For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath borne seven; and she that hath many children is become feeble.

He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou shalt hide any thing from me, of all the things that he said to thee.

And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why hath the LORD smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh to us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us from the hand of our enemies.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God hath come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.

And the messenger answered and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory hath departed from Israel. (Because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.)

And she said, The glory hath departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch-cows on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:

And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know, that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.

Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat; for to this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

When thou hast departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulcher in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

And it came to pass when all that formerly knew him saw, that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that hath come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man would yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to-day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.

Now therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.

Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

But if they say thus, Come up to us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand; and this shall be a sign to us.

And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.

Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how my eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

And Saul said, Draw ye near hither all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.

And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? By no means: 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.

I repent 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 to the LORD all night.

Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

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 sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of 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.

And Samuel said to 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.

And Samuel said to him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.

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.

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

And Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he hath come hither.

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight.

And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that hath come up? surely to defy Israel hath he come: and it shall be, that the man who shall kill him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

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.

And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.

And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been toward thee very good:

The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it shall please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it to thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

But also thou shalt not withdraw thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

But if I say thus to the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.

Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother he hath commanded me to be there: and now if I have found favor in thy eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not to the king's table.

And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why shall he be slain? what hath he done?

And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said to me, Let no man know any thing of the business about which I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth to me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

And it was told to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.

Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.

Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know, and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told to me that he dealeth very subtilly.

Behold, this day thy eyes have seen how the LORD hath delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and some bade me kill thee: but my eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed.

(Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this man hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withheld thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thy own hand, now let thy enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

And now this blessing which thy handmaid hath brought to my lord, let it even be given to the young men that follow my lord.

I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thy handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

Yet a man hath risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thy enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the middle of a sling.

And it will come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

That this will be no grief to thee, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid.

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, who hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any male person.

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to himself for a wife.

And when the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to him for a wife.

Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thy enemy into thy hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear, even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they are the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel hath come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains.

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

Then said Saul to 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.

And the woman said to 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: Why then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

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

Then said Samuel, Why then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD hath departed from thee, and hath become thy enemy?

And the LORD hath done to him, as he spoke by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David:

Because thou didst not obey the voice of the LORD, nor execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing to thee this day.

And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was greatly troubled, and said to him, Behold, thy handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened to thy words, which thou didst speak

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

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