Book | Chapter | Verse | Text |
1 Samuel |
24 |
1 |
After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
2 |
So Saul chose three thousand special troops from throughout Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
3 |
At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding in that very cave! |
1 Samuel |
24 |
4 |
"Now's your opportunity!" David's men whispered to him. "Today is the day the LORD was talking about when he said, `I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish.'" Then David crept forward and cut off a piece of Saul's robe. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
5 |
But then David's conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul's robe. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
6 |
"The LORD knows I shouldn't have done it," he said to his men. "It is a serious thing to attack the LORD's anointed one, for the LORD himself has chosen him." |
1 Samuel |
24 |
7 |
So David sharply rebuked his men and did not let them kill Saul. After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way, |
1 Samuel |
24 |
8 |
David came out and shouted after him, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked around, David bowed low before him. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
9 |
Then he shouted to Saul, "Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? |
1 Samuel |
24 |
10 |
This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn't true. For the LORD placed you at my mercy back there in the cave, and some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, `I will never harm him--he is the LORD's anointed one.' |
1 Samuel |
24 |
11 |
Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn't kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
12 |
The LORD will decide between us. Perhaps the LORD will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
13 |
As that old proverb says, `From evil people come evil deeds.' So you can be sure I will never harm you. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
14 |
Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a flea? |
1 Samuel |
24 |
15 |
May the LORD judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!" |
1 Samuel |
24 |
16 |
Saul called back, "Is that really you, my son David?" Then he began to cry. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
17 |
And he said to David, "You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
18 |
Yes, you have been wonderfully kind to me today, for when the LORD put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn't do it. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
19 |
Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the LORD reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
20 |
And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and Israel will flourish under your rule. |
1 Samuel |
24 |
21 |
Now, swear to me by the LORD that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!" |
1 Samuel |
24 |
22 |
So David promised, and Saul went home. But David and his men went back to their stronghold. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
1 |
Now Samuel died, and all Israel gathered for his funeral. They buried him near his home at Ramah. Then David moved down to the wilderness of Maon. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
2 |
There was a wealthy man from Maon who owned property near the village of Carmel. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and it was sheep-shearing time. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
3 |
This man's name was Nabal, and his wife, Abigail, was a sensible and beautiful woman. But Nabal, a descendant of Caleb, was mean and dishonest in all his dealings. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
4 |
When David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep, |
1 Samuel |
25 |
5 |
he sent ten of his young men to Carmel. He told them to deliver this message: |
1 Samuel |
25 |
6 |
"Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own! |
1 Samuel |
25 |
7 |
I am told that you are shearing your sheep and goats. While your shepherds stayed among us near Carmel, we never harmed them, and nothing was ever stolen from them. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
8 |
Ask your own servants, and they will tell you this is true. So would you please be kind to us, since we have come at a time of celebration? Please give us any provisions you might have on hand." |
1 Samuel |
25 |
9 |
David's young men gave this message to Nabal and waited for his reply. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
10 |
"Who is this fellow David?" Nabal sneered. "Who does this son of Jesse think he is? There are lots of servants these days who run away from their masters. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
11 |
Should I take my bread and water and the meat I've slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?" |
1 Samuel |
25 |
12 |
So David's messengers returned and told him what Nabal had said. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
13 |
"Get your swords!" was David's reply as he strapped on his own. Four hundred men started off with David, and two hundred remained behind to guard their equipment. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
14 |
Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants went to Abigail and told her, "David sent men from the wilderness to talk to our master, and he insulted them. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
15 |
But David's men were very good to us, and we never suffered any harm from them. Nothing was stolen from us the whole time they were with us. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
16 |
In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
17 |
You'd better think fast, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He's so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!" |
1 Samuel |
25 |
18 |
Abigail lost no time. She quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, one hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys and said to her servants, |
1 Samuel |
25 |
19 |
"Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly." But she didn't tell her husband what she was doing. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
20 |
As she was riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming toward her. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
21 |
David had just been saying, "A lot of good it did to help this fellow. We protected his flocks in the wilderness, and nothing he owned was lost or stolen. But he has repaid me evil for good. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
22 |
May God deal with me severely if even one man of his household is still alive tomorrow morning!" |
1 Samuel |
25 |
23 |
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
24 |
She fell at his feet and said, "I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
25 |
