Bible in 90 Days

³⁰ “So the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I promised that your family and your ancestor’s family would serve me always.’ But now the Lord says: ‘This must stop! I will honor those who honor me, but I will dishonor those who ignore me. ³¹ The time is coming when I will destroy the descendants of both you and your ancestors. No man will grow old in your family. ³² You will see trouble in my house. No matter what good things happen to Israel, there will never be an old man in your family. ³³ I will not totally cut off your family from my altar. But your eyes will cry and your heart be sad, because all your descendants will die.

³⁴ “‘I will give you a sign. Both your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. ³⁵ I will choose a loyal priest for myself who will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family continue, and he will always serve before my appointed king. ³⁶ Then everyone left in your family will come and bow down before him. They will beg for a little money or a little food and say, “Please give me a job as priest so I can have food to eat.”’”

God Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often; there were very few visions.

² Eli’s eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed. ³ Samuel was also in bed in the Lord’s house, where the Ark of the Agreement was. God’s lamp was still burning.

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, “I am here!” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.

⁶ The Lord called again, “Samuel!”

Samuel again went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

Again Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”

⁷ Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the Lord had not spoken directly to him yet.

⁸ The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

Then Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ So he told Samuel, “Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in bed.

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.”

¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will shock those who hear about it. ¹² At that time I will do to Eli and his family everything I promised, from beginning to end. ¹³ I told Eli I would punish his family always, because he knew his sons were evil. They acted without honor, but he did not stop them. ¹⁴ So I swore to Eli’s family, ‘Your guilt will never be removed by sacrifice or offering.’”

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, ¹⁶ but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!”

Samuel answered, “I am here.”

¹⁷ Eli asked, “What did the Lord say to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.”

¹⁹ The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel’s messages fail to come true. ²⁰ Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,^[a] knew Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord continued to show himself at Shiloh, and he showed himself to Samuel through his word.

4 So, news about Samuel spread through all of Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Agreement

At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer and the Philistines at Aphek. ² The Philistines went to meet the Israelites in battle. And as the battle spread, they defeated the Israelites, killing about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield. ³ When some Israelite soldiers went back to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let’s bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord here from Shiloh and take it with us into battle. Then God will save us from our enemies.”

⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord All-Powerful, who sits between the gold creatures with wings. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark.

⁵ When the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord came into the camp, all the Israelites gave a great shout of joy that made the ground shake. ⁶ When the Philistines heard Israel’s shout, they asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

Then the Philistines found out that the Ark of the Lord had come into the Hebrew camp. ⁷ They were afraid and said, “A god has come into the Hebrew camp! We’re in trouble! This has never happened before! ⁸ How terrible it will be for us! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They are the ones who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of disasters in the desert. ⁹ Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were our slaves. So fight like men, or we will become their slaves.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites, and every Israelite soldier ran away to his own home. It was a great defeat for Israel, because thirty thousand Israelite soldiers were killed. ¹¹ The Ark of God was taken by the Philistines, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. ¹³ When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was by the side of the road. He was sitting there in a chair, watching, because he was worried about the Ark of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh, he told the bad news. Then all the people in town cried loudly. ¹⁴ Eli heard the crying and asked, “What’s all this noise?”

The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. ¹⁵ Eli was now ninety-eight years old, and he was blind. ¹⁶ The Benjaminite told him, “I have come from the battle. I ran all the way here today.”

Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷ The Benjaminite answered, “Israel ran away from the Philistines, and the Israelite army has lost many soldiers. Your two sons are both dead, and the Philistines have taken the Ark of God.”

¹⁸ When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate, broke his neck, and died, because he was old and fat. He had led Israel for forty years.

The Glory Is Gone

¹⁹ Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and was about to give birth. When she heard the news that the Ark of God had been taken and that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead, she began to give birth to her child. The child was born, but the mother had much trouble in giving birth. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women who helped her said, “Don’t worry! You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ She named the baby Ichabod,^[b] saying, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She said this because the Ark of God had been taken and her father-in-law and husband were dead. ²² She said, “Israel’s glory is gone, because the Ark of God has been taken away.”

