1 Samuel 9:1--11:15
Konteks9:1 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person. 9:2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.
9:3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, 1 so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go 2 look for the donkeys.” 3 9:4 So Saul 4 crossed through the hill country of Ephraim, passing through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. So they crossed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he crossed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.
9:5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come on, let’s head back before my father quits worrying about the donkeys and becomes anxious about us!” 9:6 But the servant said to him, “Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens. 5 Now let’s go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here.” 6 9:7 So Saul said to his servant, “All right, 7 we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?” 9:8 The servant went on to answer Saul, “Look, I happen to have in my hand a quarter shekel 8 of silver. I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us where we should go.” 9 9:9 (Now it used to be in Israel that whenever someone went to inquire of God he would say, “Come on, let’s go to the seer.” For today’s prophet used to be called a seer.) 9:10 So Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea! 10 Come on. Let’s go.” So they went to the town where the man of God was.
9:11 As they were going up the ascent to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water. They said to them, “Is this where the seer is?” 9:12 They replied, “Yes, straight ahead! But hurry now, for he came to the town today, and the people are making a sacrifice at the high place. 9:13 When you enter the town, you can find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Once that happens, those who have been invited will eat. Now go on up, for 11 this is the time when you can find him!”
9:14 So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction 12 to go up to the high place. 9:15 Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told 13 Samuel: 9:16 “At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate 14 him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me!”
9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, 15 “Here is the man that I told you about! He will rule over my people.” 9:18 As Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, he said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
9:19 Samuel replied to Saul, “I am the seer! Go up in front of me to the high place! Today you will eat with me and in the morning I will send you away. I will tell you everything that you are thinking. 16 9:20 Don’t be concerned 17 about the donkeys that you lost three days ago, for they have been found. Whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you, and all your father’s family?” 18
9:21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of Israel’s tribes, and is not my family clan the smallest of all the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me in this way?”
9:22 Then Samuel brought 19 Saul and his servant into the room and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty people present. 9:23 Samuel said to the cook, “Give me the portion of meat that I gave to you – the one I asked you to keep with you.”
9:24 So the cook picked up the leg and brought it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel 20 said, “What was kept is now set before you! Eat, for it has been kept for you for this meeting time, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
9:25 When they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. 9:26 They got up at dawn and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up, so I can send you on your way.” So Saul got up and the two of them – he and Samuel – went outside. 9:27 While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” So he did. 21 Samuel then said, 22 “You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God’s message.”
10:1 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s 23 head. Samuel 24 kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you 25 to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen 26 you as leader over his inheritance. 27 10:2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two! 28 He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
10:3 “As you continue on from there, you will come to the tall tree of Tabor. At that point three men who are going up to God at Bethel 29 will meet you. One of them will be carrying three young goats, one of them will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and one of them will be carrying a container of wine. 10:4 They will ask you how you’re doing and will give you two loaves of bread. You will accept them. 10:5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials. 30 When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. 10:6 Then the spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.
10:7 “When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. 31 10:8 You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days, until I arrive and tell you what to do.”
10:9 As Saul 32 turned 33 to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. 34 All these signs happened on that very day. 10:10 When Saul and his servant 35 arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the spirit of God rushed upon Saul 36 and he prophesied among them. 10:11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”
10:12 A man who was from there replied, “And who is their father?” Therefore this became a proverb: “Is even Saul among the prophets?” 10:13 When Saul 37 had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
10:14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul 38 replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, 39 we went to Samuel.” 10:15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.” 40 10:16 Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul 41 did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.
10:17 Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah. 10:18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power 42 of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 10:19 But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your trouble and distress. You have said, “No! 43 Appoint a king over us.” Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’”
10:20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 10:21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. 10:22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.” 44
10:23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. 10:24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people!” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”
10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. 45 He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes. 10:26 Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. 10:27 But some wicked men 46 said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it. 47
11:1 48 Nahash 49 the Ammonite marched 50 against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”
11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”
11:3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.”
11:4 When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived) 51 and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly. 52 11:5 Now Saul was walking behind the 53 oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, “What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about 54 the men of Jabesh.
11:6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 11:7 He took a pair 55 of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army. 56 11:8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 57 strong and the men of Judah numbered 30,000. 58
11:9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 11:10 The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you 59 and you can do with us whatever you wish.” 60
11:11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them 61 down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together.
11:12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who were the ones asking, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!” 11:13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!” 11:14 Samuel said to the people, “Come on! Let’s go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.” 11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where 62 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.
1 Samuel 13:1--28:25
Konteks13:1 Saul was [thirty] 63 years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] 64 years. 13:2 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; 65 the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. 66 He sent all the rest of the people back home. 67
13:3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost 68 that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted 69 all the land saying, “Let the Hebrews pay attention!” 13:4 All Israel heard this message, 70 “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive 71 to the Philistines!” So the people were summoned to join 72 Saul at Gilgal.
13:5 For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 73 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. 13:6 The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, 74 and cisterns. 13:7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River 75 to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified. 13:8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. 76 But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. 77
13:9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered a burnt offering. 13:10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. 78
13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me 79 and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, 13:12 I thought, 80 ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated 81 to offer the burnt offering.”
13:13 Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed 82 the commandment that the Lord your God gave 83 you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! 13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out 84 for himself a man who is loyal to him 85 and the Lord has appointed 86 him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”
13:15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal 87 to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. 88 Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men. 13:16 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. 89 13:17 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; 13:18 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.
13:19 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.” 13:20 So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles 90 sharpened. 13:21 They charged 91 two-thirds of a shekel 92 to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel 93 to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. 13:22 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.
13:23 A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash. 14:1 Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, 94 “Come on, let’s go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us.” But he did not let his father know.
14:2 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. 14:3 Now Ahijah was carrying 95 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.
14:4 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. 14:5 The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba.
14:6 Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene 96 for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few.” 14:7 His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is on your mind. 97 Do as you’re inclined. I’m with you all the way!” 98
14:8 Jonathan replied, “All right! 99 We’ll go over to these men and fight them. 14:9 If they say to us, ‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay 100 right there and not go up to them. 14:10 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.”
14:11 When they 101 made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 14:12 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!” 102 Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up behind me, for the Lord has given 103 them into the hand of Israel!”
14:13 Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, 104 while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. 105 14:14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre.
14:15 Then fear overwhelmed 106 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. 107
14:16 Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin 108 looked on 109 as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. 110 14:17 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, 111 Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. 14:18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring near the ephod,” 112 for he was at that time wearing the ephod. 113 14:19 While 114 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!”
14:20 Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found 115 the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. 116 14:21 The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side 117 joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 14:22 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. 14:23 So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. 118
14:24 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.
14:25 Now the whole army 119 entered the forest and there was honey on the ground. 120 14:26 When the army entered the forest, they saw 121 the honey flowing, but no one ate any of it, 122 for the army was afraid of the oath. 14:27 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, 123 his eyes gleamed. 124 14:28 Then someone from the army informed him, “Your father put the army under a strict oath 125 saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today!’ That is why the army is tired.” 14:29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has caused trouble for the land. See how my eyes gleamed 126 when I tasted just a little of this honey. 14:30 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?”
14:31 On that day the army struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, and they became very tired. 14:32 So the army rushed greedily on 127 the 128 plunder, confiscating sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground, and the army ate them blood and all.
14:33 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! 129 Roll a large stone over here to me.” 14:34 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. 130 14:35 Then Saul built an altar for the Lord; it was the first time he had built an altar for the Lord.
14:36 Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines at night; we will rout 131 them until the break of day. 132 We won’t leave any of them alive!” 133 They replied, “Do whatever seems best to you.” 134 But the priest said, “Let’s approach God here.” 14:37 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.
14:38 Then Saul said, “All you leaders of the army come here. Find out 135 how this sin occurred today. 14:39 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. 136
14:40 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.”
14:41 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.” 137 Then Jonathan and Saul were indicated by lot, while the army was exonerated. 138 14:42 Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan!” 139 Jonathan was indicated by lot.
14:43 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!” 140 14:44 Saul said, “God will punish me severely if Jonathan doesn’t die!” 141
14:45 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. 142
14:46 Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back home. 143 14:47 After Saul had secured his royal position over Israel, he fought against all their 144 enemies on all sides – the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. In every direction that he turned he was victorious. 145 14:48 He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. 146
14:49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. 147 He had two daughters; the older one was named Merab and the younger Michal. 14:50 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. 148 14:51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son 149 of Abiel.
