Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

Hannah prayed, "My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted high because of the Lord. I loudly denounce my enemies, for I am happy that you delivered me.

Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.

and he saith to them, 'Why do ye things like these? for I am hearing of your evil words from all the people -- these!

Nay, my sons; for the report which I am hearing is not good causing the people of Jehovah to transgress. --

For this reason the Lord God of Israel has said, Truly I did say that your family and your father's people would have their place before me for ever: but now the Lord says, Let it not be so; I will give honour to those by whom I am honoured, and those who have no respect for me will be of small value in my eyes.

And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Lo, I am doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one hearing it do tingle.

and I have declared to him that I am judging his house -- to the age, for the iniquity which he hath known, for his sons are making themselves vile, and he hath not restrained them,

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.

And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?

And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

About this time to-morrow, will I send unto thee, a man out of the land of Benjamin, whom thou shalt anoint, to be leader over my people Israel, and he shall save my people, out of the hand of the Philistines, - for I have looked upon the oppression, because their outcry hath come in unto me.

And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.

And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.

And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?

And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?

Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them to a room where he gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, of whom there were about 30 men.

When you have gone away from me today, you will see two men by the resting-place of Rachel's body, in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went in search of have come back, and now your father, caring no longer for the asses, is troubled about you, saying, What am I to do about my son?

'And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.'

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 also Saul went to his house at Gibeah; and there will go with him the army whom God touched their heart

And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

Then he said, The Lord is witness against you, and the man on whom he has put the holy oil is witness this day that you have seen no wrong in me. And they said, He is witness.

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

As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright.

And Saul took for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom he kept two thousand with him in Michmash and in the mountain of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin: the rest of the people he sent back to their tents.

And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.

But the men of Israel were distressed that day. Now Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food until evening, and until I am avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food.

And Saul, desiring directions from God, said, Am I to go down after the Philistines? will you give them up into the hands of Israel? But he gave him no answer that day.

And Saul said, Come near, all you chiefs of the people, and let us get word from God and see in whom is this sin today.

So Saul said, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I {merely tasted} a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die."

I am grieved that I made Saul to be king, for he hath turned back from following me, and, my words, hath he not established. And it was vexing to Samuel, so that he made outcry unto Yahweh, all the night.

And Samuel saith, 'And what is the noise of this flock in mine ears -- and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?'

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected a king from his sons.”

And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

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.

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.

Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”

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.

if he be able to fight with me, and have smitten me, then we have been to you for servants; and if I am able for him, and have smitten him, then ye have been to us for servants, and have served us.'

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 thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

And David girded his sword above his long robe, and beginneth to go, for he hath not tried it; and David saith unto Saul, 'I am not able to go with these, for I had not tried;' and David turneth them aside from off him.

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.

Then said David to the Philistine, 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.

And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

And Saul said to David, Here is my oldest daughter Merab, whom I will give you for your wife: only be strong for me, fighting in the Lord's wars. For Saul said, Let it not be through me that his fate comes to him, but through the Philistines.

And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?

And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

David fled from Naioth in Ramah and he came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? What is my sin before (against) your father, that he is seeking my life?”

But David took his oath again and said, Your father sees that I am dear to you; so he says to himself, Let Jonathan have no idea of this, for it will be a grief to him; but as the Lord is living, and as your soul is living, there is only a step between me and death.

David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now.

And if your father takes note of the fact that I am away, say, David made a request to me for himself that he might go to Beth-lehem, to his town: for it is the time when his family make their offering year by year.

You must be loyal to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord's name. If I am guilty, you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?"

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

And he saith to his youth, 'Run, find, I pray thee, the arrows which I am shooting;' the youth is running, and he hath shot the arrow, causing it to pass over him.

And Jonathan giveth his weapons unto the youth whom he hath, and saith to him, 'Go, carry into the city.'

And David saith to Ahimelech the priest, 'The king hath commanded me a matter, and he saith unto me, Let no man know anything of the matter about which I am sending thee, and which I have commanded thee; and the young men I have caused to know at such and such a place;

And there is a man of the servants of Saul on that day detained before Jehovah, and his name is Doeg the Edomite, chief of the shepherds whom Saul hath.

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

The officials of Achish told him, "Isn't this David, king of the land? Isn't this the one about whom they sang as they danced, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?"

Lacking of madmen, am I that ye should bring in this one to play his mad pranks, unto me? Shall, this, one enter my household?

And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.

And David said to Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul: I am accountable for all the lives of thy father's house.

So David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go and make an attack on these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, Go and make an attack on the Philistines so that Keilah may be kept from falling into their hands.

And David addeth again to ask at Jehovah, and Jehovah answereth him, and saith, 'Rise, go down to Keilah, for I am giving the Philistines into thy hand.'

and saith unto him, 'Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father doth not find thee, and thou dost reign over Israel, and I am to thee for second, and also so knoweth Saul my father.'

Go now, be very persistent and investigate, and see where his haunt is and who has seen him there; for I am told he is very cunning.

And the men of David say unto him, 'Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;' and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which is on Saul -- gently.

Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn't kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life.

After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.

And he said to David, You are right and I am wrong: for you have given me back good, but I have given you evil.

And now I am certain that you will be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be made strong under your authority.

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.

Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

And she saith to her young men, 'Pass over before me; lo, after you I am coming;' and to her husband Nabal she hath not declared it;

Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

She stood up, then bowed her face to the ground and said, “Here I am, your servant, to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”

Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

And David said to Abishai Do not put him to death; for who, without sin, may put out his hand against the man on whom the Lord has put the holy oil?

What you have done is not good. By the living Lord, death is the right fate for you, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the man on whom the Lord has put the holy oil. Now see, where is the king's spear, and the vessel of water which was by his head?

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.'

David stayed with Achish in Gath along with his men, each of whom was with his household. David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel.

And Achish said, Against whom have ye made a raid to-day? And David said, Against the South of Judah, and against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.

And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.

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

Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and 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 replied to David, "I am convinced that you are as reliable as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us in the battle.'

Then David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go after this band? will I be able to overtake them? And in answer he said, Go after them, for you will certainly overtake them, and get back everything.

And in the fields they saw an Egyptian whom they took to David, and they gave him bread, and he had a meal, and they gave him water for drink;