Bible in 90 Days

³⁰ Wherefore Jehovah the God of Israel saith, I said indeed, Thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever. But now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

³¹ Behold, days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

³² And thou shalt see an oppressor [in my] habitation, amidst all the good that shall be done to Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.

³³ And the man of thine [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to cause thine eyes to fail and to grieve thy soul; and all the increase of thy house shall die in their vigour.

³⁴ And this shall be the sign to thee, which shall come upon thy two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them.

³⁵ And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, [who] shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed continually.

³⁶ And it shall come to pass [that] every one that is left of thy house shall come to crouch to him for a small piece of silver and for a cake of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.

3 And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; a vision was not frequent.

² And it came to pass at that time, when Eli lay in his place (now his eyes began to grow dim, he could not see),

³ and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel lay in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was,

⁴ that Jehovah called to Samuel. And he said, Here am I.

⁵ And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call: lie down again. And he went and lay down.

⁶ And Jehovah called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call, my son: lie down again.

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither had the word of Jehovah yet been revealed to him.

⁸ And Jehovah called again the third time, Samuel! And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah was calling the boy.

⁹ And Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down; and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Jehovah, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at the other times, Samuel, Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant heareth.

¹¹ And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

¹² In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house; I will begin and make an end.

¹³ For I have declared to him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he hath known: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice or oblation for ever.

¹⁵ And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to declare the vision to Eli.

¹⁶ And Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I.

¹⁷ And he said, What is the word that he has spoken to thee? I pray thee, keep it not back from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou keep back anything from me of all the word that he spoke to thee.

¹⁸ And Samuel told him all the words, and kept nothing back from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what is good in his sight.

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.

²⁰ And all Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel was established a prophet of Jehovah.

²¹ And Jehovah appeared again at Shiloh; for Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Jehovah.

4 And what Samuel had said happened to all Israel. And Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Eben-ezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

² And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel; and the battle spread, and Israel was routed before the Philistines; and they slew in battle array in the field about four thousand men.

³ And the people came into the camp; and the elders of Israel said, Why has Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch ourselves the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies.

⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of hosts, who sitteth between the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there by the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ And it came to pass when the ark of the covenant of Jehovah came into the camp, that all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth shook.

⁶ And the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, and said, What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of Jehovah had come into the camp.

⁷ And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there has not been such a thing heretofore.

⁸ Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

⁹ Shew yourselves valiant and be men, ye Philistines, that ye may not have to be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been servants to you: be men, and fight.

¹⁰ And the Philistines fought, and Israel was routed, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

¹¹ And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head.

¹³ And when he came, behold, Eli was sitting upon the seat by the way-side watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out.

¹⁴ And Eli heard the noise of the crying, and said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man came hastily, and told Eli.

¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see.

¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the battle, and I have fled to-day out of the battle. And he said, What has taken place, my son?

¹⁷ And the messenger answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

¹⁸ And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for the man was old, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

²⁰ And as she was dying, the women that stood by her said, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she did not answer, neither did she take it to heart.

²¹ And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

²² And she said, The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.

5 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.

² And the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

³ And when they of Ashdod arose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

⁴ And when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the fish-stump was left to him.

⁵ Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any that come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ And the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he laid them waste, and smote them with hemorrhoids,—Ashdod and its borders.

⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for his hand is severe upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

⁸ And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they said, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about [thither].

⁹ And it came to pass that, after they had carried it about, the hand of Jehovah was against the city with very great panic; and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and hemorrhoids broke out upon them.

¹⁰ And they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, when the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.

¹¹ And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it kill us not, and our people. For there was deadly alarm throughout the city: the hand of God was very heavy there;

¹² and the men that died not were smitten with the hemorrhoids; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

6 And the ark of Jehovah was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

² And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah? tell us wherewith we shall send it to its place.

³ And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; ye must at any rate return him a trespass-offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

⁴ Then they said, What is the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice, the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague is upon them all, and upon your lords.

⁵ And ye shall make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice that destroy the land, and give glory to the God of Israel: perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

⁶ And why will ye harden your heart, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? When he had wrought mightily among them, did they not let them go, and they departed?

⁷ And now make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there has come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them;

⁸ and take the ark of Jehovah, and lay it upon the cart, and the golden jewels, which ye return him as a trespass-offering, put in the coffer by the side thereof; and send it away that it may go.

⁹ And see, if it go up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, it is he who has done us this great evil; if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that touched us; it was a chance [that] happened to us.

