valiant man, he took him for himself.

Chapter 15

¹ And Samuel said to Saul, Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over my people, over Israel. Now, listen to the voice of Yahweh's words. ² Thus says Yahweh of Armies. I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he waylaid him as he came up from Egypt. ³ So go and attack Amalek, and utterly exterminate all that they have, and do not pity them, but kill both man and woman, both babes and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.

⁴ And Saul summoned the people, and counted them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.

⁶ And Saul said to the Kenites, Go away, get down from among the Amalekites, or else I will treat you like them, although you treated all the Israelites well when they came up from Egypt. So the Kenites left from Amalek. ⁷ And Saul struck down Amalek from Havilah as you go toward Shur, which is opposite Egypt. ⁸ And he captured Agag king of Amalek alive, and utterly exterminated all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and oxen, the fattened animals,^[25] and the lambs, and all that was good, and they were not willing to utterly exterminate them, but whatever was worthless and of no value they utterly exterminated.

¹⁰ Then a message from Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ I repent that I made Saul king, because he turned away from following me, and has not upheld my words. And Samuel was furious, and cried out to Yahweh all that night.

¹² And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, and it was reported to Samuel, Saul has come to the Carmel, and there he set up a pillar for himself, and went around, and crossed over, and went down to the Gilgal. ¹⁴ And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed are you by Yahweh. I have upheld the word of Yahweh.

¹⁵ And Samuel said, And what^[26] is this sound of sheep in my ears, and the sound of oxen that I hear?

¹⁶ And Saul said, I brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle in order to sacrifice to Yahweh your god, and the rest we utterly exterminated.

¹⁷ And Samuel said, When you were small in your own eyes, were you not leader over the tribes of Israel? And Yahweh anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, Go and utterly exterminate the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are finished off. ¹⁹ And why did you not heed the voice of Yahweh, but dashed upon the spoil, and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh.

²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, But I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone on the journey where Yahweh sent me, and I have brought Agag king of Amalek, and I have utterly exterminated the Amalekites. ²¹ And the people took of the spoil sheep and oxen, the best of what should have been utterly exterminated, to sacrifice to Yahweh your god at the Gilgal.

²² And Samuel said, Does Yahweh delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obey the voice of Yahweh? No! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and heeding than the fat of rams. ²³ But rebellion is the sin of divination, and idolatry and evil are stubbornness. Because you rejected the message of Yahweh, he has rejected your kingship.

²⁴ And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, because I have trespassed against the mouth of Yahweh, and your words, because I was afraid of the people, and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ And so, please forgive my sin, and return with me, and I will worship Yahweh.

²⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you, because you rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.

²⁷ And Samuel turned to go, and he grabbed the corner of his tunic,^[27] and it tore.

²⁸ And Samuel said to him, Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel off you today, and has given it to a companion of yours who is better than you. ²⁹ Yes, the eternal one of Israel will not lie or repent, because he is not a man, that he would repent.

³⁰ And he said, I have sinned, but do me the this honor before the elders of my people, and before Israel, by going back with me to worship Yahweh your god. ³¹ So Samuel went and followed Saul, and Saul worshipped Yahweh.

³² And Samuel said, Bring me Agag king of Amalek. And Agag came to him cheerfully, and Agag thought, Surely the bitterness of death has passed.

³³ And Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so may your mother be childless among women. And Samuel executed^[28] Agag before Yahweh there at the Gilgal.

³⁴ And Samuel went to the Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ And never again did Samuel see Saul until the day he died, but Samuel mourned for Saul, and Yahweh repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Chapter 16

¹ And Yahweh said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul? I have rejected his kingship over Israel. Fill your horn with oil, and go, and I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, because I have seen a king for me among his sons.

² And Samuel said, How can I go? Saul will hear and kill me.

And Yahweh said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. ³ And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do, and you will annoint for me the one whose name I tell you.

⁴ And Samuel did what Yahweh said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town were afraid to meet him, and said, Do you come in peace?

⁵ And he said, In peace. I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

⁶ Then, when they had come, he saw Eliab, and said, Surely Yahweh's anointed stands before him.

⁷ And Yahweh said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance, and how tall he stands, because I have rejected him, because it is not as a human sees. The human sees with the eyes, but Yahweh sees into the heart.

⁸ And Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass in front of Samuel. And he said, Yahweh has not chosen this one either.

⁹ And Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Yahweh has not chosen this one either.

¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass in front of Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Yahweh has not chosen these.

¹¹ And Samuel said to Jesse, Are those all your children?

And he said, There is still the youngest, who is out there tending the flock.

And Samuel said to Jesse, Send for him, because we will not go back until he comes here.

¹² And he sent and brought him. And he was ruddy, of beautiful appearance, and handsome to see.

And Yahweh said, Get up and anoint him, because this is the one. ¹³ And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the middle of his brothers, and the spirit of Yahweh came upon David from that day onward. And Samuel rose up and went to the Ramah.

¹⁴ And the spirit of Yahweh turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. ¹⁵ And Saul's servants said to him, We see that an evil spirit of God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord command his servants before you to look for a man who knows how to play the harp, and then when the evil spirit of God is upon you, he will play on it, and you will be well.

¹⁷ And Saul said to his servants, Get me a man who plays well, and bring him to me.

¹⁸ And one of his attendants replied, and said, Now, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who knows how to play, and is a mighty and valiant warrior, a person of understanding, and a handsome man, and Yahweh is with him.

¹⁹ And Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send me David your son, who is with the flock. ²⁰ And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, and a skin of wine, and one young goat, and sent them with David his son to Saul. ²¹ And David came to Saul, and waited on him. And he loved him very much, and he became his porter.

²² And Saul sent word to Jesse: Please let David wait on me, because I he has found favor in my eyes. ²³ And it came to pass, when the spirit of God was on Saul, that David would take the harp and play on it, and Saul would be refreshed, and well, and the evil spirit would leave him.

Chapter 17

¹ And Philistines gathered their encampments for battle, and were gathered at Socoh, belonging to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim. ² And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the valley of the Elah, and set themselves in battle array to meet Philistines. ³ And Philistines stood by a mountain on this side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other, with a valley between them.

⁴ And a champion went out from the Philistine camp, Goliath his name, from Gath, his height four cubits and a span.^{[29] 5} And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale body armor, and the weight of the armor was five thousand shekels^[30] of bronze. ⁶ And shin-guards of bronze were on his legs, and a bronze javelin^[31] between his shoulders. ⁷ And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear was six hundred shekels of iron, and a man went ahead of him carrying a shield. ⁸ And he stood and called out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why have you come out arrayed for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants of Saul? Choose yourselves a man to come down to me. ⁹ If you are able to defeat me, then we will become your servants, but if I am able to defeat him, then you will become our servants, and serve us.