14:52 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.
15:1 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. 150 15:2 Here is what the Lord of hosts says: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed 151 Israel along the way when Israel 152 came up from Egypt. 15:3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare 153 them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”
15:4 So Saul assembled 154 the army 155 and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. 15:5 Saul proceeded to the city 156 of Amalek, where he set an ambush 157 in the wadi. 158 15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away 159 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.
15:7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to 160 Shur, which is next to Egypt. 15:8 He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag’s people 161 with the sword. 15:9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, 162 and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. 163 They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised 164 and worthless.
15:10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 15:11 “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.
15:12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where 165 he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left 166 and went down to Gilgal.” 167 15:13 When Samuel came to him, 168 Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”
15:14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case, 169 then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15:15 Saul said, “They were brought 170 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.”
15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! 171 Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul 172 said to him, “Tell me.” 15:17 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 173 you as king over Israel. 15:18 The Lord sent you on a campaign 174 saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you 175 have destroyed them.’ 15:19 Why haven’t you obeyed 176 the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.” 177
15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed 178 the Lord! I went on the campaign 179 the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 15:21 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.”
15:22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience? 180
Certainly, 181 obedience 182 is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than 183 the fat of rams.
15:23 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 184 king.”
15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded 185 and what you said as well. 186 For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. 187 15:25 Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship 188 the Lord.”
15:26 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!”
15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul 189 grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 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! 15:29 The Preeminent One 190 of Israel does not go back on his word 191 or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” 192 15:30 Saul 193 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.” 15:31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, 194 thinking to himself, 195 “Surely death is bitter!” 196 15:33 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.
15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 15:35 Until the day he 197 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.
16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. 198 Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, 199 for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.” 200
16:2 Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you 201 and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 16:3 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 202 to you.”
16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. 203 When he arrived in Bethlehem, 204 the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They 205 said, “Do you come in peace?” 16:5 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.
16:6 When they arrived, Samuel 206 noticed 207 Eliab and said to himself, 208 “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!” 209 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by 210 his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. 211 People look on the outward appearance, 212 but the Lord looks at the heart.”
16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. 213 But Samuel 214 said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 16:9 Then Jesse presented 215 Shammah. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. 216 But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse 217 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.”
16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. 218 Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!” 16:13 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.
16:14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit 219 from the Lord tormented him. 16:15 Then Saul’s servants said to him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!” 16:16 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 220 and you will feel better.” 221 16:17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find 222 me a man who plays well and bring him to me.” 16:18 One of his attendants replied, 223 “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem 224 who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior 225 and is articulate 226 and handsome, 227 for the Lord is with him.”
16:19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep. 16:20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat 228 and sent them to Saul with 229 his son David. 16:21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, 230 and he became his armor bearer. 16:22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I really like him.” 231
16:23 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. 232
17:1 233 The Philistines gathered their troops 234 for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 17:2 Saul and the Israelite army 235 assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against 236 the Philistines. 17:3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites 237 on another hill, with the valley between them.
17:4 Then a champion 238 came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. 239 17:5 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. 240 17:6 He had bronze shin guards 241 on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. 17:7 The shaft 242 of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. 243 His shield bearer was walking before him.
17:8 Goliath 244 stood and called to Israel’s troops, 245 “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose 246 for yourselves a man so he may come down 247 to me! 17:9 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.” 17:10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight 248 each other!” 17:11 When Saul and all the Israelites 249 heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid.
17:12 250 Now David was the son of this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem 251 in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul’s days he was old and well advanced in years. 252 17:13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the 253 three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest. 17:14 Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, 17:15 David was going back and forth 254 from Saul in order to care for his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
17:16 Meanwhile for forty days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. 17:17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly 255 to the camp to your brothers. 17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. 256 Find out how your brothers are doing 257 and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. 258 17:19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army 259 in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
17:20 So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. 260 After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp 261 as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. 17:21 Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. 17:22 After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, 262 he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. 17:23 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, 263 and David heard it. 17:24 When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated 264 from his presence and were very afraid.
17:25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so 265 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.”
17:26 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? 266 For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?” 17:27 The soldiers 267 told him what had been promised, saying, 268 “This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down.”
17:28 When David’s 269 oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry 270 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! 271 You have come down here to watch the battle!”
17:29 David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?” 272 17:30 Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, 273 but they 274 gave him the same answer as before. 17:31 When David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. 275
17:32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. 276 Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 17:33 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!”
17:34 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, 17:35 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. 17:36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. 277 For he has defied the armies of the living God!” 17:37 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.” 278
17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. 17:39 David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. 279 David said to Saul, “I can’t walk in these things, for I’m not used to them.” So David removed them. 17:40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch 280 of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.
17:41 281 The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. 17:42 When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. 17:43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?” 282 Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 17:44 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!” 283
17:45 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! 17:46 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 17:47 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.”
17:48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. 284 17:49 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.
17:50 285 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. 286 17:51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s 287 sword, drew it from its sheath, 288 killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.
17:52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. 289 They chased the Philistines to the valley 290 and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 17:53 When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. 17:54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, 291 and he put Goliath’s 292 weapons in his tent.
17:55 293 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.” 17:56 The king said, “Find out whose son this boy is!”
17:57 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. 17:58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem.” 294
18:1 When David 295 had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. 296 Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. 297 18:2 Saul retained David 298 on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house. 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. 299 18:4 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.
18:5 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. 300
18:6 When the men 301 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. 302 18:7 The women who were playing the music sang,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands!”
18:8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, 303 “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?” 18:9 So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre 304 that day. There was a spear in Saul’s hand, 18:11 and Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall!” But David escaped from him on two different occasions.
18:12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 18:13 Saul removed David 305 from his presence and made him a commanding officer. 306 David led the army out to battle and back. 307 18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did, 308 for the Lord was with him. 18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back.
18:17 309 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 310 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!”
18:18 David said to Saul, “Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father 311 in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 18:19 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.
18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it 312 pleased him. 18:21 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.” 313
18:22 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.” 18:23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately 314 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!”
18:24 When Saul’s servants reported what David had said, 18:25 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 315 enemies.’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.)
18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed 316 to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired 317 18:27 when David, along with his men, went out 318 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.
18:28 When Saul realized 319 that the Lord was with David and that his 320 daughter Michal loved David, 321 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him. 322 Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. 323 18:30 324 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.
19:1 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much. 325 19:2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying 326 to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find 327 a hiding place and stay in seclusion. 328 19:3 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, 329 I will let you know.”
19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf 330 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 331 for you. 19:5 He risked his life 332 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?”
19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice 333 and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. 334
19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly 335 and they ran away from him. 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon 336 Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. 337 19:10 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. 338 David escaped quickly 339 that night.
19:11 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 340 tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” 19:12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped.
19:13 Then Michal took a household idol 341 and put it on the bed. She put a quilt 342 made of goat’s hair over its head 343 and then covered the idol with a garment. 19:14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, “He’s sick.”
19:15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 19:16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat’s hair at its head.
19:17 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!’” 344
19:18 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. 19:19 It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 19:20 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. 19:21 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. 19:22 Finally Saul 345 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.”
19:23 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. 19:24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there 346 naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”)
20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, 347 “What have I done? What is my offense? 348 How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”
20:2 Jonathan 349 said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing 350 large or small without making me aware of it. 351 Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
20:3 Taking an oath, David again 352 said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact 353 that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 354 ‘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!” 20:4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.” 355
20:5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. 356 You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go 357 to his city Bethlehem, 358 for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ 359 then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. 360 20:8 You must be loyal 361 to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name. 362 If I am guilty, 363 you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”
20:9 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?” 20:10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 20:11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”
When the two of them had gone out into the field, 20:12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness. 364 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? 365 20:13 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 366 and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. 367 May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 20:14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! 20:15 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 20:16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant 368 with the house of David. 369 20:17 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. 370 20:18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 20:19 On the third day 371 you should go down quickly 372 and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. 373 Stay near the stone Ezel. 20:20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 20:21 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; 374 get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. 20:22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’ 375 get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 20:23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!” 376
20:24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 20:25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him 377 and Abner at his side. 378 But David’s place was vacant. 20:26 However, Saul said nothing about it 379 that day, for he thought, 380 “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 20:27 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?”