¹⁰ And the men did so, and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

¹¹ And they laid the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer with the golden mice and the images of their sores.

¹² And the kine went straight forward on the way to Beth-shemesh; they went by the one high way, lowing as they went; and they turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ And [they of] Beth-shemesh were reaping the wheat-harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite, and stood there; and a great stone was there. And they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine as a burnt-offering to Jehovah.

¹⁵ And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer that was with it, in which were the golden jewels, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered up burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to Jehovah.

¹⁶ And the five lords of the Philistines saw [it], and returned to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷ And these are the golden sores which the Philistines returned as a trespass-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gazah one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

¹⁸ and the golden mice, [according to] the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and villages of the peasantry; [and they brought them] as far as the great [stone of] Abel, whereon they set down the ark of Jehovah, [which] is to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite.

¹⁹ And he smote among the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Jehovah, and smote of the people seventy men; and the people lamented, because Jehovah had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

²⁰ And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

²¹ And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of Jehovah; come down, fetch it up to you.

7 And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of Jehovah, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and hallowed Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Jehovah.

² And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah.

³ And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye return to Jehovah with all your heart, put away the strange gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and apply your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

⁴ And the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths and served Jehovah only.

⁵ And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray Jehovah for you.

⁶ And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.

⁷ And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah; and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel; and the children of Israel heard [it], and were afraid of the Philistines.

⁸ And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to Jehovah our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

⁹ And Samuel took a sucking-lamb, and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to Jehovah; and Samuel cried to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him.

¹⁰ And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines advanced to battle against Israel. And Jehovah thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were routed before Israel.

¹¹ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, as far as below Beth-car.

¹² And Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, and said, Hitherto Jehovah has helped us.

¹³ And the Philistines were subdued, and came no more into the borders of Israel; and the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

¹⁴ And the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and their territory did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorite.

¹⁵ And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

¹⁶ And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places.

¹⁷ And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house, and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to Jehovah.

8 And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

² And the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah; they judged in Beer-sheba.

³ And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah,

⁵ and said to him, Behold, thou art become old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now appoint us a king to judge us, like all the nations.

⁶ And the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to Jehovah.

⁷ And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

⁸ According to all the deeds that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

⁹ And now hearken unto their voice; only, testify solemnly unto them, and declare unto them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

¹⁰ And Samuel spoke all the words of Jehovah to the people that asked of him a king.

¹¹ And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, on his chariot and among his horsemen, and they shall run before his chariots;

¹² and [he will take them] that he may appoint for himself captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and that they may plough his ground, and reap his harvest, and make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.

¹³ And he will take your daughters for perfumers, and cooks, and bakers.

¹⁴ And your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, the best, will he take and give to his servants.

¹⁵ And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his chamberlains and to his servants.

¹⁶ And he will take your bondmen, and your bondwomen, and your comeliest young men, and your asses, and use them for his work.

¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your sheep. And ye shall be his servants.

¹⁸ And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye have chosen; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

¹⁹ And the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us,

²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations; and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and conduct our wars.

²¹ And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of Jehovah.

²² And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye every man to his city.

9 And there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, a mighty man of wealth.

² And he had a son whose name was Saul, choice and comely; and there was not among the children of Israel a comelier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

³ And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take, I pray, one of the young men with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

⁴ And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found [them] not; and they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there; and they passed through the land of Benjamin, and they found [them] not.

⁵ They had come to the land of Zuph when Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come and let us return; lest my father give up the asses, and be anxious about us.

⁶ And he said to him, Behold now, a man of God is in this city, and the man is held in honour; all that he says comes surely to pass. Let us now go thither: perhaps he will shew us the way that we should go.

⁷ And Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and we have no present to give to the man of God: what have we?

⁸ And the servant answered Saul again and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver; that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

⁹ (In former time in Israel, when a man went to ask counsel of God, he said, Come and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was in former time called a Seer.)

¹⁰ And Saul said to his servant, Well said: come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the ascent to the city, they met maidens going forth to draw water; and they said to them, Is the seer here?

¹² And they answered them and said, He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he came to-day to the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place.

¹³ As soon as ye come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people eat not until he has come, because he blesses the sacrifice; afterwards they eat that are invited. And now go up; for this very day shall ye find him.

¹⁴ And they went up into the city. As they were coming into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel was coming out towards them, to go up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now Jehovah had apprised Samuel one day before Saul came, saying,

¹⁶ To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him prince over my people Israel; and he will save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.