¹⁰ And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man, and we will fight together. ¹¹ And Saul and all Israel head the words of these words of the Philistine, they were shattered, and very afraid.

¹² Now David was the son of that Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons, and the man was old among men in the days of Saul. ¹³ And the three oldest sons of Jesse went to follow Saul to the battle, and the names of the three sons who went to battle were Eliab, the firstborn; and the second was Abinadab; and the third Shammah. ¹⁴ And David was the youngest, and the three oldest followed Saul. ¹⁵ And David went and returned from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem.

¹⁶ And the Philistine approached morning and evening, and would stand there, forty days. ¹⁷ And Jesse said to David his son, Please, take your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers in the camp. ¹⁸ And bring these ten portions of cheese to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are doing, and bring some token^[32] from them. ¹⁹ Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of the Elah to fight the Philistines.

²⁰ And David rose early, and left the flock with someone to watch, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he reached the barricade^[33] as the soldiers were going out to their battle stations, and shouted for the battle. ²¹ And Israel and Philistines set the battle array, arrayed against one another. ²² And David left his things with the keeper of the things, and ran to the battle, and came asked his brothers how they were. ²³ And as he spoke with them, there came up the champion, named Goliath the Philistine, who was from Gath, from the Philistine battle lines, and spoke his usual words, and David heard. ²⁴ And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from his and were very afraid. ²⁵ And the men of Israel said, Have you seen the man coming up here? He comes up to taunt Israel, and whoever the man is who kills him, the king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's family free from public burdens in Israel.

²⁶ And David said to the men standing by him, What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes the reproach away from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine to taunt the armies of the living god?

²⁷ And the people said to him, Such and such will be done to the man who kills him.

²⁸ And his oldest brother, Eliab, heard him speaking to the men, and Eliab's anger burned hot against David, and he said, Why did you come down here? And who did you leave these few sheep in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and wicked heart, that you have come down here to see the battle.

²⁹ And David said, What have I done, now? I only asked a question.^{[34] 30} And he turned from him toward another person, and he said the same sort of thing, and the people answered him as they had before.

³¹ And when they heard what David said, they reported it before Saul, and he sent for him. ³² And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart sink because of him: your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

³³ And Saul said, You are not able to go fight this Philistine, because you are a youth, and he has been a warrior from his youth.

³⁴ And David said to Saul, Your servant tended his father's flock, and a lion, or a bear, would come and take a lamb from the herd. ³⁵ And I would pursue it, and rescue it from its mouth, and when he would rear up against me, I would grab him by the scruff and strike and kill him. ³⁶ Both a lion and a bear your servant killed, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has taunted the armies of the living god.

³⁷ And David said, Yahweh rescued me from the hand of the lion, and from the hand of the bear. He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.

And Saul said to David, Go, and may Yahweh be with you.

³⁸ And Saul made David wear his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in scale armor. ³⁹ And David put his sword on his armor, and tried to walk around, but he was not used to it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, because I am not used to them. And David took them off himself.

⁴⁰ And he took his staff in his hand, and chose himself five smooth stones from the creek bed, and put them in a pouch in his shepherd's bag which he had, and his sling was in his hand as he approached the Philistine. ⁴¹ And the Philistine came toward David with his shield-bearing in front of him. ⁴² And the Philistine looked over at David and saw him with contempt, because he was a youth, ruddy and handsome. ⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his god.^[35]

⁴⁴ And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals.

⁴⁵ And David said to the Philistine, You come at me with a sword and spear and shield, and I come at you with the name of Yahweh of Armies, the god of the Israelite forces, whom you have taunted. ⁴⁶ Today Yahweh will place you in my hand, and I will strike you, and take off your head, and I will give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky, and the wild animals, and all the land will know that Israel has a god. ⁴⁷ And all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that Yahweh saved, because warfare belongs to Yahweh, and he will give you into our hand.

⁴⁸ And then, as the Philistine rose up, and went, and came near to meet David, David rushed, and ran to the battle lines to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand in the bag, and took a stone from it, and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead, and fell face down to the ground. ⁵⁰ And David overpowered the Philistine with the sling and the stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David's hand. ⁵¹ And David ran, and stood by the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it from its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their warrior dead, they fled. ⁵² And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as you come toward the valley, and as far as the gates of Ekron. And mortally wounded Philistines fell along the route to Shaaraim, both as far as Ekron and as far as Gath. ⁵³ And the Israelites returned from their pursuit of Philistines, and looted their tents. ⁵⁴ And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem, and put his armor in his tent.

⁵⁵ And when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, the army general, Whose son is this lad, Abner?

And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.

⁵⁶ And the king said, Ask whose son this young man is.

⁵⁷ And when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸ And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, lad?

And David said, The son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

Chapter 18

¹ Now, when he finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him like his own self. ² And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father's house. ³ And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him like his own self. ⁴ And Jonathan stripped of the robe he was wearing, and gave it to David, and the rest of his gear, even his sword, and bow, and girdle.

⁵ And David went out wherever Saul sent him. He was capable, and Saul set him over the soldiers, and he was pleasing to all the people, and also to Saul's officials. ⁶ And as they came, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel singing and dances to meet king Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with sistrums.^{[36] 7} The women sang back and forth to one another, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten-thousands.

⁸ And Saul was very angry, and the matter displeased him, and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousand, but to me they have ascribed thousands. And what more can he have, but the kingdom? ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day forward.

¹⁰ Now, the next day the God's evil spirit fell upon Saul, and he prophesied^[37] inside the house, and David played [on the instrument] as in days before, and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. ¹¹ And Saul hurled the javeline, thinking, I will pin David to the wall. And David escaped from him twice.

¹² And Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with him, and had left Saul. ¹³ And Saul removed him from waiting on him, and made him the general of a thousand, and he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David was capable in all he did, and Yahweh was with him. ¹⁵ And Saul saw that he was very capable, and he was frightened of him. ¹⁶ And all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷ And Saul said to David, See my oldest daughter Merab? I will give her to you as wife, if you will just be valiant for me and fight Yahweh's battles. And Saul said, Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be on him.

¹⁸ And David said to Saul, Who am I? And what is my life, or my father's clan in Israel, that I should be the king's son-in-law? ¹⁹ But when the time came for Merab the daughter of Saul to be given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.

²⁰ And Saul's daughter Michal loved David, and they told saw, and he was pleased. ²¹ And Saul said, I will give her to him, and she will be a trap for him.

And Saul said to David a second time, Today you will become my son-in-law.

²² And Saul commanded his officials, Speak to David secretly, and say, Look. The king is pleased with you, and all his officials love you. You should become the king's son-in-law.

