He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

Now the LORD had closed her womb. Her rival would provoke her severely so that she complained loudly because the LORD had closed her womb.

Hannah got up after she had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the chair by the doorpost of the tent of the LORD.

They got up early the next morning and worshipped in the LORD's presence, and then they returned and came to their house at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

By the time of the next year's sacrifice, Hannah had become pregnant and had borne a son. She named him Samuel because she said, "I asked the LORD for him."

Hannah did not go up because she had told her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I'll take him to appear in the LORD's presence and remain there forever."

"Do what you want," Elkanah told her. "Stay until you have weaned him, only may the LORD bring about what you've said." So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

Then, when she had weaned him, she brought him up with her to Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh, and the boy was young.

Those who had an abundance of bread now hire themselves out, and those who were hungry hunger no more. While the barren woman gives birth to seven children, she who had many children languishes.

Now Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to the Israelis, and how they lay with the women who were serving regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

that I had chosen him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer up burnt offerings on my altar, burn incense, and carry the ephod in my presence? And did I not give to your ancestors' family all the Israeli fire-offerings?

The lamp of God had not yet been extinguished, and Samuel was lying down in the tent of the LORD where the Ark of God was.

He said, "I didn't call you, my son. Go back and lie down." Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD and had not yet had the word of the LORD revealed to him.

Later, the LORD came and stood there, calling out, "Samuel! Samuel!" as he had before. Samuel said, "Speak, because your servant is listening."

What Samuel had to say was directed to all Israel, and Israel went out to engage the Philistines in battle. The Israelis were camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines were camped at Aphek.

When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they asked, "What is this noise coming from shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they realized that the Ark of the LORD had come into the camp,

Now Eli was 98 years old, and his vision had failed.

When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, since he was old and heavy. Eli had judged Israel for 40 years.

She had named the boy Ichabod,saying, "Glory has departed from Israel," because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead.

They sent messengers and gathered together all the Philistine lords: "Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to where it belongs so that it does not kill us and our people." Meanwhile, a deadly panic had spread all over the town, and God kept on pressuring them there.

"So make a new cart, and take two milk cows that have never had a yoke on them. Hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves away from them and back to the house.

God struck down the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the Ark of the LORD. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the LORD struck down the people with a great slaughter.

On that day they fasted there and said, "We have sinned against the LORD." Then Samuel judged the Israelis at Mizpah. When the Philistines heard that the Israelis had gathered at Mizpah, the Philistine lords came up against Israel. When the Israelis heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines.

The LORD continued to oppose the Philistines all during Samuel's life time. The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

he had a son named Saul, who was a choice and handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelis as handsome as he, and he was a head taller than any of the other people.

Now one day before Saul's arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel:

When they had come down from the high place into town, Samuel spoke to Saul on the roof.

When all those who had known Saul previously saw that he was there among the prophets prophesying, the people told one another, "What has happened to Kish's son? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

When he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

Saul told his uncle, "He actually told us that the donkeys had been found," but he did not tell him about the matter of kingship about which Samuel had spoken.

Saul also went to his house in Gibeah, and the soldiers whose hearts God had touched went with him.

Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.

Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind the oxen and he said, "What's with the people? Why are they crying?" They reported to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

They told the messengers who had come, "You are to say this to the men of Jabesh-gilead, "Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be delivered.'" The messengers went and reported to the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.

Saul chose for himself 3,000 men from Israel. There were 2,000 with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He had sent the rest of the people home.

Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.

Along with him were Ahitub's son Ahijah, Ichabod's brother, who was Phineas' son and a grandson of Eli the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, who was carrying the ephod. The people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

The Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines, who had gone up with them from the surrounding areas to the camp, even they joined Israel and those who were with Saul and Jonathan.

All the Israelis who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, and even they pursued the Philistines in the battle.

But Jonathan had not heard that his father had required the army to swear an oath, so he stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. He brought it back to his mouth and his eyes brightened.

How much better if the army had eaten freely today of their enemy's spoil that they found, because the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great."

He acted valiantly, defeated Amalek, and delivered Israel from those who had been plundering them.

Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul, and the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

So he sent and brought him. He had a dark, healthy complexion, with beautiful eyes, and he was handsome. The LORD said, "Get up and anoint him, for this is the one."

He had bronze armor on his legs and carried a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders.

David was the son of that Ephrathite man named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons; at the time when Saul was king he was old, having lived to an advanced age.

David was the youngest, while the three oldest had followed Saul.

David got up early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the supplies, and went as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the encampment as the army was going out to the battle line, shouting the battle cry.