¹⁷ And as Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah answered him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee! this man shall rule over my people.

¹⁸ And Saul drew near to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.

¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer: go up before me to the high place, and ye shall eat with me to-day; and to-morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart.

²⁰ And as for the asses that thou didst lose three days ago, set not thy heart on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel [set]? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?

²¹ And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why dost thou speak such words to me?

²² And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the chamber, and gave them a place at the head of them that were invited; and they were about thirty persons.

²³ And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion that I gave thee, of which I said to thee, Set it by thee.

²⁴ And the cook took up the shoulder, and what was on it, and set [it] before Saul. And he said, Behold that which has been reserved! set it before thee, eat; for against the set time has it been kept for thee, since I said, I will invite the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ And they came down from the high place into the city, and he spoke with Saul upon the roof.

²⁶ And they arose early; and when it was about the dawning of the day, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, Arise, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, into the street.

²⁷ As they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou still now, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.

10 Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because Jehovah has anointed thee prince over his inheritance?

² When thou goest from me to-day, thou shalt meet two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to thee, The asses are found which thou wentest to seek, and behold, thy father has dismissed the matter of the asses, and is anxious about you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

³ And thou shalt go on forward from thence, and shalt come to the oak of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God, to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three cakes of bread, and another carrying a flask of wine.

⁴ And they will ask after thy welfare, and give thee two loaves, which thou shalt receive of their hands.

⁵ After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where are the outposts of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou comest thither, into the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with lute and tambour and pipe and harp before them; and they themselves prophesying.

⁶ And the Spirit of Jehovah will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

⁷ And it shall be, when these signs shall come to thee, thou shalt do as thy hand shall find; for God is with thee.

⁸ And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to thee, to offer up burnt-offerings, [and] to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou wait, until I come to thee and inform thee what thou shalt do.

⁹ And it was [so] that when he turned his back to go away from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

¹⁰ And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

¹¹ And it came to pass, when all that knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹² And a man of that place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹³ And when he had ended prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were nowhere, we went to Samuel.

¹⁵ And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you.

¹⁶ And Saul said to his uncle, He told us for certain that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he told him not.

¹⁷ And Samuel called the people together to Jehovah to Mizpah.

¹⁸ And he said to the children of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, *I* brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you;

¹⁹ but *ye* have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your troubles, and have said unto him, [Nay,] but a king shalt thou set over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands.

²⁰ And Samuel caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

²¹ And he caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, and the family of Matri was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they sought him, but he was not to be found.

²² Therefore they inquired of Jehovah further, Will the man yet come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.

²³ And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted and said, May the king live.

²⁵ And Samuel told the people the right of the kingdom, and wrote it in the book, and laid it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

²⁶ And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and with him went the band, whose hearts God had touched.

²⁷ But the children of Belial said, How should this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no gifts. But he was as one deaf.

11 And Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh-Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

² And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this [condition] will I treat with you, that I thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.

³ And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Allow us seven days, and we will send messengers into all the districts of Israel; and if there be no man to deliver us, we will come out to thee.

⁴ And the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told these words in the ears of the people. And all the people lifted up their voice and wept.

⁵ And behold, Saul came after the oxen from the field; and Saul said, What [aileth] the people that they weep? And they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

⁶ And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was kindled greatly.

⁷ And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoever comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen! And the fear of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man.

⁸ And he numbered them in Bezek, and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ And they said to the messengers that had come, Thus shall ye say to the men of Jabesh-Gilead: To-morrow ye shall have deliverance when the sun is hot. And the messengers came and informed the men of Jabesh-Gilead; and they were glad.

¹⁰ And the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out to you, and ye may do with us according to all that is good in your sight.

¹¹ And it came to pass the next day that Saul set the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and smote Ammon until the heat of the day: and it came to pass that they who remained were scattered, and not two of them were left together.

¹² And the people said to Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.

¹³ But Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day Jehovah has wrought deliverance in Israel.

¹⁴ And Samuel said to the people, Come and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.

¹⁵ And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed peace-offerings before Jehovah. And there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced exceedingly.

12 And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king over you.

² And now behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and grey-headed; and behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my youth up to this day.

³ Here I am: testify against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I injured? or of whose hand have I received any ransom and blinded mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it to you.

⁴ And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, and thou hast not injured us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.

⁵ And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand! And [the people] said, [He is] witness!

