How much more if the people had freely taken their food from the goods of those who were fighting against them! would there not have been much greater destruction among the Philistines?

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

Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.

Now when Saul had taken his place as ruler of Israel, he made war on those who were against him on every side, Moab and the Ammonites and Edom and the kings of Zobah and the Philistines: and whichever way he went, he overcame them.

Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:

Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.

This is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt.

So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

Saul said to the Kenites, "Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

However, Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and the cattle and the second [best] of the young fatlings and {all that was valuable}; they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But all the possessions that were despised or worthless, they utterly destroyed.

Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered."

And Samuel said, When you were little in your own sight, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah anointed you king over Israel.

But the people took some of their goods, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which were put to the curse, to make an offering of them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.

Samuel did what the Lord told him. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They said, "Do you come in peace?"

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.

Now the Philistines collected their armies to battle, and were assembled at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

And Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and encamped by the valley of Elah, and they set the battle in array against the Philistines.

[The] Philistines were standing on the hill on one side and [the army of] Israel was standing on the hill on the other side with the valley between them.

Bronze greaves were on his legs, and a bronze javelin [was slung] between his shoulders.

If he shall be able to war with me and strike me, and we were to you for servants: and if I shall be able against him and strike him, and ye were to us for servants, and ye served us.

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

And David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah named Jesse. And to him were eight sons. And the man was old among men in the days of Saul.

And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

And David was the youngest. And when the three eldest were gone after Saul,

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

David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and he took [the provisions] and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment while the troops [were] going to the battle line, and they raised the war cry.

David left the baggage [he had] with him in the {care} of the baggage keeper, ran to the battle line, and came and {asked how his brothers were doing}.

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were exceedingly afraid.

Now David had spoken to the men [who were] standing with him, saying, "What will be done for the man who defeats this Philistine and removes [the] disgrace from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine that he defies the battle lines of the living God?"

Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, but they gave him the same answer as before.

And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

{When they were coming back} after David had returned from striking down the Philistine, the women went out from all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.

The women who were playing the music sang, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!"

However, all of Israel and Judah [were] loving David, for he was going forth and marching ahead of them.

And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired.

So then Jonathan spake of David things that were good, unto Saul his father, - and said unto him - May the king not sin against his servant - against David; for he hath not sinned against, thee, nay, indeed, his doings have been good to theeward exceedingly.

He risked his life when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?"

And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.

So David went in flight and got away and came to Ramah, to Samuel, and gave him an account of all Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and were living in Naioth.

Saul sent messengers to take David, and they saw a group of prophets caught up in prophetic ecstasy, with Samuel standing beside them leading them. Then the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers, and they also were caught up in prophetic ecstasy.

They reported this to Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also were caught up in prophetic ecstasy.

But David sware yet further, and said - Thy father, doth know, that I have found favour in thine eyes, therefore saith he, - Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he grieve; but, indeed, by the life of Yahweh, and by the life of thine own soul, surely there is but as it were a step betwixt me and death!

And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?

And on the third day you shall quickly come down and shall come there to the place where you were hidden in the day of the deed. And you shall remain near the stone Ezel.

I will shoot three arrows [to the] side as [if] I were shooting at a target.

As for what you and I were talking of, the Lord is between you and me for ever.

And David answered the priest, and said to him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yes, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

And the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the shew-loaves that were taken from before Jehovah, to put on hot bread in the day when they were taken away.

And a man there from the servants of Saul in that day, withheld before Jehovah; and his name Doeg, the Edomite, a powerful one of the shepherds which were to Saul.

And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, resorted to him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)

Then Saul said to the servants who [were] standing around him, "Please listen, {Benjaminites}! Will the son of Jesse give you all fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?

That ye were all bound together against me and none uncovering mine ear in my sons cutting out with the son of Jesse, and none of you was concerned for me and uncovered mine ear that my son raised up my servant against me to lie in wait as this day.

Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.

And Saul will say to him, Why were ye bound together against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in thy giving to him bread and a sword, and asking for him in God to rise up against me, to lie in wait as this day?

So the king said to the runners [who were] stationed around him, "Turn and kill the priests of Yahweh, because {they also support David} and because they knew that he was fleeing and {did not disclose it to me}." But the servants of the king [were] not willing to raise their hand to attack the priests of Yahweh.

He attacked the priestly town of Nob with the sword. Men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep were put to the sword.

Then David and his men who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah: and he forbore to go forth.

David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, but God did not deliver David into his hand.

And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

Saul went {on one side of the mountain}, and David and his men {went on the other side of the mountain}. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men [were] closing in on David and his men to capture them.

He came to the sheep pens beside the road, and a cave [was] there. Then Saul went in {to relieve himself}. Now David and his men [were] sitting in the innermost part of the cave.

And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was both wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel.

And Nabal will answer David's servants, and say, Who is David? and who the son of Jesse? this day there were many servants breaking away a man from the face of his lord.

But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

{And then}, [as] she [was] riding on the donkey and [was] going down the ravine of the mountain, David and his men [were] coming down to meet her, and she met them.

And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.

David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.

And David arose and came to the place where Saul had pitched. And David saw the place where Saul lay. And Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army, and Saul were lying within the barricade. And the people pitched all around him.

So David and Abishai came to the army [by] night, and {there was} Saul lying asleep in the encampment with his spear thrust into the ground near his head, and Abner and the army [were] lying all around him.

So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they departed, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep: because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them.

What you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you deserve to die since you didn’t protect your lord, the Lord’s anointed. Now look around; where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”

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

And David and his men were living with Achish at Gath; every man had his family with him, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, who had been the wife of Nabal.

And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even to the land of Egypt.

Now, Samuel, was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city, - Saul, moreover had put away them who had familiar spirits and them who were oracles, out of the land.

Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts, towards Aphek, - and, the Israelites, were encamping by the fountain, that is in Jezreel.

The rulers of [the] Philistines [were] passing on according to hundreds and thousands, David and his men passing on at the rear with Achish.

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make this man return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he should be an adversary to us: for with what would he reconcile himself to his master? would it not be with the heads of these men?

Isn't this the same David about whom the maidens sang when they were dancing, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

So Achish called David and said to him, "{As Yahweh lives}, certainly you were honest, and {I am pleased to have you marching with me} in the campaign. For I have not found any wrong in you from the day you came to me until this day, but in the eyes of the rulers, you [are] not good.

Achish answered and said to David, "I know well thou pleasest me, as it were an angel of God. Notwithstanding, the lords of the Philistines have said that thou shalt not go with them to battle.

And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

And had taken the women captives that were in it, they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

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

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

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

And {David was in a very precarious situation}, for the people spoke of stoning him, for the souls of all the people were bitter, each [one] over his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

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

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

And when he had conducted him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines, and from the land of Judah.

David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, "This is David's plunder!"

And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also 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.

When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, "Here's a gift for you from the looting of the Lord's enemies!"

To them who were in Beth-el, and to them who were in south Ramoth, and to them who were in Jattir,