But now your kingdom shall not continue: the LORD has sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept that which the LORD commanded you.

But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD has delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.

And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.

Then said Jonathan, My father has troubled the land: see, I ask you, how my eyes have been brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

And Saul said, Draw you near here, all you leaders of the people: and know and see what this sin has been this day.

And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he has worked with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, so that he died not.

It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and has gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what the LORD has said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

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

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.

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

And Samuel said unto him, The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

And Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel cut Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the LORD chosen this one.

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

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

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

And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man that has come up? surely to defy Israel has he 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 make his father's house free in Israel.

Your servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.

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

And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Talk with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.

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

The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will show it to you, and send you away, that you may go in peace: and the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father.

But also you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever: no, not when the LORD has cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond you; go your way: for the LORD has sent you away.

Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day: for he thought, Something has befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

And he said, Let me go, I pray you; for our family has a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he has commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away, I pray you, and see my brethren. Therefore he comes not unto the king's table.

And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Why shall he be slain? what has he done?

And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king has charged me with a business, and has said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you: and I have directed my young men to such and such a place.

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that shows me that my son has made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or shows unto me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that has gates and bars.

Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.

Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there: for it is told me that he deals very craftily.

Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he has repaid me evil for good.

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, seeing the LORD has held you back from coming to shed blood, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

And now this blessing which your handmaid has brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

I pray you, forgive the trespass of your handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord an enduring house; because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, 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 the living with the LORD your God; and the souls of your enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you ruler over Israel;

That this shall be no grief unto you, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid.

And blessed be your advice, and blessed be you, who has kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my own hand.

For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any remaining males.

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept his servant from evil: for the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and talked with Abigail, to take her to be his wife.

Then said Abishai to David, God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day: now therefore let me strike him, I pray you, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not strike him the second time.

Now therefore, I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.

Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one does hunt a partridge in the mountains.

Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: therefore Ziklag has belonged unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

And Achish believed David, saying, He has made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant forever.

And the woman said unto him, Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those that are mediums, and the wizards, out of the land: why then lay you a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am much distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called you, that you may make known unto me what I shall do.

Then said Samuel, Why then do you ask of me, seeing the LORD has departed from you, and has become your enemy?

And the LORD has done to you, as he spoke by me: for the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, even to David:

Because you obeyed not the voice of the LORD, nor executed his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore has the LORD done this thing unto you this day.

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

Then said the princes of the Philistines, What are these Hebrews doing here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he deserted unto me unto this day?

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

Then said David, you shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD has given us, who has preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.

And David said unto him, Your blood be upon your head; for your mouth has testified against you, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.

Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be you valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.

So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD has sworn to David, even so I do to him;

Now then do it: for the LORD has spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.

When Joab and all the host that were with him were come, 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.

Let it rest 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 on the sword, or that lacks bread.

And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the LORD has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his descendants

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said unto them, As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

And David came to Baal-perazim, and David struck them there, and said, The LORD has broken forth upon my enemies before me, as the breakthrough of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim.

And it was told king David, saying, The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertains unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness.

For you, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to your servant, saying, I will build you a house: therefore has your servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto you.

And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan has yet a son, who is lame on his feet.

Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so shall your servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons.

And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Think you that David does honor your father, that he has sent comforters unto you? Has not David rather sent his servants unto you, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD lives, the man that has done this thing shall surely die:

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, your servant has sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech you, and his servants go with your servant.

And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom has slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left.

And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.

And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this? And the woman answered and said, As your soul lives, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken: for your servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your handmaid:

To bring about this change of affairs has your servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, Today your servant knows that I have found grace in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.

Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.

Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!

The LORD has returned upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son: and, behold, you are taken in your mischief, because you are a bloody man.

And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?

And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth of my own body, seeks my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD has bidden him.

And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto your father's concubines, which he has left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that you are abhorred by your father: then shall the hands of all that are with you be strong.

And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spoke unto him, saying, Ahithophel has spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak you.

And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good at this time.

Moreover, if he has gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.

And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus has Ahithophel counseled against you.

Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.

And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.

And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD has avenged you this day of all them that rose up against you.

And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he has fled out of the land because of Absalom.

And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house.

And he has slandered your servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in your eyes.

And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: why then are you angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king's cost? or has he given us any gift?

The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.