1 Samuel 13
New American Standard Bible
War with the Philistines
13 Saul was [a]thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for [b]forty-two years over Israel.
2 Now Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom two thousand were with Saul in (A)Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while a thousand were with Jonathan at (B)Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent the rest of the people away, each to his tent. 3 And Jonathan attacked (C)the garrison of the Philistines that was in (D)Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul (E)blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 And all Israel heard [c]the news that Saul had attacked the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel (F)had become repulsive to the Philistines. Then the people were summoned [d]to Saul at Gilgal.
5 Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and (G)people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of (H)Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard-pressed), then (I)the people kept themselves hidden in caves, in crevices, in cliffs, in crypts, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of (J)Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.
8 Now (K)he waited for seven days, until the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And (L)he offered the burnt offering. 10 But as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and (M)Saul went out to meet him and to [e]greet him. 11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Since I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come at the appointed [f]time, and that (N)the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 12 I [g]thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not [h]asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I worked up the courage and offered the burnt offering.” 13 But Samuel said to Saul, “(O)You have acted foolishly! (P)You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for the Lord would now have established your kingdom [i]over Israel (Q)forever. 14 But (R)now your kingdom shall not endure. (S)The Lord has sought for Himself a man [j]after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to (T)Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul [k]counted the people who were [l]present with him, (U)about six hundred men. 16 Now Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were [m]present with them were staying in (V)Geba of Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. 17 Then (W)[n]raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three [o]companies: one [p]company turned [q]toward (X)Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 and another [r]company turned [s]toward (Y)Beth-horon, and another [t]company turned [u]toward the border that overlooks the Valley of (Z)Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now (AA)no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make [v](AB)swords or spears.” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. 21 The charge was [w]two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the [x]cattle goads. 22 So it came about on the day of battle that (AC)neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. 23 And (AD)the garrison of the Philistines went out to (AE)the gorge of Michmash.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 13:1 As in some LXX mss, but very uncertain; MT one year old
- 1 Samuel 13:1 See Acts 13:21; Heb two years
- 1 Samuel 13:4 Lit saying
- 1 Samuel 13:4 Lit after
- 1 Samuel 13:10 Lit bless
- 1 Samuel 13:11 Lit time of days
- 1 Samuel 13:12 Lit said
- 1 Samuel 13:12 Or appeased
- 1 Samuel 13:13 Lit to
- 1 Samuel 13:14 Lit like His
- 1 Samuel 13:15 Lit mustered
- 1 Samuel 13:15 Lit found
- 1 Samuel 13:16 Lit found
- 1 Samuel 13:17 Lit destroyers
- 1 Samuel 13:17 Lit heads
- 1 Samuel 13:17 Lit head
- 1 Samuel 13:17 Lit to the way of
- 1 Samuel 13:18 Lit head
- 1 Samuel 13:18 Lit the way of
- 1 Samuel 13:18 Lit head
- 1 Samuel 13:18 Lit the way of
- 1 Samuel 13:19 Lit sword or spear
- 1 Samuel 13:21 Heb pim
- 1 Samuel 13:21 I.e., spiked sticks for driving cattle
1 Samuel 13
King James Version
13 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.
15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
1 Samuel 13
Living Bible
13 By this time Saul had reigned for one year.[a] In the second year of his reign, 2 he selected three thousand special troops and took two thousand of them with him to Michmash and Mount Bethel while the other thousand remained with Jonathan, Saul’s son, in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The rest of the army was sent home. 3-4 Then Jonathan attacked and destroyed the garrison of the Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly throughout the land of the Philistines, and Saul sounded the call to arms throughout Israel. He announced that he had destroyed the Philistine garrison and warned his men that the army of Israel stank to high heaven as far as the Philistines were concerned. So the entire Israeli army mobilized again and joined at Gilgal. 5 The Philistines recruited a mighty army of three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and so many soldiers that they were as thick as sand along the seashore; and they camped at Michmash east of Beth-aven.
6 When the men of Israel saw the vast mass of enemy troops, they lost their nerve entirely and tried to hide in caves, thickets, coverts, among the rocks, and even in tombs and cisterns. 7 Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped to the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and those who were with him trembled with fear at what awaited them. 8 Samuel had told Saul earlier to wait seven days for his arrival, but when he still didn’t come, and Saul’s troops were rapidly slipping away, 9 he decided to sacrifice the burnt offering and the peace offerings himself. 10 But just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and to receive his blessing, 11 but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
“Well,” Saul replied, “when I saw that my men were scattering from me, and that you hadn’t arrived by the time you said you would, and that the Philistines were at Michmash, ready for battle, 12 I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I reluctantly offered the burnt offering without waiting for you to arrive.”
13 “You fool!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have disobeyed the commandment of the Lord your God. He was planning to make you and your descendants kings of Israel forever, 14 but now your dynasty must end; for the Lord wants a man who will obey him. And he has discovered the man he wants and has already appointed him as king over his people; for you have not obeyed the Lord’s commandment.”
15 Samuel then left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
When Saul counted the soldiers who were still with him, he found only six hundred left! 16 Saul and Jonathan and these six hundred men set up their camp in Geba in the land of Benjamin; but the Philistines stayed at Michmash. 17 Three companies of raiders soon left the camp of the Philistines; one went toward Ophrah in the land of Shual, 18 another went to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the desert.
19 There were no blacksmiths at all in the land of Israel in those days, for the Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear of their making swords and spears for the Hebrews. 20 So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, discs, axes, or sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith. 21 The schedule of charges was as follows:
For sharpening a plow point, 60¢
For sharpening a disc, 60¢
For sharpening an ax, 30¢
For sharpening a sickle, 30¢
For sharpening an ox goad, 30¢
22 So there was not a single sword or spear in the entire “army” of Israel that day, except for Saul’s and Jonathan’s. 23 The mountain pass at Michmash had meanwhile been secured by a contingent of the Philistine army.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 13:1 Saul had reigned for one year. The Hebrew, from which the numbers have evidently dropped out in copying, reads: “Saul was . . . years old when he began to reign, and he reigned . . . and two years over Israel.”
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