²³ And Saul's officials spoke these words in David's ears. And David said, Does it seem like a small thing to you to be the king's son-in-law? I am a poor and insignificant man.

²⁴ And Saul's officials said to him, These are the sort of things David said.

²⁵ And Saul said, Say this to David. The king wants no other dowry than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take vengeance on the king's enemies. Saul was intending to have David fall by the hand of Philistines.

²⁶ And when his officials told David these things, it pleased David to become the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired.^{[38] 27} And David rose up and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred^[39] Philistine men, and David brought their foreskins, and they counted them out in full to the king, to make him the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.

²⁸ And Saul saw that Yahweh was with David, and Michal his daughter loved him. ²⁹ And Saul became even more afraid of David, and Saul became David's perpetual enemy. ³⁰ And the captains of the Philistines went out [to battle], and whenever they went out David was more successful than all Saul's officials, and his reputation became highly esteemed.

Chapter 19

¹ And Saul told Jonathan his son, and all his officials, to kill David. And Jonathan, Saul's son, cherished David. ² And Jonathan told David, My father is looking to kill you. Now then, watch till morning, and rest in secret, and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand by my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father, and I will tell you what I see.

⁴ And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because what he has done has been good for you. ⁵ He endangered his own life, and killed the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great rescue for all Israel. You saw it, and celebrated. Why would you sin against innocent blood, to kill David for nothing?

⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and swore, By the life of Yahweh, he will not be killed. ⁷ And Jonathan called to David, and Jonathan told him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

⁸ And again there was war, and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and killed them with great slaughter, and they fled from him.

⁹ And Yahweh's evil spirit troubled Saul, and he sat in his house with a javelin in his hand, and David played on his instrument. ¹⁰ And Saul tried to strike David to the wall, and he got away from Saul's presence, and the javelin struck the wall. David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹ And Saul sent messengers to David's house, to watch him and kill him in the morning, and David's wife Michal told him, If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. ¹² And Michal let David down through the window, and he went, and fled, and escaped. ¹³ And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a fly-net^[40] of goats-hair at his head, and covered it with a garment. ¹⁴ And Saul sent messengers to take David, and she said, He is sick.

¹⁵ And Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me with the bed, so that I can kill him. ¹⁶ And there messengers came in, and there it was: the idol on the bed, with a fly-net of goats-hair at the head. ¹⁷ And Saul said to Michal, Why have you deceived me, and sent away my enemy to escape?

And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go or I will kill you.

¹⁸ And David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to the Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. ¹⁹ And it was reported to Saul, Look, David is at the Ramah. ²⁰ And Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the band of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing at their head, the spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹ And they reported it to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And again Saul sent a third group of messengers, and they also prophesied.

²² Then he himself came to the Ramah, and came to the great well which is at the Secu. And he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David?

And he was told, Look, they are in Naioth at the Ramah. ²³ And he went there to Naioth in the Ramah, and the spirit of God was upon him, and he went about prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ And he stripped of his clothes as well, and prophesied as well before Samuel, and fell down naked all that day and all night. That is why they say, Is Saul also one of the prophets?

Chapter 20

¹ And David fled from Naioth in the Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What am I guilty of? What is my sin against your father, that he seeks my life?

² And he said to him, May it not be so! You will not die. Look, my father will not do anything, great or small, without revealing it to me. And why should my father hide this thing from me. It is not so.

³ And David took an oath again, and said, Your father knows very well how you feel about me. He said, Let Jonathan not know this, or else he will be upset. No, as Yahweh lives, and on your life, I am one step from death.

⁴ And Jonathan said to David, Whatever you should ask for, I will do for you.

⁵ And David said to Jonathan, Now, tomorrow is the new moon, and I would normally sit with the king to eat. But give me leave, and I will hide myself in the field until the third day at evening. ⁶ If your father should miss me, then say, David urged me to let him run to his city Bethlehem, because there is an annual sacrifice for all his clan. ⁷ And if he says, Very well, then your servant will have peace. But if he is very angry, for certain he has ill intent. ⁸ So be loyal to your servant, because you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if I am guilty of something, kill me yourself; why bring me to your father?

⁹ And Jonathan said, Far be it from you! Because if I knew for sure that my father determined ill to befall you, would I not tell you?

¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, Who will tell me? Or what if your father answers you harshly?

¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, Come. Let us go out into the field. And both of them went out to the field. ¹² And Jonathan said to David, O Yahweh, god of Israel! When I see about my father around tomorrow, or the day after, and then if it is good for David, and then I do not send for you, and reveal it to you, ¹³ then may Yahweh punish Jonathan ever so severely^[7]. It if it pleases my father to do you ill, I will reveal it to you, and send you away, and you will go in peace. And may Yahweh be with you, as he was with my father. ¹⁴ And will you not, if I am still alive, show me the kindness of Yahweh, so that I do not die, ¹⁵ and that you do not cut off your kindness from my house forever? No, not even when Yahweh has cut off the enemies of David, every one from off the earth. ¹⁶ And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, Let Yahweh seek payment from the hands of David's enemies.

¹⁷ And Jonathan again put David under oath, because he loved him, because he loved him as he loved his own self. ¹⁸ And Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and your absence will be noticed, because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ And on the third day go down quickly,^[41] and go to the place where you hid on that eventful day, and stay by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹ And then I will send a lad, Go find the arrows. If I should say to the lad, Look, the arrows are on this side. Take them. Then you may come, because it is well for you, and there is no trouble, as Yahweh lives. ²² But if I say to the young man, Look, the arrows are further beyond you; go, because Yahweh has sent you. ²³ And as for the thing that you and I have spoken about, know that Yahweh is between me and you forever.

²⁴ And David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat bread. ²⁵ And the king sat at his seat, as at other times, at the seat by the wall. And Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. ²⁶ And Saul did not say anything, because he thought, Something has happened to him, and he no longer ritually pure. It is because he is not ritually pure. ²⁷ Then on the next day of the month, the second day, David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, neither yesterday or today?

²⁸ And Jonathan replied to Saul, David urged me to let him go to Bethlehem, ²⁹ and he said, Please let me go, because our clan has a sacrifice in the town, and my brother commanded me. So, if you are pleased with me, please let me run off and see my brothers. That is why he has not come to the king's table.

³⁰ And Saul's anger burned hot against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of a wicked, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹ Because as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now, send for him and have him brought to me, because he is a dead man!

³² And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why should he be killed? What has he done? ³³ And Saul threw his javelin and tried to hit him, and Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

³⁴ And Jonathan, furiously angry, got up from the table, and ate no food on the second of the month, because he felt for David, because his father had insulted him.