Trouble for the Philistines

5 After the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² They carried it into Dagon’s temple and put it next to Dagon. ³ When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, they found that Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. So they put Dagon back in his place. ⁴ The next morning when they rose, they again found Dagon fallen on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. His head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only his body was still in one piece. ⁵ So, even today, Dagon’s priests and others who enter his temple at Ashdod refuse to step on the doorsill.

⁶ The Lord was hard on the people of Ashdod and their neighbors. He caused them to suffer and gave them growths on their skin. ⁷ When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel can’t stay with us. God is punishing us and Dagon our god.” ⁸ The people of Ashdod called all five Philistine kings together and asked them, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”

The rulers answered, “Move the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath.” So the Philistines moved it to Gath.

⁹ But after they moved it to Gath, there was a great panic. The Lord was hard on that city also, and he gave both old and young people in Gath growths on their skin. ¹⁰ Then the Philistines sent the Ark of God to Ekron.

But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron yelled, “Why are you bringing the Ark of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?” ¹¹ So they called all the kings of the Philistines together and said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its place before it kills us and our people!” All the people in the city were struck with terror because God was so hard on them there. ¹² The people who did not die were troubled with growths on their skin. So the people of Ekron cried loudly to heaven.

The Ark of God Is Sent Home

6 The Philistines kept the Ark of God in their land seven months. ² Then they called for their priests and magicians and said, “What should we do with the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how to send it back home!”

³ The priests and magicians answered, “If you send back the Ark of the God of Israel, don’t send it back empty. You must give a penalty offering. If you are then healed, you will know that it was because of the Ark that you had such trouble.”

⁴ The Philistines asked, “What kind of penalty offering should we send to Israel’s God?”

They answered, “Make five gold models of the growths on your skin and five gold models of rats. The number of models must match the number of Philistine kings, because the same sickness has come on you and your kings. ⁵ Make models of the growths and the rats that are ruining the country, and give honor to Israel’s God. Then maybe he will stop being so hard on you, your gods, and your land. ⁶ Don’t be stubborn like the king of Egypt and the Egyptians. After God punished them terribly, they let the Israelites leave Egypt.

⁷ “You must build a new cart and get two cows that have just had calves. These must be cows that have never had yokes on their necks. Hitch the cows to the cart, and take the calves home, away from their mothers. ⁸ Put the Ark of the Lord on the cart and the gold models for the penalty offering in a box beside the Ark. Then send the cart straight on its way. ⁹ Watch the cart. If it goes toward Beth Shemesh in Israel’s own land, the Lord has given us this great sickness. But if it doesn’t, we will know that Israel’s God has not punished us. Our sickness just happened by chance.”

¹⁰ The Philistines did what the priests and magicians said. They took two cows that had just had calves and hitched them to the cart, but they kept their calves at home. ¹¹ They put the Ark of the Lord and the box with the gold rats and models of growths on the cart. ¹² Then the cows went straight toward Beth Shemesh. They stayed on the road, mooing all the way, and did not turn right or left. The Philistine kings followed the cows as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the Ark of the Lord, they were very happy. ¹⁴ The cart came to the field belonging to Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped near a large rock. The people of Beth Shemesh chopped up the wood of the cart. Then they sacrificed the cows as burnt offerings to the Lord. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the Ark of the Lord and the box that had the gold models, and they put both on the large rock. That day the people of Beth Shemesh offered whole burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁶ After the five Philistine kings saw this, they went back to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷ The Philistines had sent these gold models of the growths as penalty offerings to the Lord. They sent one model for each Philistine town: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. ¹⁸ And the Philistines also sent gold models of rats. The number of rats matched the number of towns belonging to the Philistine kings, including both strong, walled cities and country villages. The large rock on which they put the Ark of the Lord is still there in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ But some of the men of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark of the Lord. So God killed seventy of them. The people of Beth Shemesh cried because the Lord had struck them down. ²⁰ They said, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? Whom will he strike next?”

²¹ Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it to your city.”

7 The men of Kiriath Jearim came and took the Ark of the Lord to Abinadab’s house on a hill. There they made Abinadab’s son Eleazar holy for the Lord so he could guard the Ark of the Lord.

