Saul's charge to the people I. SAMUEL 14 18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, 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 unto the priest, that the 2noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. 20 And Saul and all the people that were with him 3assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great d discomfiture. 21 Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel which I had hid themselves in Amount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. 1 Or, dealt 21. 3 Heb. were cried b Judg. 7. 22. e ver. 33. d Deu. 28. 20. altar he 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day: aven. 24 And the men of Israel were dis tressed that day: for Saul had "adjured 26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 8. 6. k Jos. 7. 2. Cp. Jos.7.14 ch. 10. 19. corners. Judg. 20. 2. n So Jos. 6. 26. o Ru. 3. 13. p Ex. 3. & Shew the 16, &c. 27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath:7 Or, wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. 28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were 9 faint. 29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. 32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them "with the blood. ch. 10. 20, 21. Cp. Jos. 7.19. t ver. 27. 9 Or, weary. ver. 31. Ru. 1. 17. v ver. 39. 2 Sa. 14. 11. 1 Ki. 1. 52. So Mt. 10. 30. Lk. 12. 7 ch. 13. 2. a Lev. 3. 17. transgressed by Jonathan. 33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have 1 transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. 34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox 4 with him that night, and slew them there. 35 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: 5the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. 36And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. 37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. 38 And Saul said, 'Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. 39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. 40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee. 41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, 7Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people 8 escaped. 42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. 44 And Saul answered, "God do so and more also: "for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth," there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. 45 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place. 47 So Saul took the kingdom over For sparing the Amalekites 1. SAMUEL 14 Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, 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 vexed them. 48 And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. 1 a ch. 11. 11. So Ge. 6. 6. 2 Sa. 8. 3. d ch. 15. 3-7. Cp. ch. 31. 2. 49 Now the sons of Saul were Jona- 2 Sa. 2. 8-10. than, and Ishui, and Melchi-shua: and 1 Ch. 8. 33 & 9. 39. the names of his two daughters were f Jos. 15, 55. these; the name of the firstborn? Merab, ch. 18. 17and the name of the younger Michal: 50 And the name of Saul's wife washch. 18. 20, 27. 2 Sa. 3. 14, Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: &c. and the name of the captain of his host was 2 Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. 51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 19. & 6. 20-23. Ru. 2. 20 2 Heb. Abiner. 2 Sa. 8. j ch. 10. 14. k ch. 9. 1. 52 And there was sore war against the ver. 9, 21. Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him. CHAPTER 15 QAMUEL also said unto Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and Putterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. m ch. 9. 16. n ch. 9. 21. o Ex. 17. 8, Nu. 14 45 See Judg. 3. P Lev. 27. 28, 29. Jos. 6. 17, 21. 3 Heb. they consume them. ch. 14. 32. Or, fought. Judg. 1. 16. ch. 27. 10. 10, 19. 4 And Saul gathered the people to-Cp. Ex. 18. gether, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and tent thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 6 And Saul said unto "the Kenites, Go, depart, get you 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. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. Cp. Ps. 40. Nu. 10. 29, 22 6-8 & 50. 8, 9. Jer. 7. 22, 23. He. 10. 6-9. u Ge. 2. 11. v Ge. 16. 7. ch. 27. 8. w Ece. 5. 1. Hos. 6. 6. Mt. 9. 13 & 12. 7. So Mi. 6. 6-8. Mk. 12. 33. Saul is rejected 10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to f Carmel, and, be hold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay. and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, "When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until 3 they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fy upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD 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 chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, "to obey is better than 7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from "Havilah until thou comest to "Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed Cp. ch. 27. 8 sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the 6fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. & 30. 1. y ver. 3, 15. divination. 6 Or, second sort. 2 ch. 13. 14. a ch. 26. 21. rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of 5 witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, "1 have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. a Jos. 3. 5. 1 Called 1 Ch. 27. 18. e So Ps. 147. Samuel anointeth David. 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his dCp. 1 Ki. 11. him: for the LORD seeth not as man mantle, and it rent. 23 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29 And also the 3Strength of Israel A will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And "Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah and Saul went up to his house to "Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. CHAPTER 16 AND the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing "I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? "fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer 8 with thee, and say, dI am come to sacrifice to the LORD. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and /thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his 10coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 30, 31. 2 Heb. eyes. Ps. 7. 9. 9 ch. 17. 13. seeth; for man looketh on the 2 outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the fheart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made 4Shammah to pass. by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit 5 down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal 6 of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 14 But "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD 7 troubled him. 15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy ser vants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in 9matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. 19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. ch. 10. 27. defieth Israel. went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 15 But David went and returned from Saul dto feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 18 And carry these Now the Philistines gathered together the cheeses the captain of these ten cheeses unto gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and A Azekah, in 3 Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and 4set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was 9 armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a 10 target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of that "Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had "eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. 13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse of milk. 2 Heb. of a thousand. Ge. 37. 14. A Jos. 10. 10. 3 Or, the coast of Dammim, called Pasdammim, 1 Ch. 11. 13. i ver. 19. ch. 21. 9. Heb. ranged the battle. 5 Or, place of the carriage. ch. 26. 5, 7. 6 Or, battle array, or, place of fight. 7 Heb. the vessels from upon him. See Judg. 18. 21. Jos. 11. 22 & 13. 3. ch. 5. 8. 2 Sa. 1. 20. asked his ver gorget. 11 Heb. from 16. 6 ch. 11. 2 p Judg. 14. 3. q ver. 25, 26, 36, 45. See 2 Sa. 21. 21. r Jos. 3. 10. ver. 25. eh. 16. 1, 18. Ge. 35. 19. * Cp. ch. 16. 1 Ch. 2. 13, 9 how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the 5 trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. 22 And David left 7his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up k the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled 11 from him, and were sore afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. 26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this Puncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, 'So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 28 T And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of David taketh the challenge I. SAMUEL 17 thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same 2 manner: and the people answered him again after the former 2 manner. 31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he 3 sent for him. 3 Heb. See Jos, 4. and slayeth him. Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a "shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD 1 deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; d that all the earth may know that there 32 And David said to Saul, Let no 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a 4 lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. e Cp. ch. 16 18. Ps. 44. 6, 7. 2 Ch. 20. 15. So ch. 18. 17 h ver. 23. i2 Co. 1. 10. k ch. 31. 9 Judith 13. 8. 38 And Saul 5 armed David with his 5 Heb. clothed his clothes, 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for hem Jos. 15. 11. had not proved it. And David said unto Jos. 15. 36. Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the 6 brook, and put them in a shepherd's 7bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and "ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh anto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, o See ver. 4. p2 Sa. 5. 6-9. 6 Or, valley. ch. 1. 26. u ch. 20. 22. v ch. 16. 12. r 2 Sa. 3. 8. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD ƒsaveth not with sword and spear for 9 the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of "Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to "Shaaraim, even unto "Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto 9 Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, "whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the "stripling is. 57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul "with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite. |