20:28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 20:29 He said, ‘Permit me to go, 381 for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged 382 me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go 383 to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan 384 and said to him, “You stupid traitor! 385 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? 20:31 For as long as 386 this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men 387 and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!” 388
20:32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 20:33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan 389 in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced 390 that his father had decided to kill David. 20:34 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. 391
20:35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 20:36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan 392 shot the arrow beyond him. 20:37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to 393 the servant, “Isn’t the arrow further beyond you?” 20:38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 20:39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) 394 20:40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the city.”
20:41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, 395 knelt 396 with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 20:42 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.’”
397 Then David 398 got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city. 21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met 399 David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?” 21:2 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.’ 400 I have told my soldiers 401 to wait at a certain place. 402 21:3 Now what do you have at your disposal? 403 Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
21:4 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 404 have abstained from sexual relations with women.” 405 21:5 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’ 406 equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!”
21:6 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. 21:7 (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.) 21:8 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.”
21:9 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!” 21:10 So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. 21:11 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’?”
21:12 David thought about what they said 407 and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. 21:13 He altered his behavior in their presence. 408 Since he was in their power, 409 he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard.
21:14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? 21:15 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?”
22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family 410 learned about it, they went down there to him. 22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented 411 gathered around 412 him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.
22:3 Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay 413 with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” 22:4 So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time 414 that David was in the stronghold. 22:5 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.
22:6 But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. 415 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. 22:7 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 416 commanders and officers? 417 22:8 For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me 418 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!”
22:9 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. 22:10 He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
22:11 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. 22:12 Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 22:13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave 419 him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes 420 me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!”
22:14 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! 22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse 421 his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” 422
22:16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house! 22:17 Then the king said to the messengers 423 who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided 424 with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm 425 the priests of the Lord.
22:18 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 426 men who wore the linen ephod. 22:19 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.
22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. 22:21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty 427 of all the deaths in your father’s house! 22:23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid! Whoever 428 seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me.”
23:1 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.” 23:2 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.”
23:3 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?” 23:4 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.”
23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. 429 David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.
23:6 Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod. 430 23:7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered 431 him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.” 432 23:8 So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. 433
23:9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, 434 he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod!” 23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning 435 to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. 23:11 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.” 23:12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”
23:13 So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. 436 When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. 23:14 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, 437 but God did not deliver David 438 into his hand. 23:15 David realized 439 that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.
23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him 440 through God. 23:17 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.” 23:18 When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.
23:19 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? 23:20 Now at your own discretion, 441 O king, come down. Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.”
23:21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. 23:22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely 442 where he is 443 and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. 23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. 444 Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him 445 among all the thousands of Judah.”
23:24 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. 23:25 Saul and his men went to look for him. 446 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. 23:26 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. 23:27 But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
23:28 So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. 447 23:29 (24:1) 448 Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.
24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.” 24:2 So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find 449 David and his men in the region of 450 the rocks of the mountain goats. 451 24:3 He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. 452
Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. 24:4 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.’” 453 So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:5 Afterward David’s conscience bothered him 454 because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:6 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, 455 by extending my hand against him. After all, 456 he is the Lord’s chosen one.” 457 24:7 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 458 the road.
24:8 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. 24:9 David said to Saul, “Why do you pay attention when men say, ‘David is seeking to do you harm’? 24:10 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 459 on you and said, ‘I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s chosen one.’ 460 24:11 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 461 evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life. 24:12 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. 24:13 It’s like the old proverb says: ‘From evil people evil proceeds.’ But my hand will not be against you. 24:14 Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? 24:15 May the Lord be our judge and arbiter. May he see and arbitrate my case and deliver me from your hands!”
24:16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly. 462 24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent 463 than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! 24:18 You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. 24:19 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. 24:20 Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 24:21 So now swear to me in the Lord’s name 464 that you will not kill 465 my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”
24:22 David promised Saul this on oath. 466 Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.
25:1 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. 467
25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; 468 he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 25:3 The man’s name was Nabal, 469 and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise 470 and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.
25:4 When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 25:5 he 471 sent ten servants, 472 saying to them, 473 “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. 474 25:6 Then you will say to my brother, 475 “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! 25:7 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. 25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come 476 at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants 477 and your son David – with whatever you can spare.” 478
25:9 So David’s servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David’s name. Then they paused. 25:10 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! 25:11 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!”
25:12 So David’s servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David 479 all these things. 25:13 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.
25:14 But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet 480 our lord, but he screamed at them. 25:15 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 481 in the field. 25:16 Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. 25:17 Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. 482 He is such a wicked person 483 that no one tells him anything!”
25:18 So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers 484 of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs 485 of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys 25:19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
25:20 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. 25:21 Now David had been thinking, 486 “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. 25:22 God will severely punish David, 487 if I leave alive until morning even one male 488 from all those who belong to him!”
25:23 When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. 25:24 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! 25:25 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! 489 But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent. 490
25:26 “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. 25:27 Now let this present 491 that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow 492 my lord. 25:28 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! 25:29 When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag 493 of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling’s pocket! 25:30 The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you, 494 and he will make 495 you a leader over Israel. 25:31 Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt 496 for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the Lord has granted my lord success, 497 please remember your servant.”
25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised 498 be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! 25:33 Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded 499 for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! 25:34 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!” 25:35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, “Go back 500 to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you 501 and responded favorably.” 502
25:36 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 503 and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing 504 until morning’s light. 25:37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, 505 his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. 506 25:38 After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.
25:39 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! 507 The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” 508 Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.
25:40 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.” 25:41 She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash 509 the feet of the servants of my lord.” 25:42 Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. 510 She followed David’s messengers and became his wife.
25:43 David had also married 511 Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. 25:44 (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)
26:1 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near 512 Jeshimon?” 26:2 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. 26:3 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 513 him, 26:4 David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived. 514
26:5 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. 26:6 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.”
26:7 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. 26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear 515 right through him into the ground with one swift jab! 516 A second jab won’t be necessary!”
26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one 517 and remain guiltless?” 26:10 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. 26:11 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!” 26:12 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.
26:13 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. 26:14 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?” 26:15 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. 26:16 This failure on your part isn’t good! 518 As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead! 519 Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”
26:17 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.” 26:18 He went on to say, “Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done? 520 26:19 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 521 an offering. But if men have instigated this, 522 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!’ 26:20 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 523 in the hill country.”
26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value 524 this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” 525 26:22 David replied, “Here is the king’s spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. 26:23 The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. 526 Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. 26:24 In the same way that I valued your life this day, 527 may the Lord value my life 528 and deliver me from all danger.” 26:25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded, 529 my son David! You will without question be successful!” 530 So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
27:1 David thought to himself, 531 “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.”
27:2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. 27:3 David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. 532 David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 27:4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.
27:5 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?” 27:6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) 27:7 The length of time 533 that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year 534 and four months.
27:8 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 535 to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) 27:9 When David would attack a district, 536 he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. 27:10 When Achish would ask, “Where 537 did you raid today?” David would say, “The Negev of Judah” or “The Negev of Jeharmeel” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” 27:11 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 538 that he lived in the country of the Philistines. 27:12 So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, 539 “He is really hated 540 among his own people in 541 Israel! From now on 542 he will be my servant.”
28:1 In those days the Philistines gathered their troops 543 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.” 544 28:2 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 545 from now on.” 546
28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. 547 In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums 548 and magicians 549 from the land. 28:4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 28:5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. 550 28:6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim 551 nor by the prophets. 28:7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, 552 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.”
28:8 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.” 553
28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed 554 the mediums and magicians 555 from the land! Why are you trapping me 556 so you can put me to death?” 28:10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!” 28:11 The woman replied, “Who is it that I should bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up for me Samuel.”
28:12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. 557 The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 28:13 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 558 coming up from the ground!” 28:14 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. 28:15 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.”
28:16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 28:17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! 559 The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! 28:18 Since you did not obey the Lord 560 and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 28:19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! 561 Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. 562 The Lord will also hand the army 563 of Israel over to the Philistines!”
28:20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, 564 not having eaten anything 565 all that day and night. 28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. 566 I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. 567 28:22 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.”
28:23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged 568 him to eat, so he gave in. 569 He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 28:24 Now the woman 570 had a well-fed calf 571 at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. 28:25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.
1 Samuel 31:1-13
Konteks31:1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 31:2 The Philistines stayed right on the heels 572 of Saul and his sons. They 573 struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 31:3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; 574 the archers 575 spotted him and wounded him severely.
