War with the Amalekites

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to choose you to be king over His people Israel. Now listen to the Words of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord of All says. ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel in standing against them on the way, when they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go and destroy Amalek. Destroy all they have, and do not let them live. Kill both man and woman, child and baby, cattle and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ So Saul called the people together and numbered them in Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. ⁵ Saul came to the city of Amalek and hid, waiting in the valley. ⁶ Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, leave the Amalekites, or I might destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites left the Amalekites. ⁷ Then Saul destroyed the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, east of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and destroyed all the people with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people did not kill Agag and the best of the sheep, the cattle, the fat animals ready to be killed, the lambs, and all that was good. They would not destroy them. But they destroyed everything that was hated and was of no worth.

Saul Is No Longer King

¹⁰ The Word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “I am sorry that I have made Saul king. For he has turned away from following Me. He has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel was much troubled in his heart. He cried out to the Lord all night. ¹² When Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, he was told, “Saul came to Carmel and set up a stone in his honor. Then he turned and went down to Gilgal.” ¹³ Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “May the Lord bring good to you. I have done what the Lord told me to do.” ¹⁴ But Samuel said, “Then why do I hear the sounds of sheep and cattle?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people saved the best of the sheep and cattle to give to the Lord your God. But we have destroyed all the rest.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And Saul said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Is it not true that even when you were not important in your own eyes, you were made the head of the families of Israel? The Lord chose you to be king over Israel. ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you to go and destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are no more. ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? You rushed upon what was left after the battle and did what was sinful in the Lord’s eyes.”

²⁰ Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord. I went where the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek. And I have destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took some of their things that were left. They took sheep and cattle and the best of the things to be destroyed, to give to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” ²² Samuel said, “Is the Lord pleased as much with burnt gifts as He is when He is obeyed? See, it is better to obey than to give gifts. It is better to listen than to give the fat of rams. ²³ To go against what you are told is like the sin of witchcraft. Not to obey is like the sin of worshiping false gods. You have turned away from the Word of the Lord. So He has turned away from you being king.”

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I have sinned against the Word of the Lord and your words, because I was afraid of the people and listened to them. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” ²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have turned away from the Word of the Lord. And the Lord has turned away from you being king over Israel.” ²⁷ As Samuel turned to go, Saul took hold of part of his clothing, and it tore. ²⁸ So Samuel said to him, “Today the Lord has torn the rule of Israel away from you. He has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. ²⁹ And the shining greatness of Israel will not lie or change His mind. For He is not a man that He should change His mind.” ³⁰ Saul said, “I have sinned. But I beg you, honor me now in front of the leaders of my people and in front of Israel. Return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel returned with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” Agag was happy when he came to him. Agag said, “For sure the bad feelings of death are past.” ³³ But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the children of women, so will your mother have no children.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death. But Samuel was filled with sorrow because of Saul. And the Lord was sorry that He had made Saul king over Israel.

David Becomes King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you be filled with sorrow because of Saul, since I have turned away from him being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehem. For I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will kill me when he hears about it.” The Lord said, “Take a young cow with you, and say, ‘I have come to give a gift to the Lord.’ ³ Ask Jesse to come when you give the gift, and I will show you what you should do. You will choose for Me the one I name to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem. The leaders of the city came shaking with fear to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?” ⁵ Samuel said, “I have come in peace to give a gift to the Lord. Make yourselves holy and come with me as I give the gift.” He set apart Jesse and his sons also, and asked them to come to the gift-giving. ⁶ When they had come, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “For sure he is the Lord’s chosen one who is standing before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at the way he looks on the outside or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. For the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one.” ⁹ Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse made seven of his sons pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And Jesse said, “There is yet the youngest one. See, he is taking care of the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him. We will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹² So he sent for him and brought him in. His youngest son had good color in his skin, beautiful eyes and was good-looking. The Lord said, “Rise up and choose him. For this is the one.” ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and poured the oil on him in front of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David with strength from that day on. And Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

Saul’s Spirit Is Troubled

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord left Saul. And a bad spirit sent from the Lord brought trouble upon him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants said to him, “See, a bad spirit from God is bringing you trouble. ¹⁶ Let our lord now tell your servants who are in front of you to look for a man who is a good player of the harp. When the bad spirit sent from God is upon you, he will play the harp, and you will be well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Find me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ One of the young men said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who plays music well. He is a man with strength of heart, a man of war, wise in his speaking, and good-looking. And the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent men with news to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a bottle of wine, and a young goat, and sent them to Saul with David his son. ²¹ David came to Saul and served him. Saul loved him very much, and he became the man who carried Saul’s battle-clothes. ²² Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David serve me, for he has found favor in my eyes.” ²³ When the bad spirit sent from God came upon Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand. And Saul would receive new strength and be well. The bad spirit would leave him.