³⁵ Now, in the morning, Jonathan went out to the field at the time set by David, and a little lad with him. ³⁶ And he said to his lad, Run! Find the arrows that I shoot. The lad ran, and he shot an arrow past him.

³⁷ And when the lad came to where the arrow was that Jonathan shot, Jonathan called out after the lad, and said, The arrow is further beyond you.

³⁸ And Jonathan cried out after the lad, Hurry! Be quick! Don't wait! And Jonathan's lad gathered the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹ But the lad knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰ And Jonathan gave his gear to the lad, who was his, and said, Go bring them to the town. ⁴¹ The lad went, and David got up from near the south, and fell face to the ground and bowed three times, and they kissed each other. And wept with each other, David the most.

⁴² And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, because both of us have sworn by the name of Yahweh, saying, May Yahweh be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed, forever.

And he got up and went, and Jonathan went to the town.

Chapter 21

¹ And David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid to meet David, and said to him, Why are you alone, and no one is with you?

² And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has given me a command, and said to me, Let no one know anything about the business I have sent you on, and what I commanded you. And I have sent my young men to such and such a place. ³ Now, what do you have on hand? Supply me five loaves, or whatever there is.

⁴ And the priest replied to David, There is no regular bread here with me, but there is holy bread, if the young men have kept themselves from women.

⁵ And David replied to the priest, Yes, we have been kept away from women, as usual when I go out. The young men's equipment is holy even on an ordinary journey. How much more so today their equipment is holy!

⁶ And the priest gave him holy [bread], because there was no bread except the bread of presence^[42] that had been taken from before Yahweh to set hot bread in its place.

⁷ Now a certain man of Saul's officials was there that day, detained before Yahweh, and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the most powerful of Saul's herdsmen.

⁸ And David said to Ahimelech, Is there no sword or spear here with you? Because I have brought neither my sword nor my gear here with me, because the king's business was urgent.

⁹ And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of the Elah, is here, wrapped up in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it, take it, because it is the only one here.

And David said, There is nothing like it. Give it to me.

¹⁰ And David rose and fled that day from Saul, and came to Achish, king of Gath. ¹¹ And the officials of Achish said to him, Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about this man while dancing: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten-thousands?

¹² And David thought about what they said, and he was very afraid of Achish, king of Gath. ¹³ And he changed his behavior, and acted like a mad man in their custody, and scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. ¹⁴ And Achish said to his servants, I see that you have brought me a lunatic. Why have you brought him to me? ¹⁵ Do I have some shortage of lunatics, that you bring this man to rant and rave in front of me, that this man has entered my house?

Chapter 22

¹ And David left there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam, and when his brothers all all his relatives heard, they went down to him. ² And they came to him: whoever was in distress, and whoever was in debt, and whoever was discontent. And he became their captain, and about four hundred men were with him.

³ And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, Please, let my father and my mother come out to you, until I know what God will do for me. ⁴ And he brought them before the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was at the stronghold.

⁵ And the prophet Gad said to David, Do not stay in the stronghold. Go and come to the land of Judah. And David went, and came to the forest of Hereth.

⁶ And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him, when he was sitting under the tamarisk tree at the Ramah, with all his servants standing around him. ⁷ And Saul said to his servants who stood around him, Listen, Benjamites. Will the son of Jesse give you all fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? ⁸ Is that why you have all conspired against me, and none of you revealed to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse? Were none of you sorry for me, to reveal to me that my son has incited my servant against me, to lie in wait for me as he does today?

⁹ And Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, replied, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ And he inquired of Yahweh for him, and gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

¹¹ And the king sent for Ahimelech son of Ahitub, the priest, and all his relatives, the priests who were at Nob, and they all came to the king. ¹² And Saul said, Listen, son of Ahitub.

And he answered, Here I am, my lord.

¹³ And Saul said to him, Why have you conspired against me with the son of Jesse by giving him bread, and a sword, and inquired of God for him, to make him rise against me, to lie in wait, as he does today?

¹⁴ And Ahimelech replied to the king, And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king's son-in-law, who goes on your buesiness, and is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Did I begin to inquire of God for him that day? I would do no such thing. Let the king not accuse his servant of any such thing, or all the house of my father, because your servant knew nothing at all about this.

¹⁶ And the king said, You will certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your relatives.

¹⁷ And the king said to the runners who stood around him, Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because they are also allied with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not disclose it to me. But the servants of the king were not willing to raise a hand against the priests of Yahweh.

¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, Turn and attack the priests.

And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests, and killed that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ And he struck Nob, the priests' town, with the edge of the sword, from men to women, from babes to nursing infants, and oxen, and donkeys, and sheep and goats, with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ And one son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped, and his name was Abiathar, and he fled to David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of Yahweh. ²² And David said to Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of all your relatives. ²³ Stay with me. Do not be afraid, because the one who seeks your life seeks mine as well, but you will be safe with me.

Chapter 23

¹ And it was reported to David, Now Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are looting the threshing-floors.

² And David inquired of Yahweh, Should I go and attack these Philistines?

And Yahweh said to David, Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.

³ And David's men said to him, We are already afraid here in Judah. How much more if we go to Keilah against Philistine warriors?

⁴ And yet again David inquired of Yahweh. And Yahweh answered him, Get up. Go down to Keilah, because I am about to hand the Philistines over to you. ⁵ And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and drove off their livestock, and struck them with great slaughter. And David rescued the people of Keilah.

⁶ Now, when Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he brought with him an ephod.

⁷ And it was reported to Saul that David came to Keilah. And Saul said, God has abandoned him into my hand, because he is shut in by going into a town with gates and bars. ⁸ And Saul called all the people together for battle, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

⁹ And David knew that Saul was plotting to do him harm, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod.

¹⁰ And David said, Yahweh, god of Israel, your servant has heard how Saul wants to come to Keilah to destroy the town because of me. ¹¹ Will the lords of Keilah hand me into his custody? Will Saul come down, as your servant hears? Yahweh, god of Israel, please tell your servants.

And Yahweh said, He will come down.

¹² And David said, Will the lords of Keilah hand me over into Saul's custody?

And Yahweh said, They will hand you over.

¹³ So David and his men, about six hundred men, went out from Keilah, and roamed about wherever they could roam. And it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, so he did not go.

¹⁴ And David stayed in wilderness strongholds, and stayed in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul searched for him every day, but God did not put him in his hand. ¹⁵ And David saw that Saul had come out to try to kill him, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in the forest. ¹⁶ And Jonathan son of Saul arose and went to David in the forest, and encouraged him with God. ¹⁷ And he said to him, Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second in command, and Saul knows that it is so. ¹⁸ And the two of them made a covenant before Yahweh, and David stayed in the forest, and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ And the Ziphites came to Saul at the Gibeah, saying, Is not David hiding with us in strongholds in the forest, in the hill of the Hachilah, which is south of the Jeshimon? ²⁰ Therefore, O king, do what you desire and come on down, and we will hand him over to the king's custody.

