And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.

Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou have done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did certainly taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. And, lo, I must die.

And Saul said, God do so and more also, for thou shall surely die, Jonathan.

And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far from it. As LORD lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has wrought with God this day. So the peop

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

Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the sons of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. And where

Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.

And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.

And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

And there was great war against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him to him.

And Samuel said to Saul, LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore hearken thou to the voice of the words of LORD.

And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

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

And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou go to Shur, that is before Egypt.

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 everything that was vile and refuse, that they dest

I regret that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. And Samuel was angry, and he cried out to 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 for him a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.

And Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, Blessed be thou of LORD. I have performed the commandment of LORD.

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 LORD thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop, and I will tell thee what LORD has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

And Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of LORD, and have gone the way which LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of LORD, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou have rejected the word of LORD, and LORD has rejected thee from being king over Israel.

And as Samuel turned about to go away, [Saul] laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it tore.

So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped LORD.

Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death, for Samuel mourned for Saul, and LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

And LORD said to Samuel, How long will thou mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and go. I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for me a king among

And Samuel said, How do I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. And LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I have come to sacrifice to LORD.

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

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

And Saul said to his servants, Provide for me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.

Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send to me David thy son, who is with the sheep.

And Jesse took a donkey with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.

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

And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

And he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why have ye come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse. And he had eight sons, and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken [in years] among men.

And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

And David was the youngest, and the three eldest followed Saul.

Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

And when the words were heard which David spoke, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.

And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

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

And David said to Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father's sheep, and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,

And David said, LORD who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and LORD shall be with thee.

And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he attempted to go, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. And David put them off of him.

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul lives, O king, I cannot tell.

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.

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

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

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

Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

And David went out wherever Saul sent him, [and] behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

And it came to pass as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with instruments

And the women sang one to another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him, and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands, and what can he have more but the kingdom?

And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played with his hand, as he did day by day, and Saul had his spear in his hand.

And Saul cast the spear, for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David turned away from his presence twice.

And Saul was afraid of David because LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand, and he went out and came in before the people.

And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.

And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, I will give her to thee for a wife. Only be thou valiant for me, and fight LORD's battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be

And David said to 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?

But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David, and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David, Thou shall this day be my son-in-law a second time.

And Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Converse with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in thee, and all his servants love thee. Now therefore be the king's son-in-law.

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

And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner David spoke.

And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king does not desire any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

and David arose and went, he and his men, and killed of the Philistines two hundred men. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Mi

And Saul saw and knew that LORD was with David, and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him.

And Saul was yet the more afraid of David, and Saul was David's enemy continually.

Then the rulers of the Philistines went forth, and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was very precious.

And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.

And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeks to kill thee. Now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself.

And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against thee, and because his works have been very good toward thee.

And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan. And Saul swore, As LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.

And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as beforetime.

And an evil spirit from LORD was upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing with his hand.

And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped that night.

And Saul sent messengers to David's house, to watch him, and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life tonight, tomorrow thou will be slain.

And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.

And Saul said to Michal, Why have thou deceived me thus, and let my enemy go, so that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go. Why should I kill thee?

Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

And Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.

And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

And David swore moreover, and said, Thy father knows well that I have found favor in thine eyes, and he says, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, there is but a step betwe

Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever thy soul desires, I will even do it for thee.