and the neighbouring women give to him a name, saying, 'There hath been a son born to Naomi,' and they call his name Obed; he is father of Jesse, father of David.

and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath.

And Saul sendeth messengers unto Jesse, and saith, 'Send unto me David thy son, who is with the flock.'

And Jesse taketh an ass, with bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sendeth by the hand of David his son unto Saul.

And David cometh in unto Saul, and standeth before him, and he loveth him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons.

And Saul sendeth unto Jesse, saying, 'Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found grace in mine eyes.'

And it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness from God being on Saul, that David hath taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul hath refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness hath turned aside from off him.

And David is son of this Ephrathite of Beth-Lehem-Judah, whose name is Jesse, and he hath eight sons, and the man in the days of Saul hath become aged among men;

And David is the youngest, and the three eldest have gone after Saul,

and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.

And Jesse saith to David his son, 'Take, I pray thee, to thy brethren, an ephah of this roasted corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

And David riseth early in the morning, and leaveth the flock to a keeper, and lifteth up, and goeth, as Jesse commanded him, and he cometh in to the path, and to the force which is going out unto the rank, and they have shouted for battle;

And David letteth down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runneth into the rank, and cometh and asketh of his brethren of welfare.

And he is speaking with them, and lo, a man of the duellists is coming up, Goliath the Philistine is his name, of Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaketh according to those words, and David heareth;

And David speaketh unto the men who are standing by him, saying, 'What is done to the man who smiteth this Philistine, and hath turned aside reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he hath reproached the ranks of the living God?'

And Eliab, his eldest brother, heareth when he speaketh unto the men, and the anger of Eliab burneth against David, and he saith, 'Why is this -- thou hast come down! and to whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I have known thy pride, and the evil of thy heart -- for, to see the battle thou hast come down.'

And David saith, 'What have I done now? is it not a word?'

And the words which David hath spoken are heard, and they declare before Saul, and he receiveth him;

and David saith unto Saul, 'Let no man's heart fall because of him, thy servant doth go, and hath fought with this Philistine.'

And Saul saith unto David, 'Thou art not able to go unto this Philistine, to fight with him, for a youth thou art, and he a man of war from his youth.'

And David saith unto Saul, 'A shepherd hath thy servant been to his father among the sheep, and the lion hath come -- and the bear -- and hath taken away a sheep out of the drove,

And David saith, 'Jehovah, who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He doth deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' And Saul saith unto David, 'Go, and Jehovah is with thee.'

And Saul clotheth David with his long robe, and hath put a helmet of brass on his head, and doth clothe him with a coat of mail.

And David girded his sword above his long robe, and beginneth to go, for he hath not tried it; and David saith unto Saul, 'I am not able to go with these, for I had not tried;' and David turneth them aside from off him.

And the Philistine goeth on, going and drawing near unto David, and the man bearing the buckler is before him,

and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance.

And the Philistine saith unto David, 'Am I a dog that thou art coming unto me with staves?' and the Philistine revileth David by his gods,

and the Philistine saith unto David, 'Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.'

And David saith unto the Philistine, 'Thou art coming unto me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming unto thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which thou hast reproached.

And it hath come to pass, that the Philistine hath risen, and goeth, and draweth near to meet David, and David hasteth and runneth to the rank to meet the Philistine,

and David putteth forth his hand unto the vessel, and taketh thence a stone, and slingeth, and smiteth the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinketh into his forehead, and he falleth on his face to the earth.

And David is stronger than the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smiteth the Philistine, and putteth him to death, and there is no sword in the hand of David,

and David runneth and standeth over the Philistine, and taketh his sword, and draweth it out of its sheath, and putteth him to death, and cutteth off with it his head; and the Philistines see that their hero is dead, and flee.

And David taketh the head of the Philistine, and bringeth it in to Jerusalem, and his weapons he hath put in his own tent.

