and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the
hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and
took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him,
and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their
champion was dead, they fled.
And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the
Philistines; and the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way
even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel returned
from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem,
but he put his armour in his tent.
Now when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto
Abner, the captain of the host, "Abner, whose son is this youth?"
And Abner answered, "As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell."
And the king said, "Inquire thou whose son the stripling is."
And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took
him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his
hand.
And Saul said to him, "Whose son art thou, thou young man?"
And David answered, "I am the son of thy servant Jesse the
Bethlehemite."
And Saul took him that day and would let him go no more to his father's
house. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him and behaved
himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was
accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of
Saul's servants.
DAVID AND SAUL AND JONATHAN
Now Saul, king of Israel, had a son Jonathan whom he dearly loved, a
brave warrior and a noble man.
When David, returning from his victory over Goliath, told the story of
his fight, Jonathan stood by, a listener.
And when David had made an end of speaking, the soul of Jonathan was
knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
And it came to pass, when David was returned from the slaughter of the
Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel,
singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and
with instruments of music.
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, "Saul hath
slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands."
And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said,
"They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have
ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?"
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was
departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him
his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the
people.
And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with
him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he
was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he
went out and came in before them.
And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and the
thing pleased him.
Saul said, "I will give him her that she may be a snare to him and that
the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Wherefore Saul said to
David, "Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law."
And David said unto Saul, "Who am I? and what is my life, or my
father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?"
And Saul commanded his servants, saying, "Commune with David secretly,
and say, 'Behold the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants
love thee; now, therefore, be the king's son-in-law.'"
Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David.
[Illustration: SAUL SOUGHT TO SMITE DAVID]
And David said, "Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king's son-
in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?"
And the servants of Saul told him what David had said, saying, "On this
manner spake David."
And Saul said, "Thus shall ye say to David, 'The king desireth no dowry
but the slaughter of an hundred Philistines, to be avenged upon the
king's enemies.'"
But Saul thought to make David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
And when the servants told David these words it pleased David well to
be the king's son-in-law. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his
men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men.
And David came and told Saul, and Saul gave him his daughter Michal to
wife.
And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal,
Saul's daughter, loved him.
And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's
enemy continually.
Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass,
after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all
the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they
should kill David.
But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David: and Jonathan told
David, saying, "Saul my father seeketh to kill thee; now therefore, I
pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a
secret place, and hide thyself. And I will go out and stand beside my
father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father
of thee; and what I see I will tell thee."
And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto
him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because
he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to
thee-ward very good. For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the
Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou
sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against
innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?"
And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, "As the
Lord liveth, he shall not be slain."
And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things.
And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in
times past.
And there was war again: and David went out and fought with the
Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from
him.
And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house
with his javelin in his hand; and David played with his hand.
And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but
he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into
the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
Saul also sent messengers, unto David's house, to watch him, and to
slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying,
"If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain."
So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and
escaped.
And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of
goat's hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
And when Saul sent messengers to take David, he said, "He is sick."
And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, "Bring him up
to me in the bed, that I may slay him."
And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the
bed, with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster.
And Saul said unto Michal, "Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away
mine enemy, that he is escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said
unto me, 'Let me go; why should I kill thee?'"
So David fled and escaped and went and dwelt with Naioth, whither
Saul's messengers came to slay him.
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan,
"What have I done? What is my iniquity? and what is my sin before thy
father, that he seeketh my life?"
And he said unto him, "God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my
father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it
me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so."
And David sware moreover, and said, "Thy father certainly knoweth that
I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, 'Let not Jonathan know
this, lest he be grieved:' but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death."
Then said Jonathan unto David, "Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will
even do it for thee."
And David said unto Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I
should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may
hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
"If thy father at all miss me, then say, 'David earnestly asked leave
of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly
sacrifice there for all the family.'
"If he say thus, 'It is well;' thy servant shall have peace: and if he
be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
"Therefore, thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast
brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee:
notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why
shouldest thou bring me to thy father?"
And Jonathan said, "Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that
evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not
tell it thee?"
Then said David to Jonathan, "Who shall tell me? or what if thy father
answer thee roughly?"
And Jonathan said unto David, "Come, and let us go out into the field."
And they went out both of them into the field.
And Jonathan said unto David, "O Lord God of Israel, when I have
sounded my father about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and,
behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee,
and shew it thee; the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it
please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send
thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the Lord be with thee, as
he hath been with my father.
"And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the
Lord, that I die not; but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from
my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of
David every one from the face of the earth."
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "Let the
Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies." And Jonathan
caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as
he loved his own soul.
Then Jonathan said to David, "To-morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt
be missed, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed
three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place
where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt
remain by the stone Ezel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side
thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
"And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, 'Go, find out the arrows.' If
I expressly say unto the lad, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of
thee; take them;' then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no
hurt; as the Lord liveth.
"But if I say thus unto the young man, 'Behold, the arrows are beyond
thee,' go thy way: for the Lord hath sent thee away.
"And as for this matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the
Lord be between thee and me for ever."
So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the
king sat him down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at
other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and
Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought,
"Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean."
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the
month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his
son, "Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday,
nor to-day?"
And Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to
Bethlehem: and he said, 'Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a
sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be
there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away,
I pray thee, and see my brethren.' Therefore he cometh not unto the
king's table."
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him,
"Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou
hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion? For as long as the
son of Jesse liveth upon the ground thou shalt not be established, nor
thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall
surely die."
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, "Wherefore
shall he be slain? what hath he done?"
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that
it was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from
the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the
month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him
shame.
And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the
field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. And
he said unto his lad, "Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot." And
as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come
to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after
the lad, and said, "Is not the arrow beyond thee?"
[Illustration: JONATHAN SHOOTS THE ARROWS]
And Jonathan cried after the lad, "Make speed, haste, stay not." And
Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. But the
lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, "Go,
carry them to the city."
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the
south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three
times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until
David exceeded.
And Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn
both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord be between me and
thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.'"
And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a
mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but
God delivered him not into his hand.
And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in
the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.
And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into the wood, and
strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, "Fear not: for the
hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over
Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father
knoweth."
And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the
wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of Israel, and went to
seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to
the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover
his feet: and David and his men were hidden in the sides of the cave.
And the men of David said unto him, "Behold the day of which the Lord
said unto thee, 'Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand,
that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.'" Then
David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he
had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, "The Lord forbid
that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, *
stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the
Lord."
So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to
rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his
way.
David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after
Saul, saying, "My lord the king."
And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the
earth, and bowed himself; and said, "Wherefore hearest thou men's
words, saying, 'Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?'
"Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered
thee into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine
eye spared thee; and I said, 'I will not put forth mine hand against my
lord; for he is the Lord's anointed.'
"Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand:
for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know
thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand,
and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take
it.
"The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee:
but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the
ancients, 'Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall
not be upon thee.'
"After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou
pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
"The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see,
and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand."
And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these
words unto Saul, that Saul said, "Is this thy voice, my son David?" And
Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David, "Thou art
more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have
rewarded thee evil.
"And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me:
forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou
killedst me not.
"For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore
the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
"And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that
the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.
"Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my
seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my
father's house."
And David sware unto Saul, and Saul went home.
And it came to pass after many days that the Philistines gathered their
armies together for warfare to fight with Israel, and they pitched in
Shunem.
[Illustration: DAVID AND JONATHAN]
And Saul gathered all Israel together and they pitched in Gilboa.
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his
heart greatly trembled. And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord
answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by prophets.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel and the men of Israel fled
from before the Philistines and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And
the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons, and they
slew Jonathan and two other sons of Saul. And the battle went sore
against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the
archers.
Then said Saul unto his armour-bearer, "Draw thy sword, and thrust me
through therewith; lest these Philistines come and thrust me through,
and abuse me."
But his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul
took a sword, and fell upon it.
And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise
upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons,
and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip
the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount
Gilboa.
And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into
the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of
their idols, and among the people.
Now it came to pass on the third day after the death of Saul that,
behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and
earth upon his head: and he came before David and fell to the earth and
did obeisance.
And David said unto him, "From whence comest thou?"
And he said unto him, "Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped."
And David said unto him, "How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me."
And he answered, "The people are fled from the battle, and many of the
people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead
also."
And David said unto the young man that told him, "How knowest thou that
Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?"
And the young man that told him said, "As I happened by chance upon
mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots
and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he
saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, 'Here am I.'
"And he said unto me, 'Who art thou?'
"And I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'
"He said unto me again, 'Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for
anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.'
"So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could
not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon
his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them
hither unto my lord."
Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all
the men that were with him: and they mourned and wept, and fasted until
even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the
Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the
sword.
And David said unto the young man that told him, "Whence art thou?"
And he answered, "I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite."
And David said unto him, "How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth
thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?"
And David called one of the young men and said, "Go near, and fall upon
him." And he smote him that he died.
And David said unto him, "Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth
hath testified against thee saying, 'I have slain the Lord's anointed.'"
And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan
his son:
"The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty
fallen!
"Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be
rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the
mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not
been anointed with oil.
"From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of
Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
"Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in
their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they
were stronger than lions.
"Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet,
with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou
wast slain in thine high places.
"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou
been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
"How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"
DAVID THE KING
I
Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron and spake,
saying, "Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when
Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in
Israel: and the Lord said to thee, 'Thou shalt feed my people Israel,
and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.'"
So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David
made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed
David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned over
Israel and Judah thirty and three years, and he had already reigned
over Judah seven years and six months.
But when the Philistines heard that they bad anointed David king over
Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of
it, and went down to the hold.
The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of
Rephaim.
And David enquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go up to the
Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand?" And the Lord said
unto David, "Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into
thine hand."
And David smote the Philistines and said, "The Lord hath broken forth
upon mine enemies, as the breach of waters."
And there the Philistines left their images and David and his men
burned them.
And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the
valley of Rephaim.
And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, "Thou shalt not go up;
but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the
mulberry trees. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going
in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself;
for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the
Philistines."
And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the
Philistines from Geba until they came to Gazer.
After David had conquered the Philistines he called unto him a servant
of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and said, "Is there not yet
any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto
him?"
And Ziba said unto the king, "Jonathan hath yet a son who is lame on
his feet."
The king said unto him, "Where is he?".