31:4 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. 31:5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. 31:6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day.
31:7 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.
31:8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead 576 on Mount Gilboa. 31:9 They cut off Saul’s 577 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. 31:10 They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths 578 and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
31:11 When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 31:12 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 579 to Jabesh, where they burned them. 31:13 They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.
[9:3] 2 tn Heb “and arise, go.”
[9:3] 3 tc The Syriac Peshitta includes the following words: “So Saul arose and went out. He took with him one of the boys and went out to look for his father’s donkeys.”
[9:4] 4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:6] 5 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.
[9:6] 6 tn Heb “our way on which we have gone.”
[9:8] 8 sn A quarter shekel of silver would weigh about a tenth of an ounce (about 3 grams).
[9:10] 10 tn Heb “your word is good.”
[9:13] 11 tc The MT has “him” (אֹתוֹ, ’oto) here, in addition to the “him” at the end of the verse. The ancient versions attest to only one occurrence of the pronoun, although it is possible that this is due to translation technique rather than to their having a Hebrew text with the pronoun used only once. The present translation assumes textual duplication in the MT and does not attempt to represent the pronoun twice. However, for a defense of the MT here, with the suggested translation “for him just now – you will find him,” see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 72-73.
[9:14] 12 tn Heb “to meet them.” This may indicate purpose on Samuel’s part. The next sentence indicates that the meeting was by design, not just an accident.
[9:15] 13 tn Heb “uncovered the ear of.”
[9:19] 16 tn Heb “all that is in your heart.”
[9:20] 17 tn Heb “do not fix your heart.”
[9:20] 18 tn Heb “and all the house of your father.”
[9:22] 19 tn Heb “took and brought.”
[9:24] 20 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 25); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in both places in the translation for clarity.
[9:27] 21 tc This statement is absent in the LXX (with the exception of Origen), an Old Latin
[9:27] 22 tn The words “Samuel then said” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[10:1] 23 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:1] 24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:1] 25 tn Heb “Is it not that the
[10:1] 26 tn That is, “anointed.”
[10:1] 27 tc The MT reads simply “Is it not that the
[10:2] 28 sn In the Hebrew text the pronoun you is plural, suggesting that Saul’s father was concerned about his son and the servant who accompanied him.
[10:3] 29 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[10:5] 30 tn Or “sentries.” Some translate “outpost” (NIV) or “garrison” (NAB, NRSV, NLT) here (see 1 Sam 13:3). The noun is plural in the Hebrew text, but the LXX and other ancient witnesses read a singular noun here.
[10:7] 31 sn In light of Saul’s commission to be Israel’s deliverer (see v. 1), it is likely that some type of military action against the Philistines (see v.5) is implied.
[10:9] 32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:9] 33 tn Heb “turned his shoulder.”
[10:9] 34 tn Heb “God turned for him another heart”; NAB, NRSV “gave him another heart”; NIV, NCV “changed Saul’s heart”; TEV “gave Saul a new nature”; CEV “made Saul feel like a different person.”
[10:10] 35 tc Two medieval Hebrew
[10:10] tn Heb “they”; the referents (Saul and his servant) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:10] 36 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:13] 37 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:14] 38 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:14] 39 tn Heb “And we saw that they were not.”
[10:15] 40 tc In the LXX and Vulgate the pronoun “you” is singular, referring specifically to Saul. In the MT it is plural, including Saul’s servant as well.
[10:16] 41 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:18] 42 tn Heb “hand” (also later in this verse).
[10:19] 43 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[10:22] 44 tn Or “baggage” (so many English versions); KJV “stuff”; TEV “supplies.”
[10:25] 45 tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).
[10:27] 46 tn Heb “sons of worthlessness” (see 2:12).
[10:27] 47 tc In place of the MT (“and it was like one being silent”) the LXX has “after about a month,” taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran
[11:1] 48 tc 4QSama and Josephus (Ant. 6.68-71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash’s practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.” This reading should not be lightly dismissed; it may in fact provide a text superior to that of the MT and the ancient versions. But the external evidence for it is so limited as to induce caution; the present translation instead follows the MT. However, for a reasonable case for including this reading in the text see the discussions in P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103.
[11:1] 49 sn The name “Nahash” means “serpent” in Hebrew.
[11:1] 50 tn Heb “went up and camped”; NIV, NRSV “went up and besieged.”
[11:4] 51 tn Heb “to Gibeah of Saul.”
[11:4] 52 tn Heb “lifted their voice and wept.”
[11:5] 53 tn Or perhaps, “his oxen.” On this use of the definite article see Joüon 2:506-7 §137.f.
[11:5] 54 tn Heb “the matters of.”
[11:7] 56 tn Heb “like one man.”
[11:8] 57 tc The LXX and two Old Latin
[11:8] 58 tc The LXX, two Old Latin
[11:10] 59 tn The second masculine plural forms in this quotation indicate that Nahash and his army are addressed.
[11:10] 60 tn Heb “according to all that is good in your eyes.”
[11:11] 61 tn Heb “Ammon.” By metonymy the name “Ammon” is used collectively for the soldiers in the Ammonite army.
[11:15] 62 tn Heb “and there in Gilgal.”
[13:1] 63 tc The MT does not have “thirty.” A number appears to have dropped out of the Hebrew text here, since as it stands the MT (literally, “a son of a year”) must mean that Saul was only one year old when he began to reign! The KJV, attempting to resolve this, reads “Saul reigned one year,” but that is not the normal meaning of the Hebrew text represented by the MT. Although most LXX
[13:1] 64 tc The MT has “two years” here. If this number is to be accepted as correct, the meaning apparently would be that after a lapse of two years at the beginning of Saul’s reign, he then went about the task of consolidating an army as described in what follows (cf. KJV, ASV, CEV). But if the statement in v. 1 is intended to be a comprehensive report on the length of Saul’s reign, the number is too small. According to Acts 13:21 Saul reigned for forty years. Some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT), taking this forty to be a round number, add it to the “two years” of the MT and translate the number in 2 Sam 13:1 as “forty-two years.” While this is an acceptable option, the present translation instead replaces the MT’s “two” with the figure “forty.” Admittedly the textual evidence for this decision is weak, but the same can be said of any attempt to restore sense to this difficult text (note the ellipsis marks at this point in NAB, NRSV). The Syriac Peshitta lacks this part of v. 1.
[13:2] 65 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:2] 66 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:2] 67 tn Heb “each one to his tents.”
[13:3] 68 tn Or perhaps “struck down the Philistine official.” See the note at 1 Sam 10:5. Cf. TEV “killed the Philistine commander.”
[13:3] 69 tn Heb “blew the ram’s horn in.”
[13:4] 70 tn The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:4] 71 tn Heb “stinks.” The figurative language indicates that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines.
[13:4] 72 tn Heb “were summoned after.”
[13:5] 73 tn Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV) read “30,000” here.
[13:6] 74 tn Or perhaps “vaults.” This rare term also occurs in Judg 9:46, 49. Cf. KJV “high places”; ASV “coverts”; NAB “caverns”; NASB “cellars”; NIV, NCV, TEV “pits”; NRSV, NLT “tombs.”
[13:7] 75 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:8] 76 tn This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8. If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13, see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (FCI), 201-23.
[13:8] 77 tn Heb “dispersed from upon him”; NAB, NRSV “began to slip away.”
[13:10] 78 tn Heb “to bless him.”
[13:11] 79 tn Heb “dispersed from upon me.”
[13:12] 81 tn Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”
[13:13] 83 tn Heb “commanded.”
[13:14] 84 tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.
[13:14] 85 tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.
[13:14] 86 tn Heb “commanded.”
[13:15] 87 tc The LXX and two Old Latin
[13:15] 88 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).
[13:16] 89 tn The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses in v.16 indicates synchronic action.
[13:20] 90 tc The translation follows the LXX (“their sickle”) here, rather than the MT “plowshares,” which is due to dittography from the word earlier in the verse.
[13:21] 91 tn Heb “the price was.” The meaning of the Hebrew word פְּצִירָה (pÿtsirah) is uncertain. This is the only place it occurs in the OT. Some propose the meaning “sharpening,” but “price” is a more likely meaning if the following term refers to a weight (see the following note on the word “shekel”). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238.
[13:21] 92 tn This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked פִּים (pim) have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238; DNWSI 2:910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, 259.
