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.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to LORD thy God in Gilgal.

And Samuel said, Has LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

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.

And Samuel said to him, LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and has given it to a neighbor of thine, who is better than thou.

Then Samuel said, Bring ye here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

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.

And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shall do. And thou shall anoint to me him whom I name to thee.

And Samuel did that which LORD spoke, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Do thou come peaceably?

And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

And it came to pass, when they came, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely LORD's anointed is before him.

But LORD said to Samuel, Do not look on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For [LORD sees] not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but LORD looks on the heart.

Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither has LORD chosen this man.

And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, LORD has not chosen these men.

And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all thy sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and of a beautiful countenance, and fine to look upon. And LORD said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

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

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

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.

Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle. And they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

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.

If he is able to fight with me, and kill me, then we will be your servants, but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then ye shall be our servants, and serve us.

And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.

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.

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

And Jesse said to David his son, Take now for thy brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry [them] quickly to the camp to thy brothers.

And bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand. And look how thy brothers fare, and take their pledge.

And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the place of the wagons as the army which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.

And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brothers.

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

And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man who has come up? Surely to defy Israel he has come up. And it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and m

And David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the l

And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that kills him.

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why have thou come down? And with whom have thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and t

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 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 he took his staff in his hand, and chose for him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet. And his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

And the Philistine came on and drew near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.

And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that thou come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.

Then David said to the Philistine, Thou come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come to thee in the name of LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou have defied.

This day LORD will deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee. And I will give the dead bodies of the armies of the Philistines this day to the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of

And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

And David put his hand in his bag, and took from there a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines until thou come to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron.

And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

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 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.

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his belt.

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 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 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'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 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 when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. And the days were not expired,

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

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.

For he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and LORD wrought a great victory for all Israel. Thou saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will thou sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?

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 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 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.

Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.

And he went there to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

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 he said to him, Far from it. Thou shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small, but that he discloses it to me, and why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.

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

And David said to Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening.