And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me, because when Jehovah shut me up into your hand, you did not kill me.

And now, behold, I know well that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

And Samuel died. And all the Israelites were gathered, and lamented him and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

And a certain man was in Maon, and his work was in Carmel. And the man was very great, and had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

And the man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful form. But the man was cruel and evil in his dealings. And he was of Caleb.

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.

And David sent out ten young men. And David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.

And now I have heard that you have shearers. And we did not hurt your shepherds who were with us; neither was there anything missing to them all the while they were in Carmel.

Ask your young men, and they will tell you. And let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we come in a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.

And David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and stopped.

And David said to his men, Let each man gird on his sword. And they each one girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, and two hundred stayed by the stuff.

And one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold! David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he screamed at them.

But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither did we miss anything as long as we were going to and fro among them, when we were in the fields.

And Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of roasted grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and laid them on asses.

And she said to her servants, Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

And it happened, she was riding on the ass and coming down under cover of the mountain. And behold, David and his men came down across from her. And she met them.

And David had said, Surely in vain I have kept all that belongs to this fellow in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his. And he has requited me evil for good.

So and more also may God do to the enemies of David, if I leave to the light of the morning any that is his of one who urinates against the wall.

And Abigail saw David and hurried and dismounted from the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.

And she fell at his feet and said, On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be. And please let your handmaid speak in your ears, and hear the words of your handmaid.

And now, my lord, as Jehovah lives and as your soul lives, since Jehovah has withheld you from coming to shed blood, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and those that seek to do evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

Please forgive the trespass of your handmaid. For Jehovah will certainly make a sure house for my lord, because my lord fights the battles of Jehovah, and evil has not been found in you all your days.

Yet a man has risen to pursue you and to seek your soul. But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with Jehovah your God. And the souls of your enemies, He shall sling them from the hollow of a sling.

And it shall be, when Jehovah has done to my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and commanded you to be ruler over Israel,

And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you who have kept me from coming to shed blood today, and from delivering myself with my own hand.

And truly, as Jehovah, the God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from doing evil to you, for unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light one who urinates against the wall.

And David received from her hand that which she had brought him, and said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have listened to your voice and have accepted your person.

And Abigail came to Nabal. And behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. And she did not tell him anything, more or less, until the morning light.

And it happened in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal and his wife had told him these things, his heart died within him and he became like a stone.

And David heard that Nabal had died, and he said, Blessed is Jehovah who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil. For Jehovah has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head. And David sent and spoke with Abigail, to take her to him for a wife.

And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let your handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

And Abigail hurried and arose, and rode on an ass, with five of her maidens who went after her. And she followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

And the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Is not David hiding himself in the hill of Hachilah, on the edge of the desert?

And Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him.

And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the edge of the desert, by the highway. And David was staying in the wilderness. And he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

So David and Abishai came to the people by night. And behold, Saul lay sleeping in the tent, and his spear stuck in the ground at his head. But Abner and the people lay around him.

And David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's head. And they went away, and no one saw, and no one knew; and no one was awake; for all of them were sleeping, because a deep sleep from Jehovah had fallen on them.

And David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great space between them.

And David said to Abner, Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? But why have you not watched over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king.

And he said, Why does my lord pursue after his servant this way? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

And now, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If Jehovah has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the sons of men, they are cursed before Jehovah. For they have driven me out today from joining myself with the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.

And now, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of Jehovah. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.

And Saul said, I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will never do you harm any more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have greatly erred.

And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! And let one of the young men come over and get it.

And behold, as your life was precious in my eyes this day, so let my life be precious in the eyes of Jehovah, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.

And Saul said to David, Blessed are you, my son David. You shall both do great things and also shall still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. Nothing is better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines. And Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any border of Israel, and so I shall escape out of his hand.

And David lived with Achish of Gath, he and his men, each one with his household; David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's former wife.

And David said to Achish, If I have now found grace in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country so that I may live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?

And the number of days that David lived in the field of the Philistines was a year of days and four months.

And David did not keep alive man or woman to bring news to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So David did, and so has been his custom all the days he lived in the fields of the Philistines.

And in those days it happened that the Philistines gathered their armies for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, You surely know that you shall go with me to battle, you and your men.

And Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away the mediums and the spirit-knowers out of the land.

And the Philistines gathered themselves and came and pitched in Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel and they pitched in Gilboa.

And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah did not answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

And Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing. And he went. And two men went with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, Please divine for me calling up the dead, and bring me up the man whom I shall name to you.

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

Because you did not obey the voice of Jehovah, nor execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore Jehovah has done this thing to you now.

And Saul immediately fell headlong on the earth, and was sorely afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day nor all night.

And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was sorely troubled, and said to him, Behold, your handmaid has obeyed your voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have listened to your words which you spoke to me.

And now please listen also to the voice of your handmaid, and let me set a bit of bread before you and eat, so that you may have strength when you go on your way.

But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, forced him, and the woman also. And he listened to their voices and arose from the earth and sat on the bed.

And the woman had a fat calf in the house. And she hurried and killed it, and took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread with it.

And the Philistines gathered all their armies to Aphek. And the Israelites pitched by a fountain in Jezreel.

And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands. But David and his men passed on in the rear with Achish.

And the rulers of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews doing? And Achish said to the rulers of the Philistines, Is this not David the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years. And I have not found anything evil in him from the day he fell away until today?

And the rulers of the Philistines were angry with him. And the Philistine rulers said to him, Send the man back, and he shall return to his place where you have appointed him. And he shall not go down with us to battle, and shall not become an enemy to us in battle. For with what should he reconcile himself to his master? Should it not be with the heads of these men?

Is not this David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying, Saul killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

And Achish called David and said to him, Surely, as Jehovah lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me until today. But you are not good in the eyes of the lords.

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

And David said to Achish, But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant so long as I have been with you to this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?

And Achish answered and said to David, I know that you are good in my sight, like an angel of God. But 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 your master's servants who have come with you. And as soon as you have light, depart.

And David and his men rose up early to leave in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

And it happened when David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire.

And they had seized the women in it. They did not kill any, either small or great, but carried them away and went on their way.

And it greatly distressed David, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, each one for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself in Jehovah his God.

And they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David and gave him bread, and he ate. And they made him drink water.

And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him. For he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.

And David said to him, Whose are you? And where do you come from? And he said, I am an Egyptian youth, servant to an Amalekite. And my master left me because three days ago I fell sick.

We raided the south of the Cherethites, and on that belonging to Judah, and on the south of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag with fire.

And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad on all the earth, 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 struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day. And not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

And David took all the flock, and the herd. They drove on before those cattle. And they said, This is David's spoil.

For who will listen to you in this matter? But as his part is that goes down to the battle, so shall be his part that stays by the stuff. They shall divide alike.

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

to the ones in Bethel, and to the ones in Ramoth of the south, and to the ones in Jattir,

and to the ones in Aroer, and to the ones in Siphmoth, and to the ones in Eshtemoa,

and to the ones in Rachal, and to the ones in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to the ones in the cities of the Kenites,

and to the ones in Hormah, and to the ones in Chorashan, and to the ones in Athach,

and to the ones in Hebron, and to all the places where David had gone up and down, he and his men.

And the Philistines fought against Israel. And the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down wounded in Mount Gilboa.

And Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised ones come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was very much afraid. So Saul took a sword and fell on it.

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

And the men of Israel beyond the valley, and who were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and his sons had died. And they abandoned the cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

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

And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people.

And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

And when they heard about it, the people of Jabesh-gilead, what the Philistines had done to Saul,

And it happened after the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David stayed two days in Ziklag,