The Lord Saves the Israelites

² The Ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all. And the people of Israel began to follow the Lord again. ³ Samuel spoke to the whole group of Israel, saying, “If you’re turning back to the Lord with all your hearts, you must remove your foreign gods and your idols of Ashtoreth. You must give yourselves fully to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will save you from the Philistines.”

⁴ So the Israelites put away their idols of Baal and Ashtoreth, and they served only the Lord.

⁵ Samuel said, “All Israel must meet at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So the Israelites met together at Mizpah. They drew water from the ground and poured it out before the Lord and fasted that day. They confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel served as judge of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ The Philistines heard the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah, so the Philistine kings came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard they were coming, they were afraid. ⁸ They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us! Ask him to save us from the Philistines!” ⁹ Then Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He called to the Lord for Israel’s sake, and the Lord answered him.

¹⁰ While Samuel was burning the offering, the Philistines came near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered against them with loud thunder. They were so frightened they became confused. So the Israelites defeated the Philistines in battle. ¹¹ The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines almost to Beth Car, killing the Philistines along the way.

Peace Comes to Israel

¹² After this happened Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named the stone Ebenezer,^[c] saying, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” ¹³ So the Philistines were defeated and did not enter the Israelites’ land again.

The Lord was against the Philistines all Samuel’s life. ¹⁴ Earlier the Philistines had taken towns from the Israelites, but the Israelites won them back, from Ekron to Gath. They also took back from the Philistines the lands near these towns. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel continued as judge of Israel all his life. ¹⁶ Every year he went from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah and judged the Israelites in all these towns. ¹⁷ But Samuel always went back to Ramah, where his home was. There he judged Israel and built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges for Israel. ² His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. ³ But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly, and they accepted money secretly to make wrong judgments.

⁴ So all the elders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”

⁶ When the elders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the Lord, ⁷ and the Lord told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. ⁸ They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me and served other gods. They are doing the same to you. ⁹ Now listen to the people, but warn them what the king who rules over them will do.”

¹⁰ So Samuel told those who had asked him for a king what the Lord had said. ¹¹ Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of the king’s chariot. ¹² The king will make some of your sons commanders over thousands or over fifties. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to make perfume and cook and bake for him. ¹⁴ He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them all for his own work. ¹⁷ He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. But the Lord will not answer you then.”

¹⁹ But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king to rule over us. ²⁰ Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge for us and go with us and fight our battles.”

²¹ After Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated their words to the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go back to your towns.”

Saul Looks for His Father’s Donkeys

9 Kish, son of Abiel from the tribe of Benjamin, was an important man. (Abiel was the son of Zeror, who was the son of Becorath, who was the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.) ² Kish had a son named Saul, who was a fine young man. There was no Israelite better than he. Saul stood a head taller than any other man in Israel.

³ Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, “Take one of the servants, and go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim and the land of Shalisha, but he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin, but they still did not find them. ⁵ When they arrived in the area of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the servant answered, “A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let’s go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken.”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go into the town, what can we give him? The food in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. Do we have anything?”

⁸ Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. Give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us about our journey.” ⁹ (In the past, if someone in Israel wanted to ask something from God, he would say, “Let’s go to the seer.” We call the person a prophet today, but in the past he was called a seer.)

¹⁰ Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea. Come, let’s go.” So they went toward the town where the man of God was.

¹¹ As Saul and the servant were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to get water. Saul and the servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² The young women answered, “Yes, he’s here. He’s ahead of you. Hurry now. He has just come to our town today, because the people will offer a sacrifice at the place of worship. ¹³ As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the place of worship to eat. The people will not begin eating until the seer comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, the guests will eat. Go now, and you should find him.”

Saul Meets Samuel

¹⁴ Saul and the servant went up to the town. Just as they entered it, they saw Samuel coming toward them on his way up to the place of worship.

¹⁵ The day before Saul came, the Lord had told Samuel: ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Appoint him to lead my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines. I have seen the suffering of my people, and I have listened to their cry.”

¹⁷ When Samuel first saw Saul, the Lord said to Samuel, “This is the man I told you about. He will organize my people.”

¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel at the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹ Samuel answered, “I am the seer. Go with me to the place of worship. Today you and your servant are to eat with me. Tomorrow morning I will answer all your questions and send you home. ²⁰ Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago, because they have been found. Soon all the wealth of Israel will belong to you and your family.”