David and Goliath

17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. They were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah. They set up their tents between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. ² Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and set up their tents in the valley of Elah. They came up dressed for battle to fight against the Philistines. ³ The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. ⁴ Then a strong fighter came out from the armies of the Philistines. His name was Goliath, from Gath. He was almost twice as tall as most men. ⁵ He had a head covering of brass, and wore brass battle-clothes that weighed as much as 5,000 silver pieces. ⁶ He wore brass leg-coverings, and had a brass spear on his shoulders. ⁷ The long part of his spear was like a cross-piece used on a cloth-maker. The iron head of his spear weighed as much as 600 pieces of silver. A man walked before him to carry his shield. ⁸ Goliath stood and called out to the army of Israel, saying, “Why have you come out dressed for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. ⁹ If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I fight him and kill him, then you must become our servants and work for us.” ¹⁰ Again the Philistine said, “I stand against the army of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” ¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were troubled and very afraid.

¹² Now David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and was old in the days of Saul. He had lived many years. ¹³ Jesse’s three older sons had followed Saul to the battle. Their names were Eliab the first-born, next Abinadab, and third Shammah. ¹⁴ David was the youngest. The three oldest sons followed Saul. ¹⁵ But David went to and from Saul, to take care of his father’s flock at Bethlehem. ¹⁶ The Philistine came out and showed himself morning and evening for forty days.

¹⁷ Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers a basket of this baked grain and these ten loaves. Hurry and carry them to your brothers among the army. ¹⁸ And take these ten pieces of cheese to the leader of the thousand man group who is with them. See how your brothers are doing, and bring me news of them. ¹⁹ Saul and your brothers and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

²⁰ So David got up early in the morning and left the flock in the care of a shepherd. He took the food and went, as Jesse had told him. And he came to the tents as the army was going out dressed for battle, calling out the war cry. ²¹ Israel and the Philistines came near each other dressed for battle, army against army. ²² David left the things with the man to take care of them. He ran to the army, and went to meet with his brothers. ²³ As he talked with them, Goliath the Philistine from Gath came out of the army of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. ²⁴ When all the men of Israel saw the man, they ran away from him and were very much afraid. ²⁵ The men of Israel said, “Have you seen the man who has come out? He has come out to stand against Israel. The king will make the man who kills him rich. And he will give him his daughter, and make his father’s family free from paying taxes in Israel.” ²⁶ Then David said to the men standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away Israel’s shame? For who is this Philistine who has not gone through the religious act of the Jews? Who is he, that he should make fun of the armies of the living God?” ²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

²⁸ His oldest brother Eliab heard what he said to the men. He became very angry with David and said, “Why have you come here? With whom have you left those few sheep in the desert? I know of your pride and the sin of your heart. You have come to see the battle.” ²⁹ But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a question?” ³⁰ Then David turned away from him to another and asked the same question. And the people gave him the same answer.

³¹ When David’s words were heard, they were told to Saul, and Saul sent for him. ³² David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart become weak because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ Saul said to David, “You are not able to go and fight against this Philistine. You are only a young man, while he has been a man of war since he was young.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant was taking care of his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after him and fought him and saved it from his mouth. When he came against me, I took hold of him by the hair of his head and hit him and killed him. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. And this Philistine who has not gone through our religious act will be like one of them. For he has made fun of the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, “The Lord Who saved me from the foot of the lion and from the foot of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸ Then Saul dressed David with his clothes. He put a brass head covering on his head, and dressed him with heavy battle-clothes. ³⁹ David put on his sword over his heavy battle-clothes and tried to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I am not used to them.” And David took them off. ⁴⁰ He took his stick in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the river. He put them in his shepherd’s bag. His sling was in his hand, and he went to the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came near to David, with the man carrying his shield in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he thought nothing of him. For he was only a young man, with good color in his skin, and good-looking. ⁴³ The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine spoke against David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me. I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the animals of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and spears. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of All, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have stood against. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will give you into my hands. I will knock you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth. Then all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All these people gathered here may know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” ⁴⁸ Then the Philistine rose up and came to meet David. And David rushed to the center of the valley to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ David put his hand into his bag, took out a stone and threw it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone went into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ So David won the fight against the Philistine with a sling and a stone. He hit the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in David’s hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine. He took his sword out of its holder and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their strong soldier was dead, they ran away. ⁵² The men of Israel and Judah rose up and called out and went after the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The dead Philistines lay on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ Then the Israelites returned from following the Philistines and took what had belonged to them among their tents. ⁵⁴ David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem. But he put his battle-clothes in his tent.

⁵⁵ When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the head of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” ⁵⁶ The king said, “Find out whose son the young man is.” ⁵⁷ So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. ⁵⁸ Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”