And all they of the land came to a forest; and there was honey upon the ground.

How much better, if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for would there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?

And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me here every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.

For, as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.

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.

And there was bitter war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all your children? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he comes here.

And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

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

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

And David said unto Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

This day will the LORD deliver you into my hand; and I will strike you, and take your head from you; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto 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.

And David put his hand in his bag, and took there a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head there. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

And it came to pass the next day, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.

And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his head.

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

And David swore again, and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes; and he says, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.

If your father at all misses me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.

Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant; for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you: nevertheless, if there be in me iniquity, slay me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father?

And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded out my father tomorrow about this time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto you, and show it to you;

And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, take them; then come you: for there is peace to you, and no hurt; as the LORD lives.

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.

Now therefore what is there on hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or what there is present.

And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread on hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.

So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken away from before the LORD, to put hot bread in its place the day when it was taken away.

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.

And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here on hand a spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you slew in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if you will take that, take it: for there is no other except that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.

David therefore departed from there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.

And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

And David went from there to Mizpah of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray you, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.

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 David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have caused the death of all the persons of your father's house.

Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he decided not to go there.

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.

But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste you, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.

And David went up from there, and dwelt in strongholds at Engedi.

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself: and David and his men remained in the recesses of the cave.

Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of your robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and killed you not, know you and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against you; yet you hunt my soul to take it.

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

And now I have heard that you have shearers: now your shepherds which were with us, we hurt not, neither was there anything missing from them, all the while they were in Carmel.

And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants now days that break away each man from his master.

And David said unto his men, Gird you on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the supplies.

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 David said to Abner, are not you a valiant man? and who is like to you in Israel? why then have you not kept your lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king your lord.

And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing 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: so shall I escape out of his hand.

And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?

Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that is a medium at Endor.

And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD lives, there shall no punishment happen to you for this thing.

Then Saul fell immediately full length on the ground, and was very much afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no food all the day, nor all the night.

And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray you, bring me here the ephod. And Abiathar brought there the ephod to David.

And David struck them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, except four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.

And there was nothing lacking of them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered it all.

All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's widow the Carmelite.

And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, The men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.

Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

And there was a very fierce battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

However he refused to turn aside: therefore Abner with the blunt end of the spear struck him under the fifth rib, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.

Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul.

And when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and struck him there under the fifth rib, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

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 the king said unto his servants, Know you not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and were sojourners there until this day.)

And they came there into the midst of the house, as though they would have gotten wheat; and they struck him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped.

And David took himself more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

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 there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.

And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who dwells between the cherubim.

And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah; and God struck him there for his irreverence; and there he died by the ark of God.

Therefore you are great, O LORD God: for there is none like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Are you Ziba? And he said, Your servant is he.

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.

And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the captain of their army, who died there.

And David said to Uriah, Go down to your house, and wash your feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king.

And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he refused to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to prepare for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and prepared it for the man that was come to him.

And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that you did unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.

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.

But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came many people by the way of the hillside behind him.

So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.

And Joab sent to Tekoah, and brought from there a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray you, pretend to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not yourself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

And your handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one struck the other, and slew him.

Then said she, I pray you, let the king remember the LORD your God, that you would not allow the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD lives, there shall not one hair of your son fall to the earth.

But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.

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.

And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto you, saying, Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

And Absalom said unto him, See, your matters are good and right; but there is no man appointed of the king to hear you.

And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.

And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will your servant be.