1 Samuel 26-31

I Samuel 26

¹And the Ziphites come in unto Saul, at Gibeah, saying, ‘Is not David hiding himself in the height of Hachilah, on the front of the desert?'

²And Saul riseth, and goeth down unto the wilderness of Ziph, and with him three thousand men, chosen ones of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³And Saul encampeth in the height of Hachilah, which is on the front of the desert, by the way, and David is abiding in the wilderness, and he seeth that Saul hath come after him in to the wilderness;

⁴and David sendeth spies, and knoweth that Saul hath come unto Nachon,

⁵and David riseth, and cometh in unto the place where Saul hath encamped, and David seeth the place where Saul hath lain, and Abner son of Ner, head of his host, and Saul is lying in the path, and the people are encamping round about him.

⁶And David answereth and saith unto Ahimelech the Hittite, and unto Abishai son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, ‘Who doth go down with me unto Saul, unto the camp?' and Abishai saith, ‘I -- I go down with thee.'

⁷And David cometh -- and Abishai -- unto the people by night, and lo, Saul is lying sleeping in the path, and his spear struck into the earth at his pillow, and abner and the people are lying round about him.

⁸And Abishai saith unto David, ‘God hath shut up to-day thine enemy into thy hand; and, now, let me smite him, I pray thee, with a spear, even into the earth at once -- and I do repeat it to him.'

⁹And David saith unto Abishai, ‘Destroy him not; for who hath put forth his hand against the anointed of Jehovah, and been acquitted?'

¹⁰And David saith, ‘Jehovah liveth; except Jehovah doth smite him, or his day come that he hath died, or into battle he go down, and hath been consumed --

¹¹far be it from me, by Jehovah, from putting forth my hand against the anointed of Jehovah; and, now, take, I pray thee, the spear which is at his pillow, and the cruse of water, and we go away.'

¹²And David taketh the spear, and the cruse of water at the pillow of Saul, and they go away, and there is none seeing, and there is none knowing, and there is none awaking, for all of them are sleeping, for a deep sleep from Jehovah hath fallen upon them.

¹³And David passeth over to the other side, and standeth on the top of the hill afar off -- great is the place between them;

¹⁴and David calleth unto the people, and unto Abner son of Ner, saying, ‘Dost thou not answer, Abner?' and Abner answereth and saith, ‘Who art thou who hast called unto the king?'

¹⁵And David saith unto Abner, ‘Art not thou a man? and who is like thee in Israel? but why hast thou not watched over thy lord the king? for one of the people had come in to destroy the king, thy lord.

¹⁶Not good is this thing which thou hast done; Jehovah liveth, but ye are sons of death, in that ye have not watched over your lord, over the anointed of Jehovah; and now, see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water which is at his bolster.'

¹⁷And Saul discerneth the voice of David, and saith, ‘Is this thy voice, my son David?' and David saith, ‘My voice, my lord, O king!'

¹⁸and he saith, ‘Why is this -- my lord is pursuing after his servant? for what have I done, and what is in my hand evil?

¹⁹And, now, let, I pray thee, my lord the king hear the words of his servant: if Jehovah hath moved thee against me, let Him accept a present; and if the sons of men -- cursed are they before Jehovah, for they have cast me out to-day from being admitted into the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.

²⁰‘And now, let not my blood fall to the earth over-against the face of Jehovah, for the king of Israel hath come out to seek one flea, as one pursueth the partridge in mountains.'

²¹And Saul saith, ‘I have sinned; turn back, my son David, for I do evil to thee no more, because that my soul hath been precious in thine eyes this day; lo, I have acted foolishly, and do err very greatly.'

²²And David answereth and saith, ‘Lo, the king's spear; and let one of the young men pass over, and receive it;

²³and Jehovah doth turn back to each his righteousness and his faithfulness, in that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into my hand, and I have not been willing to put forth my hand against the anointed of Jehovah,

²⁴and lo, as thy soul hath been great this day in mine eyes, so is my soul great in the eyes of Jehovah, and He doth deliver me out of all distress.'

²⁵And Saul saith unto David, ‘Blessed art thou, my son David, also working thou dost work, and also prevailing thou dost prevail.' And David goeth on his way, and Saul hath turned back to his place.

I Samuel 27

¹And David saith unto his heart, ‘Now am I consumed one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing for me better than that I diligently escape unto the land of the Philistines, and Saul hath been despairing of me -- of seeking me any more in all the border of Israel, and I have escaped out of his hand.'

