Thematic Bible: Who reigned over all israel
Thematic Bible
Kings » Who reigned over all israel » David
The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people of Judah. David was told, "The people of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul."
Verse Concepts
David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalem thirty-three years.
Verse Concepts
Kings » Who reigned over all israel » Rehoboam (first part of his reign)
Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in Shechem to make Rehoboam king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. They sent for him, and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, read more.
"Your father made us work too hard. Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you." He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away. King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?" They said to him, "Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward." But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. He asked them, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed on us'?" The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.' Say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father! My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'" Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day." The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh." The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So Israel returned to their homes. (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, the supervisor of the work crews, out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty.
"Your father made us work too hard. Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you." He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away. King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?" They said to him, "Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward." But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. He asked them, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed on us'?" The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.' Say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father! My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'" Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day." The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh." The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So Israel returned to their homes. (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, the supervisor of the work crews, out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty.
Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in Shechem to make Rehoboam king. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon. Jeroboam returned from Egypt. They sent for him and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, read more.
"Your father made us work too hard! Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you." He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away. King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?" They said to him, "If you are fair to these people, grant their request, and are cordial to them, they will be your servants from this time forward." But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. He asked them, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed on us'?" The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden' -- say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father! My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'" Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day." The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh." The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David -- no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So all Israel returned to their homes.
"Your father made us work too hard! Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you." He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away. King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?" They said to him, "If you are fair to these people, grant their request, and are cordial to them, they will be your servants from this time forward." But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. He asked them, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed on us'?" The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden' -- say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father! My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'" Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day." The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh." The king refused to listen to the people, because God was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David -- no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So all Israel returned to their homes.
Kings » Who reigned over all israel » saul
So all the people went to Gilgal, where they established Saul as king in the Lord's presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord's presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy. Samuel said to all Israel, "I have done everything you requested. I have given you a king. Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day. read more.
Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!" They replied, "You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone." He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me." They said, "He is witness!" Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt. Now take your positions, so I may confront you before the Lord regarding all the Lord's just actions toward you and your ancestors. When Jacob entered Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. "But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor's army, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, 'We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.' So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely. "When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, 'No! A king will rule over us' -- even though the Lord your God is your king! Now look! Here is the king you have chosen -- the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king! If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him and not rebelling against what he says, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. But if you don't obey the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. "So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight. Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves." So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. All the people said to Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us -- your servants -- so we won't die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king." Then Samuel said to the people, "Don't be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don't turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. You should not turn aside after empty things that can't profit and can't deliver, since they are empty. The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away." Saul was [thirty] years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] years. Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. He sent all the rest of the people back home. Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted all the land saying, "Let the Hebrews pay attention!" All Israel heard this message, "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive to the Philistines!" So the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, and cisterns. Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified. He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. So Saul said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." Then he offered a burnt offering. Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn't come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt obligated to offer the burnt offering." Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed the commandment that the Lord your God gave you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the Lord has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you." Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men. Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual; another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert. A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears." So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles sharpened. They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash. Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us." But he did not let his father know. Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men. Now Ahijah was carrying an ephod. He was the son of Ahitub, who was the brother of Ichabod and a son of Phineas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The army was unaware that Jonathan had left. Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh. The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba. Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few." His armor bearer said to him, "Do everything that is on your mind. Do as you're inclined. I'm with you all the way!" Jonathan replied, "All right! We'll go over to these men and fight them. If they say to us, 'Stay put until we approach you,' we will stay right there and not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come up against us,' we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand -- it will be a sign to us." When they made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, "Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves." Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, "Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!" Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come up behind me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel!" Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre. Then fear overwhelmed those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. Saul's watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin looked on as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. So Saul said to the army that was with him, "Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us." When they mustered the troops, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. So Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ephod," for he was at that time wearing the ephod. While Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistines' camp was becoming greater and greater. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!" Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle. So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!" So no one in the army ate anything. Now the whole army entered the forest and there was honey on the ground. When the army entered the forest, they saw the honey flowing, but no one ate any of it, for the army was afraid of the oath. But Jonathan had not heard about the oath his father had made the army take. He extended the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. When he ate it, his eyes gleamed. Then someone from the army informed him, "Your father put the army under a strict oath saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today!' That is why the army is tired." Then Jonathan said, "My father has caused trouble for the land. See how my eyes gleamed when I tasted just a little of this honey. Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies' provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?" On that day the army struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, and they became very tired. So the army rushed greedily on the plunder, confiscating sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground, and the army ate them blood and all. Now it was reported to Saul, "Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood." He said, "All of you have broken the covenant! Roll a large stone over here to me." Then Saul said, "Scatter out among the army and say to them, 'Each of you bring to me your ox and sheep and slaughter them in this spot and eat. But don't sin against the Lord by eating the blood." So that night each one brought his ox and slaughtered it there. Then Saul built an altar for the Lord; it was the first time he had built an altar for the Lord. Saul said, "Let's go down after the Philistines at night; we will rout them until the break of day. We won't leave any of them alive!" They replied, "Do whatever seems best to you." But the priest said, "Let's approach God here." So Saul asked God, "Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him that day. Then Saul said, "All you leaders of the army come here. Find out how this sin occurred today. For as surely as the Lord, the deliverer of Israel, lives, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan, he will certainly die!" But no one from the army said anything. Then he said to all Israel, "You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side." The army replied to Saul, "Do whatever you think is best." Then Saul said, "O Lord God of Israel! If this sin has been committed by me or by my son Jonathan, then, O Lord God of Israel, respond with Urim. But if this sin has been committed by your people Israel, respond with Thummim." Then Jonathan and Saul were indicated by lot, while the army was exonerated. Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan!" Jonathan was indicated by lot. So Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Jonathan told him, "I used the end of the staff that was in my hand to taste a little honey. I must die!" Saul said, "God will punish me severely if Jonathan doesn't die!" But the army said to Saul, "Should Jonathan, who won this great victory in Israel, die? May it never be! As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground! For it is with the help of God that he has acted today." So the army rescued Jonathan from death. Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back home. After Saul had secured his royal position over Israel, he fought against all their enemies on all sides -- the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. In every direction that he turned he was victorious. He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. He had two daughters; the older one was named Merab and the younger Michal. The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the general in command of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's uncle. Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. There was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw anyone who was a warrior or a brave individual, he would conscript him. Then Samuel said to Saul, "I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. Here is what the Lord of hosts says: 'I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt. So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'" So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. Saul proceeded to the city of Amalek, where he set an ambush in the wadi. Saul said to the Kenites, "Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites. Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is next to Egypt. He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag's people with the sword. However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do." Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night. Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, "Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal." When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said." Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?" Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered." Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me." Samuel said, "Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.' Why haven't you obeyed the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord's estimation." Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle -- the best of what was to be slaughtered -- to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship the Lord." Samuel said to Saul, "I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!" When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! The Preeminent One of Israel does not go back on his word or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind." Saul again replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God." So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord. Then Samuel said, "Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites." So Agag came to him trembling, thinking to himself, "Surely death is bitter!" Samuel said, "Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!" Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord. Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. Until the day he died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. The Lord said to Samuel, "How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons." Samuel replied, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!" But the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out to you." Samuel did what the Lord told him. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They said, "Do you come in peace?" He replied, "Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, "Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!" But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one, either." Then Jesse presented Shammah. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Is that all of the young men?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest one, but he's taking care of the flock." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here." So Jesse had him brought in. Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, "Go and anoint him. This is the one!" So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Then Saul's servants said to him, "Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!" Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better." So Saul said to his servants, "Find me a man who plays well and bring him to me." One of his attendants replied, "I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior and is articulate and handsome, for the Lord is with him." So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep. So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat and sent them to Saul with his son David. David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, and he became his armor bearer. Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, "Let David be my servant, for I really like him." So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone. The Philistines gathered their troops for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelite army assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against the Philistines. The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites on another hill, with the valley between them. Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels. He had bronze shin guards on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer was walking before him. Goliath stood and called to Israel's troops, "Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may come down to me! If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us." Then the Philistine said, "I defy Israel's troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight each other!" When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid. Now David was the son of this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul's days he was old and well advanced in years. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest. Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, David was going back and forth from Saul in order to care for his father's sheep in Bethlehem. Meanwhile for forty days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. Jesse said to his son David, "Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines." So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, and David heard it. When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated from his presence and were very afraid. The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father's house exempt from tax obligations in Israel." David asked the men who were standing near him, "What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?" The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, "This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down." When David's oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry with David and said, "Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! You have come down here to watch the battle!" David replied, "What have I done now? Can't I say anything?" Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, but they gave him the same answer as before. When David's words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. David said to Saul, "Don't let anyone be discouraged. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!" But Saul replied to David, "You aren't able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You're just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!" David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. For he has defied the armies of the living God!" David went on to say, "The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go! The Lord will be with you." Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. David said to Saul, "I can't walk in these things, for I'm not used to them." So David removed them. He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine. The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?" Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, "Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!" But David replied to the Philistine, "You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you have defied! This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord's, and he will deliver you into our hand." The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground. David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath's sword, drew it from its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away. Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath's weapons in his tent. Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know." The king said, "Find out whose son this boy is!" So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem." When David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. Saul retained David on that day and did not allow him to return to his father's house. Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt. On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul's servants. When the men arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. The women who were playing the music sang, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!" This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, "They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?" So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward. The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre that day. There was a spear in Saul's hand, and Saul threw the spear, thinking, "I'll nail David to the wall!" But David escaped from him on two different occasions. So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. Saul removed David from his presence and made him a commanding officer. David led the army out to battle and back. Now David achieved success in all he did, for the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back. Then Saul said to David, "Here's my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior for me and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul thought, "There's no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!" David said to Saul, "Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father in Israel that I should become the king's son-in-law?" When the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah. Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it pleased him. Saul said, "I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law." Then Saul instructed his servants, "Tell David secretly, 'The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king's son-in-law." So Saul's servants spoke these words privately to David. David replied, "Is becoming the king's son-in-law something insignificant to you? I'm just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!" When Saul's servants reported what David had said, Saul replied, "Here is what you should say to David: 'There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his enemies.'" (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.) So his servants told David these things and David agreed to become the king's son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired when David, along with his men, went out and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king's son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became even more afraid of him. Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul's servants. His name was held in high esteem. Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul's son Jonathan liked David very much. So Jonathan told David, "My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find a hiding place and stay in seclusion. I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, I will let you know." So Jonathan spoke on David's behalf to his father Saul. He said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial for you. He risked his life when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?" Saul accepted Jonathan's advice and took an oath, "As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death." Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly and they ran away from him. Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul's presence and the spear drove into the wall. David escaped quickly that night. Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David's wife Michal told him, "If you do not save yourself tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!" So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped. Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed. She put a quilt made of goat's hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment. When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, "He's sick." Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him." When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat's hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!" Michal replied to Saul, "He said to me, 'Help me get away or else I will kill you!'" Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. It was reported to Saul saying, "David is at Naioth in Ramah." So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied. When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. Finally Saul himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" They said, "At Naioth in Ramah." So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, "Is Saul also among the prophets?") David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my offense? How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!" Jonathan said to him, "By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won't happen!" Taking an oath, David again said, "Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 'Don't let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.' But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!" Jonathan replied to David, "Tell me what I can do for you." David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. If your father happens to miss me, you should say, 'David urgently requested me to let him go to his city Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.' If he should then say, 'That's fine,' then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. You must be loyal to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord's name. If I am guilty, you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?" Jonathan said, "Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn't I tell you about it?" David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?" Jonathan said to David, "Come on. Let's go out to the field." When the two of them had gone out into the field, Jonathan said to David, "The Lord God of Israel is my witness. I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don't let you know and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! Don't ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth and called David's enemies to account." So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. On the third day you should go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. Stay near the stone Ezel. I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. When I send a boy after them, I will say, "Go and find the arrows." If I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,' then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. But if I say to the boy, "Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,' get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!" So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David's place was vacant. However, Saul said nothing about it that day, for he thought, "Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean." But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David's place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has Jesse's son not come to the meal yesterday or today?" Jonathan replied to Saul, "David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. He said, 'Permit me to go, for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go to see my brothers.' For that reason he has not come to the king's table." Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, "You stupid traitor! Don't I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother's nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!" Jonathan responded to his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David. Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. He said to his servant, "Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot." As the servant ran, Jonathan shot the arrow beyond him. When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to the servant, "Isn't the arrow further beyond you?" Jonathan called out to the servant, "Hurry! Go faster! Don't delay!" Jonathan's servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, "Go, take these things back to the city." When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, 'The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'"Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city. David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?" David replied to Ahimelech the priest, "The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, 'Don't let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.' I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place. Now what do you have at your disposal? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found." The priest replied to David, "I don't have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers have abstained from sexual relations with women." David said to the priest, "Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers' equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!" So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. (One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's shepherds.) David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don't have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king's instructions." The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there's nothing here." David said, "There's nothing like it! Give it to me!" So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, 'Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands'?" David thought about what they said and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. He altered his behavior in their presence. Since he was in their power, he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, "Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?" So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father's family learned about it, they went down there to him. All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him. Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God is going to do for me." So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time that David was in the stronghold. Then Gad the prophet said to David, "Don't stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth. But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him. Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, "Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse's son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you commanders and officers? For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me when my own son makes an agreement with this son of Jesse! Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!" But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, "I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine." Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father's house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. Then Saul said, "Listen, son of Ahitub." He replied, "Here I am, my lord." Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!" Ahimelech replied to the king, "Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king's son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse his servant or any of my father's house. For your servant is not aware of all this -- not in whole or in part!" But the king said, "You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house! Then the king said to the messengers who were stationed beside him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me." But the king's servants refused to harm the priests of the Lord. Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn and strike down the priests!" So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep -- all with the sword. But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. Then David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty of all the deaths in your father's house! Stay with me. Don't be afraid! Whoever seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me." They told David, "The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors." So David asked the Lord, "Should I go and strike down these Philistines?" The Lord said to David, "Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah." But David's men said to him, "We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand." So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah. Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod. When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates." So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod!" Then David said, "O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant!" Then the Lord said, "He will come down." David asked, "Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul's hand?" The Lord said, "They will deliver you over." So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, but God did not deliver David into his hand. David realized that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph. Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him through God. He said to him, "Don't be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this." When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house. Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now at your own discretion, O king, come down. Delivering him into the king's hand will be our responsibility." Saul replied, "May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely where he is and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him among all the thousands of Judah." So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to look for him. But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them. But a messenger came to Saul saying, "Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!" So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi. When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, "Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi." So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find David and his men in the region of the rocks of the mountain goats. He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. David's men said to him, "This is the day about which the Lord said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.'" So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul's robe. Afterward David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off an edge of Saul's robe. He said to his men, "May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord's chosen one, by extending my hand against him. After all, he is the Lord's chosen one." David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and started down the road. Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, "My lord, O king!" When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground. David said to Saul, "Why do you pay attention when men say, 'David is seeking to do you harm'? Today your own eyes see how the Lord delivered you -- this very day -- into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I had pity on you and said, 'I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's chosen one.' Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn't kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life. May the Lord judge between the two of us, and may the Lord vindicate me over you, but my hand will not be against you. It's like the old proverb says: 'From evil people evil proceeds.' But my hand will not be against you. Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? May the Lord be our judge and arbiter. May he see and arbitrate my case and deliver me from your hands!" When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" Then Saul wept loudly. He said to David, "You are more innocent than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me. Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. So now swear to me in the Lord's name that you will not kill my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father." David promised Saul this on oath. Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold. Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was both wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite. When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, he sent ten servants, saying to them, "Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. Then you will say to my brother, "Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come at the time of a holiday. Please provide us -- your servants and your son David -- with whatever you can spare." So David's servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David's name. Then they paused. But Nabal responded to David's servants, "Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don't even know where they came from!" So David's servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David all these things. Then David instructed his men, "Each of you strap on your sword!" So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment. But one of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our lord, but he screamed at them. These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together in the field. Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. He is such a wicked person that no one tells him anything!" So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her servants, "Go on ahead of me. I will come after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. Now David had been thinking, "In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn't take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. God will severely punish David, if I leave alive until morning even one male from all those who belong to him!" When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. Falling at his feet, she said, "My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant! My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means 'fool,' and he is indeed foolish! But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent. "Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal. Now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow my lord. Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days! When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling's pocket! The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you, and he will make you a leader over Israel. Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the Lord has granted my lord success, please remember your servant." Then David said to Abigail, "Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives -- he who has prevented me from harming you -- if you had not come so quickly to meet me, by morning's light not even one male belonging to Nabal would have remained alive!" Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, "Go back to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you and responded favorably." When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing until morning's light. In the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died. When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds." Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife. So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, "David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife." She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, "Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash the feet of the servants of my lord." Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. She followed David's messengers and became his wife. David had also married Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.) The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon?" So Saul arose and went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand select men of Israel, to look for David in the desert of Ziph. Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the desert. When he realized that Saul had come to the desert to find him, David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived. So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him. David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" Abishai replied, "I will go down with you." So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear right through him into the ground with one swift jab! A second jab won't be necessary!" But David said to Abishai, "Don't kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord's chosen one and remain guiltless?" David went on to say, "As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord's chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul's head and the jug of water, and let's get out of here!" So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul's head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them. Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them. David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Won't you answer, Abner?" Abner replied, "Who are you, that you have called to the king?" David said to Abner, "Aren't you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven't you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king. This failure on your part isn't good! As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord's chosen one, are as good as dead! Now look where the king's spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!" When Saul recognized David's voice, he said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David replied, "Yes, it's my voice, my lord the king." He went on to say, "Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done? So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in an offering. But if men have instigated this, may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord's inheritance, saying, 'Go on, serve other gods!' Now don't let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord's presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge in the hill country." Saul replied, "I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won't harm you, for you treated my life with value this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!" David replied, "Here is the king's spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord's chosen one. In the same way that I valued your life this day, may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all danger." Saul replied to David, "May you be rewarded, my son David! You will without question be successful!" So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. David thought to himself, "One of these days I'm going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand." So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal's widow. When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him. David said to Achish, "If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?" So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) The length of time that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year and four months. Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. When Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" David would say, "The Negev of Judah" or "The Negev of Jeharmeel" or "The Negev of the Kenites." Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines. So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, "He is really hated among his own people in Israel! From now on he will be my servant." In those days the Philistines gathered their troops for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, "You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle." David replied to Achish, "That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!" Achish said to David, "Then I will make you my bodyguard from now on." Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums and magicians from the land. The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him -- not by dreams nor by Urim nor by the prophets. So Saul instructed his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants replied to him, "There is a woman who is a medium in Endor." So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, "Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you." But the woman said to him, "Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed the mediums and magicians from the land! Why are you trapping me so you can put me to death?" But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, "As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!" The woman replied, "Who is it that I should bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up for me Samuel." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. The woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" The king said to her, "Don't be afraid! What have you seen?" The woman replied to Saul, "I have seen one like a god coming up from the ground!" He said to her, "What about his appearance?" She said, "An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!" Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul replied, "I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me -- not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do." Samuel said, "Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! Since you did not obey the Lord and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!" Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel's words. He was completely drained of energy, not having eaten anything all that day and night. When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, "Your servant has done what you asked. I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. Now it's your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way." But he refused, saying, "I won't eat!" Both his servants and the woman urged him to eat, so he gave in. He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. Now the woman had a well-fed calf at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night. The Philistines assembled all their troops at Aphek, while Israel camped at the spring that is in Jezreel. When the leaders of the Philistines were passing in review at the head of their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were passing in review in the rear with Achish. The leaders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, "Isn't this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!" But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said to him, "Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don't let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? Isn't this David, of whom they sang as they danced, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?" So Achish summoned David and said to him, "As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you serving with me in the army. I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion of the leaders, you are not reliable. So turn and leave in peace. You must not do anything that the leaders of the Philistines consider improper!" But David said to Achish, "What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn't go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?" Achish replied to David, "I am convinced that you are as reliable as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us in the battle.' So get up early in the morning along with the servants of your lord who have come with you. When you get up early in the morning, as soon as it is light enough to see, leave." So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel. On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way. When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the men who were with him wept loudly until they could weep no more. David's two wives had been taken captive -- Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal's widow. David was very upset, for the men were thinking of stoning him; each man grieved bitterly over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God. Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?" He said to him, "Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!" So David went, accompanied by his six hundred men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there. David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there. Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" The young man said, "I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag." David said to him, "Can you take us down to this raiding party?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party." So he took David down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels. David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives. There was nothing missing, whether small or great. He retrieved sons and daughters, the plunder, and everything else they had taken. David brought everything back. David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, "This is David's plunder!" Then David approached the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him, those whom they had left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and the people who were with him. When David approached the people, he asked how they were doing. But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, "Since they didn't go with us, we won't give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!" But David said, "No! You shouldn't do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!" From that time onward it was a binding ordinance for Israel, right up to the present time. When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, "Here's a gift for you from the looting of the Lord's enemies!" The gift was for those in the following locations: for those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir; for those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, and Racal; for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites; for those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, and Hebron; and for those in whatever other places David and his men had traveled. Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; the archers spotted him and wounded him severely. Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me." But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them. The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul's head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines. They placed Saul's armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan. When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul's corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.
Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!" They replied, "You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone." He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me." They said, "He is witness!" Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt. Now take your positions, so I may confront you before the Lord regarding all the Lord's just actions toward you and your ancestors. When Jacob entered Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. "But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor's army, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, 'We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.' So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely. "When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, 'No! A king will rule over us' -- even though the Lord your God is your king! Now look! Here is the king you have chosen -- the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king! If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him and not rebelling against what he says, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. But if you don't obey the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. "So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight. Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves." So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. All the people said to Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us -- your servants -- so we won't die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king." Then Samuel said to the people, "Don't be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don't turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. You should not turn aside after empty things that can't profit and can't deliver, since they are empty. The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away." Saul was [thirty] years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] years. Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. He sent all the rest of the people back home. Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted all the land saying, "Let the Hebrews pay attention!" All Israel heard this message, "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive to the Philistines!" So the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, and cisterns. Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified. He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. So Saul said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." Then he offered a burnt offering. Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn't come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt obligated to offer the burnt offering." Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed the commandment that the Lord your God gave you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the Lord has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you." Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men. Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual; another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert. A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears." So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles sharpened. They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash. Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us." But he did not let his father know. Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men. Now Ahijah was carrying an ephod. He was the son of Ahitub, who was the brother of Ichabod and a son of Phineas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The army was unaware that Jonathan had left. Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh. The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba. Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few." His armor bearer said to him, "Do everything that is on your mind. Do as you're inclined. I'm with you all the way!" Jonathan replied, "All right! We'll go over to these men and fight them. If they say to us, 'Stay put until we approach you,' we will stay right there and not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come up against us,' we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand -- it will be a sign to us." When they made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, "Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves." Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, "Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!" Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come up behind me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel!" Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre. Then fear overwhelmed those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. Saul's watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin looked on as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. So Saul said to the army that was with him, "Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us." When they mustered the troops, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. So Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ephod," for he was at that time wearing the ephod. While Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistines' camp was becoming greater and greater. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!" Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle. So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!" So no one in the army ate anything. Now the whole army entered the forest and there was honey on the ground. When the army entered the forest, they saw the honey flowing, but no one ate any of it, for the army was afraid of the oath. But Jonathan had not heard about the oath his father had made the army take. He extended the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. When he ate it, his eyes gleamed. Then someone from the army informed him, "Your father put the army under a strict oath saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today!' That is why the army is tired." Then Jonathan said, "My father has caused trouble for the land. See how my eyes gleamed when I tasted just a little of this honey. Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies' provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?" On that day the army struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, and they became very tired. So the army rushed greedily on the plunder, confiscating sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground, and the army ate them blood and all. Now it was reported to Saul, "Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood." He said, "All of you have broken the covenant! Roll a large stone over here to me." Then Saul said, "Scatter out among the army and say to them, 'Each of you bring to me your ox and sheep and slaughter them in this spot and eat. But don't sin against the Lord by eating the blood." So that night each one brought his ox and slaughtered it there. Then Saul built an altar for the Lord; it was the first time he had built an altar for the Lord. Saul said, "Let's go down after the Philistines at night; we will rout them until the break of day. We won't leave any of them alive!" They replied, "Do whatever seems best to you." But the priest said, "Let's approach God here." So Saul asked God, "Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him that day. Then Saul said, "All you leaders of the army come here. Find out how this sin occurred today. For as surely as the Lord, the deliverer of Israel, lives, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan, he will certainly die!" But no one from the army said anything. Then he said to all Israel, "You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side." The army replied to Saul, "Do whatever you think is best." Then Saul said, "O Lord God of Israel! If this sin has been committed by me or by my son Jonathan, then, O Lord God of Israel, respond with Urim. But if this sin has been committed by your people Israel, respond with Thummim." Then Jonathan and Saul were indicated by lot, while the army was exonerated. Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan!" Jonathan was indicated by lot. So Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Jonathan told him, "I used the end of the staff that was in my hand to taste a little honey. I must die!" Saul said, "God will punish me severely if Jonathan doesn't die!" But the army said to Saul, "Should Jonathan, who won this great victory in Israel, die? May it never be! As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground! For it is with the help of God that he has acted today." So the army rescued Jonathan from death. Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back home. After Saul had secured his royal position over Israel, he fought against all their enemies on all sides -- the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. In every direction that he turned he was victorious. He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. He had two daughters; the older one was named Merab and the younger Michal. The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the general in command of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's uncle. Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. There was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw anyone who was a warrior or a brave individual, he would conscript him. Then Samuel said to Saul, "I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. Here is what the Lord of hosts says: 'I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt. So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'" So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. Saul proceeded to the city of Amalek, where he set an ambush in the wadi. Saul said to the Kenites, "Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites. Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is next to Egypt. He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag's people with the sword. However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do." Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night. Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, "Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal." When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said." Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?" Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered." Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me." Samuel said, "Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.' Why haven't you obeyed the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord's estimation." Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle -- the best of what was to be slaughtered -- to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship the Lord." Samuel said to Saul, "I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!" When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! The Preeminent One of Israel does not go back on his word or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind." Saul again replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God." So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord. Then Samuel said, "Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites." So Agag came to him trembling, thinking to himself, "Surely death is bitter!" Samuel said, "Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!" Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord. Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. Until the day he died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. The Lord said to Samuel, "How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons." Samuel replied, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!" But the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out to you." Samuel did what the Lord told him. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They said, "Do you come in peace?" He replied, "Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, "Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!" But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one, either." Then Jesse presented Shammah. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Is that all of the young men?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest one, but he's taking care of the flock." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here." So Jesse had him brought in. Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, "Go and anoint him. This is the one!" So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Then Saul's servants said to him, "Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!" Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better." So Saul said to his servants, "Find me a man who plays well and bring him to me." One of his attendants replied, "I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior and is articulate and handsome, for the Lord is with him." So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep. So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat and sent them to Saul with his son David. David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, and he became his armor bearer. Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, "Let David be my servant, for I really like him." So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone. The Philistines gathered their troops for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelite army assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against the Philistines. The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites on another hill, with the valley between them. Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels. He had bronze shin guards on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer was walking before him. Goliath stood and called to Israel's troops, "Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may come down to me! If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us." Then the Philistine said, "I defy Israel's troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight each other!" When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid. Now David was the son of this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul's days he was old and well advanced in years. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest. Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, David was going back and forth from Saul in order to care for his father's sheep in Bethlehem. Meanwhile for forty days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. Jesse said to his son David, "Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines." So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, and David heard it. When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated from his presence and were very afraid. The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father's house exempt from tax obligations in Israel." David asked the men who were standing near him, "What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?" The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, "This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down." When David's oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry with David and said, "Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! You have come down here to watch the battle!" David replied, "What have I done now? Can't I say anything?" Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, but they gave him the same answer as before. When David's words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. David said to Saul, "Don't let anyone be discouraged. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!" But Saul replied to David, "You aren't able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You're just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!" David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. For he has defied the armies of the living God!" David went on to say, "The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go! The Lord will be with you." Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. David said to Saul, "I can't walk in these things, for I'm not used to them." So David removed them. He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine. The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?" Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, "Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!" But David replied to the Philistine, "You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you have defied! This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord's, and he will deliver you into our hand." The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground. David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath's sword, drew it from its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away. Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath's weapons in his tent. Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know." The king said, "Find out whose son this boy is!" So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem." When David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. Saul retained David on that day and did not allow him to return to his father's house. Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt. On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul's servants. When the men arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. The women who were playing the music sang, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!" This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, "They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?" So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward. The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre that day. There was a spear in Saul's hand, and Saul threw the spear, thinking, "I'll nail David to the wall!" But David escaped from him on two different occasions. So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. Saul removed David from his presence and made him a commanding officer. David led the army out to battle and back. Now David achieved success in all he did, for the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back. Then Saul said to David, "Here's my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior for me and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul thought, "There's no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!" David said to Saul, "Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father in Israel that I should become the king's son-in-law?" When the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah. Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it pleased him. Saul said, "I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law." Then Saul instructed his servants, "Tell David secretly, 'The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king's son-in-law." So Saul's servants spoke these words privately to David. David replied, "Is becoming the king's son-in-law something insignificant to you? I'm just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!" When Saul's servants reported what David had said, Saul replied, "Here is what you should say to David: 'There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his enemies.'" (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.) So his servants told David these things and David agreed to become the king's son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired when David, along with his men, went out and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king's son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became even more afraid of him. Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul's servants. His name was held in high esteem. Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul's son Jonathan liked David very much. So Jonathan told David, "My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find a hiding place and stay in seclusion. I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, I will let you know." So Jonathan spoke on David's behalf to his father Saul. He said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial for you. He risked his life when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?" Saul accepted Jonathan's advice and took an oath, "As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death." Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly and they ran away from him. Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul's presence and the spear drove into the wall. David escaped quickly that night. Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David's wife Michal told him, "If you do not save yourself tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!" So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped. Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed. She put a quilt made of goat's hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment. When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, "He's sick." Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him." When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat's hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!" Michal replied to Saul, "He said to me, 'Help me get away or else I will kill you!'" Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. It was reported to Saul saying, "David is at Naioth in Ramah." So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied. When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. Finally Saul himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" They said, "At Naioth in Ramah." So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, "Is Saul also among the prophets?") David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my offense? How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!" Jonathan said to him, "By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won't happen!" Taking an oath, David again said, "Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 'Don't let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.' But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!" Jonathan replied to David, "Tell me what I can do for you." David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. If your father happens to miss me, you should say, 'David urgently requested me to let him go to his city Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.' If he should then say, 'That's fine,' then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. You must be loyal to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord's name. If I am guilty, you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?" Jonathan said, "Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn't I tell you about it?" David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?" Jonathan said to David, "Come on. Let's go out to the field." When the two of them had gone out into the field, Jonathan said to David, "The Lord God of Israel is my witness. I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don't let you know and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! Don't ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth and called David's enemies to account." So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. On the third day you should go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. Stay near the stone Ezel. I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. When I send a boy after them, I will say, "Go and find the arrows." If I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,' then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. But if I say to the boy, "Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,' get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!" So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David's place was vacant. However, Saul said nothing about it that day, for he thought, "Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean." But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David's place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has Jesse's son not come to the meal yesterday or today?" Jonathan replied to Saul, "David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. He said, 'Permit me to go, for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go to see my brothers.' For that reason he has not come to the king's table." Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, "You stupid traitor! Don't I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother's nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!" Jonathan responded to his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David. Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. He said to his servant, "Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot." As the servant ran, Jonathan shot the arrow beyond him. When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to the servant, "Isn't the arrow further beyond you?" Jonathan called out to the servant, "Hurry! Go faster! Don't delay!" Jonathan's servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, "Go, take these things back to the city." When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, 'The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'"Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city. David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?" David replied to Ahimelech the priest, "The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, 'Don't let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.' I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place. Now what do you have at your disposal? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found." The priest replied to David, "I don't have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers have abstained from sexual relations with women." David said to the priest, "Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers' equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!" So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. (One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's shepherds.) David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don't have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king's instructions." The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there's nothing here." David said, "There's nothing like it! Give it to me!" So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, 'Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands'?" David thought about what they said and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. He altered his behavior in their presence. Since he was in their power, he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, "Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?" So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father's family learned about it, they went down there to him. All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him. Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God is going to do for me." So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time that David was in the stronghold. Then Gad the prophet said to David, "Don't stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth. But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him. Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, "Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse's son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you commanders and officers? For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me when my own son makes an agreement with this son of Jesse! Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!" But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, "I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine." Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father's house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. Then Saul said, "Listen, son of Ahitub." He replied, "Here I am, my lord." Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!" Ahimelech replied to the king, "Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king's son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse his servant or any of my father's house. For your servant is not aware of all this -- not in whole or in part!" But the king said, "You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house! Then the king said to the messengers who were stationed beside him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me." But the king's servants refused to harm the priests of the Lord. Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn and strike down the priests!" So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep -- all with the sword. But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. Then David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty of all the deaths in your father's house! Stay with me. Don't be afraid! Whoever seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me." They told David, "The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors." So David asked the Lord, "Should I go and strike down these Philistines?" The Lord said to David, "Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah." But David's men said to him, "We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, "Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand." So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah. Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod. When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates." So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod!" Then David said, "O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant!" Then the Lord said, "He will come down." David asked, "Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul's hand?" The Lord said, "They will deliver you over." So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, but God did not deliver David into his hand. David realized that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph. Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him through God. He said to him, "Don't be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this." When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house. Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now at your own discretion, O king, come down. Delivering him into the king's hand will be our responsibility." Saul replied, "May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely where he is and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him among all the thousands of Judah." So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to look for him. But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them. But a messenger came to Saul saying, "Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!" So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi. When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, "Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi." So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find David and his men in the region of the rocks of the mountain goats. He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. David's men said to him, "This is the day about which the Lord said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.'" So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul's robe. Afterward David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off an edge of Saul's robe. He said to his men, "May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord's chosen one, by extending my hand against him. After all, he is the Lord's chosen one." David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and started down the road. Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, "My lord, O king!" When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground. David said to Saul, "Why do you pay attention when men say, 'David is seeking to do you harm'? Today your own eyes see how the Lord delivered you -- this very day -- into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I had pity on you and said, 'I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's chosen one.' Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn't kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life. May the Lord judge between the two of us, and may the Lord vindicate me over you, but my hand will not be against you. It's like the old proverb says: 'From evil people evil proceeds.' But my hand will not be against you. Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? May the Lord be our judge and arbiter. May he see and arbitrate my case and deliver me from your hands!" When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" Then Saul wept loudly. He said to David, "You are more innocent than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me. Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. So now swear to me in the Lord's name that you will not kill my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father." David promised Saul this on oath. Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold. Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. The man's name was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail. She was both wise and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite. When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, he sent ten servants, saying to them, "Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. Then you will say to my brother, "Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come at the time of a holiday. Please provide us -- your servants and your son David -- with whatever you can spare." So David's servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David's name. Then they paused. But Nabal responded to David's servants, "Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don't even know where they came from!" So David's servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David all these things. Then David instructed his men, "Each of you strap on your sword!" So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment. But one of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail, "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our lord, but he screamed at them. These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together in the field. Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. He is such a wicked person that no one tells him anything!" So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her servants, "Go on ahead of me. I will come after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. Now David had been thinking, "In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn't take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. God will severely punish David, if I leave alive until morning even one male from all those who belong to him!" When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. Falling at his feet, she said, "My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant! My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means 'fool,' and he is indeed foolish! But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent. "Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal. Now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow my lord. Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days! When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling's pocket! The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you, and he will make you a leader over Israel. Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the Lord has granted my lord success, please remember your servant." Then David said to Abigail, "Praised be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives -- he who has prevented me from harming you -- if you had not come so quickly to meet me, by morning's light not even one male belonging to Nabal would have remained alive!" Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, "Go back to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you and responded favorably." When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing until morning's light. In the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died. When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds." Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife. So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, "David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife." She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, "Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash the feet of the servants of my lord." Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. She followed David's messengers and became his wife. David had also married Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.) The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Isn't David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon?" So Saul arose and went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand select men of Israel, to look for David in the desert of Ziph. Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the desert. When he realized that Saul had come to the desert to find him, David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived. So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him. David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" Abishai replied, "I will go down with you." So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear right through him into the ground with one swift jab! A second jab won't be necessary!" But David said to Abishai, "Don't kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord's chosen one and remain guiltless?" David went on to say, "As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord's chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul's head and the jug of water, and let's get out of here!" So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul's head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them. Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them. David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Won't you answer, Abner?" Abner replied, "Who are you, that you have called to the king?" David said to Abner, "Aren't you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven't you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king. This failure on your part isn't good! As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord's chosen one, are as good as dead! Now look where the king's spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!" When Saul recognized David's voice, he said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David replied, "Yes, it's my voice, my lord the king." He went on to say, "Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done? So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in an offering. But if men have instigated this, may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord's inheritance, saying, 'Go on, serve other gods!' Now don't let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord's presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge in the hill country." Saul replied, "I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won't harm you, for you treated my life with value this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!" David replied, "Here is the king's spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord's chosen one. In the same way that I valued your life this day, may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all danger." Saul replied to David, "May you be rewarded, my son David! You will without question be successful!" So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. David thought to himself, "One of these days I'm going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand." So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal's widow. When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him. David said to Achish, "If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?" So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) The length of time that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year and four months. Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. When Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" David would say, "The Negev of Judah" or "The Negev of Jeharmeel" or "The Negev of the Kenites." Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines. So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, "He is really hated among his own people in Israel! From now on he will be my servant." In those days the Philistines gathered their troops for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, "You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle." David replied to Achish, "That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!" Achish said to David, "Then I will make you my bodyguard from now on." Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums and magicians from the land. The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him -- not by dreams nor by Urim nor by the prophets. So Saul instructed his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants replied to him, "There is a woman who is a medium in Endor." So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, "Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you." But the woman said to him, "Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed the mediums and magicians from the land! Why are you trapping me so you can put me to death?" But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, "As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!" The woman replied, "Who is it that I should bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up for me Samuel." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. The woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" The king said to her, "Don't be afraid! What have you seen?" The woman replied to Saul, "I have seen one like a god coming up from the ground!" He said to her, "What about his appearance?" She said, "An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!" Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul replied, "I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me -- not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do." Samuel said, "Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! Since you did not obey the Lord and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!" Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel's words. He was completely drained of energy, not having eaten anything all that day and night. When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, "Your servant has done what you asked. I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. Now it's your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way." But he refused, saying, "I won't eat!" Both his servants and the woman urged him to eat, so he gave in. He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. Now the woman had a well-fed calf at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night. The Philistines assembled all their troops at Aphek, while Israel camped at the spring that is in Jezreel. When the leaders of the Philistines were passing in review at the head of their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were passing in review in the rear with Achish. The leaders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, "Isn't this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!" But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said to him, "Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don't let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? Isn't this David, of whom they sang as they danced, 'Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?" So Achish summoned David and said to him, "As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you serving with me in the army. I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion of the leaders, you are not reliable. So turn and leave in peace. You must not do anything that the leaders of the Philistines consider improper!" But David said to Achish, "What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn't go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?" Achish replied to David, "I am convinced that you are as reliable as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us in the battle.' So get up early in the morning along with the servants of your lord who have come with you. When you get up early in the morning, as soon as it is light enough to see, leave." So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel. On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way. When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the men who were with him wept loudly until they could weep no more. David's two wives had been taken captive -- Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal's widow. David was very upset, for the men were thinking of stoning him; each man grieved bitterly over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God. Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?" He said to him, "Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!" So David went, accompanied by his six hundred men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there. David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there. Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" The young man said, "I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag." David said to him, "Can you take us down to this raiding party?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party." So he took David down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels. David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives. There was nothing missing, whether small or great. He retrieved sons and daughters, the plunder, and everything else they had taken. David brought everything back. David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, "This is David's plunder!" Then David approached the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him, those whom they had left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and the people who were with him. When David approached the people, he asked how they were doing. But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, "Since they didn't go with us, we won't give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!" But David said, "No! You shouldn't do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!" From that time onward it was a binding ordinance for Israel, right up to the present time. When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, "Here's a gift for you from the looting of the Lord's enemies!" The gift was for those in the following locations: for those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir; for those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, and Racal; for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites; for those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, and Hebron; and for those in whatever other places David and his men had traveled. Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; the archers spotted him and wounded him severely. Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me." But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day. When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them. The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul's head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines. They placed Saul's armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan. When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul's corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.
Kings » Who reigned over all israel » Solomon
Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil from the tent and poured it on Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, "Long live King Solomon!" All the people followed him up, playing flutes and celebrating so loudly they made the ground shake. Now Adonijah and all his guests heard the commotion just as they had finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he asked, "Why is there such a noisy commotion in the city?" read more.
