1 Samuel 12-14

English Standard Version

Samuel's Farewell Address

12 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^(A)your voice in all that you have said to me ^(B)and have made a king over you. ² And now, behold, the king ^(C)walks before you, ^(D)and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^(E)his anointed. ^(F)Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me^[a] and I will restore it to you.” ⁴ They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” ⁵ And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^(G)his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ^(H)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ And Samuel said to the people, ^(I)“The Lord is witness,^[b] who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. ^8 (J)When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,^{[c] (K)}then your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^(L)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^(M)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. ⁹ But ^(N)they forgot the Lord their God. ^(O)And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,^{[d] (P)}and into the hand of the Philistines, ^(Q)and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. ^10 (R)And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^(S)and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^(T)deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ ¹¹ And the Lord sent ^(U)Jerubbaal ^(V)and Barak^{[e] (W)}and Jephthah and ^(X)Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. ¹² And when you saw that ^(Y)Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^(Z)you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^(AA)when the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now ^(AB)behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^(AC)the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴ If you will ^(AD)fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. ¹⁵ But ^(AE)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^(AF)the hand of the Lord will be against you and ^(AG)your king.^{[f] 16} Now therefore ^(AH)stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. ^17 (AI)Is it not wheat harvest today? ^(AJ)I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^(AK)your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^(AL)and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ And all the people said to Samuel, ^(AM)“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^(AN)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ And ^(AO)do not turn aside after ^(AP)empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. ^22 (AQ)For the Lord will not forsake his people, ^(AR)for his great name's sake, because ^(AS)it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. ²³ Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^(AT)to pray for you, ^(AU)and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. ^24 (AV)Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^(AW)what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, ^(AX)you shall be swept away, ^(AY)both you and your king.”

Saul Fights the Philistines

13 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,^{[g] 2} Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^(AZ)Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^(BA)Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. ³ Jonathan defeated ^(BB)the garrison of the Philistines that was ^(BC)at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^(BD)blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴ And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^(BE)like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^(BF)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^(BG)in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, ⁷ and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice

^8 (BH)He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, ¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(BI)“You have done foolishly. ^(BJ)You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now ^(BK)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(BL)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince^[h] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” ¹⁵ And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal^[i] to ^(BM)Gibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^(BN)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^(BO)Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷ And ^(BP)raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; ¹⁸ another company turned toward ^(BQ)Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^(BR)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

^19 (BS)Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” ²⁰ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,^{[j] 21} and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[k] for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel^[l] for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.^{[m] 22} So on the day of the battle ^(BT)there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. ²³ And ^(BU)the garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^(BV)pass of ^(BW)Michmash.

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave^[n] at ^(BX)Migron. The people who were with him were about ^(BY)six hundred men, ³ including ^(BZ)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, ^(CA)Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^(CB)in Shiloh, ^(CC)wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Within ^(CD)the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of ^(CE)Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ^(CF)uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, ^(CG)for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.^[o] Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming ^(CH)out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre^[p] of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even ^(CI)the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.^[q]

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude ^(CJ)was dispersing here and there.^{[r] 17} Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. ¹⁸ So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people^[s] of Israel. ¹⁹ Now ^(CK)while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, ^(CL)every Philistine's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹ Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, ^(CM)even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel ^(CN)who had hidden themselves ^(CO)in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. ^23 (CP)So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond ^(CQ)Beth-aven.

Saul's Rash Vow

²⁴ And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, ^(CR)so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. ²⁵ Now when all the people^[t] came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, ^(CS)so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. ²⁸ Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were ^(CT)faint. ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ They struck down the Philistines that day from ^(CU)Michmash to ^(CV)Aijalon. And the people were very ^(CW)faint. ³² The people ^(CX)pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them ^(CY)with the blood. ³³ Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating ^(CZ)with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.”^{[u] 34} And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there. ³⁵ And Saul ^(DA)built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But ^(DB)the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” ^(DC)But he did not answer him that day. ³⁸ And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. ³⁹ For ^(DD)as the Lord lives who saves Israel, ^(DE)though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” ⁴¹ Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.”^{[v] (DF)}And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴² Then Saul said, ^(DG)“Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^(DH)“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, ^(DI)“I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” ⁴⁴ And Saul said, ^(DJ)“God do so to me and more also; ^(DK)you shall surely die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! ^(DL)As the Lord lives, ^(DM)there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul Fights Israel's Enemies

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^(DN)against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of ^(DO)Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. ⁴⁸ And he did valiantly ^(DP)and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

^49 (DQ)Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was ^(DR)Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. ^(DS)And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, ^(DT)Saul's uncle. ^51 (DU)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of ^(DV)Abiel.

⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, ^(DW)he attached him to himself.