²¹ Saul answered, “But I am from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel. And my family group is the smallest in the tribe of Benjamin. Why are you saying such things?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into a large room and gave them a choice place at the table. About thirty guests were there. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the meat I gave you, the portion I told you to set aside.”

²⁴ So the cook took the thigh and put it on the table in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This is the meat saved for you. Eat it, because it was set aside for you for this special time. As I said, ‘I had invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ After they finished eating, they came down from the place of worship and went to the town. Then Samuel talked with Saul on the roof^[d] of his house. ²⁶ At dawn they got up, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” So Saul got up and went out of the house with Samuel. ²⁷ As Saul, his servant, and Samuel were getting near the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay, because I have a message from God for you.”

Samuel Appoints Saul

10 Samuel took a jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “The Lord has appointed you to lead his people. ² After you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you were looking for have been found. But now your father has stopped thinking about his donkeys and is worrying about you. He is asking, “What will I do about my son?”’

³ “Then you will go on until you reach the big tree at Tabor. Three men on their way to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One man will be carrying three goats. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. And the third will have a leather bag full of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you must accept. ⁵ Then you will go to Gibeah of God, where a Philistine camp is. When you approach this town, a group of prophets will come down from the place of worship. They will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you with power. You will prophesy with these prophets, and you will be changed into a different man. ⁷ After these signs happen, do whatever you find to do, because God will help you.

⁸ “Go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you to offer whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. But you must wait seven days. Then I will come and tell you what to do.”

Saul Made King

⁹ When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart. All these signs came true that day. ¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, Saul met a group of prophets. The Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied with the prophets. ¹¹ When people who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What has happened to Kish’s son? Is even Saul one of the prophets?”

¹² A man who lived there said, “Who is the father of these prophets?” So this became a famous saying: “Is even Saul one of the prophets?” ¹³ When Saul finished prophesying, he entered the place of worship.

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”

Saul said, “We were looking for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we went to talk to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle asked, “Please tell me. What did Samuel say to you?”

¹⁶ Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had already been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about his becoming king.

¹⁷ Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet with the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I led Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from Egypt’s control and from other kingdoms that were troubling you.’ ¹⁹ But now you have rejected your God. He saves you from all your troubles and problems, but you said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ Now come, stand before the Lord in your tribes and family groups.”

²⁰ When Samuel gathered all the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was picked. ²¹ Samuel had them pass by in family groups, and Matri’s family was picked. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by, and Saul son of Kish was picked. But when they looked for Saul, they could not find him. ²² They asked the Lord, “Has Saul come here yet?”

The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding behind the baggage.”

²³ So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was a head taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. There is no one like him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained the rights and duties of the king and then wrote them in a book and put it before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him. ²⁷ But some troublemakers said, “How can this man save us?” They disapproved of Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept quiet.

Nahash Troubles Jabesh Gilead

11 About a month later Nahash the Ammonite and his army surrounded the city of Jabesh in Gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

² But he answered, “I will make a treaty with you only if I’m allowed to poke out the right eye of each of you. Then all Israel will be ashamed!”

³ The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Give us seven days to send messengers through all Israel. If no one comes to help us, we will give ourselves up to you.”

⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived and told the people the news, they cried loudly. ⁵ Saul was coming home from plowing the fields with his oxen when he heard the people crying. He asked, “What’s wrong with the people that they are crying?” Then they told Saul what the messengers from Jabesh had said. ⁶ When Saul heard their words, God’s Spirit rushed upon him with power, and he became very angry. ⁷ So he took a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. Then he gave the pieces of the oxen to messengers and ordered them to carry them through all the land of Israel.

The messengers said, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” So the people became very afraid of the Lord. They all came together as if they were one person. ⁸ Saul gathered the people together at Bezek. There were three hundred thousand men from Israel and thirty thousand men from Judah.

⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the people at Jabesh Gilead this: ‘Before the day warms up tomorrow, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and reported this to the people at Jabesh, and they were very happy. ¹⁰ The people said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will come out to meet you. Then you can do anything you want to us.”