As he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, "Come in, for an important man like you must be bringing good news." Jonathan replied to Adonijah: "No! Our master King David has made Solomon king. The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites and they put him on the king's mule. Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon. They went up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That is the sound you hear. Furthermore, Solomon has assumed the royal throne. The king's servants have even come to congratulate our master King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!' Then the king leaned on the bed and said this: 'The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because today he has placed a successor on my throne and allowed me to see it.'" All of Adonijah's guests panicked; they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. Solomon was told, "Look, Adonijah fears you; see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, 'May King Solomon solemnly promise me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.'" Solomon said, "If he is a loyal subject, not a hair of his head will be harmed, but if he is found to be a traitor, he will die." King Solomon sent men to bring him down from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, "Go home." When David was close to death, he told Solomon his son: "I am about to die. Be strong and become a man! Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you by following his instructions and obeying his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, 'If your descendants watch their step and live faithfully in my presence with all their heart and being, then,' he promised, 'you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' "You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me -- how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. Do to him what you think is appropriate, but don't let him live long and die a peaceful death. "Treat fairly the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs, because they helped me when I had to flee from your brother Absalom. "Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised him by the Lord, 'I will not strike you down with the sword.' But now don't treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death." Then David passed away and was buried in the city of David. David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalem thirty-three years. Solomon sat on his father David's throne, and his royal authority was firmly solidified. Haggith's son Adonijah visited Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She asked, "Do you come in peace?" He answered, "Yes." He added, "I have something to say to you." She replied, "Speak." He said, "You know that the kingdom was mine and all Israel considered me king. But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his. Now I'd like to ask you for just one thing. Please don't refuse me." She said, "Go ahead and ask." He said, "Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won't refuse you." Bathsheba replied, "That's fine, I'll speak to the king on your behalf." So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah's behalf. The king got up to greet her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king's mother, and she sat at his right hand. She said, "I would like to ask you for just one small favor. Please don't refuse me." He said, "Go ahead and ask, my mother, for I would not refuse you." She said, "Allow Abishag the Shunammite to be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife." King Solomon answered his mother, "Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him? Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!" King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, "May God judge me severely, if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life! Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David's throne, and established a dynasty for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!" King Solomon then sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he killed Adonijah. The king then told Abiathar the priest, "Go back to your property in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times." Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli. When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. When King Solomon heard that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down." When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, "The king says, 'Come out!'" But he replied, "No, I will die here!" So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab's reply. The king told him, "Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father's family the guilt of Joab's murderous, bloody deeds. May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; behind my father David's back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he -- Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army. May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, and his dynasty." So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; he was buried at his home in the wilderness. The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar's place. Next the king summoned Shimei and told him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there -- but you may not leave there to go anywhere! If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death." Shimei said to the king, "My master the king's proposal is acceptable. Your servant will do as you say." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. Three years later two of Shimei's servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, "Look, your servants are in Gath." So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned, the king summoned Shimei and said to him, "You will recall that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, 'If you ever leave and go anywhere, know for sure that you will certainly die.' You said to me, 'The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.' Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?" Then the king said to Shimei, "You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. The Lord will punish you for what you did. But King Solomon will be empowered and David's dynasty will endure permanently before the Lord." The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh's daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following the practices of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places. Solomon would offer up a thousand burnt sacrifices on the altar there. One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, "Tell me what I should give you." Solomon replied, "You demonstrated great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David's place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. Your servant stands among your chosen people; they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning mind so he can make judicial decisions for your people and distinguish right from wrong. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours." The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request. God said to him, "Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, I grant your request, and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request -- riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation. If you follow my instructions by obeying my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, then I will grant you long life." Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants. Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of the women said, "My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us. This woman's child suffocated during the night when she rolled on top of him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was, dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby." The other woman said, "No! My son is alive; your son is dead!" But the first woman replied, "No, your son is dead; my son is alive." Each presented her case before the king. The king said, "One says, 'My son is alive; your son is dead,' while the other says, 'No, your son is dead; my son is alive.'" The king ordered, "Get me a sword!" So they placed a sword before the king. The king then said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!" The real mother spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. She said, "My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don't kill him!" But the other woman said, "Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!" The king responded, "Give the first woman the living child; don't kill him. She is the mother." When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected the king, for they realized that he possessed supernatural wisdom to make judicial decisions. King Solomon ruled over all Israel. These were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest. Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king. Ahishar was supervisor of the palace. Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of the work crews. Solomon had twelve district governors appointed throughout Israel who acquired supplies for the king and his palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year. These were their names: Ben-Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim. Ben-Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan. Ben-Hesed was in charge of Arubboth; he controlled Socoh and all the territory of Hepher. Ben-Abinadab was in charge of Naphath Dor. (He was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.) Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of Taanach and Megiddo, as well as all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah and on past Jokmeam. Ben-Geber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he controlled the tent villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty large walled cities with bronze bars locking their gates. Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim. Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon's daughter Basemath.) Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth. Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of Issachar. Shimei son of Ela was in charge of Benjamin. Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area. The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon's subjects throughout his lifetime. Each day Solomon's royal court consumed thirty cors of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, ten calves fattened in the stall, twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. His royal court was so large because he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon's lifetime. Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking. Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses. God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt. He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations. He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish. People from all nations came to hear Solomon's display of wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom. King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father's place. (Hiram had always been an ally of David.) Solomon then sent this message to Hiram: "You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies. But now the Lord my God has made me secure on all fronts; there is no adversary or dangerous threat. So I have decided to build a temple to honor the Lord my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.' So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians." When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was very happy. He said, "The Lord is worthy of praise today because he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation." Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: "I received the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need. My servants will bring the timber down from Lebanon to the sea. I will send it by sea in raft-like bundles to the place you designate. There I will separate the logs and you can carry them away. In exchange you will supply the food I need for my royal court." So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed, and Solomon supplied Hiram annually with 20,000 cors of wheat as provision for his royal court, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him. And Hiram and Solomon were at peace and made a treaty. King Solomon conscripted work crews from throughout Israel, 30,000 men in all. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 men per month. They worked in Lebanon for one month, and then spent two months at home. Adoniram was supervisor of the work crews. Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, besides 3,300 officials who supervised the workers. By royal order they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the temple's foundation with chiseled stone. Solomon's and Hiram's construction workers, along with men from Byblos, did the chiseling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the temple. In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, during the month Ziv (the second month), he began building the Lord's temple. The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The porch in front of the main hall of the temple was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple. It was 15 feet wide, extending out from the front of the temple. He made framed windows for the temple. He built an extension all around the walls of the temple's main hall and holy place and constructed side rooms in it. The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet wide, the middle floor nine feet wide, and the third floor ten and a half feet wide. He made ledges on the temple's outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls. As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built. The entrance to the bottom level of side rooms was on the south side of the temple; stairs went up to the middle floor and then on up to the third floor. He finished building the temple and covered it with rafters and boards made of cedar. He built an extension all around the temple; it was seven and a half feet high and it was attached to the temple by cedar beams. The Lord said to Solomon: "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my rules, observe my regulations, and obey all my commandments, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel." So Solomon finished building the temple. He constructed the walls inside the temple with cedar planks; he paneled the inside with wood from the floor of the temple to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the temple floor with boards made from the wood of evergreens. He built a wall 30 feet in from the rear of the temple as a partition for an inner sanctuary that would be the most holy place. He paneled the wall with cedar planks from the floor to the rafters. The main hall in front of the inner sanctuary was 60 feet long. The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible. He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord could be placed there. The inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He plated it with gold, as well as the cedar altar. Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold. He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary with gold. He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary. In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubs of olive wood; each stood 15 feet high. Each of the first cherub's wings was seven and a half feet long; its entire wingspan was 15 feet. The second cherub also had a wingspan of 15 feet; it was identical to the first in measurements and shape. Each cherub stood 15 feet high. He put the cherubs in the inner sanctuary of the temple. Their wings were spread out. One of the first cherub's wings touched one wall and one of the other cherub's wings touched the opposite wall. The first cherub's other wing touched the second cherub's other wing in the middle of the room. He plated the cherubs with gold. On all the walls around the temple, inside and out, he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom. He plated the floor of the temple with gold, inside and out. He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided. On the two doors made of olive wood he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold. In the same way he made doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall, only with four-sided pillars. He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves. He carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings. He built the inner courtyard with three rows of chiseled stones and a row of cedar beams. In the month Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon's reign the foundation was laid for the Lord's temple. In the eleventh year, in the month Bul (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build. Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace. He named it "The Palace of the Lebanon Forest"; it was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars. The roof above the beams supported by the pillars was also made of cedar; there were forty-five beams, fifteen per row. There were three rows of windows arranged in sets of three. All of the entrances were rectangular in shape and they were arranged in sets of three. He made a colonnade 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch in front of this and pillars and a roof in front of the porch. He also made a throne room, called "The Hall of Judgment," where he made judicial decisions. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters. The palace where he lived was constructed in a similar way. He also constructed a palace like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. All of these were built with the best stones, chiseled to the right size and cut with a saw on all sides, from the foundation to the edge of the roof and from the outside to the great courtyard. The foundation was made of large valuable stones, measuring either 15 feet or 12 feet. Above the foundation the best stones, chiseled to the right size, were used along with cedar. Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord's temple and the hall of the palace. King Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned. He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high. The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments. When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar. The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high. On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around. He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right side and called it Jakin; he erected the other pillar on the left side and called it Boaz. The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed. He also made the large bronze basin called "The Sea." It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet. Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments arranged in settings 15 feet long. The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with "The Sea." "The Sea" stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. "The Sea" was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward. It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons. He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet long, six feet wide, and four-and-a-half feet high. The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths. Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths. Inside the stand was a round opening that was a foot-and-a-half deep; it had a support that was two and one-quarter feet long. On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames. The four wheels were under the frames and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was two and one-quarter feet high. The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand. On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep; there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room, with wreaths all around. He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape. He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons. Each basin was six feet in diameter; there was one basin for each stand. He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put "The Sea" on the south side, in the southeast corner. Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on the Lord's temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. He made the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), the ten movable stands with their ten basins, the big bronze basin called "The Sea" with its twelve bulls underneath, and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the Lord's temple were made from polished bronze. The king had them cast in earth foundries in the region of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all these items unweighed; there were so many of them they did not weigh the bronze. Solomon also made all these items for the Lord's temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which was kept the Bread of the Presence, the pure gold lampstands at the entrance to the inner sanctuary (five on the right and five on the left), the gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, the pure gold bowls, trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. When King Solomon finished constructing the Lord's temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and other articles) in the treasuries of the Lord's temple. Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel's elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord's covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month Ethanim (the seventh month). When all Israel's elders had arrived, the priests lifted the ark. The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy items in the tent. Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. The priests brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubs. The cherubs' wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubs overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. It was there that the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Once the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord's temple. The priests could not carry out their duties because of the cloud; the Lord's glory filled his temple. Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. O Lord, truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently." Then the king turned around and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. He said, "The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David. He told David, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.' Now my father David had a strong desire to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel. The Lord told my father David, 'It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.' The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David's place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt." Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky. He prayed: "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity. You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, 'You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and serve me as you have done.' Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant, my father David, be realized. "God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! But respond favorably to your servant's prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you today. Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant's prayer for this place. Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably. "When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants' claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. "The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple, then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. "The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them, then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess. "The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their pain and spread out their hands toward this temple, then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) Then they will obey you throughout their lifetimes as they live on the land you gave to our ancestors. "Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. When they hear about your great reputation and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds, they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. "When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to the Lord toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, then listen from heaven to their prayers for help and vindicate them. "The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by. When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.' When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help and vindicate them. Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them. After all, they are your people and your special possession whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. "May you be attentive to your servant's and your people Israel's requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you. After all, you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt." When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky. When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: "The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. May he make us submissive, so we can follow all his instructions and obey the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, so that he might vindicate his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. Then all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God. May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God by following his rules and obeying his commandments, as you are presently doing." The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord's temple. That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord's temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings. At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south. On the fifteenth day after the festival started, he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king and then went to their homes, happy and content because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel. After Solomon finished building the Lord's temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him, "I have answered your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; I will be constantly present there. You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, 'You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' "But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods, then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations. This temple will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, saying, 'Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?' Others will then answer, 'Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.'" After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord's temple and the royal palace, King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. Hiram asked, "Why did you give me these cities, my friend?" He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day. Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold. Here are the details concerning the work crews King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, all the storage cities that belonged to him, and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day. Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces. These men were also in charge of Solomon's work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers. Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh's daughter moved up from the city of David to the palace Solomon built for her. Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place. King Solomon also built ships in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir, took from there four hundred twenty talents of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon. When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon's extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants, their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord's temple, she was amazed. She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn't hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me. Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions." She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. (Hiram's fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. With the timber the king made supports for the Lord's temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.) King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants. Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, besides what he collected from the merchants, traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield. He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon's time. Along with Hiram's fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. Everyone in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. Solomon accumulated chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt and from Que; the king's traders purchased them from Que. They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh's daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, "You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods." But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. Solomon did evil in the Lord's sight; he did not remain loyal to the Lord, like his father David had. Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord's command. So the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, for your father David's sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son's hand instead. But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David's sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem." The Lord brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. During David's campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father's Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land. Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes' sister) as a wife. Tahpenes' sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh's palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh's palace among Pharaoh's sons. While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, "Give me permission to leave so I can return to my homeland." Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave." God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. He was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria. Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. Jeroboam was a talented man; when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe of Joseph. At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah was wearing a brand new robe, and he grabbed the robe and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he told Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon's hand and I will give ten tribes to you. He will retain one tribe, for my servant David's sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did. I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David's dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; I will give you Israel. I will humiliate David's descendants because of this, but not forever." Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died. The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon. Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.