²And David riseth, and passeth over, he and six hundred men who are with him, unto Achish son of Maoch king of Gath;

³and David dwelleth with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each one with his household, even David and his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelitess.

⁴And it is declared to Saul that David hath fled to Gath, and he hath not added any more to seek him.

⁵And David saith unto Achish, ‘If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, they give to me a place in one of the cities of the field, and I dwell there, yea, why doth thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?'

⁶And Achish giveth to him in that day Ziklag, therefore hath Ziklag been to the kings of Judah till this day.

⁷And the number of the days which David hath dwelt in the field of the Philistines is days and four months;

⁸and David goeth up and his men, and they push unto the Geshurite, and the Gerizite, and the Amalekite, (for they are inhabitants of the land from of old), as thou comest in to Shur and unto the land of Egypt,

⁹and David hath smitten the land, and doth not keep alive man and woman, and hath taken sheep, and oxen, and asses, and camels, and garments, and turneth back, and cometh in unto Achish.

¹⁰And Achish saith, ‘Whither have ye pushed to-day?' and David saith, ‘Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelite, and unto the south of the Kenite.'

¹¹Neither man nor woman doth David keep alive, to bring in word to Gath, saying, ‘Lest they declare it against us, saying, Thus hath David done, and thus is his custom all the days that he hath dwelt in the fields of the Philistines.'

¹²And Achish believeth in David, saying, ‘He hath made himself utterly abhorred among his people, in Israel, and hath been to me for a servant age-during.'

I Samuel 28

¹And it cometh to pass in those days, that the Philistines gather their camps for the war, to fight against Israel, and Achish saith unto David, ‘Thou dost certainly know that with me thou dost go out into the camp, thou and thy men.'

²And David saith unto Achish, ‘Therefore -- thou dost know that which thy servant dost do.' And Achish saith unto David, ‘Therefore -- keeper of my head I do appoint thee all the days.'

³And Samuel hath died, and all Israel mourn for him, and bury him in Ramah, even in his city, and Saul hath turned aside those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.

⁴And the Philistines are gathered, and come in, and encamp in Shunem, and Saul gathereth all Israel, and they encamp in Gilboa,

⁵and Saul seeth the camp of the Philistines, and feareth, and his heart trembleth greatly,

⁶and Saul asketh at Jehovah, and Jehovah hath not answered him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.

⁷And Saul saith to his servants, ‘Seek for me a woman possessing a familiar spirit, and I go unto her, and inquire of her;' and his servants say unto him, ‘Lo, a woman possessing a familiar spirit in En-dor.'

⁸And Saul disguiseth himself and putteth on other garments, and goeth, he and two of the men with him, and they come in unto the woman by night, and he saith, ‘Divine, I pray thee, to me by the familiar spirit, and cause to come up to me him whom I say unto thee.'

⁹And the woman saith unto him, ‘Lo, thou hast known that which Saul hath done, that he hath cut off those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land; and why art thou laying a snare for my soul -- to put me to death?'

¹⁰And Saul sweareth to her by Jehovah, saying, ‘Jehovah liveth, punishment doth not meet thee for this thing.'

¹¹And the woman saith, ‘Whom do I bring up to thee?' and he saith, ‘Samuel -- bring up to me.'

¹²And the woman seeth Samuel, and crieth with a loud voice, and the woman speaketh unto Saul, saying, ‘Why hast thou deceived me -- and thou Saul?'

¹³And the king saith to her, ‘Do not fear; for what hast thou seen?' and the woman saith unto Saul, ‘Gods I have seen coming up out of the earth.'

¹⁴And he saith to her, ‘What is his form?' and she saith, ‘An aged man is coming up, and he is covered with an upper robe;' and Saul knoweth that he is Samuel, and boweth -- face to thee earth -- and doth obeisance.

¹⁵And Samuel saith unto Saul, ‘Why hast thou troubled me, to bring me up?' And Saul saith, ‘I have great distress, and the Philistines are fighting against me, God hath turned aside from me, and hath not answered me any more, either by the hand of the prophets, or by dreams; and I call for thee to let me know what I do.'

¹⁶And Samuel saith, ‘And why dost thou ask me, and Jehovah hath turned aside from thee, and is thine enemy?

