David sent out spies, and learned that Saul was certainly come.

Jehovah forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against Jehovah's anointed! But now take, I pray thee, the spear that is at his head, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?

This thing is not good which thou hast done. As Jehovah liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not guarded your master, Jehovah's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his head.

And behold, as thy life was highly esteemed this day in mine eyes, so let my life be highly esteemed in the eyes of Jehovah, that he may deliver me out of all distress.

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me to seek me any more within all the limits of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.

And David arose and passed over, he and the six hundred men that were with him, to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; and he sought no more for him.

And David said to Achish, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some country-town, that I may abide there; for why should thy servant abide in the royal city with thee?

And Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.

And the time that David abode in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered together their armies for warfare to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, Know thou assuredly that thou shalt go out with me to the camp, thou and thy men.

Then said Saul to his servants, Seek me a woman that has a spirit of Python, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has a spirit of Python at En-dor.

And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man comes up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul said, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers 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.

And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said to him, Behold, thy bondmaid has hearkened to thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened to thy words which thou spokest to me.

And now, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy bondmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way.

and she brought it near before Saul, and before his servants, and they ate. And they rose up and went away that night.

And the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and Israel encamped by the spring that is in Jizreel.

But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man return, that he may go again to his place where thou hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to the battle, that in the battle he be not an adversary to us; for wherewith should this fellow reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?

And now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.

And David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee to this day, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art acceptable to me, as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

And now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee; and rise ye early in the morning, and when ye have daylight, depart.

And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;

and had taken the women captives that were in it; both great and small: they had put none to death, but had carried them off, and went on their way.

Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the torrent Besor; and those that were left stayed behind.

And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither put me to death nor deliver me up into the hand of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.

And he brought him down, and behold, they were spread over the whole land, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken: and David recovered his two wives.

And there was nothing missed by them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken: David brought all back.

And David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and whom they had left behind at the torrent Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and David drew near to the people and saluted them.

And all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of those that had gone with David, answered and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart.

Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah has given us, who has preserved us, and given the troop that came against us into our hand.

And who will hearken to you in this matter? For as his share is that goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that abides by the baggage: they shall share alike.

And it was so from that day forward; and he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on his sword, and died with him.

So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.

And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and they that were on this side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

And it came to pass the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa.

And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David abode two days in Ziklag.

And it came to pass on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his garments rent, and earth upon his head; and as soon as he came to David, he fell to the earth and did obeisance.

And David said to him, What has taken place? I pray thee, tell me. And he said that the people had fled from the battle, and many of the people also had fallen and died, and that Saul and Jonathan his son were dead also.

And David said to the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?

And the young man that told him said, I happened by chance to be upon mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul leaned on his spear; and behold, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

So I stood over him, and put him to death, for I knew that he would not live after his fall; and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to my lord.

Then David took hold of his garments and rent them; and all the men that were with him did likewise.

And David said to the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he said, I am the son of an Amalekite stranger.

Then David called one of the young men and said, Draw near, and fall on him. And he smote him that he died.

Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their lives, Even in their death were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

And it came to pass after this that David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household; and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, It is the men of Jabesh-Gilead that have buried Saul.

And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of Jehovah, that ye have shewn this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him!

And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side, and they fell down together. And that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is by Gibeon.

And the battle that day was very severe; and Abner and the men of Israel were routed before the servants of David.

And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was swift of foot, as one of the gazelles that are in the field.

But he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the belly, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place. And it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

And Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? and how long shall it be ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

And it came to pass while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, I who against Judah do shew kindness this day to the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou reproachest me this day with the fault of this woman?

And he said, Well, I will make a covenant with thee; only I require one thing of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face.

And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin; and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.

So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a repast.

And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy heart desires. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.

And Joab and all the host that was with him came; and they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away; and he is gone in peace.

Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came to thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is gone?

Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.

And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him secretly, and smote him there in the belly, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that has an issue, or that is a leper, or that leans on a staff, or that falls by the sword, or that lacks bread!

And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your garments, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.

And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.

And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were enfeebled, and all Israel was troubled.

And Jonathan Saul's son had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the news came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jizreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

Even aforetime, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel; and Jehovah said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel.

And David said on that day, Whoever smites the Jebusites and gets up to the watercourse, and the lame and the blind hated of David's soul ...! Therefore they say, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

And David perceived that Jehovah had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom because of his people Israel.

And these are the names of those that were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon,

And the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, and all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the stronghold.

And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there; and he said, Jehovah has broken in upon mine enemies before me, as the breaking forth of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And it shall be, when thou hearest a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself; for then will Jehovah have gone forth before thee, to smite the army of the Philistines.

And David arose and went with all the people that were with him from Baale-Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God which is called by the name, the name of Jehovah of hosts who sitteth between the cherubim.

And David was indignant, because Jehovah had made a breach upon Uzzah; and he called that place Perez-Uzzah to this day.

And David was afraid of Jehovah that day, and said, How shall the ark of Jehovah come to me?

And it was told king David, saying, Jehovah has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that is his, because of the ark of God. And David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom into the city of David with joy.

And it was so, that when they that bore the ark of Jehovah had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatted beast.

And they brought in the ark of Jehovah, and set it in its place, in the midst of the tent that David had spread for it. And David offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

And David said to Michal, It was before Jehovah, who chose me rather than thy father, and than all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of Jehovah, over Israel; and I played before Jehovah.

And I will make myself yet more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight; and of the handmaids that thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains.

And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee.

And it came to pass that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying,

For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle.

and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth.

And I will appoint a place for my people, for Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,

and since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I have given thee rest from all thine enemies; and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.