⁶ And Samuel said to the people, [It is] Jehovah who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

⁷ And now stand still, that I may plead with you before Jehovah of all the righteous acts of Jehovah which he did to you and to your fathers.

⁸ When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought your fathers forth out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

⁹ And they forgot Jehovah their God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

¹⁰ And they cried to Jehovah and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths; and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

¹¹ And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies round about, so that ye dwelt in safety.

¹² But when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us; when Jehovah your God was your king.

¹³ And now behold, the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have asked for! and behold, Jehovah has set a king over you.

¹⁴ If ye fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and rebel not against the commandment of Jehovah, then both ye and the king also that reigns over you shall continue following Jehovah your God.

¹⁵ But if ye will not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and if ye rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as against your fathers.

¹⁶ Now therefore stand and see this great thing which Jehovah will do before your eyes.

¹⁷ Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call unto Jehovah, and he will send thunder and rain; and ye shall perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah in asking for yourselves a king.

¹⁸ And Samuel called to Jehovah; and Jehovah sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel.

¹⁹ And all the people said to Samuel, Pray to Jehovah thy God for thy servants, that we die not; for we have added to all our sins the wickedness to ask for ourselves a king.

²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: *ye* have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, and serve Jehovah with all your heart;

²¹ and turn ye not aside; for [it would be] after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.

²² For Jehovah will not cast away his people for his great name's sake; because it has pleased Jehovah to make you his people.

²³ Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you; and I will teach you the good and right way.

²⁴ Only, fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth, with all your heart; for see how great things he has done for you.

²⁵ But if ye do wickedly, ye shall perish, both ye and your king.

13 Saul was … years old when he became king; and he reigned two years over Israel.

² And Saul chose him three thousand men out of Israel: there were with Saul two thousand in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

³ And Jonathan smote the outpost of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard [of it]. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.

⁴ And all Israel heard say, Saul has smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and Israel also has become odious to the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

⁵ And the Philistines were assembled together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude; and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward from Beth-Aven.

⁶ And the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed); and the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in cliffs, and in strongholds, and in pits.

⁷ And the Hebrews went over the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. And Saul was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸ And he waited seven days, according to the set time that Samuel [had appointed]; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

⁹ And Saul said, Bring hither to me the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings. And he offered up the burnt-offering.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, as soon as he had ended offering up the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.

¹¹ And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou didst not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were assembled at Michmash,

¹² I said, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to Jehovah; and I forced myself, and offered up the burnt-offering.

¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God which he commanded thee; for now would Jehovah have established thy kingdom over Israel for ever.

¹⁴ But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah has sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah has appointed him ruler over his people; for thou hast not kept what Jehovah commanded thee.

¹⁵ And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were found with him, about six hundred men.

¹⁶ And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were found with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin; and the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

¹⁷ And the ravagers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned the way of Ophrah, into the land of Shual;

¹⁸ and another company turned the way to Beth-horon; and the other company turned the way to the district that looks over the ravine of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ Now there was no smith found throughout the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears.

²⁰ And all Israel went down to the Philistines, every man to get his ploughshare, and his hoe, and his axe, and his sickle sharpened,

²¹ when the edges of the sickles, and the hoes, and the forks, and the axes were blunted; and to set the goads.

²² And it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and with Jonathan his son there was found.

²³ And a garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

14 Now it came to pass one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore his armour, Come and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison which is on the other side. But he did not tell his father.

² And Saul abode at the extreme end of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which [was] in Migron; and the people that were with him were about six hundred men.

³ (And Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, Jehovah's priest in Shiloh, wore the ephod.) And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.

⁴ Now between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison there was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side; and the name of the one [was] Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

⁵ The one crag [formed] a pillar on the north opposite to Michmash, and the other on the south opposite to Geba.

⁶ And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: perhaps Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.

⁷ And his armour-bearer said to him, Do all that is in thy heart; turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.

⁸ Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will shew ourselves to them.

⁹ If they say thus to us, Stand still until we come to you, then we will stay in our place, and will not go up to them.

¹⁰ And if they say thus, Come up to us, then we will go up; for Jehovah has given them into our hand; and this shall be the sign to us.

¹¹ And both of them shewed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.

¹² And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you something. And Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah has delivered them into the hand of Israel.

¹³ And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan; and his armour-bearer slew after him.

¹⁴ And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour-bearer wrought was about twenty men, as it were on the half-furrow of an acre of land.

¹⁵ And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the ravagers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; for it was a trembling [from] God.

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on slaying one another.