¹⁷And Jehovah doth for Himself as He hath spoken by my hand, and Jehovah rendeth the kingdom out of thy hand, and giveth it to thy neighbour -- to David.

¹⁸Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, nor didst the fierceness of His anger on Amalek -- therefore this thing hath Jehovah done to thee this day;

¹⁹yea, Jehovah giveth also Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow thou and thy sons are with me; also the camp of Israel doth Jehovah give into the hand of the Philistines.'

²⁰And Saul hasteth and falleth -- the fulness of his stature -- to the earth, and feareth greatly because of the words of Samuel; also power was not in him, for he had not eaten bread all the day, and all the night.

²¹And the woman cometh in unto Saul, and seeth that he hath been greatly troubled, and saith unto him, ‘Lo, thy maid-servant hath hearkened to thy voice, and I put my soul in my hand, and I obey thy words which thou hast spoken unto me;

²²and now, hearken, I pray thee, also thou, to the voice of thy maid-servant, and I set before thee a morsel of bread, and eat, and there is in thee power when thou goest in the way.'

²³And he refuseth, and saith, ‘I do not eat;' and his servants urge on him, and also the woman, and he hearkeneth to their voice, and riseth from the earth, and sitteth on the bed.

²⁴And the woman hath a calf of the stall in the house, and she hasteth and slaughtereth it, and taketh flour, and kneadeth, and baketh it unleavened things,

²⁵and bringeth nigh before Saul, and before his servants, and they eat, and rise, and go on, during that night.

I Samuel 29

¹And the Philistines gather all their camps to Aphek, and the Israelites are encamping at a fountain which is in Jezreel,

²and the princes of the Philistines are passing on by hundreds, and by thousands, and David and his men are passing on in the rear with Achish.

³And the heads of the Philistines say, ‘What are these Hebrews?' and Achish saith unto the heads of the Philistines, ‘Is not this David servant of Saul king of Israel, who hath been with me these days or these years, and I have not found in him anything wrong from the day of his falling away till this day.'

⁴And the heads of the Philistines are wroth against him, and the heads of the Philistines say to him, ‘Send back the man, and he doth turn back unto his place whither thou hast appointed him, and doth not go down with us into battle, and is not to us for an adversary in battle; and wherewith doth this one reconcile himself unto his lord -- is it not with the heads of those men?'

⁵Is not this David, of whom they answer in choruses, saying, Saul hath smitten among his thousands, and David among his myriads?'

⁶And Achish calleth unto David, and saith unto him, ‘Jehovah liveth, surely thou art upright, and good in mine eyes is thy going out, and thy coming in, with me in the camp, for I have not found in thee evil from the day of thy coming in unto me till this day; and in the eyes of the princes thou art not good;

⁷and now, turn back, and go in peace, and thou dost do no evil in the eyes of the princes of the Philistines.'

⁸And David saith unto Achish, ‘But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the day that I have been before thee till this day -- that I go not in and have fought against the enemies of my lord the king?'

⁹And Achish answereth and saith unto David, ‘I have known that thou art good in mine eyes as a messenger of God; only, the princes of the Philistines have said, He doth not go up with us into battle;

¹⁰and now, rise thou early in the morning, and the servants of thy lord who have come with thee, when ye have risen early in the morning, and have light, then go ye.'

¹¹And David riseth early, he and his men, to go in the morning, to turn back unto the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone up to Jezreel.

I Samuel 30

¹And it cometh to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed unto the south, and unto Ziklag, and smite Ziklag, and burn it with fire,

²and they take captive the women who are in it; from small unto great they have not put any one to death, and they lead away, and go on their way.

³And David cometh in -- and his men -- unto the city, and lo, burnt with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters have been taken captive!

⁴And David lifteth up -- and the people who are with him -- their voice and weep, till that they have no power to weep.

⁵And the two wives of David have been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;

⁶and David hath great distress, for the people have said to stone him, for the soul of all the people hath been bitter, each for his sons and for his daughters; and David doth strengthen himself in Jehovah his God.

⁷And David saith unto Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, ‘Bring nigh, I pray thee, to me the ephod;' and Abiathar bringeth nigh the ephod unto David,

⁸and David asketh at Jehovah, saying, ‘I pursue after this troop -- do I overtake it?' And He saith to him, ‘Pursue, for thou dost certainly overtake, and dost certainly deliver.'

