Chapter 1
CHAPTER XXVI. And the Ziphyites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hackela, which is before the desert? And the Ziphyites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hackela, which is before the desert?
Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped in the hill of Hackela, which is before the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David beheld the place where Saul lay. And Abner the son of Ner the captain of his host, and Saul lay within the place of the wagons. And the people were encamped round about him. Then answered David, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zariah,
brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. So David and Abishai came to the people by night. And behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head.
And Abner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thy hand this day. Now therefore, let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke. And I will not smite him the second time. And David said to Abishai, destroy him not, for who can put forth his hand against Jehovah's
anointed and be guiltless? And David said, as Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will smite him. Or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down into battle and perish. Jehovah forbid that I should put forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed. But now, take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruise of water, and
let us go. So David took the spear and the cruise of water from Saul's head, and they got them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it. Neither did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Jehovah was fallen upon them.
Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off, a great space being between them. And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? And Abner cried and said, Who art thou that cryest to the king?
And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? And who is like to thee in Israel? Wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? For there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done.
As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord. Jehovah's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruise of water that was at his head. And Saul knew David's voice and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Jehovah that hath stirred thee up against the earth, then I will not be able
to do it. If it be the children of men, then curse it be they before Jehovah. For they have driven me out this day, that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go serve other gods. Now therefore let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of Jehovah.
For the king of Israel is come out to seek a flee, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. Then said Saul, I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day.
Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, Behold the spear, O king, let then one of the young men come over and fetch it. And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness, for as much as Jehovah delivered thee into my hand today, and I would not put forth my hand against Jehovah's
anointed. And behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of Jehovah, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David, thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail.
So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place. End of chapter 26. Chapter 27. And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines,
and Saul will despair of me to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the son of Mayok, king of Gath. And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even
David with his two wives, Aenoam the Jezreelitus and Abigail the Carmelitus, Nabal's wife. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath, and he sought no more again for him. And David said unto Achish, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country that I may dwell there. For why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day, wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the Gerzites,
and the Amalekites, for those nations were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep and the oxen, and the asses and the camels, and the apparel, and he made a raid upon the oxen, and the asses and the camels, and the apparel, and he returned and came to Achish.
And Achish said, Against whom have ye made raid today? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jeremulites, and against the south of the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell of us, saying, So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath dwelt
in the country of the Philistines. And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him, therefore he shall be my servant for ever. End of chapter 27. Chapter 28.
And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly that thou shalt go out with me in the host thou and thy men. And David said to Achish, Therefore thou shalt know what thy servant will do.
And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make the keeper of my head for ever. Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem.
And Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that
I may go to her and acquire of her. And his servant said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit, Ad Endor. And Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night, and he said, Divine unto me, I pray thee, by the
familiar spirit, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land. Wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life to cause me to die? And Saul sweared to her by Jehovah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, there shall no punishment
happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice, and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me?
For thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid, for what seest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a robe.
And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did abiescence. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sort of stressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams.
Therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. And Samuel said, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing Jehovah is departed from thee, and has become thine adversary? And Jehovah hath done unto thee as he spake by me, and Jehovah hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David, because thou obeyest not the
voice of Jehovah, and didst not execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek. Therefore hath Jehovah done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover, Jehovah will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. Jehovah will deliver the host of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.
Then Saul fell straightway his full length upon the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold,
thy handmaid hath hearkened unto thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearkened thou also unto the voice of thy handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee, and eat, that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way.
But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants together with the woman constrained him, and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. And the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hasted and killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof.
And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants, and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night. End of chapter 28. Chapter 29. Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts to Aphek, and the Israelites encamped
by the fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands. And David and his men passed on in the rearward with Akish. Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews hear? And Akish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul, the
king of Israel, who hath been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away unto me unto this day? But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him, and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become
an adversary to us. For wherewith should this fellow reconcile himself unto his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another and danced, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
Then Akish called David, and said unto him, As Jehovah liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me, and the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day. Nevertheless, the lords favour thee not, wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
And David said unto Akish, But what have I done, and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been before thee unto this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? And Akish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight. As an angel of God, notwithstanding, the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not
go up with us to the battle. Wherefore now, rise up early in the morning with the servants of thy lord that are come with thee, and as soon as ye are up early in the morning and have light, depart. So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines.
And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. Chapter 30. And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and had burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women, and all that were therein, both
small and great. They slew not any, but carried them off, and went their way. And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were taken captive. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they
had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captive, Aenoam the Jezreelitis, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons, and for his daughters.
But David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God. And David said to Abbiathur the priest, the son of Ahimelek, I pray thee, bring me hither the Ephed. And Abbiathur brought hither the Ephed to David. And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake
them? And he answered him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all. So David went. He and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those
that were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and four hundred men, for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat.
And they gave him water to drink, and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him, for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou, and whence art thou?
And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite, and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. We made a raid upon the south of the Karethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop?
And he said, Swear unto me by God that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop. And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
And David smote them from the twilight, even unto the evening of the next day. And there escaped not a man of them, say, four hundred young men who rode upon camels and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken to them.
David brought back all, and David took all the flocks and the herds which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. And David came to the two hundred men who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor. And they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him.
And when David came near to the people, he saluted them, then answered all the wicked men and base fellows of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away and depart. Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah hath given unto us,
who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand. And who will hearken unto you in this matter? For as his share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be that terrieth by the baggage, they shall share alike. And it was so from that day forward, and he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying,
Behold the present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah, to them that were in Bethel, and his men were wont to haunt. End of chapter 30. Chapter 31. Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines,
and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons, and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Malkishua the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him, and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.
Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him.
So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men that same day together. And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain,
and they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the house of their idols, and to the people. And they put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth,
and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan. And they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
And they took their bones, and buried them under the Tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. Thank you.