¹⁷ Then said Saul to the people that were with him, Muster now, and see who is gone from us. And they mustered, and behold, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there.

¹⁸ And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.

¹⁹ And it came to pass while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thy hand.

²⁰ And Saul and all the people that were with him were called together, and they came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, a very great confusion.

²¹ And there were Hebrews with the Philistines before that time, who had gone up with them into the camp round about; and they also [turned] to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

²² And all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in mount Ephraim heard that the Philistines fled, and they also followed hard after them in the battle.

²³ And Jehovah saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over beyond Beth-Aven.

²⁴ But the men of Israel were distressed that day. Now Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food until evening, and [until] I am avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food.

²⁵ And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey on the ground.

²⁶ And the people had come into the wood, and behold, the honey flowed; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.

²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he put forth the end of his staff which was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright.

²⁸ Then answered one of the people and said, Thy father strictly adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food this day; and the people are faint.

²⁹ And Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land: see, I pray you, that mine eyes are bright, because I tasted a little of this honey.

³⁰ How much more, if the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for would there not now have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?

³¹ And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon; and the people were very faint.

³² And the people fell on the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate [them] with the blood.

³³ And they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against Jehovah, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have acted perversely: roll me now a great stone.

³⁴ And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Bring near to me every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat; and sin not against Jehovah in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slaughtered [them] there.

³⁵ And Saul built an altar to Jehovah: this was the first altar he built to Jehovah.

³⁶ And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever is good in thy sight. Then said the priest, Let us come near hither to God.

³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou give them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him that day.

³⁸ And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the heads of the people; and know and see wherein this sin has been this day.

³⁹ For, [as] Jehovah liveth, who has saved Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall certainly die. And no one answered him among all the people.

⁴⁰ Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what is good in thy sight.

⁴¹ And Saul said to Jehovah the God of Israel, Give a perfect [testimony]! And Jonathan and Saul were taken, and the people escaped.

⁴² And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him and said, With the end of the staff which is in my hand I tasted a little honey, [and] behold, I must die!

⁴⁴ And Saul said, God do so [to me] and more also; thou shalt certainly die, Jonathan.

⁴⁵ And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far be it! [as] Jehovah liveth, there shall not a hair of his head fall to the ground; for he has wrought with God this day. So the people delivered Jonathan, that he died not.

⁴⁶ And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.

⁴⁷ And Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; and whithersoever he turned himself, he discomfited [them].

⁴⁸ And he did valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of their spoilers.

⁴⁹ And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.

⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.

⁵¹ And Kish the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner were sons of Abiel.

⁵² And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him to himself.

15 And Samuel said to Saul, Jehovah sent *me* to anoint thee king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah.

² Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I have considered what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

³ Now go and smite Amalek, and destroy utterly all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

⁴ And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

⁵ And Saul came to the city of the Amalekites, and set an ambush in the valley.

⁶ And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, and go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

⁷ And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah as thou comest to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt.

⁸ And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

⁹ And Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and oxen, and beasts of the second bearing, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not devote them to destruction; but everything that was mean and weak, that they destroyed utterly.

¹⁰ And the word of Jehovah came to Samuel, saying,

¹¹ It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned away from following me, and hath not fulfilled my words. And Samuel was much grieved; and he cried to Jehovah all night.

¹² And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and has turned about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

¹³ And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, Blessed art thou of Jehovah: I have fulfilled the word of Jehovah.

¹⁴ And Samuel said, What [means] then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear?

¹⁵ And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

¹⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, that I may tell thee what Jehovah has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

¹⁷ And Samuel said, Was it not when thou wast little in thine eyes that thou [becamest] the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel?

¹⁸ And Jehovah sent thee on a way and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

¹⁹ Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, but didst fall upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of Jehovah?

²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, I have indeed hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

²¹ But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.

²² And Samuel said, Has Jehovah delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, As in hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, Attention than the fat of rams.

²³ For rebellion is [as] the sin of divination, And selfwill is [as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also rejected thee from being king.

²⁴ And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice.

²⁵ And now, I pray thee, forgive my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.

²⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn again with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel.

²⁷ And as Samuel turned to go away, [Saul] laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

²⁸ Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou.

²⁹ And also the Hope of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.

³⁰ And he said, I have sinned; honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.

³¹ So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah.

³² And Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag came to him gaily. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

³³ And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless above women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.

³⁴ And Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

³⁵ And Samuel saw Saul no more until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned over Saul; and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.