[13:21] 93 tc Heb “and for a third, a pick.” The Hebrew text suffers from haplography at this point. The translation follows the textual reconstruction offered by P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 235.
[14:1] 94 tn Or “the servant who was carrying his military equipment” (likewise in vv. 6, 7, 12, 13, 14).
[14:3] 95 tn Heb “bearing.” Many English versions understand this verb to mean “wearing” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT).
[14:7] 97 tn Heb “in your heart.”
[14:7] 98 tn Heb “Look, I am with you, according to your heart.” See the note at 13:14.
[14:11] 101 tn Heb “the two of them.”
[14:12] 103 tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan’s certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.
[14:13] 104 tn Heb “and they fell before Jonathan.”
[14:13] 105 tn Heb “and the one carrying his equipment was killing after him.”
[14:15] 106 tn Heb “fell upon.”
[14:15] 107 tn Heb “and it was by the fear of God.” The translation understands this to mean that God was the source or cause of the fear experienced by the Philistines. This seems to be the most straightforward reading of the sentence. It is possible, however, that the word “God” functions here simply to intensify the accompanying word “fear,” in which one might translate “a very great fear” (cf. NAB, NRSV). It is clear that on some occasions that the divine name carries such a superlative nuance. For examples see Joüon 2:525 §141.n.
[14:16] 108 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[14:16] 109 tn Heb “saw, and look!”
[14:16] 110 tn Heb “the crowd melted and went, even here.”
[14:17] 111 tn Heb “and they mustered the troops, and look!”
[14:18] 112 tc Heb “the ark of God.” It seems unlikely that Saul would call for the ark, which was several miles away in Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Sam 7:2). The LXX and an Old Latin
[14:18] 113 tc Heb “for the ark of God was in that day, and the sons of Israel.” The translation follows the text of some Greek manuscripts. See the previous note.
[14:19] 114 tn Or perhaps “until.”
[14:20] 115 tn Heb “and look, there was”
[14:20] 116 tn Heb “the sword of a man against his companion, a very great panic.”
[14:21] 117 tn Heb “and the Hebrews were to the Philistines formerly, who went up with them in the camp all around.”
[14:23] 118 tc The LXX includes the following words: “And all the people were with Saul, about ten thousand men. And the battle extended to the entire city on mount Ephraim.”
[14:25] 119 tn Heb “all the land.”
[14:25] 120 tn Heb “the surface of the field.”
[14:26] 121 tn Heb “and the army entered the forest, and look!”
[14:26] 122 tn Heb “and there was no one putting his hand to his mouth.”
[14:27] 123 tn Heb “and he returned his hand to his mouth.”
[14:27] 124 tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew
[14:28] 125 tn Heb “your father surely put the army under an oath.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize the solemn nature of the oath.
[14:29] 126 tc The LXX reads “saw.” See v. 27.
[14:32] 127 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[14:32] 128 tc The translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[14:33] 129 tn Heb “You have acted deceptively.” In this context the verb refers to violating an agreement, in this case the dietary and sacrificial regulations of the Mosaic law. The verb form is second masculine plural; apparently Saul here addresses those who are eating the animals.
[14:34] 130 tn Heb “and all the army brought near, each his ox by his hand, and they slaughtered there.”
[14:36] 132 tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”
[14:36] 133 tn Heb “and there will not be left among them a man.”
[14:36] 134 tn Heb “all that is good in your eyes.” So also in v. 40.
[14:38] 135 tn Heb “know and see.”
[14:39] 136 tn Heb “and there was no one answering from all the army.”
[14:41] 137 tc Heb “to the
[14:41] sn The Urim and Thummim were used for lot casting in ancient Israel. Their exact identity is uncertain; they may have been specially marked stones drawn from a bag. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8, and Deut 33:8, as well as the discussion in R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 140.
[14:41] 138 tn Heb “went out.”
[14:42] 139 tc The LXX includes the following words: “Whomever the Lord will indicate by the lot, let him die! And the people said to Saul, ‘It is not this word.’ But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and between Jonathan his son.”
[14:43] 140 tn Heb “Look, I, I will die.” Apparently Jonathan is acquiescing to his anticipated fate of death. However, the words may be taken as sarcastic (“Here I am about to die!”) or as a question, “Must I now die?” (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
[14:44] 141 tn Heb “So God will do and so he will add, surely you will certainly die, Jonathan.”
[14:45] 142 tn Heb “and he did not die.”
[14:46] 143 tn Heb “to their place.”
[14:47] 144 tn Heb “his,” which could refer to Israel or to Saul.
[14:47] 145 tc The translation follows the LXX (“he was delivered”), rather than the MT, which reads, “he acted wickedly.”
[14:48] 146 tn Heb “plunderers.”
[14:49] 147 sn The list differs from others. In 1 Sam 31:2 (= 1 Chr 10:2), Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua are listed as Saul’s sons, while 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39 list Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
[14:50] 148 sn The word “uncle” can modify either Abner or Ner. See the note on the word “son” in v. 51 for further discussion.
[14:51] 149 tn 1 Chr 9:35-36 indicates that Jeiel (= Abiel?) had two sons (among others) named Ner and Kish (see also 1 Sam 9:1 and 1 Chr 8:30, where some Greek manuscripts include the name Ner, though it is absent in the Hebrew text). If this Kish was the father of Saul and Ner was the father of Abner, then Saul and Abner were cousins. However, according to 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39, Ner, not Abiel, was the father of Kish. In this case, Kish and Abner were brothers and Abner was Saul’s uncle. The simplest solution to the problem is to see two men named Kish in the genealogy: Abiel (Jeiel) was the father of Ner and Kish I. Ner was the father of Abner and Kish II. Kish II was the father of Saul. The Kish mentioned in 1 Sam 9:1 was the father of Saul (v.2) and must be identified as Kish II. In this case the genealogy is “gapped,” with Ner being omitted. Abiel was the grandfather of Kish II.
[15:1] 150 tn Heb “to the voice of the words of the
[15:2] 151 tn Heb “what Amalek did to Israel, how he placed against him.”
[15:2] 152 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:3] 153 tn Or perhaps “don’t take pity on” (cf. CEV).
[15:4] 154 tn Heb “caused the people to hear.”
[15:5] 156 tc The LXX has the plural here, “cities.”
[15:5] 157 tc The translation follows the LXX and Vulgate which assume a reading וַיָּאָרֶב (vayya’arev, “and he set an ambush,” from the root ארב [’rv] with quiescence of alef) rather than the MT, which has וַיָּרֶב (vayyareb, “and he contended,” from the root ריב [ryv]).
[15:5] 158 tn That is, “the dry stream bed.”
[15:6] 159 tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate which assume a reading אֶסִפְךָ (’esfÿka, “I sweep you away,” from the root ספה [sfh]) rather than the MT אֹסִפְךָ (’osifÿka, “I am gathering you,” from the root אסף[’sf]).
[15:7] 160 tn Heb “[as] you enter.”
[15:8] 161 tn Heb “all the people.” For clarity “Agag’s” has been supplied in the translation.
[15:9] 162 tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. We should probably read וְהַמַּשְׂמַנִּים (vÿhammasmannim, “the fat ones”) rather than the MT וְהַמִּשְׂנִים (vÿhammisnim, “the second ones”). However, if the MT is retained, the sense may be as the Jewish commentator Kimchi supposed: the second-born young, thought to be better than the firstlings. (For discussion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 123-24.)
[15:9] 164 tc The MT has here the very odd form נְמִבְזָה (nÿmivzah), but this is apparently due to a scribal error. The translation follows instead the Niphal participle נִבְזָה (nivzah).
[15:12] 165 tn Heb “and look.”
[15:12] 166 tn Heb “and he turned and crossed over.”
[15:12] 167 tc At the end of v. 12 the LXX and one Old Latin
[15:14] 169 tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:15] 170 tn Heb “they brought them.”
[15:16] 171 tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”
[15:16] 172 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[15:16] tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:17] 173 tn Heb “anointed.”
[15:18] 175 tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).
[15:19] 176 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the
[15:19] 177 tn Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the
[15:20] 178 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the
[15:22] 180 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the
[15:22] 182 tn Heb “listening.”
[15:22] 183 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
[15:23] 184 tn Or “from [being].”
[15:24] 185 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[15:24] 186 tn Heb “and your words.”
