This man would go up from his town every year to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s priests.

{On} the day Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.

But to Hannah he would give {a double portion}, because he loved Hannah, though Yahweh had closed her womb.

(Now her rival wife would provoke her severely in order to upset her because Yahweh had closed her womb.)

And so he used to do year after year; {whenever} she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her so that she would weep and would not eat.

So Elkanah her husband would say to her: "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? And {why are you heartsick}? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand

and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.

Also, before they {offered up} the fat as a burnt offering, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only {raw}."

And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

His mother would make a small robe for him, and she would bring it each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and he said, "May Yahweh give you an offspring from this woman in place of the petitioned [one] that she requested from Yahweh." Then they went to their home.

If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.

But they would not follow the advice of their father; for the LORD wanted to put them to death. But the boy Samuel continued to grow both physically and in favor with the LORD and the people.

Therefore,' {declares} Yahweh the God of Israel, 'though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor would walk before me forever, but now,' {declares} Yahweh, 'far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt!

Therefore I swore to the house of Eli [that] the iniquity of the house of Eli would not be atoned for by sacrifice or by offering forever."

And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child and near the time when she would give birth; and when she had the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, her pains came on her suddenly and she gave birth.

And they said - If ye are going to send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away, empty, but ye must, surely return, to him, a guilt-offering, - then, shall ye be healed, and it shall be known to you, wherefore his hand would not turn away from you.

Then Samuel said to all Israel, If with all your hearts you would come back to the Lord, then put away all the strange gods and the Astartes from among you, and let your hearts be turned to the Lord, and be servants to him only: and he will make you safe from the hands of the Philistines.

And the sons of Israel said unto Samuel, Do not turn in silence from us, from making outcry unto Yahweh our God, - that he would save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations.

Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and he built an altar to the Lord there.

Nevertheless, the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, but did say, "Nay, not so: But there shall be a king over us,

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: "Come, let us go up to the seer." For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.)

Saul approached Samuel in the gate area and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”

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.

Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.

But certain worthless fellows said, "How shall this man save us?" They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was severely oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He put out the right eye of all of them, and he would not allow anyone to rescue Israel. Not one was left of the children of Israel beyond the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, did not put out, except for seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and went to Jabesh Gilead.

Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!"

Oh that ye would fear the LORD and serve him and hear his voice and not disobey the mouth of the LORD: and that both ye and the king that reigneth over you would follow the LORD your God.

And turn ye not aside: for then would ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

Everyone in Israel would have to go to the Philistines so each person could sharpen his plow, his mattock, his axe, and his sickle.

Thus would it come to pass, in the day of battle, that there was found - neither sword nor spear, in the hand of any of the people, that were with Saul and Jonathan, but such were found belonging to Saul and to Jonathan his son.

So Jonathan went up on his hands and his feet, with {his armor bearer} after him. They fell before Jonathan and then {his armor bearer} would kill them after him.

How much more if the people had happened to eat freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? For would not there have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?

There was intense fighting against the Philistines during Saul's entire reign, and whenever Saul discovered a strong or valiant warrior, he would enlist him for service.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

So whenever the [evil] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then {it would bring relief} for Saul; {he would feel better} and the evil spirit would depart from him.

And David would go back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep in Bethlehem.

For 40 days the Philistine would come forward, morning and evening, to take his position.

So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry.

And David said to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd of the flock for his father. If the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the group,

I would go out after it and strike it down and rescue [the sheep] from its mouth. If it rose against me, I would grab [it] by its beard and strike it down and kill it.

And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.

Saul said, "This is what you are to tell David, "The king desires no bride price except 100 Philistine foreskins to take vengeance on the king's enemies.'" Now Saul thought he would cause David to die at the hand of the Philistines.

When his officials delivered this message to David, David decided it would be a good thing to become the king's son-in-law. Before the time was up,

Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul's servants. His name was held in high esteem.

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?"

Saul listened to Jonathan, and swore by the life of the LORD that David would not be killed.

And Saul would have sent his spear through him, pinning him to the wall, but he got away and the spear went into the wall: and that night David went in flight and got away.

Jonathan said to him, "By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won't happen!"

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

Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold, it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, take it. For there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

And the king said to the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.

And David said to Abiathar, I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.

He said to his men, “I swear before the Lord: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

Look! you have seen today how the Lord gave you up into my hands even now in the hollow of the rocks: and some would have had me put you to death, but I had pity on you: for I said, Never will my hand be lifted up against my lord, who has been marked with the holy oil.

For who would find his enemy and then send him away safely? May the LORD repay you for what you have done for me today.

So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal.

But {as Yahweh lives}, the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been {one male} left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!"

Then David sent word to Abigail that he would take her as his wife. David's servants went to Abigail at Carmel and told her, "David sent us to you to take you to him as his wife."

She got up, prostrated herself face down on the ground, and replied, "Your servant would be a slave to wash the feet of your majesty's servants."

Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before the Lord, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to-day, but I would not stretch forth my hand against the LORD'S anointed.

When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish.

When Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" David would say, "The Negev of Judah" or "The Negev of Jeharmeel" or "The Negev of the Kenites."

Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines.

And the woman said to him, But you have knowledge of what Saul has done, how he has put away out of the land those who have control of spirits and the users of secret arts: why would you, by a trick, put me in danger of death?

The Lord has done [to you] just as He said through me [when I was with you]; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.

But he would not, saying, I have no desire for food. But his servants, together with the woman, made him take food, and he gave way to them. So he got up from the earth, and took his seat on the bed.

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?

David and the 600 men with him went as far as the Wadi Besor, where 200 men who were to remain behind would stop.

And who would listen to you regarding this matter? For as the share of the one who went down into the battle, so the share of the one who remained with the baggage will be. They will share alike."

Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised should come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was exceedingly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.