1 Samuel 11-20
1 Samuel 1-10 New Testament Old Testament 1 Samuel 21-30
1 Samuel 11
1 ¶Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all
the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve
thee.
2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a
covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a
reproach upon all Israel.
3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we
may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man
to save us, we will come out to thee.
4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears
of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
5 ¶And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What
aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of
Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his
anger was kindled greatly.
7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout
all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh
not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And
the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
8 And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred
thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of
Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And
the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye
shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.
11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and
they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the
Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which
remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
12 ¶And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over
us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.
13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the
LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.
14 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the
kingdom there.
15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the
LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before
the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
1 Samuel 12
1 ¶And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in
all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.
2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded;
and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my
childhood unto this day.
3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his
anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I
defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to
blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou
taken ought of any man's hand.
5 And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is
witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He
is witness.
6 ¶And Samuel said unto the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and
Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all
the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the
LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and
made them dwell in this place.
9 And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera,
captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the
hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
10 And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have
forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out
of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.
11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and
delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled
safe.
12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against
you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your
God was your king.
13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired!
and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.
14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel
against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that
reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:
15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the
commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it
was against your fathers.
16 ¶Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before
your eyes.
17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send
thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great,
which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.
18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day:
and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy
God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a
king.
20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness:
yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your
heart;
21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot
profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because
it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing
to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider
how great things he hath done for you.
25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your
king.
1 Samuel 13
1 ¶Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof 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 every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the
Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land,
saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines,
and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people
were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty
thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on
the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward
from Bethaven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were
distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and
in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for
Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 ¶And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had
appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from
him.
9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And
he offered the burnt offering.
10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might
salute him.
11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the
people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days
appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I
have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered
a burnt offering.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the
commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD
have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after
his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people,
because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
15 ¶And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And
Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them,
abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies:
one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned
to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the
wilderness.
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the
Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his
share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the
forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor
spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan:
but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
1 Samuel 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 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 thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother
be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in
Gilgal.
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 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.
1 Samuel 17
1 ¶Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were
gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between
Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the
valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a
mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named
Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of
mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his
shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head
weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are
ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants
to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants:
but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and
serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man,
that we may fight together.
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were
dismayed, and greatly afraid.
12 ¶Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was
Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the
days of Saul.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and
the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn,
and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at
Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty
days.
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this
parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how
thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah,
fighting with the Philistines.
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and
took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the
host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against
army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and
ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the
Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and
spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were
sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to
defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the
king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make
his father's house free in Israel.
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to
the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel?
for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the
living God?
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to
the man that killeth him.
28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's
anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and
with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride,
and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest
see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and
the people answered him again after the former manner.
31 ¶And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before
Saul: and he sent for him.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant
will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to
fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came
a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth:
and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew
him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised
Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the
living God.
37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion,
and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this
Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his
head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had
not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not
proved them. And David put them off him.
40 ¶And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of
the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and
his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare
the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he
was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with
staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto
the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a
spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee,
and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the
Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the
earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and
spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.
48 ¶And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to
meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and
smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and
he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and
smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and
drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith.
And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the
Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the
wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and
unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and
they spoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but
he put his armour in his tent.
55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner,
the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy
soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.
57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him,
and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered,
I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
1 Samuel 18
1 ¶And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the
soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his
own soul.
2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's
house.
3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to
David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely:
and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all
the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
6 ¶And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter
of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and
dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of
musick.
7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain
his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have
ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands:
and what can he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon
Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his
hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall
with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
12 ¶And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was
departed from Saul.
13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a
thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of
him.
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before
them.
17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee
to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul
said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon
him.
18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's
family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?
19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been
given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing
pleased him.
21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that
the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David,
Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.
22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and
say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now
therefore be the king's son in law.
23 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said,
Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a
poor man, and lightly esteemed?
24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.
25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry,
but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's
enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the
king's son in law: and the days were not expired.
27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines
two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full
tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him
Michal his daughter to wife.
28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's
daughter loved him.
29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy
continually.
30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after
they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of
Saul; so that his name was much set by.
1 Samuel 19
1 ¶And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should
kill David.
2 But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David,
saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take
heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide
thyself:
3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and
I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let
not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned
against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:
5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD
wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice:
wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a
cause?
6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD
liveth, he shall not be slain.
7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And
Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.
8 ¶And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines,
and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with
his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he
slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and
David fled, and escaped that night.
11 ¶Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him
in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy
life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.
12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and
escaped.
13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats'
hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me
in the bed, that I may slay him.
16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed,
with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.
17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine
enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go;
why should I kill thee?
18 ¶So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all
that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the
prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of
God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied
likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied
also.
22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he
asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at
Naioth in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him
also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like
manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say,
Is Saul also among the prophets?
1 Samuel 20
1 ¶And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What
have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that
he seeketh my life?
2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will
do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my
father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have
found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be
grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a
step between me and death.
4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it
for thee.
5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should
not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in
the field unto the third day at even.
6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that
he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for
all the family.
7 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very
wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy
servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in
me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
9 ¶And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil
were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer
thee roughly?
11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And
they went out both of them into the field.
12 And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my
father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good
toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee;
13 The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do
thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in
peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD,
that I die not:
15 But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not
when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the
earth.
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD
even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved
him as he loved his own soul.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be
missed, because thy seat will be empty.
19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and
come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand,
and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.
20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a
mark.
21 And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I
expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take
them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD
liveth.
22 But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go
thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.
23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD
be between thee and me for ever.
24 ¶So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king
sat him down to eat meat.
25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the
wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was
empty.
26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something
hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
27 And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month,
that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore
cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to
Bethlehem:
29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the
city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found
favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren.
Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.
30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou
son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the
son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's
nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be
established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he
shall surely die.
32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he
be slain? what hath he done?
33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it
was determined of his father to slay David.
34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the
second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had
done him shame.
35 ¶And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at
the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as
the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot,
Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?
38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's
lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry
them to the city.
41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south,
and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they
kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of
us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between
my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into
the city.