[15:24] 187 tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”
[15:25] 188 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
[15:27] 189 tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran
[15:29] 190 tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the
[15:29] 191 tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”
[15:29] 192 sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
[15:30] 193 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:32] 194 tn The MT reading מַעֲדַנֹּת (ma’adannot, literally, “bonds,” used here adverbially, “in bonds”) is difficult. The word is found only here and in Job 38:31. Part of the problem lies in determining the root of the word. Some scholars have taken it to be from the root ענד (’nd, “to bind around”), but this assumes a metathesis of two of the letters of the root. Others take it from the root עדן (’dn) with the meaning “voluptuously,” but this does not seem to fit the context. It seems better to understand the word to be from the root מעד (m’d, “to totter” or “shake”). In that case it describes the fear that Agag experienced in realizing the mortal danger that he faced as he approached Samuel. This is the way that the LXX translators understood the word, rendering it by the Greek participle τρέμον (tremon, “trembling”).
[15:32] 195 tn Heb “and Agag said.”
[15:32] 196 tc The text is difficult here. With the LXX, two Old Latin
[15:35] 197 tn That is, Samuel.
[16:1] 198 tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”
[16:1] 199 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[16:1] 200 tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”
[16:2] 201 tn Heb “in your hand.”
[16:3] 202 tn Heb “say”; KJV, NRSV “name”; NIV “indicate.”
[16:4] 204 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[16:4] 205 tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[16:6] 206 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:6] 208 tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2).
[16:6] 209 tn Heb “his anointed one.”
[16:7] 210 tn Heb “don’t look toward.”
[16:7] 211 tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.
[16:7] 212 tn Heb “to the eyes.”
[16:8] 213 tn Heb “and caused him to pass before.”
[16:8] 214 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:9] 215 tn Heb “caused to pass by.”
[16:10] 216 tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.
[16:11] 217 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.
[16:12] 218 tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”
[16:14] 219 tn Or “an injurious spirit”; cf. NLT “a tormenting spirit.” The phrase need not refer to an evil, demonic spirit. The Hebrew word translated “evil” may refer to the character of the spirit or to its effect upon Saul. If the latter, another translation option might be “a mischief-making spirit.”
[16:16] 220 tn Heb “and he will play with his hand.”
[16:16] 221 tn Heb “and it will be better for you.”
[16:18] 223 tn Heb “answered and said.”
[16:18] 224 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[16:18] 225 tn Heb “mighty man of valor and a man of war.”
[16:18] 226 tn Heb “discerning of word.”
[16:18] 227 tn Heb “a man of form.”
[16:20] 228 tn Heb “a kid of the goats.”
[16:20] 229 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
[16:21] 230 tn Heb “he loved him.”
[16:22] 231 tn Heb “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes.”
[16:23] 232 tn Heb “would turn aside from upon him.”
[17:1] 233 tc The content of 1 Sam 17–18, which includes the David and Goliath story, differs considerably in the LXX as compared to the MT, suggesting that this story circulated in ancient times in more than one form. The LXX for chs. 17–18 is much shorter than the MT, lacking almost half of the material (39 of a total of 88 verses). Many scholars (e.g., McCarter, Klein) think that the shorter text of the LXX is preferable to the MT, which in their view has been expanded by incorporation of later material. Other scholars (e.g., Wellhausen, Driver) conclude that the shorter Greek text (or the Hebrew text that underlies it) reflects an attempt to harmonize certain alleged inconsistencies that appear in the longer version of the story. Given the translation characteristics of the LXX elsewhere in this section, it does not seem likely that these differences are due to deliberate omission of these verses on the part of the translator. It seems more likely that the Greek translator has faithfully rendered here a Hebrew text that itself was much shorter than the MT in these chapters. Whether or not the shorter text represented by the LXX is to be preferred over the MT in 1 Sam 17–18 is a matter over which textual scholars are divided. For a helpful discussion of the major textual issues in this unit see D. Barthélemy, D. W. Gooding, J. Lust, and E. Tov, The Story of David and Goliath (OBO). Overall it seems preferable to stay with the MT, at least for the most part. However, the major textual differences between the LXX and the MT will be mentioned in the notes that accompany the translation so that the reader may be alert to the major problem passages.
[17:2] 235 tn Heb “the men of Israel” (so KJV, NASB); NAB, NIV, NRSV “the Israelites.”
[17:4] 238 tn Heb “the man of the space between the two [armies].” See v. 23.
[17:4] 239 tc Heb “his height was six cubits and a span” (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV). A cubit was approximately eighteen inches, a span nine inches. So, according to the Hebrew tradition, Goliath was about nine feet, nine inches tall (cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “over nine feet”; NCV “nine feet, four inches”; TEV “nearly 3 metres”). However, some Greek witnesses, Josephus, and a manuscript of 1 Samuel from Qumran read “four cubits and a span” here, that is, about six feet, nine inches (cf. NAB “six and a half feet”). This seems more reasonable; it is likely that Goliath’s height was exaggerated as the story was retold. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 286, 291.
[17:5] 240 sn Although the exact weight of Goliath’s defensive body armor is difficult to estimate in terms of modern equivalency, it was obviously quite heavy. Driver, following Kennedy, suggests a modern equivalent of about 220 pounds (100 kg); see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 139. Klein, taking the shekel to be equal to .403 ounces, arrives at a somewhat smaller weight of about 126 pounds (57 kg); see R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 175. But by any estimate it is clear that Goliath presented himself as a formidable foe indeed.
[17:6] 241 sn Or “greaves.” These were coverings (probably lined for comfort) that extended from about the knee to the ankle, affording protection for the shins of a warrior.
[17:7] 242 tn The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[17:7] 243 sn That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
[17:8] 244 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:8] 245 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to them.”
[17:8] 246 tc The translation follows the ancient versions in reading “choose,” (from the root בחר, bkhr), rather than the MT. The verb in MT (ברה, brh) elsewhere means “to eat food”; the sense of “to choose,” required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The MT apparently reflects an early scribal error.
[17:8] 247 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.
[17:10] 248 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.
[17:11] 249 tn Heb “all Israel.”
[17:12] 250 tc Some
[17:12] 251 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[17:12] 252 tc The translation follows the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “in years,” rather than MT “among men.”
[17:15] 254 tn Heb “was going and returning.”
[17:18] 256 tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”
[17:18] 257 tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”
[17:18] 258 tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”
[17:19] 259 tn Heb “all the men of Israel.”
[17:20] 260 tn Heb “to a guard”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “with a keeper”; NIV “with a shepherd.” Since in contemporary English “guard” sounds like someone at a military installation or a prison, the present translation uses “to someone else who would watch over it.”
[17:20] 261 tn Or “entrenchment.”
[17:22] 262 tn Heb “the guard of the equipment.”
[17:23] 263 tn Heb “according to these words.”
[17:25] 265 tn Heb “he is coming up.”
[17:26] 266 tn Heb “and turns aside humiliation from upon Israel.”
[17:27] 268 tn Heb “according to this word, saying.”
[17:28] 269 tn Heb “his”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:28] 270 tn Heb “the anger of Eliab became hot.”
[17:28] 271 tn Heb “the wickedness of your heart.”
[17:29] 272 tn Heb “Is it not [just] a word?”
[17:30] 273 tn Heb “and spoke according to this word.”
[17:30] 274 tn Heb “the people.”
[17:31] 275 tn Heb “he took him.”
[17:32] 276 tn Heb “Let not the heart of a man fall upon him.” The LXX reads “my lord,” instead of “a man.”
[17:36] 277 tc The LXX includes here the following words not found in the MT: “Should I not go and smite him, and remove today reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one?”
[17:37] 278 tn Or “Go, and may the
[17:39] 279 tn Heb “he had not tested.”
[17:40] 280 tn This Hebrew word occurs only here and its exact meaning is not entirely clear. It refers to a receptacle of some sort and apparently was a common part of a shepherd’s equipment. Here it serves as a depository for the stones that David will use in his sling.
[17:41] 281 tc Most LXX
[17:43] 282 sn Sticks is a pejorative reference to David’s staff (v. 40); the same Hebrew word (מַקֵּל, maqqel) is used for both.
[17:44] 283 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[17:48] 284 tc Most LXX
[17:50] 285 tc Most LXX
[17:50] 286 tn Verse 50 is a summary statement; v. 51 gives a more detailed account of how David killed the Philistine.