⁹And David goeth on, he and six hundred men who are with him, and they come in unto the brook of Besor, and those left have stood still,

¹⁰and David pursueth, he and four hundred men, (and two hundred men stand still who have been too faint to pass over the brook of Besor),

¹¹and they find a man, an Egyptian, in the field, and take him unto David, and give to him bread, and he eateth, and they cause him to drink water,

¹²and give to him a piece of a bunch of dried figs, and two bunches of raisins, and he eateth, and his spirit returneth unto him, for he hath not eaten bread nor drunk water three days and three nights.

¹³And David saith to him, ‘Whose art thou? and whence art thou?' And he saith, ‘An Egyptian youth I am, servant to a man, an Amalekite, and my lord forsaketh me, for I have been sick three days,

¹⁴we pushed to the south of the Cherethite, and against that which is to Judah, and against the south of Caleb, and Ziklag we burned with fire.'

¹⁵And David saith unto him, ‘Dost thou bring me down unto this troop?' and he saith, ‘Swear to me by God -- thou dost not put me to death, nor dost thou shut me up into the hand of my lord -- and I bring thee down unto this troop.'

¹⁶And he bringeth him down, and lo, they are spread out over the face of all the earth, eating, and drinking, and feasting, with all the great spoil which they have taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

¹⁷And David smiteth them from the twilight even unto the evening of the morrow, and there hath not escaped of them a man, except four hundred young men who have ridden on the camels, and are fled.

¹⁸And David delivereth all that the Amalekites have taken; also his two wives hath David delivered.

¹⁹And there hath not lacked to them anything, from small unto great, and unto sons and daughters, and from the spoil, even unto all that they had taken to themselves, the whole hath David brought back,

²⁰and David taketh the whole of the flock, and of the herd, they have led on before these cattle, and they say, ‘This is David's spoil.'

²¹And David cometh in unto the two hundred men who were too faint to go after David, and whom they cause to abide at the brook of Besor, and they go out to meet David, and to meet the people who are with him, and David approacheth the people, and asketh of them of welfare.

²²And every bad and worthless man, of the men who have gone with David, answereth, yea, they say, ‘Because that they have not gone with us we do not give to them of the spoil which we have delivered, except each his wife and his children, and they lead away and go.

²³And David saith, ‘Ye do not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah hath given to us, and He doth preserve us, and doth give the troop which cometh against us into our hand;

²⁴and who doth hearken to you in this thing? for as the portion of him who was brought down into battle, so also is the portion of him who is abiding by the vessels -- alike they share.'

²⁵And it cometh to pass from that day and forward, that he appointeth it for a statute and for an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

²⁶And David cometh in unto Ziklag, and sendeth of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, (saying, ‘Lo, for you a blessing, of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah),'

²⁷to those in Beth-El, and to those in South Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,

²⁸and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,

²⁹and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,

³⁰and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-Ashan, and to those in Athach,

³¹and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David had gone up and down, he and his men.

I Samuel 31

¹And the Philistines are fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel flee from the face of the Philistines, and fall wounded in mount Gilboa,

²and the Philistines follow Saul and his sons, and the Philistines smite Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul.

³And the battle is hard against Saul, and the archers find him -- men with bow -- and he is pained greatly by the archers;

⁴and Saul saith to the bearer of his weapons, ‘Draw thy sword, and pierce me with it, lest they come -- these uncircumcised -- and have pierced me, and rolled themselves on me;' and the bearer of his weapons hath not been willing, for he is greatly afraid, and Saul taketh the sword, and falleth upon it.

⁵And the bearer of his weapons seeth that Saul is dead, and he falleth -- he also -- on his sword, and dieth with him;

⁶and Saul dieth, and three of his sons, and the bearer of his weapons, also all his men, on that day together.

⁷And they see -- the men of Israel, who are beyond the valley, and who are beyond the Jordan -- that the men of Israel have fled, and that Saul and his sons have died, and they forsake the cities and flee, and Philistines come in, and dwell in them.

⁸And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the Philistines come to strip the wounded, and they find Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa,

⁹and they cut off his head, and strip off his weapons, and send into the land of the Philistines round about, to proclaim tidings in the house of their idols, and among the people;

¹⁰and they place his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth, and his body they have fixed on the wall of Beth-Shan.

¹¹And they hear regarding it -- the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead -- that which the Philistines have done to Saul,

¹²and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there,

¹³and they take their bones, and bury them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and fast seven days.