I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don't pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the messengers you sent. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
26 |
"Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has kept you from murdering and taking vengeance into your own hands, let all your enemies be as cursed as Nabal is. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
27 |
And here is a present I have brought to you and your young men. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
28 |
Please forgive me if I have offended in any way. The LORD will surely reward you with a lasting dynasty, for you are fighting the LORD's battles. And you have not done wrong throughout your entire life. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
29 |
"Even when you are chased by those who seek your life, you are safe in the care of the LORD your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! |
1 Samuel |
25 |
30 |
When the LORD has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, |
1 Samuel |
25 |
31 |
don't let this be a blemish on your record. Then you won't have to carry on your conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the LORD has done these great things for you, please remember me!" |
1 Samuel |
25 |
32 |
David replied to Abigail, "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! |
1 Samuel |
25 |
33 |
Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murdering the man and carrying out vengeance with my own hands. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
34 |
For I swear by the LORD, the God of Israel, who has kept me from hurting you, that if you had not hurried out to meet me, not one of Nabal's men would be alive tomorrow morning." |
1 Samuel |
25 |
35 |
Then David accepted her gifts and told her, "Return home in peace. We will not kill your husband." |
1 Samuel |
25 |
36 |
When Abigail arrived home, she found that Nabal had thrown a big party and was celebrating like a king. He was very drunk, so she didn't tell him anything about her meeting with David until the next morning. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
37 |
The next morning when he was sober, she told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay on his bed paralyzed. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
38 |
About ten days later, the LORD struck him and he died. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
39 |
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Praise the LORD, who has paid back Nabal and kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin." Then David wasted no time in sending messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
40 |
When the messengers arrived at Carmel, they told Abigail, "David has sent us to ask if you will marry him." |
1 Samuel |
25 |
41 |
She bowed low to the ground and responded, "Yes, I am even willing to become a slave to David's servants!" |
1 Samuel |
25 |
42 |
Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David's messengers. And so she became his wife. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
43 |
David also married Ahinoam from Jezreel, making both of them his wives. |
1 Samuel |
25 |
44 |
Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
1 |
Now some messengers from Ziph came back to Saul at Gibeah to tell him, "David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which overlooks Jeshimon." |
1 Samuel |
26 |
2 |
So Saul took three thousand of his best troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
3 |
Saul camped along the road beside the hill of Hakilah, near Jeshimon, where David was hiding. But David knew of Saul's arrival, |
1 Samuel |
26 |
4 |
so he sent out spies to watch his movements. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
5 |
David slipped over to Saul's camp one night to look around. Saul and his general, Abner son of Ner, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
6 |
"Will anyone volunteer to go in there with me?" David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother. "I'll go with you," Abishai replied. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
7 |
So David and Abishai went right into Saul's camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the warriors were lying asleep around him. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
8 |
"God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!" Abishai whispered to David. "Let me thrust that spear through him. I'll pin him to the ground, and I won't need to strike twice!" |
1 Samuel |
26 |
9 |
"No!" David said. "Don't kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the LORD's anointed one? |
1 Samuel |
26 |
10 |
Surely the LORD will strike Saul down someday, or he will die in battle or of old age. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
11 |
But the LORD forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But I'll tell you what--we'll take his spear and his jug of water and then get out of here!" |
1 Samuel |
26 |
12 |
So David took the spear and jug of water that were near Saul's head. Then he and Abishai got away without anyone seeing them or even waking up, because the LORD had put Saul's men into a deep sleep. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
13 |
David climbed the hill opposite the camp until he was at a safe distance. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
14 |
Then he shouted down to Abner and Saul, "Wake up, Abner!Who is it?" Abner demanded. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
15 |
"Well, Abner, you're a great man, aren't you?" David taunted. "Where in all Israel is there anyone as mighty? So why haven't you guarded your master the king when someone came to kill him? |
1 Samuel |
26 |
16 |
This isn't good at all! I swear by the LORD that you and your men deserve to die, because you failed to protect your master, the LORD's anointed! Look around! Where are the king's spear and the jug of water that were beside his head?" |
1 Samuel |
26 |
17 |
Saul recognized David's voice and called out, "Is that you, my son David?" And David replied, "Yes, my lord the king. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
18 |
Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime? |
1 Samuel |
26 |
19 |
But now let my lord the king listen to his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then let him accept my offering. But if this is simply a human scheme, then may those involved be cursed by the LORD. For you have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the LORD's people and worship as I should. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
20 |
Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the LORD? Why has the king of Israel come out to search for a single flea? Why does he hunt me down like a partridge on the mountains?" |
1 Samuel |
26 |
21 |
Then Saul confessed, "I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong." |
1 Samuel |
26 |
22 |
