Bible in 90 Days

16 And Jehovah said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go: I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; 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 Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. ³ And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. ⁴ And Samuel did that which Jehovah spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Comest thou peaceably? ⁵ And he said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto Jehovah: 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 ^[a]Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah’s anointed is before him. ⁷ But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart. ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this. ⁹ Then Jesse made ^[b]Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this. ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Jehovah 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 is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit ^[c]down till he come hither. ¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal ^[d]of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon. And Jehovah 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 Jehovah came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah ^[e]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, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the 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 young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and ^[f]prudent in ^[g]speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with him. ¹⁹ Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep. ²⁰ And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a ^[h]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 armorbearer. ²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight. ²³ And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

17 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. ² And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of ^[i]Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. ³ And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the 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 a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad 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 javelin of brass between his shoulders. ⁷ And the ^[j]staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him. ⁸ And he stood and cried unto the ^[k]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 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 ^[l]defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. ¹¹ And 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 Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men. ¹³ And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴ And David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul. ¹⁵ Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Beth-lehem. 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 grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren; ¹⁸ and bring 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, ^[m]were in the vale 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 ^[n]place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the ^[o]fight shouted for the battle. ²¹ And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army. ²² And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to 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 ranks 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 ^[p]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 ^[q]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 art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. ²⁹ And David said, What have I now done? ^[r]Is there not a cause? ³⁰ And he turned away 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 ^[s]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 was keeping his father’s sheep; ^[t]and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, ³⁵ 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 smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath ^[u]defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ And David said, Jehovah that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and Jehovah shall be with thee. ³⁸ And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. ³⁹ And David girded his sword upon his apparel, 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 ^[v]brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his wallet; 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 withal 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 birds of the heavens, 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 javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast ^[w]defied. ⁴⁶ This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah’s, and he will give you into our hand. ⁴⁸ And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, 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; and the stone sank 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 Then David ran, and stood over 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 that their ^[x]champion was dead, they fled. ⁵² And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to ^[y]Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to ^[z]Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. ⁵³ And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. ⁵⁴ And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor 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, Inquire 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 Beth-lehemite.

18 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 apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. ⁵ And David ^[aa]went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and ^[ab]behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good 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 returned from the slaughter of the ^[ac]Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with ^[ad]instruments of music. ⁷ And the women ^[ae]sang one to another as they played, and said,

⁸ And Saul was very wroth, and this 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 an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he ^[af]prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his spear in his hand; ¹¹ and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice. ¹² And Saul was afraid of David, because Jehovah 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 ^[ag]behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Jehovah was with him. ¹⁵ And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David; for 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 Jehovah’s battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. ¹⁸ And David said unto Saul, Who am I, and ^[ah]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 a second time.

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 the 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 a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. Now 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 and 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 number 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 Jehovah was with David; and Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him. ²⁹ And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David ^[ai]behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much ^[aj]set by.

19 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. ² And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in 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 if I see aught, 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 put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great ^[ak]victory 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 Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death. ⁷ And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.

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 before him. ⁹ And ^[al]an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand. ¹⁰ And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. ¹¹ And Saul 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 wilt be slain. ¹² So Michal let David down through the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. ¹³ And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a ^[am]pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes. ¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. ¹⁵ And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. ¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the ^[an]pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof. ¹⁷ And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, so that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

¹⁸ Now 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 head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹ And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great ^[ao]well that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah. ²³ And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and ^[ap]lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

20 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, Far from it; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he ^[aq]discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. ³ And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. ⁴ Then said Jonathan unto David, ^[ar]Whatsoever thy soul ^[as]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 miss me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. ⁷ If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him. ⁸ Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee: but 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 should at all know 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 if perchance 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, Jehovah, the God of Israel, be witness: when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee? ¹³ Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father. ¹⁴ And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not; ¹⁵ but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah 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, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David’s enemies.

¹⁷ And Jonathan caused David to swear again, ^[at]for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ¹⁸ Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be ^[au]empty. ¹⁹ And when thou hast stayed three days, thou shalt go down ^[av]quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself ^[aw]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 the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take ^[ax]them, and come; for there is peace to thee and ^[ay]no hurt, as Jehovah liveth. ²² But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away. ²³ And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is 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 food. ²⁵ And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul’s side: but David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul spake not anything 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 after the new moon, which was the second day, 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 Beth-lehem: 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 favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king’s table.