[17:51] 287 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:51] 288 tc Most LXX
[17:52] 289 tn Heb “arose and cried out.”
[17:52] 290 tc Most of the LXX
[17:54] 291 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[17:54] 292 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:55] 293 tc Most LXX
[17:58] 294 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[18:1] 295 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 296 tn Heb “the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David.”
[18:1] 297 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
[18:1] sn On the nature of Jonathan’s love for David, see J. A. Thompson, “The Significance of the Verb Love in the David-Jonathan Narratives in 1 Samuel,” VT 24 (1974): 334-38.
[18:2] 298 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:3] 299 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
[18:5] 300 tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.”
[18:6] 301 tn Heb “them.” The masculine plural pronoun apparently refers to the returning soldiers.
[18:6] 302 tn Heb “with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.”
[18:8] 303 tn Heb “said.” So also in vv. 11, 17.
[18:10] 304 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
[18:13] 305 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:13] 306 tn Heb “an officer of a thousand.”
[18:13] 307 tn Heb “and he went out and came in before the people.” See v. 16.
[18:14] 308 tn Heb “in all his ways.”
[18:17] 309 tc Much of the
[18:17] 310 tn Heb “son of valor.”
[18:18] 311 tn Heb “Who are my relatives, the clan of my father?” The term חַי (khay), traditionally understood as “my life,” is here a rare word meaning “family, kinfolk” (see HALOT 309 s.v. III חַי). The phrase “clan of my father” may be a scribal gloss explaining the referent of this rare word.
[18:20] 312 tn Heb “the matter.”
[18:21] 313 tc The final sentence of v. 21 is absent in most LXX
[18:23] 314 tn Heb “in the ears of.”
[18:25] 315 tn Heb “the king’s.”
[18:26] 316 tn Heb “and it was acceptable in the eyes of David.”
[18:26] 317 tn Heb “the days were not fulfilled.”
[18:27] 318 tn Heb “arose and went.”
[18:28] 319 tn Heb “saw and knew.”
[18:28] 320 tn Heb “Saul’s.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
[18:28] 321 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 322 tn Heb “of David.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
[18:29] 323 tc The final sentence of v. 29 is absent in most LXX
[18:29] tn Heb “all the days.”
[18:30] 324 tc Verse 30 is absent in most LXX
[19:1] 325 tn Heb “delighted greatly in David.”
[19:2] 328 tn Heb “and hide yourself.”
[19:3] 329 tn Heb “when I see.”
[19:4] 330 tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”
[19:5] 332 tn Heb “and he put his life into his hand.”
[19:6] 333 tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”
[19:7] 334 tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”
[19:8] 335 tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”
[19:9] 337 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
[19:10] 338 tn Heb “and he drove the spear into the wall.”
[19:10] 339 tn Heb “fled and escaped.”
[19:11] 340 tn Heb “your life.”
[19:13] 341 tn Heb “teraphim” (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah’s reform movement in the seventh century. The idol Michal placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.
[19:13] 342 tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word כָּבִיר (kavir) is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goat’s hair, perhaps used as a fly net while one slept. See HALOT 458 s.v. *כָּבִיר. Cf. KJV, TEV “pillow”; NLT “cushion”; NAB, NRSV “net.”
[19:13] 343 tn Heb “at the place of its head.”
[19:17] 344 tn Heb “Send me away! Why should I kill you?” The question has the force of a threat in this context. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 325, 26.
[19:22] 345 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:24] 346 tn Heb “and he fell down.”
[20:1] 347 tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”
[20:1] 348 tn Heb “What is my guilt?”
[20:2] 349 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:2] 350 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew
[20:2] 351 tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”
[20:3] 352 tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”
[20:3] 353 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:3] 354 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.
[20:4] 355 tn Heb “whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”
[20:5] 356 tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:6] 358 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[20:7] 360 tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”
[20:8] 361 tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.”
[20:8] 362 tn Heb “for into a covenant of the
[20:8] 363 tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”
[20:12] 364 tc The Hebrew text has simply “the
[20:12] 365 tn Heb “and uncover your ear.”
[20:13] 366 tn Heb “uncover your ear.”
[20:13] 367 tn Heb “in peace.”
[20:16] 368 tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.
[20:16] 369 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the
[20:17] 370 tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”
[20:19] 371 tc Heb “you will do [something] a third time.” The translation assumes an emendation of the verb from שִׁלַּשְׁתָּ (shillashta, “to do a third time”) to שִׁלִּישִׁית (shillishit, “[on the] third [day]”).
[20:19] 372 tn Heb “you must go down greatly.” See Judg 19:11 for the same idiom.
[20:19] 373 tn Heb “on the day of the deed.” This probably refers to the incident recorded in 19:2.
[20:21] 374 tn Heb “from you and here.”
[20:22] 375 tn Heb “from you and onward.”
[20:23] 376 tc Heb “the
[20:25] 377 tc Heb “and Jonathan arose.” Instead of MT’s וַיָּקָם (vayyaqam, “and he arose”; from the hollow verbal root קוּם, qum), the translation assumes a reading וַיִּקַדֵּם (vayyiqaddem, “and he was in front of”; from the verbal root קדם, qdm). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.
[20:25] 378 tn Heb “and Abner sat at the side of Saul.”
[20:26] 379 tn The words “about it” are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied.
[20:26] 380 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself.
[20:29] 382 tn Heb “commanded.”
[20:29] 383 tn Heb “be released [from duty].”
[20:30] 384 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[20:30] 385 tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.
[20:31] 386 tn Heb “all the days that.”
[20:31] 387 tn The words “some men” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:31] 388 tn Heb “a son of death.”
[20:33] 389 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:34] 391 tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.
[20:36] 392 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:37] 393 tn Heb “called after” (also in v. 38).
[20:39] 394 tn Heb “knew the matter.”
[20:41] 395 tc The translation follows the LXX in reading “the mound,” rather than the MT’s “the south.” It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading “from beside the south” would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as “from the south side of the stone (rock NCV).” This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here.
[20:42] 397 sn Beginning with 20:42b, the verse numbers through 21:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:42b ET = 21:1 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:2 ET = 21:3 HT, etc., through 21:15 ET = 21:16 HT. With 22:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[20:42] 398 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:1] 399 tn Heb “trembled to meet.”
[21:2] 400 tn Heb “let not a man know anything about the matter [for] which I am sending you and [about] which I commanded you.”
[21:2] 402 tn The Hebrew expression here refers to a particular, but unnamed, place. It occurs in the OT only here, in 2 Kgs 6:8, and in Ruth 4:1, where Boaz uses it to refer to Naomi’s unnamed kinsman-redeemer. A contracted form of the expression appears in Dan 8:13.
[21:3] 403 tn Heb “under your hand.”
[21:4] 405 tn Heb “have kept themselves from women” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “haven’t had sexual relations recently”; NLT “have not slept with any women recently.”
[21:5] 406 tn Heb “servants’.”
[21:12] 407 tn Heb “placed these matters in his heart.”
[21:13] 408 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
[21:13] 409 tn Heb “in their hand.”
[22:2] 411 tn Heb “bitter of soul.”
[22:4] 414 tn Heb “all the days.”
[22:6] 415 tn Heb “and Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were known.”
[22:7] 416 tc The MT has “to all of you.” If this reading is correct, we have here an example of a prepositional phrase functioning as the equivalent of a dative of advantage, which is not impossible from a grammatical point of view. However, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have “and.” A conjunction rather than a preposition should probably be read on the front of this phrase.
[22:7] 417 tn Heb “officers of a thousand and officers of a hundred.”
[22:8] 418 tn Heb “uncovers my ear.”
[22:13] 419 tn Heb “by giving.”
[22:13] 420 tn Heb “rises up against.”
[22:15] 421 tn Heb “set a matter against.”
[22:15] 422 tn Heb “small or great.”
[22:17] 424 tn Heb “their hand is.”
[22:17] 425 tn Heb “to extend their hand to harm.”
[22:18] 426 tc The number is confused in the Greek
[22:22] 427 tc The translation follows the LXX, which reads “I am guilty,” rather than the MT, which has “I have turned.”
[22:23] 428 tn Or “the one who.” This may refer specifically to Saul, in which case David acknowledges that Abiathar’s life is endangered because of his allegiance to David. The translation assumes that the statement is more generalized, meaning that any enemy of Abiathar is an enemy of David. In other words, David promises that he will protect Abiathar with his very own life.