"Here is your spear, O king," David replied. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
23 |
The LORD gives his own reward for doing good and for being loyal, and I refused to kill you even when the LORD placed you in my power, for you are the LORD's anointed one. |
1 Samuel |
26 |
24 |
Now may the LORD value my life, even as I have valued yours today. May he rescue me from all my troubles." |
1 Samuel |
26 |
25 |
And Saul said to David, "Blessings on you, my son David. You will do heroic deeds and be a great conqueror." Then David went away, and Saul returned home. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
1 |
But David kept thinking to himself, "Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing for me to do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me, and I will finally be safe." |
1 Samuel |
27 |
2 |
So David took his six hundred men and their families and went to live at Gath under the protection of King Achish. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
3 |
David brought his two wives along with him--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal's widow. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
4 |
Word soon reached Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he stopped hunting for him. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
5 |
One day David said to Achish, "If it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city." |
1 Samuel |
27 |
6 |
So Achish gave him the town of Ziklag (which still belongs to the kings of Judah to this day), |
1 Samuel |
27 |
7 |
and they lived there among the Philistines for a year and four months. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
8 |
David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites--people who had lived near Shur, along the road to Egypt, since ancient times. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
9 |
David didn't leave one person alive in the villages he attacked. He took the sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing before returning home to see King Achish. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
10 |
"Where did you make your raid today?" Achish would ask. And David would reply, "Against the south of Judah, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites." |
1 Samuel |
27 |
11 |
No one was left alive to come to Gath and tell where he had really been. This happened again and again while he was living among the Philistines. |
1 Samuel |
27 |
12 |
Achish believed David and thought to himself, "By now the people of Israel must hate him bitterly. Now he will have to stay here and serve me forever!" |
1 Samuel |
28 |
1 |
About that time the Philistines mustered their armies for another war with Israel. King Achish told David, "You and your men will be expected to join me in battle." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
2 |
"Very well!" David agreed. "Now you will see for yourself what we can do." Then Achish told David, "I will make you my personal bodyguard for life." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
3 |
Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned all mediums and psychics from the land of Israel. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
4 |
The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul and the armies of Israel camped at Gilboa. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
5 |
When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
6 |
He asked the LORD what he should do, but the LORD refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
7 |
Saul then said to his advisers, "Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do." His advisers replied, "There is a medium at Endor." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
8 |
So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman's home at night, accompanied by two of his men. "I have to talk to a man who has died," he said. "Will you call up his spirit for me?" |
1 Samuel |
28 |
9 |
"Are you trying to get me killed?" the woman demanded. "You know that Saul has expelled all the mediums and psychics from the land. Why are you setting a trap for me?" |
1 Samuel |
28 |
10 |
But Saul took an oath in the name of the LORD and promised, "As surely as the LORD lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
11 |
Finally, the woman said, "Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?Call up Samuel," Saul replied. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
12 |
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, "You've deceived me! You are Saul!" |
1 Samuel |
28 |
13 |
"Don't be afraid!" the king told her. "What do you see?I see a god coming up out of the earth," she said. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
14 |
"What does he look like?" Saul asked. "He is an old man wrapped in a robe," she replied. Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
15 |
"Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?" Samuel asked. "Because I am in deep trouble," Saul replied. "The Philistines are at war with us, and God has left me and won't reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
16 |
But Samuel replied, "Why ask me if the LORD has left you and has become your enemy? |
1 Samuel |
28 |
17 |
The LORD has done just as he said he would. He has taken the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
18 |
The LORD has done this because you did not obey his instructions concerning the Amalekites. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
19 |
What's more, the LORD will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The LORD will bring the entire army of Israel down in defeat." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
20 |
Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel's words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
21 |
When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, "Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
22 |
Now do what I say, and let me give you something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back." |
1 Samuel |
28 |
23 |
But Saul refused. The men who were with him also urged him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
24 |
The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She kneaded dough and baked unleavened bread. |
1 Samuel |
28 |
25 |
She brought the meal to Saul and his men, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night. |
1 Samuel |
29 |
1 |
The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel. |
1 Samuel |
29 |
2 |
As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in groups of one hundred and one thousand, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish. |
1 Samuel |
29 |
3 |
But the Philistine commanders demanded, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish told them, "This is David, the man who ran away from King Saul of Israel. He's been with me for years, and I've never found a single fault in him since he defected to me." |
1 Samuel |
29 |
4 |