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame 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 ^[az]shall surely die. ³² And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore should he be put to death? what hath he done? ³³ And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death. ³⁴ So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food 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 ^[ba]at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. ³⁶ And he said unto his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow ^[bb]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 anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰ And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. ⁴¹ And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose ^[bc]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 Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall 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.

21 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? ² And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place. ³ Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatsoever there is present. ⁴ And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. ⁵ And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, ^[bd]though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day shall their vessels be holy? ⁶ So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before Jehovah, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

⁷ Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the ^[be]chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul. ⁸ And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste. ⁹ And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of ^[bf]Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

¹⁰ And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. ¹¹ And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying,

¹² And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. ¹³ And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and ^[bg]scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. ¹⁴ Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me? ¹⁵ Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

22 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. ² And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was ^[bh]discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

³ And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. ⁴ And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold. ⁵ And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the stronghold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.

⁶ And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him: now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree ^[bi]in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. ⁷ And Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, ⁸ that all of you have conspired against me, and ^[bj]there is none that discloseth to me when my son maketh a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or discloseth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? ⁹ Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who ^[bk]stood by the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ And he inquired of Jehovah for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.

¹¹ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. ¹² And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. ¹³ And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? ¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who among all thy servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and is taken into thy council, and is honorable in thy house? ¹⁵ Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more. ¹⁶ And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. ¹⁷ And the king said unto the ^[bl]guard that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of Jehovah; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of Jehovah. ¹⁸ And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and he slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

²⁰ And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain Jehovah’s priests. ²² And David said unto Abiathar, I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. ²³ Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: for with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

23 And they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing-floors. ² Therefore David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And Jehovah said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. ³ And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? ⁴ Then David inquired of Jehovah yet again. And Jehovah answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. ⁵ And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶ And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

⁷ And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath ^[bm]delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. ⁸ And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. ⁹ And David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. ¹⁰ Then said David, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, thy servant hath surely heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Jehovah, the God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And Jehovah said, He will come down. ¹² Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver up me and my men into the hand of Saul? And Jehovah said, They will deliver thee up. ¹³ Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. ¹⁴ And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.

¹⁵ And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in ^[bn]the wood. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose, and went to David into ^[bo]the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said unto him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. ¹⁸ And they two made a covenant before Jehovah: and David abode in ^[bp]the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

¹⁹ Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in the strongholds in ^[bq]the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of ^[br]the desert? ²⁰ Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king’s hand. ²¹ And Saul said, Blessed be ye of Jehovah; for ye have had compassion on me. ²² Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his ^[bs]haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. ²³ See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me ^[bt]of a certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the ^[bu]thousands of Judah.

²⁴ And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah on the south of ^[bv]the desert. ²⁵ And Saul and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶ And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. ²⁷ But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have made a raid upon the land. ²⁸ So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place ^[bw]Sela-hammahlekoth. ²⁹ And David went up from thence, and dwelt in the strongholds of En-gedi.

24 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. ² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. ³ And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were ^[bx]abiding in the innermost parts of the cave. ⁴ And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shalt do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily. ⁵ And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. ⁶ And he said unto his men, Jehovah forbid that I should do this thing unto my lord, Jehovah’s anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing he is Jehovah’s anointed. ⁷ So David checked his men with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.

⁸ David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance. ⁹ And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearkenest thou to men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? ¹⁰ Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah had delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee; but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is Jehovah’s anointed. ¹¹ Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee, though thou ^[by]huntest after my life to take it. ¹² Jehovah judge between me and thee, and Jehovah avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee. ¹³ As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness; but my hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁴ After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. ¹⁵ Jehovah therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and ^[bz]deliver me out of thy hand.

¹⁶ And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹⁷ And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I; for thou hast rendered unto me good, whereas I have rendered unto thee evil. ¹⁸ And thou hast declared this day how that thou hast dealt well with me, forasmuch as when Jehovah had delivered me up into thy hand, thou killedst me not. ¹⁹ For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore Jehovah reward thee good for that which thou hast done unto me this day. ²⁰ And now, behold, I know that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand. ²¹ Swear now therefore unto me by Jehovah, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. ²² And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the stronghold.