As he was still speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, "Come in, for an important man like you must be bringing good news." Jonathan replied to Adonijah: "No! Our master King David has made Solomon king. The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites and they put him on the king's mule. Then Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king in Gihon. They went up from there rejoicing, and the city is in an uproar. That is the sound you hear. Furthermore, Solomon has assumed the royal throne. The king's servants have even come to congratulate our master King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!' Then the king leaned on the bed and said this: 'The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because today he has placed a successor on my throne and allowed me to see it.'" All of Adonijah's guests panicked; they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. Solomon was told, "Look, Adonijah fears you; see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, 'May King Solomon solemnly promise me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.'" Solomon said, "If he is a loyal subject, not a hair of his head will be harmed, but if he is found to be a traitor, he will die." King Solomon sent men to bring him down from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, "Go home." When David was close to death, he told Solomon his son: "I am about to die. Be strong and become a man! Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you by following his instructions and obeying his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, 'If your descendants watch their step and live faithfully in my presence with all their heart and being, then,' he promised, 'you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' "You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me -- how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. Do to him what you think is appropriate, but don't let him live long and die a peaceful death. "Treat fairly the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs, because they helped me when I had to flee from your brother Absalom. "Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised him by the Lord, 'I will not strike you down with the sword.' But now don't treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death." Then David passed away and was buried in the city of David. David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalem thirty-three years. Solomon sat on his father David's throne, and his royal authority was firmly solidified. Haggith's son Adonijah visited Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. She asked, "Do you come in peace?" He answered, "Yes." He added, "I have something to say to you." She replied, "Speak." He said, "You know that the kingdom was mine and all Israel considered me king. But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his. Now I'd like to ask you for just one thing. Please don't refuse me." She said, "Go ahead and ask." He said, "Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won't refuse you." Bathsheba replied, "That's fine, I'll speak to the king on your behalf." So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah's behalf. The king got up to greet her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king's mother, and she sat at his right hand. She said, "I would like to ask you for just one small favor. Please don't refuse me." He said, "Go ahead and ask, my mother, for I would not refuse you." She said, "Allow Abishag the Shunammite to be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife." King Solomon answered his mother, "Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him? Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!" King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, "May God judge me severely, if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life! Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David's throne, and established a dynasty for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!" King Solomon then sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he killed Adonijah. The king then told Abiathar the priest, "Go back to your property in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times." Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli. When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. When King Solomon heard that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down." When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, "The king says, 'Come out!'" But he replied, "No, I will die here!" So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab's reply. The king told him, "Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father's family the guilt of Joab's murderous, bloody deeds. May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; behind my father David's back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he -- Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army. May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, and his dynasty." So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; he was buried at his home in the wilderness. The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar's place. Next the king summoned Shimei and told him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there -- but you may not leave there to go anywhere! If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death." Shimei said to the king, "My master the king's proposal is acceptable. Your servant will do as you say." So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. Three years later two of Shimei's servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, "Look, your servants are in Gath." So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned, the king summoned Shimei and said to him, "You will recall that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, 'If you ever leave and go anywhere, know for sure that you will certainly die.' You said to me, 'The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.' Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?" Then the king said to Shimei, "You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. The Lord will punish you for what you did. But King Solomon will be empowered and David's dynasty will endure permanently before the Lord." The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh's daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following the practices of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places. Solomon would offer up a thousand burnt sacrifices on the altar there. One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, "Tell me what I should give you." Solomon replied, "You demonstrated great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David's place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. Your servant stands among your chosen people; they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning mind so he can make judicial decisions for your people and distinguish right from wrong. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours." The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request. God said to him, "Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, I grant your request, and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request -- riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation. If you follow my instructions by obeying my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, then I will grant you long life." Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants. Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of the women said, "My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us. This woman's child suffocated during the night when she rolled on top of him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was, dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby." The other woman said, "No! My son is alive; your son is dead!" But the first woman replied, "No, your son is dead; my son is alive." Each presented her case before the king. The king said, "One says, 'My son is alive; your son is dead,' while the other says, 'No, your son is dead; my son is alive.'" The king ordered, "Get me a sword!" So they placed a sword before the king. The king then said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!" The real mother spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. She said, "My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don't kill him!" But the other woman said, "Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!" The king responded, "Give the first woman the living child; don't kill him. She is the mother." When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected the king, for they realized that he possessed supernatural wisdom to make judicial decisions. King Solomon ruled over all Israel. These were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest. Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king. Ahishar was supervisor of the palace. Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of the work crews. Solomon had twelve district governors appointed throughout Israel who acquired supplies for the king and his palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year. These were their names: Ben-Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim. Ben-Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan. Ben-Hesed was in charge of Arubboth; he controlled Socoh and all the territory of Hepher. Ben-Abinadab was in charge of Naphath Dor. (He was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.) Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of Taanach and Megiddo, as well as all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah and on past Jokmeam. Ben-Geber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he controlled the tent villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty large walled cities with bronze bars locking their gates. Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim. Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon's daughter Basemath.) Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth. Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of Issachar. Shimei son of Ela was in charge of Benjamin. Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area. The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon's subjects throughout his lifetime. Each day Solomon's royal court consumed thirty cors of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, ten calves fattened in the stall, twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. His royal court was so large because he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon's lifetime. Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking. Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses. God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt. He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations. He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish. People from all nations came to hear Solomon's display of wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom. King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father's place. (Hiram had always been an ally of David.) Solomon then sent this message to Hiram: "You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies. But now the Lord my God has made me secure on all fronts; there is no adversary or dangerous threat. So I have decided to build a temple to honor the Lord my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.' So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians." When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was very happy. He said, "The Lord is worthy of praise today because he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation." Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: "I received the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need. My servants will bring the timber down from Lebanon to the sea. I will send it by sea in raft-like bundles to the place you designate. There I will separate the logs and you can carry them away. In exchange you will supply the food I need for my royal court." So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed, and Solomon supplied Hiram annually with 20,000 cors of wheat as provision for his royal court, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him. And Hiram and Solomon were at peace and made a treaty. King Solomon conscripted work crews from throughout Israel, 30,000 men in all. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 men per month. They worked in Lebanon for one month, and then spent two months at home. Adoniram was supervisor of the work crews. Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, besides 3,300 officials who supervised the workers. By royal order they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the temple's foundation with chiseled stone. Solomon's and Hiram's construction workers, along with men from Byblos, did the chiseling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the temple. In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, during the month Ziv (the second month), he began building the Lord's temple. The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The porch in front of the main hall of the temple was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple. It was 15 feet wide, extending out from the front of the temple. He made framed windows for the temple. He built an extension all around the walls of the temple's main hall and holy place and constructed side rooms in it. The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet wide, the middle floor nine feet wide, and the third floor ten and a half feet wide. He made ledges on the temple's outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls. As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built. The entrance to the bottom level of side rooms was on the south side of the temple; stairs went up to the middle floor and then on up to the third floor. He finished building the temple and covered it with rafters and boards made of cedar. He built an extension all around the temple; it was seven and a half feet high and it was attached to the temple by cedar beams. The Lord said to Solomon: "As for this temple you are building, if you follow my rules, observe my regulations, and obey all my commandments, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel." So Solomon finished building the temple. He constructed the walls inside the temple with cedar planks; he paneled the inside with wood from the floor of the temple to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the temple floor with boards made from the wood of evergreens. He built a wall 30 feet in from the rear of the temple as a partition for an inner sanctuary that would be the most holy place. He paneled the wall with cedar planks from the floor to the rafters. The main hall in front of the inner sanctuary was 60 feet long. The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible. He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord could be placed there. The inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He plated it with gold, as well as the cedar altar. Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold. He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary with gold. He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary. In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubs of olive wood; each stood 15 feet high. Each of the first cherub's wings was seven and a half feet long; its entire wingspan was 15 feet. The second cherub also had a wingspan of 15 feet; it was identical to the first in measurements and shape. Each cherub stood 15 feet high. He put the cherubs in the inner sanctuary of the temple. Their wings were spread out. One of the first cherub's wings touched one wall and one of the other cherub's wings touched the opposite wall. The first cherub's other wing touched the second cherub's other wing in the middle of the room. He plated the cherubs with gold. On all the walls around the temple, inside and out, he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom. He plated the floor of the temple with gold, inside and out. He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided. On the two doors made of olive wood he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold. In the same way he made doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall, only with four-sided pillars. He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves. He carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings. He built the inner courtyard with three rows of chiseled stones and a row of cedar beams. In the month Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon's reign the foundation was laid for the Lord's temple. In the eleventh year, in the month Bul (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build. Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace. He named it "The Palace of the Lebanon Forest"; it was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars. The roof above the beams supported by the pillars was also made of cedar; there were forty-five beams, fifteen per row. There were three rows of windows arranged in sets of three. All of the entrances were rectangular in shape and they were arranged in sets of three. He made a colonnade 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch in front of this and pillars and a roof in front of the porch. He also made a throne room, called "The Hall of Judgment," where he made judicial decisions. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters. The palace where he lived was constructed in a similar way. He also constructed a palace like this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married. All of these were built with the best stones, chiseled to the right size and cut with a saw on all sides, from the foundation to the edge of the roof and from the outside to the great courtyard. The foundation was made of large valuable stones, measuring either 15 feet or 12 feet. Above the foundation the best stones, chiseled to the right size, were used along with cedar. Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord's temple and the hall of the palace. King Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned. He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high. The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments. When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar. The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high. On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around. He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right side and called it Jakin; he erected the other pillar on the left side and called it Boaz. The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed. He also made the large bronze basin called "The Sea." It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet. Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments arranged in settings 15 feet long. The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with "The Sea." "The Sea" stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. "The Sea" was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward. It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons. He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet long, six feet wide, and four-and-a-half feet high. The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths. Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths. Inside the stand was a round opening that was a foot-and-a-half deep; it had a support that was two and one-quarter feet long. On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames. The four wheels were under the frames and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was two and one-quarter feet high. The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand. On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep; there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room, with wreaths all around. He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape. He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons. Each basin was six feet in diameter; there was one basin for each stand. He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put "The Sea" on the south side, in the southeast corner. Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on the Lord's temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. He made the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), the ten movable stands with their ten basins, the big bronze basin called "The Sea" with its twelve bulls underneath, and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the Lord's temple were made from polished bronze. The king had them cast in earth foundries in the region of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all these items unweighed; there were so many of them they did not weigh the bronze. Solomon also made all these items for the Lord's temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which was kept the Bread of the Presence, the pure gold lampstands at the entrance to the inner sanctuary (five on the right and five on the left), the gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, the pure gold bowls, trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the most holy place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. When King Solomon finished constructing the Lord's temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and other articles) in the treasuries of the Lord's temple. Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel's elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord's covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month Ethanim (the seventh month). When all Israel's elders had arrived, the priests lifted the ark. The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy items in the tent. Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. The priests brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubs. The cherubs' wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubs overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. It was there that the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Once the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord's temple. The priests could not carry out their duties because of the cloud; the Lord's glory filled his temple. Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. O Lord, truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently." Then the king turned around and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. He said, "The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David. He told David, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.' Now my father David had a strong desire to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel. The Lord told my father David, 'It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.' The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David's place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt." Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky. He prayed: "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity. You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, 'You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and serve me as you have done.' Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant, my father David, be realized. "God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! But respond favorably to your servant's prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you today. Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant's prayer for this place. Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably. "When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants' claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. "The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple, then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. "The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them, then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess. "The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their pain and spread out their hands toward this temple, then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) Then they will obey you throughout their lifetimes as they live on the land you gave to our ancestors. "Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. When they hear about your great reputation and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds, they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. "When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to the Lord toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, then listen from heaven to their prayers for help and vindicate them. "The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by. When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.' When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help and vindicate them. Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them. After all, they are your people and your special possession whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. "May you be attentive to your servant's and your people Israel's requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you. After all, you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt." When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky. When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: "The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. May he make us submissive, so we can follow all his instructions and obey the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, so that he might vindicate his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. Then all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God. May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God by following his rules and obeying his commandments, as you are presently doing." The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord's temple. That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord's temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings. At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south. On the fifteenth day after the festival started, he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king and then went to their homes, happy and content because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel. After Solomon finished building the Lord's temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him, "I have answered your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; I will be constantly present there. You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, 'You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.' "But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods, then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations. This temple will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, saying, 'Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?' Others will then answer, 'Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.'" After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord's temple and the royal palace, King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. Hiram asked, "Why did you give me these cities, my friend?" He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day. Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold. Here are the details concerning the work crews King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, all the storage cities that belonged to him, and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day. Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces. These men were also in charge of Solomon's work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers. Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh's daughter moved up from the city of David to the palace Solomon built for her. Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place. King Solomon also built ships in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir, took from there four hundred twenty talents of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon. When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, she came to challenge him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a great display of pomp, bringing with her camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious gems. She visited Solomon and discussed with him everything that was on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; there was no question too complex for the king. When the queen of Sheba saw for herself Solomon's extensive wisdom, the palace he had built, the food in his banquet hall, his servants and attendants, their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord's temple, she was amazed. She said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight was true! I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my own eyes. Indeed, I didn't hear even half the story! Your wisdom and wealth surpass what was reported to me. Your attendants, who stand before you at all times and hear your wise sayings, are truly happy! May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions." She gave the king 120 talents of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious gems. The quantity of spices the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon has never been matched. (Hiram's fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems. With the timber the king made supports for the Lord's temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.) King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she requested, besides what he had freely offered her. Then she left and returned to her homeland with her attendants. Solomon received 666 talents of gold per year, besides what he collected from the merchants, traders, Arabian kings, and governors of the land. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield. He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest. The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon's time. Along with Hiram's fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. King Solomon was wealthier and wiser than any of the kings of the earth. Everyone in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom. Year after year visitors brought their gifts, which included items of silver, items of gold, clothes, perfume, spices, horses, and mules. Solomon accumulated chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands. Solomon acquired his horses from Egypt and from Que; the king's traders purchased them from Que. They paid 600 silver pieces for each chariot from Egypt and 150 silver pieces for each horse. They also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria. King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh's daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, "You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods." But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. Solomon did evil in the Lord's sight; he did not remain loyal to the Lord, like his father David had. Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord's command. So the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, for your father David's sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son's hand instead. But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David's sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem." The Lord brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. During David's campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father's Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land. Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes' sister) as a wife. Tahpenes' sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh's palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh's palace among Pharaoh's sons. While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, "Give me permission to leave so I can return to my homeland." Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave." God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. He was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria. Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. Jeroboam was a talented man; when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe of Joseph. At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah was wearing a brand new robe, and he grabbed the robe and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he told Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon's hand and I will give ten tribes to you. He will retain one tribe, for my servant David's sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. I am taking the kingdom from him because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did. I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David's dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; I will give you Israel. I will humiliate David's descendants because of this, but not forever." Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died. The rest of the events of Solomon's reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon. Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.