and all the men of Israel, who are hiding themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, have heard that the Philistines have fled, and they pursue -- even they -- after them in battle.

And all they of the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field;

How much more if the people had well eaten to-day of the spoil of its enemies which it hath found, for now, the smiting hath not been great among the Philistines.'

And Saul saith, 'Be ye scattered among the people, and ye have said to them, Bring ye nigh unto me each his ox, and each his sheep; and ye have slain them in this place, and eaten, and ye do not sin against Jehovah to eat with the blood.' And all the people bring nigh each his ox, in his hand, that night, and slaughter them there.

And Saul saith, 'Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and we prey upon them till the light of the morning, and leave not a man of them.' And they say, 'All that is good in thine eyes do.' And the priest saith, 'Let us draw near hither unto God.'

And Saul saith, 'Draw ye nigh hither all, the chiefs of the people, and know and see in what this sin hath been to-day;

for, Jehovah liveth, who is saving Israel: surely if it be in Jonathan my son, surely he doth certainly die;' and none is answering him out of all the people.

And he saith unto all Israel, 'Ye -- ye are on one side, and I and Jonathan my son are on another side;' and the people say unto Saul, 'That which is good in thine eyes do.'

and Saul captured the kingdom over Israel, and he fighteth round about against all his enemies, against Moab, and against the Bene-Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and whithersoever he turneth he doth vex them.

And the war is severe against the Philistines all the days of Saul; when Saul hath seen any mighty man, and any son of valour, then he doth gather him unto himself.

Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.'

and Saul saith unto the Kenite, 'Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume thee with it, and thou didst kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt;' and the Kenite turneth aside from the midst of Amalek.

and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;

and Saul hath pity -- also the people -- on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that is good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted -- it they devoted.

'I have repented that I caused Saul to reign for king, for he hath turned back from after Me, and My words he hath not performed;' and it is displeasing to Samuel, and he crieth unto Jehovah all the night.

And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king.

And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath.

let our lord command, we pray thee, thy servants before thee, they seek a skilful man, playing on a harp, and it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness from God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and it is well with thee.'

And Saul saith unto his servants, 'Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well -- then ye have brought him in unto me.'

and Saul and the men of Israel have been gathered, and encamp by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array to meet the Philistines.

And Saul heareth -- and all Israel -- these words of the Philistine, and they are broken down and greatly afraid.

And Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

and all the men of Israel when they see the man flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid.

This day doth Jehovah shut thee up into my hand -- and I have smitten thee, and turned aside thy head from off thee, and given the carcase of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and all the earth do know that God is for Israel.

and all this assembly do know that not by sword and by spear doth Jehovah save, that the battle is Jehovah's, and He hath given you into our hand.'

And David goeth out whithersoever Saul doth send him; he acted wisely, and Saul setteth him over the men of war, and it is good in the eyes of all the people, and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.

And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, in David's returning from smiting the Philistine, that the women come out from all the cities of Israel to sing -- also the dancers -- to meet Saul the king, with tabrets, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments;

and Saul casteth the javelin, and saith, 'I smite through David, even through the wall;' and David turneth round out of his presence twice.

And David is in all his ways acting wisely, and Jehovah is with him,

and all Israel and Judah love David when he is going out and coming in before them.

And Saul commandeth his servants, 'Speak unto David gently, saying, Lo, the king hath delighted in thee, and all his servants have loved thee, and now, be son-in-law to the king.'

and Saul addeth to be afraid of the presence of David yet; and Saul is an enemy with David all the days.

And Saul speaketh unto Jonathan his son, and unto all his servants, to put David to death,

yea, he putteth his life in his hand, and smiteth the Philistine, and Jehovah worketh a great salvation for all Israel; thou hast seen, and dost rejoice, and why dost thou sin against innocent blood, to put David to death for nought?'

And Jonathan calleth for David, and Jonathan declareth to him all these words, and Jonathan bringeth in David unto Saul, and he is before him as heretofore.

and Saul seeketh to smite with the javelin through David, and through the wall, and he freeth himself from the presence of Saul, and he smiteth the javelin through the wall; and David hath fled and escapeth during that night.

And David hath fled, and is escaped, and cometh in unto Samuel to Ramath, and declareth to him all that Saul hath done to him, and he goeth, he and Samuel, and they dwell in Naioth.