[23:5] 429 tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”
[23:6] 430 tn Heb “an ephod went down in his hand.”
[23:7] 431 tn The MT reading (“God has alienated him into my hand”) in v. 7 is a difficult and uncommon idiom. The use of this verb in Jer 19:4 is somewhat parallel, but not entirely so. Many scholars have therefore suspected a textual problem here, emending the word נִכַּר (nikkar, “alienated”) to סִכַּר (sikkar, “he has shut up [i.e., delivered]”). This is the idea reflected in the translations of the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate, although it is not entirely clear whether they are reading something different from the MT or are simply paraphrasing what for them too may have been a difficult text. The LXX has “God has sold him into my hands,” apparently reading מַכַר (makar, “sold”) for MT’s נִכַּר. The present translation is a rather free interpretation.
[23:7] 432 tn Heb “with two gates and a bar.” Since in English “bar” could be understood as a saloon, it has been translated as an attributive: “two barred gates.”
[23:8] 433 tn Heb “So Saul mustered all his army for battle to go down to Keilah to besiege against David and his men.”
[23:9] 434 tn Heb “Saul was planning the evil against him.”
[23:13] 436 tn Heb “they went where they went.”
[23:14] 437 tn Heb “all the days.”
[23:14] 438 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:16] 440 tn Heb “strengthened his hand.”
[23:20] 441 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul.”
[23:22] 442 tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
[23:22] 443 tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”
[23:23] 444 tn Heb “established.”
[23:23] 445 tn Heb “I will search him out.”
[23:25] 446 tn Heb “to search.”
[23:28] 447 sn The name הַמַּחְלְקוֹת סֶלַע (Sela Hammakhleqoth) probably means “Rock of Divisions” in Hebrew, in the sense that Saul and David parted company there (cf. NAB “Gorge of Divisions”; TEV “Separation Hill”). This etymology assumes that the word derives from the Hebrew root II חלק (khlq, “to divide”; HALOT 322 s.v. II חלק). However, there is another root I חלק, which means “to be smooth or slippery” (HALOT 322 s.v. I חלק). If the word is taken from this root, the expression would mean “Slippery Rock.”
[23:29] 448 sn Beginning with 23:29, the verse numbers through 24:22 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 23:29 ET = 24:1 HT, 24:1 ET = 24:2 HT, 24:2 ET = 24:3 HT, etc., through 24:22 ET = 24:23 HT. With 25:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[24:2] 449 tn Heb “to search [for].”
[24:2] 450 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[24:2] 451 tn Or “the region of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats,” if this expression is understood as a place name (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV).
[24:3] 452 tn Heb “to cover his feet,” an idiom (euphemism) for relieving oneself (cf. NAB “to ease nature”).
[24:4] 453 tn Heb “is good in your eyes.”
[24:5] 454 tn Heb “the heart of David struck him.”
[24:10] 459 tn Heb “it had pity,” apparently with the understood subject being “my eye,” in accordance with a common expression.
[24:10] 460 tn Heb “anointed.”
[24:11] 461 tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”
[24:16] 462 tn Heb “lifted his voice and wept.”
[24:17] 463 tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”
[24:21] 464 tn Heb “by the
[24:22] 466 tn Heb “and David swore an oath to Saul.”
[25:1] 467 tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.
[25:3] 469 sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.
[25:3] 470 tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.”
[25:5] 471 tn Heb “David”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun has been used in the translation.
[25:5] 473 tn Heb “and David said to the young men.”
[25:5] 474 tn Heb “and inquire concerning him in my name in regard to peace.”
[25:6] 475 tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV).
[25:8] 476 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[25:8] 477 tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.
[25:8] 478 tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”
[25:12] 479 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:15] 481 tn Heb “all the days we walked about with them when we were.”
[25:17] 482 tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.”
[25:17] 483 tn Heb “he is a son of worthlessness.”
[25:18] 485 sn The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts.
[25:22] 487 tc Heb “Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add.” Most of the Old Greek
[25:22] 488 tn Heb “one who urinates against a wall” (also in v. 34); KJV “any that pisseth against the wall.”
[25:25] 489 tn Heb “and foolishness is with him.”
[25:25] 490 tn Heb “my lord’s servants, whom you sent.”
[25:27] 491 tn Heb “blessing.”
[25:27] 492 tn Heb “are walking at the feet of.”
[25:29] 493 tn Cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “bundle”; NLT “treasure pouch.”
[25:30] 494 tn Heb “according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you.”
[25:31] 496 tn Heb “and this will not be for you for staggering and for stumbling of the heart of my lord.”
[25:31] 497 tn Heb “and the
[25:32] 498 tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).
[25:35] 501 tn Heb “your voice.”
[25:35] 502 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face.”
[25:36] 503 tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”
[25:36] 504 tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”
[25:37] 505 tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.”
[25:37] 506 tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness.
[25:39] 507 tn Heb “who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal.”
[25:39] 508 tn Heb “his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the
[25:41] 509 tn Heb “Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash.”
[25:42] 510 tn Heb “going at her feet.”
[26:1] 512 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[26:4] 514 tn Heb “and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come.”
[26:8] 515 tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.
[26:8] 516 tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”
[26:9] 517 tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
[26:16] 518 tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”
[26:16] 519 tn Heb “you are sons of death.”
[26:18] 520 tn Heb “What in my hand [is] evil?”
[26:19] 521 tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.
[26:19] 522 tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”
[26:20] 523 tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.
[26:21] 524 tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”
[26:21] 525 tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”
[26:23] 526 tn Heb “and the
[26:24] 527 tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”
[26:24] 528 tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the
[26:25] 530 tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.
[27:1] 531 tn Heb “said to his heart.”
[27:3] 532 tn Heb “a man and his house.”
[27:7] 533 tn Heb “the number of the days.”
[27:7] 534 tn Heb “days.” The plural of the word “day” is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.
[27:8] 535 tn Heb “from where you come.”
[27:10] 537 tc The translation follows the LXX (ἐπι τίνα, epi tina) and Vulgate (in quem) which assume אֶל מִי (’el mi, “to whom”) rather than the MT אַל (’al, “not”). The MT makes no sense here. Another possibility is that the text originally had אַן (’an, “where”), which has been distorted in the MT to אַל. Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and the Targum, which have “where.”
[27:11] 538 tn Heb “all the days.”
[27:12] 540 tn Heb “he really stinks.” The expression is used figuratively here to describe the rejection and ostracism that David had experienced as a result of Saul’s hatred of him.
[27:12] 541 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[27:12] 542 tn Heb “permanently.”
[28:1] 543 tn Heb “their camps.”
[28:1] 544 tc The translation follows the LXX (εἰς πόλεμον, eis polemon) and a Qumran
[28:2] 545 tn Heb “the guardian for my head.”
[28:2] 546 tn Heb “all the days.”
[28:3] 547 tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”
[28:3] 548 tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).
[28:3] 549 sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
[28:5] 550 tn Heb “he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified.”
[28:6] 551 sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.
[28:7] 552 tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.
[28:8] 553 tn Heb “Use divination for me with the ritual pit and bring up for me the one whom I say to you.”
[28:9] 554 tn Heb “how he has cut off.”
[28:9] 555 tn See the note at v. 3.
[28:12] 557 tn Heb “in a great voice.”
[28:13] 558 tn Heb “gods.” The modifying participle (translated “coming up”) is plural, suggesting that underworld spirits are the referent. But in the following verse Saul understands the plural word to refer to a singular being. The reference is to the spirit of Samuel.
[28:17] 559 tn Heb “just as he said by my hand.”
[28:18] 560 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the
[28:19] 561 tn Heb “And the
[28:19] 562 tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here “and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall.”
[28:20] 564 tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”
[28:21] 566 tn Heb “listened to your voice.”
[28:21] 567 tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”
[28:23] 568 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[28:23] 569 tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”
[28:24] 570 sn Masoretic
[28:24] 571 tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”
[31:2] 572 tn Heb “stuck close after.”
[31:2] 573 tn Heb “the Philistines.”
[31:3] 574 tn Heb “and the battle was heavy against Saul.”
[31:3] 575 tn Heb “the shooters, men with the bow.”
[31:9] 577 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).
[31:10] 578 sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.
[31:12] 579 tc The translation follows the MT, which vocalizes the verb as a Qal. The LXX, however, treats the verb as a Hiphil, “they brought.”