²¹ And Saul said, May Yahweh bless you, because you taken pity on me. ²² Go, please, and prepare a while, and know and see his place where he wanders, who has seen him there, because I have heard that he is very cunning. ²³ See and know all the hiding places where he hides, and come back to me when you are certain, and I will go with you. And then, if he is in the land, I will search him out through all the clans of Judah.

²⁴ And they rose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul, but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain south of the Jeshimon. ²⁵ And Saul and his men went to look for him. And it was reported to David, and he went down to a cliff, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul heard, and went down after David to the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. And then David fled away to escape Saul, and Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to seize them.

²⁷ And a messenger came to Saul, saying, Hurry and come, because Philistines have raided the land. ²⁸ And Saul left off pursuing David, and went to meet Philistines. That is why they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.^{[43] 29} And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Ein Gedi.

Chapter 24

¹ Now, when Saul returned from pursuing Philistines, it was reported to him, Look: David is in the wilderness of Ein Gedi. ² And Saul took three thousand choice men from all Israel, and went to find David and his men upon the rocks of wild goats.^{[44] 3} And he came to the sheepfolds by the road, and there was a cave there. And Saul went in to relieve himself,^[45] and David and his men were in the edges of the cave.

⁴ And David's men said to him, This is the day of which Yahweh said to you, I will surely hand your enemy over to you, to do as you will with him. And David rose up and cut the edge of Saul's robe secretly.

⁵ Then, afterward, David's heard rebuked him for cutting Saul's robe. ⁶ And he said to his men, Far be it from me to do this thing to my master, Yahweh's anointed, to extend my hand against him, because he is Yahweh's anointed. ⁷ With these words David rebuked his men, and did not let them rise against Saul. And Saul rose from the cave, and went down the road.

⁸ And David rose afterward, and went out from the cave, and called out after Saul, My lord the king. And Saul looked behind him, and he tilted his head toward the ground, and bowed down.

⁹ And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to people who say, David is seeking to harm you? ¹⁰ This very day your eyes have seen how Yahweh handed you over to me in the cave, and someone told me to kill you, but I chose to spare you, and I said, I will not extend my hand against my lord, because he is Yahweh's anointed. ¹¹ And my father, look at this: the corner of your robe is in my hand, because when I cut the corner of your robe, I did not kill you. Know and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, although you try to hunt my life, to kill me. ¹² May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh take vengeance for me on you, but I will not lay a hand on you. ¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, From the wicked, wickedness comes, but I will not lay a hand on you. ¹⁴ Who is the king pursuing? Who are you chasing down? A dead dog. A single flea. ¹⁵ And may Yahweh adjudicate and judge between me and you, and see, and take up my cause, and deliver me from your hand.

¹⁶ And then, when David finished saying these things to Saul, Saul said, Is that your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. ¹⁷ And he said to David, You are more righteous than I am, because you have repayed me well, when I repayed you badly. ¹⁸ And you have shown me today that you have treated me well, when Yahweh placed me at your mercy, and you did not kill me. ¹⁹ If a man finds his enemy, will he let him go well on his way? May Yahweh reward you well for what you have done for me today. ²⁰ And now, look: I know that you will surely be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be secured in your hand. ²¹ So swear to me by Yahweh that you will not cut off my seed after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father's house.

²² And David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Chapter 25

¹ And Samuel died, and all the Israelites were gathered together, and buried him at his house at the Ramah. And David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. ² There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in the Carmel, a very substantial man, with three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in the Carmel. ³ And the man's name was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail, a capable woman of beautiful appearance. And the man was cruel and ill-behaved, and he was a Calebite. ⁴ And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ And David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him for me. ⁶ And say to the living one,^[46] Peace to you, and your household, and all who are yours. ⁷ And now, I have heard that you have people shearing. Now, your shepherds were with us, and we did not abuse them, nor was anything of theirs missing the whole time they were in the Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Let the young men find favor in your eyes, because we have come on a good day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants, and to your son David.

⁹ And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal all these things in the name of David, and then waited.

¹⁰ And Nabal replied to David's servants, and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who break away from their masters. ¹¹ So am I to take my bread, and my water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men from I know not where?

¹² And David's young men turned away, and went back and reported all these things to him. ¹³ And David said to his men, Each of you, strap on your sword. And they each strapped on their sword, and David strapped on his sword as well. And about four hundred men went up following David, and two hundred stayed with the things.

¹⁴ And one young man told Abigail, Nabal's wife, Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to bless our master, and he was rude to them. ¹⁵ And the men were very good to us, and we were not abused, and we were not missing anything all the days we roamed about with them when we were in the field. ¹⁶ They were a wall around us both day and night, all the days we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷ And now consider and decide what you will do, because harm is determined for our master, because he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him. ¹⁸ And Abigail hurried, and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five sheep already prepared, and five seahs^[47] of parched grain, and a hundred raisin-cakes, and two hundred fig-cakes, and set them on donkeys.

¹⁹ And she said to her young women, Go on ahead of me. I will come right after you. And she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ Now, as she was riding the donkey, she came down by a secluded spot on the hill, and there she saw David and his men coming down toward her, and she went to meet them. ²¹ And David said, It was all for nothing that I guarded all that this man had in the wilderness, and nothing went missing of all that he had, but he has repaid me evil for good. ²² May God punish David,^[48] ever so severely^[7], if I let any male^[49] of his household survive to morning light.

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey, and fell face down toward David, and bowed to the ground. ²⁴ And she fell at his feet, and said, Let this guilt fall on me, my lord, and let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. ²⁵ Please, my lord, pay no attention to this worthless man Nabal, because he is like his name,^[50] a foolhardy man, but I, your maidservant, did not see my lord's young men, whom you sent. ²⁶ So then, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, seeing as Yahweh has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hand, now let your enemies and those who would do you ill be like Nabal. ²⁷ And now, this gift that your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord about. ²⁸ Please, forgive the trespass of your handmaid, because Yahweh will surely give my lord a secure lineage, because my lord fights Yahweh's battles, and no evil has been found in you all your days. ²⁹ A person has risen to pursue you and try to kill you, but may the life of my lord be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your god, and may he fling out the lives of your enemies as from a sling. ³⁰ And then, when Yahweh has done for my lord all the good things he promised for you, and has made you prince over Israel, ³¹ then this will not be on your conscience, to trouble my lord's heart, that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has taken matters into his own hands. And when Yahweh has treated my lord well, remember your maidservant.

