He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the garbage pile.
He seats them with noblemen
and gives them a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
He has set the world on them.

Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife: “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are defiling the sanctuary, and he has not stopped them.

they panicked. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, nothing like this has happened before.

The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

“The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”

They replied, “If you send the ark of Israel’s God away, you must not send it without an offering. You must send back a restitution offering to Him, and you will be healed. Then the reason His hand hasn’t been removed from you will be revealed.”

Then watch: If it goes up the road to its homeland toward Beth-shemesh, it is the Lord who has made this terrible trouble for us. However, if it doesn’t, we will know that it was not His hand that punished us—it was just something that happened to us by chance.”

Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.”

“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over My people Israel. He will save them from the hand of the Philistines because I have seen the affliction of My people, for their cry has come to Me.”

Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it out on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t the Lord anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

Today when you leave me, you’ll find two men at Rachel’s Grave at Zelzah in the land of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found, and now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What should I do about my son?’

Everyone who knew him previously and saw him prophesy with the prophets asked each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

They again inquired of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”

The Lord replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.”

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population.”

And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.”

Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts He has done for you and your ancestors.

“Now here is the king you’ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you.

The Lord will not abandon His people, because of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people.

Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things He has done for you.

And all Israel heard the news, “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, and Israel is now repulsive to the Philistines.” Then the troops were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

but now your reign will not endure. The Lord has found a man loyal to Him, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded.”

But if they say, ‘Come on up,’ then we’ll go up, because the Lord has handed them over to us—that will be our sign.”

The men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer. “Come on up, and we’ll teach you a lesson!” they said.

“Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the Lord has handed them over to Israel.”

So Saul said to the troops with him, “Call the roll and determine who has left us.” They called the roll and saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were gone.

Jonathan replied, “My father has brought trouble to the land. Just look at how I have renewed energy because I tasted a little honey.

Saul said, “All you leaders of the troops, come here. Let us investigate how this sin has occurred today.

“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has rejected you as king.

Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of Amalek.”

Agag came to him trembling, for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”

Samuel declared:

As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother will be childless among women.

Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said.

Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.”

After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.”

David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,

As they celebrated, the women sang:

Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands.

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said to him: “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.

Saul asked Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!”

She answered him, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

But David said, “Your father certainly knows that you have come to look favorably on me. He has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or else he will be grieved.’” David also swore, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”

If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he becomes angry, you will know he has evil intentions.

“No!” Jonathan responded. “If I ever find out my father has evil intentions against you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”

Saul did not say anything that day because he thought, “Something unexpected has happened; he must be ceremonially unclean—yes, that’s it, he is unclean.”

He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if you are pleased with me, let me go so I can see my brothers.’ That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.”

Jonathan answered his father back: “Why is he to be killed? What has he done?”

But Achish’s servants said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Don’t they sing about him during their dances:

Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands?”

That’s why all of you have conspired against me! Nobody tells me when my own son makes a covenant with Jesse’s son. None of you cares about me or tells me that my son has stirred up my own servant to wait in ambush for me, as is the case today.”

When it was reported to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with barred gates.”

Then David said, “Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the town because of me.

Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down as Your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please tell Your servant.”

The Lord answered, “He will come down.”

Go and check again. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there; they tell me he is extremely cunning.

Who has the king of Israel come after? What are you chasing after? A dead dog? A flea?

Accept this gift your servant has brought to my lord, and let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has handed your enemy over to you. Let me thrust the spear through him into the ground just once. I won’t have to strike him twice!”

Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the Lord who has incited you against me, then may He accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the Lord, for today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.’

So don’t let my blood fall to the ground far from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has come out to search for a flea, like one who pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself detestable to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”

But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why are you setting a trap for me to get me killed?”

“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Samuel asked Saul.

“I’m in serious trouble,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He doesn’t answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do.”

Samuel answered, “Since the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me?

The Lord has done exactly what He said through me: The Lord has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David.

You did not obey the Lord and did not carry out His burning anger against Amalek; therefore the Lord has done this to you today.

The woman came over to Saul, and she saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do.

Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time. From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him.”

Isn’t this the David they sing about during their dances:

Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands?”

But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the Lord has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us.

And it has been so from that day forward. David established this policy as a law and an ordinance for Israel and it continues to this very day.