25 And Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

² And there was a man in Maon, whose ^[ca]possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail; and the woman was of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. ⁴ And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵ And David sent ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: ⁶ and ^[cb]thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be unto thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. ⁷ And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: thy shepherds have now been with us, and we ^[cc]did them no hurt, neither was there aught missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee: wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

⁹ And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ^[cd]ceased. ¹⁰ And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. ¹¹ Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my ^[ce]flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men of whom I know not whence they are? ¹² So David’s young men turned on their way, and went back, and came and told him according to all these words. ¹³ And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the baggage.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to ^[cf]salute our master; and he railed at them. ¹⁵ But the men were very good unto us, and we were not ^[cg]hurt, neither missed we anything, as long as we went with them, when we were in the fields: ¹⁶ they were a wall unto us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷ Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a worthless fellow, that one cannot speak to him.

¹⁸ Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two ^[ch]bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. ¹⁹ And she said unto her young men, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. ²⁰ And it was so, as she rode on her ass, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that, behold, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good. ²² God do so ^[ci]unto the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light so much as one man-child.

²³ And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and alighted from her ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. ²⁴ And she fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity; and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine ears, and hear thou the words of thy handmaid. ²⁵ Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this worthless fellow, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; ^[cj]Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. ²⁶ Now therefore, my lord, as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing Jehovah hath withholden thee ^[ck]from bloodguiltiness, and from ^[cl]avenging thyself with thine own hand, now therefore let thine enemies, and them that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. ²⁷ And now this ^[cm]present which thy servant hath brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the young men that follow my lord. ²⁸ Forgive, I pray thee, the trespass of thy handmaid: for Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah; and evil shall not be found in thee all thy days. ²⁹ And though men be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of ^[cn]life with Jehovah thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee prince over Israel, ³¹ that this shall be no ^[co]grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, ^[cp]either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself. And when Jehovah shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.

³² And David said to Abigail, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me: ³³ and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou, that hast kept me this day from bloodguiltiness, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. ³⁴ For in very deed, as Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, who hath withholden me from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light so much as one man-child. ³⁵ So David received of her hand that which she had brought him: and he said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

³⁶ And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. ³⁷ And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸ And it came to pass about ten days after, that Jehovah smote Nabal, so that he died.

³⁹ And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his own head. And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife. ⁴⁰ And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David hath sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. ⁴¹ And she arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, Behold, thy handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. ⁴² And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they became both of them his wives. ⁴⁴ Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to ^[cq]Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

26 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before ^[cr]the desert? ² 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. ³ And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before ^[cs]the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴ David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come ^[ct]of a certainty. ⁵ 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 ^[cu]place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.

⁶ Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can put forth his hand against Jehovah’s anointed, and be guiltless? ¹⁰ And David said, As Jehovah liveth, Jehovah will smite him; ^[cv]or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle and perish. ¹¹ 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 cruse of water, and let us go. ¹² So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s head; and they gat 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.

¹³ Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them; ¹⁴ and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ This thing is not good that thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are ^[cw]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 cruse of water that was at his head.

¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹ 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 me, let him ^[cx]accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Jehovah; for they have driven me out this day that I should ^[cy]not cleave unto the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods. ²⁰ 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 flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

²¹ 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. ²² And David answered and said, Behold ^[cz]the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it. ²³ And Jehovah will render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness; forasmuch as Jehovah delivered thee into my hand to-day, and I would not put forth my hand against Jehovah’s anointed. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ 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.

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. ² And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife. ⁴ And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

⁵ And David said unto Achish, If now I have found favor in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the ^[da]country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? ⁶ Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. ⁷ And the number of the days that David dwelt in the ^[db]country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

⁸ And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the ^[dc]Girzites, 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. ⁹ 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 returned, and came to Achish. ¹⁰ And Achish said, ^[dd]Against whom have ye made a raid to-day? And David said, Against the South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites. ¹¹ 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 ^[de]country of the Philistines. ¹² And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

28 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their ^[df]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. ² And David said to Achish, Therefore thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head for ever.

³ 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. ⁴ And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. ⁵ And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶ And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. ⁷ Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor.

⁸ 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. ⁹ 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? ¹⁰ And Saul sware to her by Jehovah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, there shall no ^[dg]punishment happen to thee for this thing. ¹¹ Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. ¹² 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. ¹³ And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what seest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I see ^[dh]a god coming up out of the earth. ¹⁴ 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 obeisance.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is 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. ¹⁶ And Samuel said, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing Jehovah is departed from thee, and is become thine adversary? ¹⁷ And Jehovah hath done unto ^[di]thee, as he spake by me: and Jehovah hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. ¹⁸ Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Jehovah, and didst not execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath Jehovah done this thing unto thee this day. ¹⁹ 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.