And when Saul seeth David going out to meet the Philistine, he hath said unto Abner, head of the host, 'Whose son is this -- the youth, Abner?' and Abner saith, 'Thy soul liveth, O king, I have not known.'

And when David turneth back from smiting the Philistine, then Abner taketh him and bringeth him in before Saul, and the head of the Philistine in his hand;

and Saul saith unto him, 'Whose son art thou, O youth?' and David saith, 'Son of thy servant Jesse, the Beth-Lehemite.'

And it cometh to pass, when he finisheth to speak unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan hath been bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loveth him as his own soul.

And Jonathan maketh -- also David -- a covenant, because he loveth him as his own soul,

and Jonathan strippeth himself of the upper robe which is upon him, and giveth it to David, and his long robe, even unto his sword, and unto his bow, and unto his girdle.

And David goeth out whithersoever Saul doth send him; he acted wisely, and Saul setteth him over the men of war, and it is good in the eyes of all the people, and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.

And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, in David's returning from smiting the Philistine, that the women come out from all the cities of Israel to sing -- also the dancers -- to meet Saul the king, with tabrets, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments;

and the women answer -- those playing, and say, 'Saul hath smitten among his thousands, And David among his myriads.'

And it is displeasing to Saul exceedingly, and this thing is evil in his eyes, and he saith, 'They have given to David myriads, and to me they have given the thousands, and more to him is only the kingdom;'

and Saul is eyeing David from that day and thenceforth.

And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that the spirit of sadness from God prospereth over Saul, and he prophesieth in the midst of the house, and David is playing with his hand, as day by day, and the javelin is in the hand of Saul,

and Saul casteth the javelin, and saith, 'I smite through David, even through the wall;' and David turneth round out of his presence twice.

And Saul is afraid of the presence of David, for Jehovah hath been with him, and from Saul He hath turned aside;

And David is in all his ways acting wisely, and Jehovah is with him,

and all Israel and Judah love David when he is going out and coming in before them.

And Saul saith unto David, 'Lo, my elder daughter Merab -- her I give to thee for a wife; only, be to me for a son of valour, and fight the battles of Jehovah;' and Saul said, 'Let not my hand be on him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.'

And David saith unto Saul, 'Who am I? and what my life -- the family of my father in Israel -- that I am son-in-law to the king?'

And it cometh to pass, at the time of the giving of Merab daughter of Saul to David, that she hath been given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

And Michal daughter of Saul loveth David, and they declare to Saul, and the thing is right in his eyes,

and Saul saith, 'I give her to him, and she is to him for a snare, and the hand of the Philistines is on him;' and Saul saith unto David, 'By the second -- thou dost become my son-in-law to-day.'

And Saul commandeth his servants, 'Speak unto David gently, saying, Lo, the king hath delighted in thee, and all his servants have loved thee, and now, be son-in-law to the king.'

And the servants of Saul speak in the ears of David these words, and David saith, 'Is it a light thing in your eyes to be son-in-law to the king -- and I a poor man, and lightly esteemed?'

And the servants of Saul declare to him, saying, 'According to these words hath David spoken.'

And Saul saith, 'Thus do ye say to David, There is no delight to the king in dowry, but in a hundred foreskins of the Philistines -- to be avenged on the enemies of the king;' and Saul thought to cause David to fall by the hand of the Philistines.

And his servants declare to David these words, and the thing is right in the eyes of David, to be son-in-law to the king; and the days have not been full,

and David riseth and goeth, he and his men, and smiteth among the Philistines two hundred men, and David bringeth in their foreskins, and they set them before the king, to be son-in-law to the king; and Saul giveth to him Michal his daughter for a wife.

And Saul seeth and knoweth that Jehovah is with David, and Michal daughter of Saul hath loved him,

and Saul addeth to be afraid of the presence of David yet; and Saul is an enemy with David all the days.

And the princes of the Philistines come out, and it cometh to pass from the time of their coming out, David hath acted more wisely than any of the servants of Saul, and his name is very precious.

