And he passeth over through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passeth over through the land of Shalisha, and they have not found; and they pass over through the land of Shaalim, and they are not; and he passeth over through the land of Benjamin, and they have not found.

They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who is with him, 'Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.'

And he saith to him, 'Lo, I pray thee, a man of God is in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.'

Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?

And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

Then Saul said to his servant, You have said well; come, let us go. So they went to the town where the man of God was.

They are going up in the ascent of the city, and have found young women going out to draw water, and say to them, 'Is the seer in this place?'

And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place:

As soon as you have come into the city, you shall immediately find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he blesses the sacrifice. Afterwards those who are invited eat. Now therefore go up; for at this time you shall find him."

To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.

And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah said unto him, Behold, the man of whom I spake to thee! this same shall have authority over my people.

And Samuel answereth Saul and saith, 'I am the seer; go up before me into the high place, and ye have eaten with me to-day, and I have sent thee away in the morning, and all that is in thy heart I declare to thee.

As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom is all the desire of Israel?' is it not to thee and to all thy father's house?'

Saul responded, “Am I not a Benjaminite from the smallest of Israel’s tribes and isn’t my clan the least important of all the clans of the Benjaminite tribe? So why have you said something like this to me?”

And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.

Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

'And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine,

and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

"After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall happen, when you have come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying:

When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require because God is with you.

'And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.'

And Saul's father's brother said to him and his servant, Where have you been? And he said, Searching for the asses: and when we saw no sign of them, we came to Samuel.

and saith unto the sons of Israel, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms who are oppressing you;

And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

And Samuel saith unto all the people, 'Have ye seen him on whom Jehovah hath fixed, for there is none like him among all the people?' And all the people shout, and say, 'Let the king live!'

and the sons of worthlessness have said, 'What! this one doth save us!' and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf.

Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.

And Nahash the Ammonite saith unto them, 'For this I covenant with you, by picking out to you every right eye -- and I have put it a reproach on all Israel.'

And the elders of Jabesh say to him, 'Let us alone seven days, and we send messengers into all the border of Israel: and if there is none saving us -- then we have come out unto thee.'

And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.

and the men of Jabesh say to the Ammonites, 'To-morrow we come out unto you, and ye have done to us according to all that is good in your eyes.'

And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Saul putteth the people in three detachments, and they come into the midst of the camp in the morning-watch, and smite Ammon till the heat of the day; and it cometh to pass that those left are scattered, and there have not been left of them two together.

And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.

And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

They said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us or taken anything at all from a man’s hand.”

And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king rule over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.

If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been -- both ye and the king who hath reigned over you -- after Jehovah your God.

And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah -- then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and against your fathers.

Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

And do not turn aside after the triviality, which have no value and cannot deliver, for they are triviality.

'I, also, far be it from me to sin against Jehovah, by ceasing to pray for you, and I have directed you in the good and upright way;

only, fear ye Jehovah, and ye have served Him in truth with all your heart, for see that which He hath made great with you;

and Saul chooseth for himself three thousand men out of Israel; and two thousand are with Saul in Michmash, and in the hill-country of Beth-El; and a thousand have been with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; and the remnant of the people he hath sent each to his tents.

And all Israel have heard, saying, 'Saul hath smitten the garrison of the Philistines,' and also, 'Israel hath been abhorred by the Philistines;' and the people are called after Saul to Gilgal.

And the Philistines have been gathered to fight with Israel; thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and a people as the sand which is on the sea-shore for multitude; and they come up and encamp in Michmash, east of Beth-Aven.

And the men of Israel have seen that they are distressed, that the people hath been oppressed, and the people hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.

And Hebrews have passed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; and Saul is yet in Gilgal, and all the people have trembled after him.

But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Since I saw that the people were scattering away from me, and that you did not come within the appointed time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash,

Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”

and Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who are found with them, are abiding in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the Philistines have encamped in Michmash.

So all Israel [went] down to [the] Philistines, each to have his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his iron plowshare sharpened.

On the day of battle, none of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan were armed with swords or spears, but Saul and his son Jonathan did have them.

And Jonathan said to his young servant who had his arms, Come, let us go over to the armies of these men who have no circumcision: it may be that the Lord will give us help, for there is no limit to his power; the Lord is able to give salvation by a great army or by a small band.

if thus they say unto us, 'Stand still till we have come unto you,' then we have stood in our place, and do not go up unto them;

and if thus they say, 'Come up against us,' then we have gone up, for Jehovah hath given them into our hand, and this to us is the sign.

And revealed are both of them unto the station of the Philistines, and the Philistines say, 'Lo, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves.'

And the first smiting which Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons have smitten is of about twenty men, in about half a furrow of a yoke of a field,

and there is a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people, the station and the destroyers have trembled -- even they, and the earth shaketh, and it becometh a trembling of God.

And the Hebrews who have been for the Philistines as heretofore, who had gone up with them into the camp, have turned round, even they, to be with Israel who are with Saul and Jonathan,

and all the men of Israel, who are hiding themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, have heard that the Philistines have fled, and they pursue -- even they -- after them in battle.

And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjureth the people, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eateth food till the evening, and I have been avenged of mine enemies;' and none of the people hath tasted food.

And all they of the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field;

Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

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

Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.

And Saul saith, 'Be ye scattered among the people, and ye have said to them, Bring ye nigh unto me each his ox, and each his sheep; and ye have slain them in this place, and eaten, and ye do not sin against Jehovah to eat with the blood.' And all the people bring nigh each his ox, in his hand, that night, and slaughter them there.

Then Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, Why have you not given me an answer today? If the sin is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim, and if it is in your people Israel, give Thummim. And by the decision of the Lord, Saul and Jonathan were marked out, and the people went free.

Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!”

And Saul goeth up from after the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone to their place;

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you with them. You have shown loyal love to all the {Israelites} when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites left from among [the] Amalekites.

and Saul hath pity -- also the people -- on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that is good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted -- it they devoted.

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

And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the 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 unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, have you not become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel

When Yahweh sent you on your way, he said to you: 'Go! You must utterly destroy the sinners, [the] Amalekites, and you must fight against them until you have destroyed them.'

Why did you not listen to the voice of Yahweh and fall with shouting on the plunder? You have done evil in the sight of Yahweh!"

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the 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 things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

“For rebellion is as [serious as] the sin of divination (fortune-telling),
And disobedience is as [serious as] false religion and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you as king.”

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

So now, let my sin have forgiveness, and go back with me to give worship to the Lord.

But Samuel said to 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.”

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

And Samuel said, As women have been made childless by thy sword, So, childless among women, shall be, thine own mother. And Samuel cut Agag asunder before Yahweh, in Gilgal.

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

And Samuel saith, 'How do I go? when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, 'A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come;

So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “Do you come in peace?”

and he saith, 'Peace; to sacrifice to Jehovah I have come, sanctify yourselves, and ye have come in with me to the sacrifice;' and he sanctifieth Jesse and his sons, and calleth them to the sacrifice.