¹¹ The next morning Saul divided his soldiers into three groups. At dawn they entered the Ammonite camp and defeated them before the heat of the day. The Ammonites who escaped were scattered; no two of them were still together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who didn’t want Saul as king? Bring them here and we will kill them!”

¹³ But Saul said, “No! No one will be put to death today. Today the Lord has saved Israel!”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. There we will again promise to obey the king.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there, before the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered fellowship offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites had a great celebration.

Samuel’s Farewell Speech

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done everything you wanted me to do and have put a king over you. ² Now you have a king to lead you. I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader since I was young. ³ Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, you must testify against me before the Lord and his appointed king. Did I steal anyone’s ox or donkey? Did I hurt or cheat anyone? Did I ever secretly accept money to pretend not to see something wrong? If I did any of these things, I will make it right.”

⁴ The Israelites answered, “You have not cheated us, or hurt us, or taken anything unfairly from anyone.”

⁵ Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness to what you have said. His appointed king is also a witness today that you did not find anything wrong in me.”

“He is our witness,” they said.

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who chose Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. ⁷ Now, stand there, and I will remind you of all the good things the Lord did for you and your ancestors.

⁸ “After Jacob entered Egypt, his descendants cried to the Lord for help. So the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your ancestors out of Egypt and brought them to live in this place.

⁹ “But they forgot the Lord their God. So he handed them over as slaves to Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and as slaves to the Philistines and the king of Moab. They all fought against your ancestors. ¹⁰ Then your ancestors cried to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned. We have left the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now save us from our enemies, and we will serve you.’ ¹¹ So the Lord sent Gideon,^[e] Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel. He saved you from your enemies around you, and you lived in safety. ¹² But when you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites coming against you, you said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us!’—even though the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ Now here is the king you chose, the one you asked for. The Lord has put him over you. ¹⁴ You must honor the Lord and serve him. You must obey his word and not turn against his commands. Both you and the king ruling over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, it will be well with you. ¹⁵ But if you don’t obey the Lord, and if you turn against his commands, he will be against you. He will do to you what he did to your ancestors.

¹⁶ “Now stand still and see the great thing the Lord will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ It is now the time of the wheat harvest.^[f] I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will know what an evil thing you did against the Lord when you asked for a king.”

¹⁸ Then Samuel prayed to the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So the people were very afraid of the Lord and Samuel. ¹⁹ They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”

²⁰ Samuel answered, “Don’t be afraid. It’s true that you did wrong, but don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Idols are of no use, so don’t worship them. They can’t help you or save you. They are useless! ²² For his own sake, the Lord won’t leave his people. Instead, he was pleased to make you his own people. ²³ I will surely not stop praying for you, because that would be sinning against the Lord. I will teach you what is good and right. ²⁴ You must honor the Lord and truly serve him with all your heart. Remember the wonderful things he did for you! ²⁵ But if you are stubborn and do evil, he will sweep you and your king away.”

13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he was king over Israel forty-two years.^{[g] 2} Saul chose three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand men stayed with him at Micmash in the mountains of Bethel, and one thousand men stayed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul sent the other men in the army back home.

³ Jonathan attacked the Philistine camp in Geba, and the other Philistines heard about it. Saul said, “Let the Hebrews hear what happened.” So he told the men to blow trumpets through all the land of Israel. ⁴ All the Israelites heard the news. The men said, “Saul has defeated the Philistine camp. Now the Philistines will really hate us!” Then the Israelites were called to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines gathered to fight Israel with three thousand^[h] chariots and six thousand men to ride in them. Their soldiers were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. The Philistines went and camped at Micmash, which is east of Beth Aven. ⁶ When the Israelites saw that they were in trouble, they went to hide in caves and bushes, among the rocks, and in pits and wells. ⁷ Some Hebrews even went across the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead.

But Saul stayed at Gilgal, and all the men in his army were shaking with fear. ⁸ Saul waited seven days, because Samuel had said he would meet him then. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the soldiers began to leave.

⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the whole burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then Saul offered the whole burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished, Samuel arrived, and Saul went to greet him.

¹¹ Samuel asked, “What have you done?”

Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me, and you were not here when you said you would be. The Philistines were gathering at Micmash. ¹² Then I thought, ‘The Philistines will come against me at Gilgal, and I haven’t asked for the Lord’s approval.’ So I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.”

¹³ Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed the command of the Lord your God. If you had obeyed him, the Lord would have made your kingdom continue in Israel always, ¹⁴ but now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has looked for the kind of man he wants. He has appointed him to rule his people, because you haven’t obeyed his command.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted the men who were still with him, and there were about six hundred.

Hard Times for Israel

¹⁶ Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers with him stayed in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines made their camp at Micmash. ¹⁷ Three groups went out from the Philistine camp to make raids. One group went on the Ophrah road in the land of Shual. ¹⁸ The second group went on the Beth Horon road. The third group went on the border road that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.

¹⁹ The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might make swords and spears.” ²⁰ So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to have their plows, hoes, axes, and sickles sharpened. ²¹ The Philistine blacksmiths charged about one-fourth of an ounce of silver for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged one-eighth of an ounce of silver for sharpening picks, axes, and the sticks used to guide oxen.

²² So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Israel Defeats the Philistines

²³ A group from the Philistine army had gone out to the pass at Micmash.

14 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to the officer who carried his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine camp on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.

² Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at the threshing floor near Gibeah. He had about six hundred men with him. ³ One man was Ahijah who was wearing the holy vest. (Ahijah was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.) No one knew Jonathan had left.

⁴ There was a steep slope on each side of the pass that Jonathan planned to go through to reach the Philistine camp. The cliff on one side was named Bozez, and the cliff on the other side was named Seneh. ⁵ One cliff faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, “Come. Let’s go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us. The Lord can give us victory if we have many people, or just a few.”

⁷ The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. I’m with you.”

⁸ Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, and the Lord will let us defeat them. This will be the sign for us.”

¹¹ When both Jonathan and his officer let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” ¹² The Philistines in the camp shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. We’ll teach you a lesson!”

Jonathan said to his officer, “Climb up behind me, because the Lord has given the Philistines to Israel!” ¹³ So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines as he went, and his officer killed them as he followed behind him. ¹⁴ In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a half acre of ground.

¹⁵ All the Philistine soldiers panicked—those in the camp and those in the raiding party. The ground itself shook! God had caused the panic.

¹⁶ Saul’s guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin when they saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction. ¹⁷ Saul said to his army, “Check to see who has left our camp.” When they checked, they learned that Jonathan and his officer were gone.

¹⁸ So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the Ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) ¹⁹ While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Put your hand down!”

²⁰ Then Saul gathered his army and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, striking each other with their swords! ²¹ Earlier, there were Hebrews who had served the Philistines and had stayed in their camp, but now they joined the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. ²² When all the Israelites hidden in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away, they also joined the battle and chased the Philistines. ²³ So the Lord saved the Israelites that day, and the battle moved on past Beth Aven.

Saul Makes Another Mistake

²⁴ The men of Israel were miserable that day because Saul had made an oath for all of them. He had said, “No one should eat food before evening and before I finish defeating my enemies. If he does, he will be cursed!” So no Israelite soldier ate food.

²⁵ Now the army went into the woods, where there was some honey on the ground. ²⁶ They came upon some honey, but no one took any because they were afraid of the oath. ²⁷ Jonathan had not heard the oath Saul had put on the army, so he dipped the end of his stick into the honey and lifted some out and ate it. Then he felt better. ²⁸ Then one of the soldiers told Jonathan, “Your father made an oath for all the soldiers. He said any man who eats today will be cursed! That’s why they are so weak.”

²⁹ Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the land! See how much better I feel after just tasting a little of this honey! ³⁰ It would have been much better for the men to eat the food they took from their enemies today. We could have killed many more Philistines!”

³¹ That day the Israelites defeated the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon. After that, they were very tired. ³² They had taken sheep, cattle, and calves from the Philistines. Now they were so hungry they killed the animals on the ground and ate them, without draining the blood from them! ³³ Someone said to Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. They’re eating meat without draining the blood from it!”

Saul said, “You have sinned! Roll a large stone over here now!” ³⁴ Then he said, “Go to the men and tell them that each person must bring his ox and sheep to me and kill it here and eat it. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating meat without draining the blood from it.”