³² And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Yahweh, the god of Israel, who sent you today to meet me. ³³ And blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands. ³⁴ And unless -- as Yahweh lives, who kept me from harming you -- unless you have hurried and come to meet me, there would not have been left a single male^[51] of Nabal's by morning light. ³⁵ And David accepted from her what she brought him, and said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heard your voice, and granted your request.

³⁶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and saw that he was having a feast at his house, like a king might have, and Nabal's heart was glad within him, because he was very drunk. And she told him nothing at all until morning light. ³⁷ But in the morning, when Nabal was no longer intoxicated, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became a stone. ³⁸ And then, about ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal dead.

³⁹ And David heard that Nabal was dead, and he said, Blessed be Yahweh, who has taken up the cause of my insult at Nabal's hand, and has restrained his servant from evil. Yahweh has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head. And David sent word and spoke with Abigail, to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰ And the servants of David came to Abigail at the Carmel, and they said to her, David sent us to you, to take you to him as his wife.

⁴¹ And she arose, and bowed face down to the earth, and said, Behold, your maidservant is a handmaid to wash the feet of my lord's servants. ⁴² And Abigail hurried, and rose, and rode on a donkey, and five of her young women went waiting on her, and she followed David's messengers and became his wife. ⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and both of them were his wives.

⁴⁴ And Saul gave Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

Chapter 26

¹ And the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, David has hidden himself in the hill of the Hachilah which faces the Jeshimon. ² And Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, taking three thousand choice men of Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³ And Saul encamped on the hll of the Hachilah, which faces the Jeshimon, by the road. And David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul had come after him to the wilderness. ⁴ And David sent out spies, and knew that Saul really had come.

⁵ And David rose and came to the place where Saul had made camp. And David say the place where Saul lay, and Abner son of Ner, his general, and Saul was laying in the barricade, and the people were camped around him. ⁶ David saw this and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me to Saul in the encampment?

And Abishai said, I will go down with you.

⁷ And David and Abishai came to the army by night, and there was Saul, sleeping in the barricade, with his spear stuck into the ground near his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. ⁸ And Abishai said to David, God has placed your enemy within your power. Please then, let me strike him one time with his spear into the ground, and I will not need a second time.

⁹ And David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him, because who can extend his hand against Yahweh's anointed and be guiltless?

¹⁰ And David said, As Yahweh lives, Yahweh will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down in battle and pass away. ¹¹ Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh's anointed. But go ahead and take the spear that is near his head, and the jar of water, and let us go. ¹² And David took the spear and the jar of water from near his head, and they got away. And no one saw or knew, and no one woke up, because all of them were sleeping, because a slumber from Yahweh had fallen upon them.

¹³ And David went over to the other side, and stood on top of a hill far off, with a great space between them. ¹⁴ And David called out to the people, and to Abner son of Ner, Are you not going to answer me, Abner?

And Abner answered, and said, Who are you? Who is calling out to the king?

¹⁵ And David said to Abner, You are a brave man, are you not? And who is like you in Israel? And why have you not guarded your lord the king? Because one of the people came in there to destroy your lord the king. ¹⁶ It is not good, this thing you have done. As Yahweh lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, Yahweh's anointed. And now look where the king's spear is, and the jar of water that was by his head.

¹⁷ And Saul recognized David's voice, and said, Is that your voice, my son David?

And David said, It is my voice, my lord the king.

¹⁸ And he said, Why is it that my lord pursues his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ So, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If Yahweh has incited you against me, let his accept an offering. But if it is human beings, let them be cursed before Yahweh, because they have driven me out today from living within the inheritance of Yahweh,^[52] as if to say, Go serve other gods. ²⁰ So do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of Yahweh, because the king of Israel has come out to look for a single flea, like someone hunting a partridge in the mountains.

²¹ And Saul said, I have sinned. Come back, my son David, because I will not do you any more harm, because my life was valuable to you today. Look, I have been foolish and made a great mistake.

²² And David replied, Here is the king's spear. Let one of the young men come over and take it. ²³ May Yahweh repay every man for his decency and faithfulness, because Yahweh handed you over to me today, but I would not extend my hand against Yahweh's anointed. ²⁴ Yes, and as I placed a great value on your life today, let Yahweh place a great value on my life, and rescue me from all distress.

²⁵ And Saul said to David, May you be blessed, my son David. You will surely act and also prevail. And David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Chapter 27

¹ And David thought to himself, I will be swept away one of these days by the hand of Saul. I have no option but to escape to Philistine land, and Saul will give up on looking for me any more in Israelite territory, and I will escape from his hand. ² And David rose and crossed over with six hundred men who were with him to Achish, son of Moach, king of Gath. ³ And David stayed with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each man with his household. David was with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and Abigail (Nabal's wife) the Carmelite. ⁴ And it was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, and he no longer searched for him.

⁵ And David said to Achish, Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some country town, and I will live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you? ⁶ And Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to the present day. ⁷ And the amount of time that David lived in Philistine territory was a year and four months.

⁸ And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, and the Gizrites,^[53] and the Amalekites, because they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur, and as far as the land of Egypt. ⁹ David struck the land, and left no man or woman alive, and took sheep, and cattle, and donkeys, and camels, and clothing, and returned and came to Achish. ¹⁰ And Achish said, Where have you raided today?

And David said, Against the Negev of Judah, and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites.

¹¹ David left alive no man or woman, to bring news to Gath, Or else they will report on us, This is what David did, and he will do the same all the time that he lives in Philistine territory.

¹² And Achish believed David, saying, He has made his own people in Israel hate him, and he will be my servant forever.

Chapter 28

¹ Now, in those days, Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to do battle with Israel. And Achish said to David, You can be sure that you go out with me to battle, you and my men.

² And David said to Achish, Then you know what your servant will do.

And Achish said to David, Therefore I will make you my personal bodyguard forever.

³ Now Samuel died, and all Israel mourned for him, and buried him in the Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had expelled all the mediums and the necromancers from the land.^[54]

⁴ And Philistines gathered and came, and encamped at Shunem, and Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. ⁵ And Saul saw the Philistine camp, and was afraid, and his heart was terrified. ⁶ And Saul inquired of Yahweh, and Yahweh did not answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

⁷ And Saul said to his servants, Find me a woman who has an oracle, and I will go to her and inquire of her.

And his servants said to him, Well, there is a woman who has an oracle at En Dor.

⁸ And Saul disguised himself, and wore different clothing, and he went with two men, and they came to the woman at night, and he said, Please, divine for me with the oracle, and bring someone up, whose name I will tell you.

⁹ And the woman said to him, Surely you know what Saul has done, how he removed all those who have oracles, and the necromancers, from the land. So why do you set a trap for my life, to get me killed?