And he goeth -- he also -- to Ramath, and cometh in unto the great well which is in Sechu, and asketh, and saith, 'Where are Samuel and David?' and one saith, 'Lo, in Naioth in Ramah.'

and he strippeth off -- he also -- his garments, and prophesieth -- he also -- before Samuel, and falleth down naked all that day and all the night; therefore they say, 'Is Saul also among the prophets?'

if thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days is there for all the family.

and not only while I am alive dost thou do with me the kindness of Jehovah, and I die not,

and lo, I send the youth: Go, find the arrows. If I at all say to the youth, Lo, the arrows are on this side of thee -- take them, -- then come thou, for peace is for thee, and there is nothing; Jehovah liveth.

and the king sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David's place is looked after.

for all the days that the son of Jesse liveth on the ground thou art not established, thou and thy kingdom; and now, send and bring him unto me, for he is a son of death.'

And the priest saith, 'The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou didst smite in the valley of Elah, lo, it is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod, if it thou dost take to thyself, take; for there is none other save it in this place.' And David saith, 'There is none like it -- give it to me.'

And David goeth thence, and is escaped unto the cave of Adullam, and his brethren hear, and all the house of his father, and go down unto him thither;

and he leadeth them before the king of Moab, and they dwell with him all the days of David's being in the fortress.

And Saul heareth that David hath become known, and the men who are with him, and Saul is abiding in Gibeah, under the grove in Ramah, and his spear is in his hand, and all his servants standing by him.

And Saul saith to his servants who are standing by him, 'Hear, I pray you, ye Benjamites; also to all of you doth the son of Jesse give fields and vineyards! all of you he doth appoint heads of thousands and heads of hundreds!

for ye have conspired all of you against me, and there is none uncovering mine ear about my son's covenanting with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you grieving for me, and uncovering mine ear, that my son hath raised up my servant against me, to lie in wait as at this day.'

And the king sendeth to call Ahimelech son of Ahitub, the priest, and all the house of his father, the priests, who are in Nob, and they come all of them unto the king;

And Ahimelech answereth the king and saith, 'And who among all thy servants is as David -- faithful, and son-in-law of the king, and hath turned aside unto thy council, and is honoured in thy house?

To-day have I begun to ask for him at God? far be it from me! let not the king lay anything against his servant, against any of the house of my father, for thy servant hath known nothing of all this, less or more.'

And the king saith, 'Thou dost surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all the house of thy father.'

And Saul summoneth the whole of the people to battle, to go down to Keilah, to lay siege unto David and unto his men.

And David abideth in the wilderness, in fortresses, and abideth in the hill-country, in the wilderness of Ziph; and Saul seeketh him all the days, and God hath not given him into his hand.

And, now, by all the desire of thy soul, O king, to come down, come down, and ours is to shut him up into the hand of the king.'

And see and know of all the hiding-places where he hideth himself, and ye have turned back unto me prepared, and I have gone with you, and it hath been, if he is in the land, that I have searched him out through all the thousands of Judah.'

And Saul taketh three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and goeth to seek David and his men, on the front of the rocks of the wild goats,

And Samuel dieth, and all Israel are gathered, and mourn for him, and bury him in his house, in Ramah; and David riseth and goeth down unto the wilderness of Paran.

and said thus: To life! and thou, peace; and thy house, peace; and all that thou hast -- peace!

and, now, I have heard that thou hast shearers; now, the shepherds whom thou hast have been with us, we have not put them to shame, nor hath anything been looked after by them, all the days of their being in Carmel.

And the young men of David come in, and speak unto Nabal according to all these words, in the name of David -- and rest.

And the young men of David turn on their way, and turn back, and come in, and declare to him according to all these words.

and the men are very good to us, and have not put us to shame, and we have not looked after anything all the days we have gone up and down with them, in our being in the field;

a wall they have been unto us both by night and by day, all the days of our being with them, feeding the flock.

And, now, know and consider what thou dost; for evil hath been determined against our lord, and against all his house, and he is too much a son of worthlessness to be spoken to.'

And David said, 'Only, in vain I have kept all that this one hath in the wilderness, and nothing hath been looked after of all that he hath, and he turneth back to me evil for good;

thus doth God do to the enemies of David, and thus He doth add, if I leave of all that he hath till the light of the morning -- of those sitting on the wall.'

Bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy handmaid, for Jehovah doth certainly make to my lord a stedfast house; for the battles of Jehovah hath my lord fought, and evil is not found in thee all thy days.

'And it hath been, when Jehovah doth to my lord according to all the good which He hath spoken concerning thee, and appointed thee for leader over Israel,

And yet, Jehovah liveth, God of Israel, who hath kept me back from doing evil with thee, for unless thou hadst hasted, and dost come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal till the light of the morning, of those sitting on the wall.'

And 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.

and 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.'

And 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.'

Neither 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.'

And 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.'

And 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.

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

And 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.

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

and 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.

And 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.

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

And 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,

and 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.'

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

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

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

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

and 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,