That night everyone brought his animals and killed them there. ³⁵ Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar he had built to the Lord.

³⁶ Saul said, “Let’s go after the Philistines tonight and rob them. We won’t let any of them live!”

The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”

But the priest said, “Let’s ask God.”

³⁷ So Saul asked God, “Should I chase the Philistines? Will you let us defeat them?” But God did not answer Saul at that time. ³⁸ Then Saul said to all the leaders of his army, “Come here. Let’s find out what sin has been done today. ³⁹ As surely as the Lord lives who has saved Israel, even if my son Jonathan did the sin, he must die.” But no one in the army spoke.

⁴⁰ Then Saul said to all the Israelites, “You stand on this side. I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.”

The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”

⁴¹ Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give me the right answer.”

And Saul and Jonathan were picked; the other men went free. ⁴² Saul said, “Now let us discover if it is I or Jonathan my son who is guilty.” And Jonathan was picked.

⁴³ Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”

So Jonathan told Saul, “I only tasted a little honey from the end of my stick. And must I die now?”

⁴⁴ Saul said, “Jonathan, if you don’t die, may God punish me terribly.”

⁴⁵ But the soldiers said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? Never! He is responsible for saving Israel today! As surely as the Lord lives, not even a hair of his head will fall to the ground! Today Jonathan fought against the Philistines with God’s help!” So the army saved Jonathan, and he did not die.

⁴⁶ Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and they went back to their own land.

Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies

⁴⁷ When Saul became king over Israel, he fought against Israel’s enemies all around. He fought Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the king of Zobah, and the Philistines. Everywhere Saul went he defeated Israel’s enemies. ⁴⁸ He fought bravely and defeated the Amalekites. He saved the Israelites from their enemies who had robbed them.

⁴⁹ Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. His older daughter was named Merab, and his younger daughter was named Michal. ⁵⁰ Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ⁵¹ Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.

⁵² All Saul’s life he fought hard against the Philistines. When he saw strong or brave men, he took them into his army.

Saul Rejected as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to appoint you king over Israel. Now listen to his message. ² This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: ‘When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. So I will punish them. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and destroy everything they own as an offering to the Lord. Don’t let anything live. Put to death men and women, children and small babies, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul called the army together at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. ⁵ Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the ravine. ⁶ He said to the Kenites, “Go away. Leave the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them, because you showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, at the border of Egypt. ⁸ He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he killed all of Agag’s army with the sword. ⁹ Saul and the army let Agag live, along with the best sheep, fat cattle, and lambs. They let every good animal live, because they did not want to destroy them. But when they found an animal that was weak or useless, they killed it.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word to Samuel: ¹¹ “I am sorry I made Saul king, because he has stopped following me and has not obeyed my commands.” Samuel was upset, and he cried out to the Lord all night long.

¹² Early the next morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul. But the people told Samuel, “Saul has gone to Carmel, where he has put up a monument in his own honor. Now he has gone down to Gilgal.”

¹³ When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you! I have obeyed the Lord’s commands.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “Then why do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord your God, but we destroyed all the other animals.”

¹⁶ Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

Saul answered, “Tell me.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Once you didn’t think much of yourself, but now you have become the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord appointed you to be king over Israel. ¹⁸ And he sent you on a mission. He said, ‘Go and destroy those evil people, the Amalekites. Make war on them until all of them are dead.’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you take the best things? Why did you do what the Lord said was wrong?”

²⁰ Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord. I did what the Lord told me to do. I destroyed all the Amalekites, and I brought back Agag their king. ²¹ The soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel answered,

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands and your words. I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said. ²⁵ Now, I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You rejected the Lord’s command, and now he rejects you as king of Israel.”

²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors who is better than you. ²⁹ The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being, so he does not change his mind.”

³⁰ Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please honor me in front of the elders of my people and in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to Samuel in chains, but Agag thought, “Surely the threat of death has passed.”

³³ Samuel said to him, “Your sword made other mothers lose their children. Now your mother will have no children.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel left and went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. ³⁵ And Samuel never saw Saul again the rest of his life, but he was sad for Saul. And the Lord was very sorry he had made Saul king of Israel.