But the Philistine commanders were angry. "Send him back!" they demanded. "He can't go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by turning on us in battle? |
1 Samuel |
29 |
5 |
Isn't this the same David about whom the women of Israel sing in their dances, `Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" |
1 Samuel |
29 |
6 |
So Achish finally summoned David and his men. "I swear by the LORD," he told them, "you are some of the finest men I've ever met. I think you should go with us, but the other Philistine rulers won't hear of it. |
1 Samuel |
29 |
7 |
Please don't upset them, but go back quietly." |
1 Samuel |
29 |
8 |
"What have I done to deserve this treatment?" David demanded. "Why can't I fight the enemies of my lord, the king?" |
1 Samuel |
29 |
9 |
But Achish insisted, "As far as I'm concerned, you're as perfect as an angel of God. But my commanders are afraid to have you with them in the battle. |
1 Samuel |
29 |
10 |
Now get up early in the morning, and leave with your men as soon as it gets light." |
1 Samuel |
29 |
11 |
So David headed back into the land of the Philistines, while the Philistine army went on to Jezreel. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
1 |
Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and had burned Ziklag to the ground. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
2 |
They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
3 |
When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, |
1 Samuel |
30 |
4 |
they wept until they could weep no more. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
5 |
David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel, were among those captured. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
6 |
David was now in serious trouble because his men were very bitter about losing their wives and children, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
7 |
Then he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring me the ephod!" So Abiathar brought it. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
8 |
Then David asked the LORD, "Should I chase them? Will I catch them?" And the LORD told him, "Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!" |
1 Samuel |
30 |
9 |
So David and his six hundred men set out, and they soon came to Besor Brook. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
10 |
But two hundred of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with his four hundred remaining troops. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
11 |
Some of David's troops found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and some water to drink. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
12 |
They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins because he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. It wasn't long before his strength returned. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
13 |
"To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" David asked him. "I am an Egyptian--the slave of an Amalekite," he replied. "My master left me behind three days ago because I was sick. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
14 |
We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag." |
1 Samuel |
30 |
15 |
"Will you lead me to them?" David asked. The young man replied, "If you swear by God's name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them." |
1 Samuel |
30 |
16 |
So the Egyptian led them to the Amalekite encampment. When David and his men arrived, the Amalekites were spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
17 |
David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except four hundred young men who fled on camels. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
18 |
David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
19 |
Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
20 |
His troops rounded up all the flocks and herds and drove them on ahead. "These all belong to David as his reward!" they said. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
21 |
When they reached Besor Brook and met the two hundred men who had been too tired to go with them, David greeted them joyfully. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
22 |
But some troublemakers among David's men said, "They didn't go with us, so they can't have any of the plunder. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone." |
1 Samuel |
30 |
23 |
But David said, "No, my brothers! Don't be selfish with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the enemy. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
24 |
Do you think anyone will listen to you when you talk like this? We share and share alike--those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment." |
1 Samuel |
30 |
25 |
From then on David made this a law for all of Israel, and it is still followed. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
26 |
When he arrived at Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the leaders of Judah, who were his friends. "Here is a present for you, taken from the LORD's enemies," he said. |
1 Samuel |
30 |
27 |
The gifts were sent to the leaders of the following towns where David and his men had been: Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, |
1 Samuel |
30 |
28 |
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, |
1 Samuel |
30 |
29 |
Racal, the towns of the Jerahmeelites, the towns of the Kenites, |
1 Samuel |
30 |
30 |
Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, |
1 Samuel |
30 |
31 |
Hebron, and all the other places they had visited. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
1 |
Now the Philistines attacked Israel, forcing the Israelites to flee. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
2 |
The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons--Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
3 |
The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
4 |
Saul groaned to his armor bearer, "Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines run me through and humiliate me." But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
5 |
When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
6 |
So Saul, three of his sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
7 |
When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that their army had been routed and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
8 |
The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
9 |
So they cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the news of Saul's death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
10 |
They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
11 |
But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, |
1 Samuel |
31 |
12 |
their warriors traveled all night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. |
1 Samuel |
31 |
13 |
Then they took their remains and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. |