¹⁰ And Saul swore to her by Yahweh, As Yahweh lives, no punishment will come to you for this matter.

¹¹ And the woman said, Who should I bring up for you?

And he said, Bring up Samuel for me.

¹² And the woman saw Samuel, and she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!

¹³ And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. What did you see?

And the woman said to Saul, I saw a god coming up from the earth.

¹⁴ And he said to her, What did he look like?

And she said, An old man is coming up, wearing a robe. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he tilted his face downward and bowed.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?

And Saul said, I am very hard-pressed, and Philistines are fighting against me, and God has left me, and does not answer me any more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams. And I called for you to let me know what I should do.

¹⁶ And Samuel said, And why would you ask me, when Yahweh has left you, and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And Yahweh has done for him as he said by me, and Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your companion, to David, ¹⁸ because you did not heed the voice of Yahweh, nor carried out his burning rage against Amalek. That is why Yahweh has done this thing to you today. ¹⁹ And Yahweh will also hand over Israel with you to Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Yahweh will also hand over the army of Israel to Philistines.

²⁰ And Saul quickly fell full length to the ground, and was very afraid because of Samuel's words, and there was no strength left in him, because he had not eaten bread all day or all night.

²¹ And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was deeply disturbed, and said to him, You know that your maidservant obeyed your voice, and I have risked my life, and have obeyed the words that you spoke to me. ²² Now then, please, listen yourself to the voice of your maidservant, and let me set before you a bit of bread, and eat, so that you will regain strength, so that you can go on your way.

²³ And he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants and also the woman urged him, and he heeded their voice. And he rose from the earth, and sat on the bed. ²⁴ And the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she hurried, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded, and baked unleavened cakes with it. ²⁵ And she presented it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. And they rose and went away that night.

Chapter 29

¹ And Philistines gathered all their forces to Aphek, and Israel encamped by the fountain which is at Jezreel. ² And the Philistine sarens^[10] marched by with hundreds and thousands, and David and his men crossed over behind with Achish. ³ And the Philistine leaders said, What are these Hebrew doing here?

And Achish said to the Philistine leaders, This is David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me for these days, or these years. And I have found no fault in him since he defected until this day.

⁴ And the Philistines were angry with him, and the Philistine leaders said to him, Send him back to the place where you stationed him. He cannot go with us to the battle, or else he will be our adversary in the battle. How better to reconcile with his master than with the heads of these men? ⁵ Is this not the David of whom they sang back and forth, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

⁶ And Achish called to David, and said to him, As Yahweh lives, you have been blameless, and I approve of your coming and going, because I have found nothing wrong with you from the day you came to this day. But the sarens do not approve of you. ⁷ So go back, and go in peace, and you will not anger the Philistine sarens.

⁸ And David said to Achish, But what have I done? What have you discovered about your servant from the day I have been with you to the present, that I should not fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

⁹ And Achish replied to David, I know that you are good in my eyes, like an angel of God. But the leaders of the Philistines said, He must not go up with us to the battle. ¹⁰ So get up early in the morning with your master's servants who came with you, and leave at dawn.

¹¹ And David and his men rose early in the morning to leave, to return to Philistine land. And Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Chapter 30

¹ Now, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag, and attacked Ziklag and set it on fire. ² And they had captured the women who were there, and they did not kill anyone at all, but seized them and went on their way. ³ And David and his men came to the city, and saw it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ And David and the people with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵ And the two wives of David were captured: Ahinoam the Jezreelite, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ And David was greatly distressed, because the people talked about stoning him, because the people's soul was bitter, every man for his son and his daughters, but David encouraged himself with Yahweh his god.

⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, Please, bring me the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

⁸ And David inquired of Yahweh, Should I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?

And he answered him, Pursue, because you will surely overtake them and rescue them all.

⁹ And David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ And David pursued with four hundred men, and two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

¹¹ And they found an Egyptian in a field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate, and they gave him water. ¹² And they gave him a cake of figs, and two raisin cakes, and when he had eaten, his spirits returned, because he had not eaten bread or drank water for three days and three nights. ¹³ And David said to him, Who do you belong to? And where are you from?

And the lad said, I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master left me, because three days ago I became sick. ¹⁴ We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, and along the border of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.

¹⁵ And David said to him, Would you bring me to this raiding party?

And he said, Swear to me by God that you will not kill me, or hand me back to my master, and I will bring you down to this raiding party.

¹⁶ And when he had brought him down, there they were, scattered across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken from Philistine land, and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David struck them from sunset to the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except for four hundred young men who fled away on camels. ¹⁸ And David rescued all those that Amalek took, and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ And none of them were missing at all, neither sons nor daughters, nor loot, nor anything that they took. David recovered them all. ²⁰ And David took all the flocks and herds which they drove before their livestocks, and set aside as spoil from David.

²¹ And David came to the two hundred men who were so exhausted that they could not follow David, whom they had left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. And as David approached the people, he greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David replied, Because they did not go with us, we should not give them any of the loot that we have recovered, except for each man's wife and his children. They should take them and go.

²³ And David said, Do not do this, my brothers, with what Yahweh gave us, when he watched over us, and handed over the raiding party that came into our hands. ²⁴ And who will listen to you about this? No, equal portions will be given to those who went down to battle and those who stayed with the things. ²⁵ And so, from that day forward, he instituted it as a custom and rule for Israel to this day.

²⁶ And David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the loot to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, Here is a present for you from the spoil of Yahweh's enemies. ²⁷ [He sent some] to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth Negev, and to those who were in Jattir, ²⁸ and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, ²⁹ and to those who were in Rachal, and to those in the Jerahmeelite towns, and to those who were in the Kenite towns, ³⁰ and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Cor Ashan, and to those who were in Attach, ³¹ and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David would roam.

Chapter 31

¹ And Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines followed close after Saul and his sons, and Philistines killed Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. ³ And the battle was heavy against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

⁴ And Saul said to his porter, Draw your sword, and run me through with it, or else these uncircumcised will come and run me through, and abuse me. But his porter would not do it, because he was very afraid. And Saul took the sword and fell on it. ⁵ And his porter saw that Saul was dead, and he also fell on his sword, and died with him. ⁶ And Saul died, along with his three sons, and his porter, and all his men, on the same day.