And Saul speaketh unto Jonathan his son, and unto all his servants, to put David to death,

and Jonathan son of Saul delighted exceedingly in David, and Jonathan declareth to David, saying, 'Saul my father is seeking to put thee to death, and, now, take heed, I pray thee, in the morning, and thou hast abode in a secret place, and been hidden,

And Jonathan speaketh good of David unto Saul his father, and saith unto him, 'Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works for thee are very good;

yea, he putteth his life in his hand, and smiteth the Philistine, and Jehovah worketh a great salvation for all Israel; thou hast seen, and dost rejoice, and why dost thou sin against innocent blood, to put David to death for nought?'

And Jonathan calleth for David, and Jonathan declareth to him all these words, and Jonathan bringeth in David unto Saul, and he is before him as heretofore.

And there addeth to be war, and David goeth out and fighteth against the Philistines, and smiteth among them -- a great smiting, and they flee from his face.

And a spirit of sadness from Jehovah is unto Saul, and he is sitting in his house, and his javelin in his hand, and David is playing with the hand,

and Saul seeketh to smite with the javelin through David, and through the wall, and he freeth himself from the presence of Saul, and he smiteth the javelin through the wall; and David hath fled and escapeth during that night.

And Saul sendeth messengers unto the house of David to watch him, and to put him to death in the morning; and Michal his wife declareth to David, saying, 'If thou art not delivering thy life to-night -- tomorrow thou art put to death.'

And Michal causeth David to go down through the window, and he goeth on, and fleeth, and escapeth;

And Saul sendeth messengers to take David, and she saith, 'He is sick.'

And Saul sendeth the messengers to see David, saying, 'Bring him up in the bed unto me,' -- to put him to death.

And David hath fled, and is escaped, and cometh in unto Samuel to Ramath, and declareth to him all that Saul hath done to him, and he goeth, he and Samuel, and they dwell in Naioth.

And it is declared to Saul, saying, 'Lo, David is in Naioth in Ramah.'

And Saul sendeth messengers to take David, and they see the assembly of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing, set over them, and the Spirit of God is on Saul's messengers, and they prophesy -- they also.

And he goeth -- he also -- to Ramath, and cometh in unto the great well which is in Sechu, and asketh, and saith, 'Where are Samuel and David?' and one saith, 'Lo, in Naioth in Ramah.'

And David fleeth from Naioth in Ramah, and cometh, and saith before Jonathan, 'What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what my sin before thy father, that he is seeking my life?'

And David sweareth again, and saith, 'Thy father hath certainly known that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved; and yet, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, but -- as a step between me and death.'

And Jonathan saith to David, 'What doth thy soul say? -- and I do it for thee.'

And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Lo, the new moon is to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening;

if thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days is there for all the family.

And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Who doth declare to me? or what if thy father doth answer thee sharply?'

And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Come, and we go out into the field;' and they go out both of them into the field.

And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Jehovah, God of Israel -- when I search my father, about this time to-morrow or the third day, and lo, good is towards David, and I do not then send unto thee, and have uncovered thine ear --

but thou dost not cut off thy kindness from my house unto the age, nor in Jehovah's cutting off the enemies of David, each one from off the face of the ground.'

And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought it from the hand of the enemies of David;

and Jonathan addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him.

And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat,

and the king sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David's place is looked after.

And it cometh to pass on the second morrow of the new moon, that David's place is looked after, and Saul saith unto Jonathan his son, 'Wherefore hath the son of Jesse not come in, either yesterday or to-day, unto the food?'

And Jonathan answereth Saul, 'David hath been earnestly asked of me unto Beth-Lehem,

And Saul casteth the javelin at him to smite him, and Jonathan knoweth that it hath been determined by his father to put David to death.

And Jonathan riseth from the table in the heat of anger, and hath not eaten food on the second day of the new moon, for he hath been grieved for David, for his father put him to shame.

And it cometh to pass in the morning, that Jonathan goeth out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little youth is with him.

And the youth hath not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word.