I Samuel 26-31

I Samuel 26

¹And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?

²Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

³And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

⁴David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.

⁵And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people pitched round about him.

⁶Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head: and Abner and the people lay round about him.

⁸Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered up thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not smite him the second time.

⁹And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can put forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?

¹⁰And David said, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and perish.

¹¹The LORD forbid that I should put forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

¹²So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s head; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither did any awake: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.

¹³Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them:

¹⁴and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?

¹⁵And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept watch over thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.

¹⁶This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept watch over your lord, the LORD’S anointed. And now, see, where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.

¹⁷And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.

¹⁸And he said, Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand?

¹⁹Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be the LORD that hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

²¹Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.

²²And David answered and said, Behold the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and fetch it.

²³And the LORD shall render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: forasmuch as the LORD delivered thee into my hand today, and I would not put forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed.

²⁴And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.

²⁵Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do mightily, and shalt surely prevail. So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

I Samuel 27

¹And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

²And David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, unto Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

³And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.

⁴And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

⁵And David said unto Achish, If now I have found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?

⁶Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

⁷And the number of the days that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

⁸And David and his men went up, and made a raid upon the Geshurites, and the Girzites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were the inhabitants of the land, which were of old, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.

⁹And David smote the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel; and he returned, and came to Achish.

¹⁰And Achish said, Whither have ye made a raid today? And David said, Against the South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.

¹¹And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying: So did David, and so hath been his manner all the while he hath dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

¹²And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

I Samuel 28

¹And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their hosts together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me in the host, thou and thy men.

²And David said to Achish, Therefore thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.

³Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.

⁴And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.

⁵And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

⁶And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

⁷Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor.

⁸And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, Divine unto me, I pray thee, by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.

⁹And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

¹⁰And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

¹¹Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.

¹²And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

¹³And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what seest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth.

¹⁴And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.

¹⁵And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

¹⁶And Samuel said, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine adversary?

¹⁷And the LORD hath wrought for himself, as he spake by me: and the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David.

¹⁸Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD and didst not execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.

¹⁹Moreover the LORD will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD shall deliver the host of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.

²⁰Then Saul fell straightway his full length upon the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

²¹And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath hearkened unto thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.

²²Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.

²³But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.

²⁴And the woman had a fatted calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:

²⁵and she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

I Samuel 29

¹Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by the fountain which is in Jezreel.

²And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish.

³Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away unto me unto this day?

⁴But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us: for wherewith should this fellow reconcile himself unto his lord? should it not be with the heads of these men?

⁵Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

⁶Then Achish called David, and said unto him, As the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not.

⁷Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.

⁸And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been before thee unto this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

⁹And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

¹⁰Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with the servants of thy lord that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.

¹¹So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

I Samuel 30

¹And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

²and had taken captive the women and all that were therein, both small and great: they slew not any, but carried them off, and went their way.

³And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.

⁴Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

⁵And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

⁶And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

⁷And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.

⁸And David inquired of the LORD, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all.

⁹So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.

¹⁰But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred stayed behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor:

¹¹And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave him water to drink:

¹²And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

¹³And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.

¹⁴We made a raid upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

¹⁵And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.

¹⁶And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking, and feasting, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

¹⁷And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels and fled.

¹⁸And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken: and David rescued his two wives.

¹⁹And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David brought back all.

²⁰And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.

²¹And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.

²²Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.

²³Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given unto us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.

²⁴And who will hearken unto you in this matter? for as his share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall share alike.

²⁵And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel, unto this day.

²⁶And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD;

²⁷To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in Ramoth of the South, and to them which were in Jattir;

²⁸and to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa;

²⁹and to them which were in Racal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites;

³⁰and to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Cor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach;

³¹and to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.

I Samuel 31

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

²And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

³And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.

⁴Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.

⁵And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him.

⁶So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

⁷And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

⁹And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the house of their idols, and to the people.

¹⁰And they put his armour in the house of the Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

¹¹And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

¹³And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.