[ 1 Samuel Chapter 14 ]
1 Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the
young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines'
garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father.
2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree
which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred
men,
3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son
of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not
that Jonathan was gone.
4 And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the
Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock
on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other
Seneh.
5 The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the
other southward over against Gibeah.
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go
over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work
for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.
7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee,
behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will
discover ourselves unto them.
9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you, then we will stand still
in our place, and will not go up unto them.
10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us, then we will go up: for the LORD hath
delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.
11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines:
and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where
they had hid themselves.
12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said,
Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his
armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand
of Israel.
13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his
armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan, and his armourbearer slew
after him.
14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about
twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might
plow.
15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people:
the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it
was a very great trembling.
16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and, behold, the
multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is
gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer
were not there.
18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was
at that time with the children of Israel.
19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that
was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the
priest, Withdraw thine hand.
20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they
came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and
there was a very great discomfiture.
21 Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which
went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also
turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim,
when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after
them in the battle.
23 So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven.
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the
people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may
be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
25 And all they of the land came to a wood, and there was honey upon the ground.
26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped, but
no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath:
wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in
an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were enlightened.
28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the
people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day.
And the people were faint.
29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how
mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of
their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater
slaughter among the Philistines?
31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the
people were very faint.
32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and
slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.
33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that
they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone
unto me this day.
34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring
me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and
eat, and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people
brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.
35 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he
built unto the LORD.
36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them
until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do
whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither
unto God.
37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt
thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and
see wherein this sin hath been this day.
39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my
son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that
answered him.
40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son
will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good
unto thee.
41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul
and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was
taken.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told
him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was
in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die,
Jonathan.
45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this
great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one
hair of his head fall to the ground, for he hath wrought with God this day. So
the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to
their own place.
47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on
every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom,
and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever
he turned himself, he vexed them.
48 And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out
of the hands of them that spoiled them.
49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names
of his two daughters were these, the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name
of the younger Michal:
50 And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the
name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.
51 And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of
Abiel.
52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when
Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
[ 1 Samuel Chapter 15 ]
1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over
his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words
of the LORD.
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how
he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare
them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel
and ass.
4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two
hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the
Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the
children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from
among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is
over against Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all
the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the
oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not
utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they
destroyed utterly.
10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back
from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved
Samuel, and he cried unto the LORD all night.
12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel,
saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone
about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD:
I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears,
and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people
spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy
God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath
said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made
the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the
sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon
the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have
gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek,
and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things
which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in
Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity
and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also
rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the
commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed
their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may
worship the LORD.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast
rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king
over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his
mantle, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee
this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man,
that he should repent.
30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the
elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may
worship the LORD thy God.
31 So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD.
32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And
Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is
past.
33 And Samuel said, As the sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother
be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in
Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless
Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over
Israel.
[ 1 Samuel Chapter 16 ]
1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I
have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I
will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among
his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD
said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and
thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the
elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify
yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his
sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said,
Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.
7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height
of his stature, because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth,
for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said,
Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen
this.
10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There
remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful
countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for
this is he.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his
brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So
Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the
LORD troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God
troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a
man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the
evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou
shalt be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and
bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of
Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man,
and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is
with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son,
which is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and
sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly, and
he became his armourbearer.
22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for
he hath found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David
took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and
the evil spirit departed from him.