David left the supplies he had with him in the care of the supply keeper and ran to the battle line. When he arrived there, he asked his brothers about their well-being.

Then he turned from him toward another person and asked the same thing. The people replied to him the same way as the first one had.

When the words that David had spoken were heard, they were reported to Saul, and he sent for him.

When the Philistine looked and saw David, he had contempt for him, because he was only a young man. David had a dark, healthy complexion and was handsome.

Jonathan took off the robe that he had on and gave it to David, along with his coat, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

The next day, while David was playing the lyre as he had before, the evil spirit from the LORD attacked Saul, and he began to rave inside the house with a spear in his hand.

Now Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him and had departed from Saul.

David escaped and fled. He came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth.

So on the second day of the New Moon Jonathan angrily got up from the table without eating because he was upset about David, and because his father had humiliated him.

The servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot it, and Jonathan called out to him, "The arrow is beyond you, isn't it?"

The servant was not aware of anything. Only Jonathan and David understood what had happened.

So the priest gave him consecrated bread because no bread was there except the Bread of the Presence that had been removed from the LORD's presence and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.

When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been found, he was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the hill, with his spear in his hand. All his officials were standing around him.

Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

Now when Ahimelech's son Abiathar had fled to David in Keilah, the ephod had come down with him.

It was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, and Saul said, "The LORD has delivered him into my hand because he has shut himself in by going into a town with double gates and bars."

The LORD said, "They'll hand you over." David and his men, about 600 strong, got up and left Keilah. They moved around wherever they could go. Saul was advised that David had escaped from Keilah, so he stopped the campaign.

David was afraid because Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.

David rose and stealthily cut off the corner of Saul's robe. Afterwards, David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul's robe.

Look, this very day you saw with your own eyes that the LORD gave you into my control in the cave, and one of my men told me to kill you, but I had pity on you and responded, "I won't lift my hand against his majesty because he's the LORD's anointed.'

When David had finished saying these things to Saul, Saul asked, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Then Saul cried loudly

David got up and went down to the Wilderness of Paran. Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel of Judah, and the man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Now David had said, "Surely it was for nothing that I protected everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness, and nothing was missing of all that belonged to him. But he has repaid me with evil for good!

For as surely as the LORD God of Israel lives, the one who restrained me from harming you indeed, had you not quickly come to meet me, by dawn there wouldn't be a single male left to Nabal."

David took from her what she had brought him and told her, "Go up to your house in peace. Look, I've heard your request and will grant it."

After Nabal became sober the next morning, his wife told him all that had happened. Nabal's heart failed and he became paralyzed.

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be the LORD who has judged the dispute over my insult at the hand of Nabal, and has held back his servant from evil. The LORD has repaid Nabal's wickedness."

Meanwhile, Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Laish's son Palti from Gallim.

Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hachilah, across from Jeshimon, while David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come after him in the wilderness,

David sent out spies and found out for certain that Saul had arrived.

So David took the spear and the jug of water at Saul's head, and they left. No one saw, and no one knew, because no one was awake. They were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen over them.

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.

Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, and he did not continue to search for him.

David and his men went up and raided the descendants of Geshur, the descendants of Girzi, and the Amalekites, for they had been living in the land since ancient times, from the entrance of Shur all the way to the land of Egypt.

Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

Saul immediately fell down full-length on the ground. He was terrified because of Samuel's words, and he had no strength because he had not eaten food all day and all night.

Both his servants and the woman urged him, and so he listened to them. He got up off the ground and sat on the bed. The woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.

When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and set it on fire.

David and his men came to the town, and it had been burned down. Their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and cried until they had no more strength left to cry.

David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's former wife, had been captured.

They gave him part of a fig cake and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, he revived, since he had neither eaten food nor had he drunk water for three days and three nights.

The Egyptian led him to the camp, and there the Amalekites were spread out over the whole area, eating, drinking, and celebrating with the great amount of spoil they had taken from the territory belonging to the Philistines and to Judah.

David rescued everyone whom the Amalekites had captured, including his two wives.

Nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or large, sons or daughters, spoil, or anything that they had taken for themselves David brought back everything.

David came to the 200 men who were too exhausted to follow him and who had been left at the Wadi Besor. They came out to meet David and the people who were with him. As David approached the people, he asked them how they were doing.

At this point, all the wicked and worthless men of the group who had gone with David answered, "Because they didn't go with us, we won't give them any of the spoil that we recovered, except that each person may take his wife and his children and go."

Hebron, and for all those places where David and his men had frequented."

When the men of Israel who were across the valley and who were across the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.

When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,