⁷ And the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, and they abandoned the towns, and fled, and Philistines came and settled in them. ⁸ And on the next day, when Philistines came to raid the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ And they cut off his head, and looted his effects, and sent it throughout the Philistine land, to announce the news in the house of their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰ And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth, and fastened his corpse on the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ And the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² and all their brave men rose, and went all night, and took the corpse of Saul and his son's corpses from the wall of Beth Shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. ¹³ And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

Footnotes

1. When animals were sacrificed in the Bible, it was customary for the priest and the worshippers to eat portions of the sacrificed animal.
2. Here the Hebrew appaim is translated as "double," but it is not clear what, if anything, the word really means. It may be the result of a copying mistake of some kind.
3. literally, Yahweh closed her womb.
4. male child: literally, a seed of men
5. (2:32) enemy dwelling-place. The Hebrew text appears unintelligible here, and the translation simply reflects how it appears.
6. (2:33) by the sword does not appear in the Masoretic Text, but is found in the Septuagint.
7. May God punish ... so severely' - literally "may God do so to ... and even more"
8. (4:21) Ichabod. Meaning, Where is the glory?
9. (5:6) tumors. The Hebrew word translated here, and throughout this story, as tumors is of uncertain meaning.
10. (5:8) and others: sarens. A word used only for Philistine leaders.
11. garrison. The word is unusual in Hebrew, and plural. The New English Translation reads "officials."
12. (10:5) prophesying. Unlike the English term "prophesy," the Hebrew term is sometimes used for the production of liturgical music, and sometimes for a sort of religiously-related ecstatic behavior.
13. (12:11) Bedan - this name only appears here. Jewish tradition says that this refers to Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan; the Septuagint replaces this name with Barak, the leader alongside the profittess Dvora (Judges chapter 4).
14. (13:1) [...] years old. It is generally agreed that a number has dropped out of the Masoretic Text here that once indicated how old Saul was when he became king, and for how long he was king.
15. (13:6) thickets. This Hebrew word occurs only here, so its exact meaning is uncertain.
16. (13:6) holes. This Hebrew word is infrequent, and its exact meaning is not certain.
17. (13:21) charge. The Hebrew word petsirah appears only here, and thus there is some uncertainty about its meaning.
18. (13:21) pim. An ancient unit weight (presumably referring to silver in a monetary context) which was equal to about two-thirds of a shekel.
19. (13:21) three-pronged forks. The Hebrew phrase translated three-pronged forks occurs only here, and its meaning is uncertain. The word that is taken as indicating a "three-pronged" implement is sometimes interpreted as referring to a monetary unit of a third of one shekel, charged for forks, axes, and goads.
20. (13:21) goads. The word in Hebrew is rare, found only here and Ecclesiastes 12:11, where the context indicates, like the present context, that it refers to some sharp implement. Beyond that it is not possible to be certain of its exact meaning.
21. (14:6) uncircumcised - a derogatory word for non-Israelites.
22. (14:14) a half acre of land. The Hebrew expression is difficult to understand with certainty.
23. Never mind. Leave the ark. Literally, Withdraw your hand.
24. (14:24) food (both instances in this verse, and in verse 28). Literally, "bread," but as the story makes clear, the meaning is food in general.
25. (15:9) the fattened animals. Reading ha-shmenim "the fattened [animals]" instead of we-ha-mishnim, which would seem to mean, "and the second ones."
26. (15:15) "what" - the word for "what", in this location, would normally be pronounced "mah"; however, in this verse, it's pronounced "meh", in imitation of the goats mentioned later in the verse. (The word translated as "sheep" is tzon, which includes both sheep and goats)
27. (15:27) and he grabbed the corner of his tunic - original is ambiguous as to who grabbed whose tunic.
28. (15:33) executed. This Hebrew word occurs only here, and its meaning is uncertain. It is often translated hacked to pieces.
29. (17:4) four cubits and a span. Following the some manuscripts of the Septuagint and the Qumran manuscript 4QSam^a, along with the Jewish chronicler Josephus (Antiquities, 6.171). A cubit was about seventeen or eighteen inches, and a span half that, placing Goliath at about 6 feet 5 inches to 6 feet 9 inches. The Masoretic Text and some Greek manuscripts read six cubits and a span, making Goliath in excess of nine feet tall.
30. (17:5) five thousand shekels. A shekel was an ancient unit of weight equal to about eleven grams, so the body armor mentioned here would weigh about 55 kilograms.
31. (17:6) javelin. Hebrew kidon, a term of uncertain meaning. It may refer to a kind of sword.
32. (17:18) some token. The Hebrew word is rare (only here and Proverbs 17:18), and has been translated various ways.
33. (17:20) barricade. Or, the edge of the camp.
34. (17:29) I only asked a question. Literally, Was it not a word?
35. (17:43) his god. Or, his gods. The usual Hebrew word for "god" is already grammatically in the plural, even when singular in meaning, so either reading is possible.
36. (18:6) sistrums. The Hebrew term for this musical instrument occurs only here, and as a result its precise meaning is uncertain.
37. (18:10) The term "prophesied," in this context, probably refers to some sort of erratic behavior, a sense which the Hebrew, but not the English, sense of the term can have.
38. (18:26) And the days were not expired. These words, which are difficult to understand, are entirely missing in the Septuagint.
39. (18:27) two hundred. The Septuagint reads, "one hundred."
40. (19:13) fly-net. The word is rare and of uncertain meaning.
41. (20:19) go down quickly. Literally, "go down very much." The apparently awkward wording of the Hebrew, combined with a reading of the Septuagint, caused S. R. Driver to suggest that the text originally read, "And on the third day you will be very much missed."
42. (21:6) bread of presence. The ceremonial bread that was sat before God every day in the tabernacle. The bread was regularly replaced with fresh bread.
43. (23:28) Sela Hammahlekoth. Perhaps meaning, "Cliff of escapes."
44. (24:2) the rocks of wild goats. Or perhaps it should be rendered as a proper name, such as Wildgoats' Craigs.
45. (24:3) relieve himself. Literally, to cover his feet.
46. (25:6) the living one. This odd wording has caused commentators to propose several explanations for its unexpected appearance.
47. (25:18) A seah was a unit of volume equal to seven or eight litres.
48. (25:22) to David. Following the Septuagint. The Masoretic text reads, to the enemies of David, a euphemism meaning the same thing.
49. (25:22). male. The Hebrew text uses a roundabout expression for "male;" more literally, as the Authorised Version reads, any that pisseth against the wall.
50. (25:25) he is like his name. The Hebrew Nabal meaning a reckless and wicked man.
51. (25:34) male. As in verse 22
52. (26:19) the inheritance of Yahweh. That is, the land of Israel, often referred to as the inheritance of Yahweh in other passages. David is complaining that, if people have incited Saul against him, they are encouraging him to live in other lands, and, therefore, to serve their gods.
53. (27:8) Gizrites. Following the Qere. The Kethib reads, Girzites.
54. In enforcement of Deuteronomy 18:10-12. The text claims that he apparently issued the death penalty, in accordance with Leviticus 20:27.

References

• Source Text: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, fifth edition
• Consulted King James Version.