And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.

And it will be all will know him from yesterday the third day, and will see him and behold, he prophesied with the prophets, and the people will say, a man to his neighbor, What was this to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

And a man from there responded and said, "And who [is] their father?" Therefore it became a proverb: "[Is] Saul also among the prophets?"

And he finished from prophesying, and he came to the high place.

and he said to the {Israelites}, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that [were] oppressing you.'

But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, 'No, but you must appoint a king over us!' So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans."

Then he made the tribe of Benjamin come near by families, and the family of the Matrites was taken: and from them, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken: but when they went in search of him he was nowhere to be seen.

So they put another question to the Lord, Is the man present here? And the answer of the Lord was, He is keeping himself from view among the goods.

And they ran and brought him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

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.

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 from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, "What [is the matter] with the people, that they [are] weeping?" So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

He took a team of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out [united] as one man [with one purpose].

Saul counted them at Bezek. There were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men from Judah.

And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and gray-headed; and behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood to 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 from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with it? and I will restore it you.

And they said thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught from any man's hand.

Then Samuel said to the people, "Yahweh [is witness], who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.

When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers from Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

And they cried to the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelt safe.

And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

And do not go from the right way turning to those false gods in which there is no profit and no salvation, for they are false.

Moreover as for me, Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.

And the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven.

And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled at Michmash;

Saul replied, "When? I saw that the people were scattering from me, that you didn't come at the appointed time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash. I thought, "The Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal but I've not sought the favor of the LORD,' so I forced myself to offer the burnt offering."

And Samuel arose, and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.

The {raiders} went out from the camp of [the] Philistines [in] three divisions. One division turned on the road to Ophrah toward the land of Shual.

No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel because the Philistines thought, "This will keep the Hebrews from making swords or spears."

And it will be the day, and Jonathan son of Saul, will say to the boy lifting up his arms, Come, and we will pass over to the station of the rovers, which is from beyond this And to his father he announced not

And between the passages where Jonathan sought to pass through upon the garrison of the rovers, and the tooth of a rock from beyond this, and the tooth of a rock from beyond. this; and the name of the one Bozez, and the name of the one Seneh.

And the tooth of the one pressing from the north in front of Michmash, and the other from the south in front of the hill.

Jonathan said to the attendant who carried his weapons, “Come on, let’s cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will help us. Nothing can keep the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”

So the two of them showed themselves to the garrison of [the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines said, "The Hebrews [are] coming out from the holes in which they have hidden themselves."

Terror spread through the Philistine camp and the open fields to all the troops. Even the garrison and the raiding parties were terrified. The earth shook, and terror spread from God.

And the watchmen of Saul, looking out from Geba in the land of Benjamin, saw all the army flowing away and running here and there.

Then said Saul to the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.

Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the country around, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.

And there was honey on the face of the field, and all the people came to the honey, the bees having gone from it;

Then a man from the army informed [him] and said, "Your father made the army swear a solemn [oath], saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today,'" so the army [is] exhausted.

{How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great."

And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon: and the people were very faint.

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.

For as Yahweh lives, who delivers Israel, [I swear] that even if it [is] in Jonathan my son, {he will certainly die}!" But nobody from all the army answered him.

Saul told Jonathan, "Tell me what you've done." So Jonathan spoke to him: "I did taste a little honey from the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I'm ready to die!"

But the army said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the army ransomed Jonathan and he did not die.

Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.

And he gathered a host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of them that spoiled them.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.'

Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah.

And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, withdraw yourselves from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up from Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah, until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

This message from the LORD came to Samuel:

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.

And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal." And Samuel came to Saul, and he was offering up a burnt offering to the LORD, the best of the spoils which he had brought from Amalek.

And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

The troops took from the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal."

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 your sword has made women without children, so now your mother will be without children among women. And Agag was cut up by Samuel, bone from bone, before the Lord in Gilgal.

And the LORD said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd {with you}, and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.'

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose, and went to Ramah.

But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek a man who is a skillful player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou wilt be well.

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

And the rovers standing on the mountain from hence, and Israel standing on the mountain from thence, and the valley between them.

And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose hight was six cubits and a span.

When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite. This [man was] from Bethlehem of Judah, and his name was Jesse. {He had} eight sons; in the days of Saul this man was old, [yet] he [still] walked among the men.

But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.

Also take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them.

Then David put the pannier from him, unto the hands of the keeper of the vessels, and ran into the host and came and saluted his brethren.

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, from the armies of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them.

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were exceedingly afraid.

Previously, an Israelite man had declared: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the household of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”

And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

And he turned from him towards another, and spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

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.

Your servant struck both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them [Should I not go and smite him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one], since he has defied the armies of the living God?"

And David said, "Yahweh, who rescued me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go and may Yahweh be with you!"

And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he essayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off from him.

Then he took his staff in his hand, picked out for himself five smooth stones from the wadi, and he put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch. And with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

This day will the LORD deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Then David put his hand into the bag and took a stone from it and slung [it]. He struck the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it from its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

The men of Israel and Judah stood with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to the valley and the gates of Ekron. And the [fatally] wounded Philistines fell along the way to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.

And the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.

And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him return to his father’s house.