1 Samuel 14

²He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.

¹After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.

²And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house.

¹⁹and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

⁵Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.

²⁵How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

²⁶I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

⁴“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

¹⁵Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.

¹⁶Now Saul and Jonathan his son and the troops with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash.

²⁸Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.

²⁹They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.

²⁸And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.

²¹And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.

²⁰But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.

⁹But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.

¹⁰Ahimelech inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

²⁶Make two more gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod.

²⁷Make two additional gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on its front, near its seam just above its woven waistband.

²³And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

⁶So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.

¹¹Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

³⁰How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

⁴Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

⁵So Gideon brought the men down to the water, and the Lord said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”

³And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁷When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

²³This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

⁷The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

⁹That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.

¹⁰But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah

³⁶Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,

³⁷then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

¹³Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.

¹⁴Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁴Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹¹and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.

⁷When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

³⁶Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,

¹¹“Ask for a sign from the Lord your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”

¹²But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the Lord.”

⁶Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

²²When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined the battle in close pursuit.

²and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

²⁴As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the Lord has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

⁴³“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

¹⁴Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the Lord gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.

¹⁴Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.

¹⁵So they got up and were counted off—twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.

²⁶Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord,

²⁷saying, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

³⁴quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

¹⁰One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as He promised.

⁷You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.

⁸Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

¹⁷And raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three divisions. One headed toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,

⁵As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

⁶For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”

⁷Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

²⁴As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the Lord has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

²¹Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.

²⁰Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.

²As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

⁷May they vanish like water that runs off; when they draw the bow, may their arrows be blunted.

²“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

²²And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the Lord set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

²²The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.

²³The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

¹⁸The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the Lord replied.

²⁷And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,

²⁸and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The Lord answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

³When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”

⁴So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

¹Then the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the Lord and took it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to guard the ark of the Lord.

²³They went up and wept before the Lord until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the Lord answered, “Go up against them.”

²⁴Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had passed out of the city.

²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

²⁴Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

¹³Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.

¹⁴Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not seek the counsel of the Lord.

¹¹“What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,

¹⁶So this is what the Lord God says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

²²And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the Lord set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

²³The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

¹⁶Now when Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin looked and saw the troops melting away and scattering in every direction,

¹⁹By the wrath of the Lord of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.

²⁰They carve out what is on the right, but they are still hungry; they eat what is on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.

⁴But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men?

²³Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.

⁶Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

⁷When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

³⁰That day the Lord saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.

⁵Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

⁶For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.

⁷For You save us from our enemies; You put those who hate us to shame.

⁷Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the Lord their God.”

²⁷and since the Lord had said that He would not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

¹⁸Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.

²⁶At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”

²For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!

²“When the princes take the lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, bless the Lord.

⁴⁷the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”

²So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.

²⁸Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’

²⁷And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!

⁸I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

⁴John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan.

²It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

¹²a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights.

²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

⁴³“Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?”

²⁹“My father has brought trouble to the land,” Jonathan replied. “Just look at how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

⁴³“Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?”

²⁴Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

¹⁸“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

²⁵“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the Lord will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

¹²On the day that the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”

⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,

¹⁹So why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

¹⁷This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”

¹⁶but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

¹⁰If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.

¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

⁴But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.

²⁶You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.

¹⁷Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the Lord.

¹²Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

⁴The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁹Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.

¹⁴Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.

²⁸But as for me, it is good to draw near to God. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may proclaim all Your works.

¹“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—

²who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the Lord of Hosts is His name.

⁷For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

¹¹The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

⁸Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

⁶He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

⁵But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the Lord.”

⁹When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”

¹⁰And David said, “O Lord, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account.

²³So David inquired of the Lord, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

⁴Once again, David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

⁷Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,

⁸and David inquired of the Lord: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the Lord replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”

¹⁷I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.

¹¹Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.

⁴The cornerstone will come from Judah, the tent peg from him, as well as the battle bow and every ruler together.

¹⁴In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the Lord selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the Lord selects shall come forward man by man.

¹⁵The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord and committed an outrage in Israel.’”

⁹The nobles of the nations have assembled as the people of the God of Abraham; for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.

³But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better now if you support us from the city.”

⁴⁴And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”

⁵David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

²⁴Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

¹⁶But the king replied, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!”

²It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”

³⁶And Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until dawn, leaving no man alive!” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied. But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”

¹⁵The king’s servants replied, “Whatever our lord the king decides, we are your servants.”

⁷His armor-bearer replied, “Do all that is in your heart. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”

²⁴And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

¹⁶So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.

¹⁷He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward, and the family of Zabdi was selected.

²⁰Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.

²¹Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

⁷“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

³³The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

¹⁹So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

²⁷Jonathan, however, had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath. So he reached out the end of the staff in his hand, dipped it into the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.

⁷“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

⁸“Tell us now,” they demanded, “who is to blame for this calamity that is upon us? What is your occupation, and where have you come from? What is your country, and who are your people?”

³⁹As surely as the Lord who saves Israel lives, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must die!” But not one of the troops said a word.

¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

²²May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one male belonging to Nabal survive until morning.”

¹⁶If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.

⁵David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

²⁴About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

³⁴So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”

¹¹“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the Lord your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

¹⁸Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.

⁵²And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”

³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

¹As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

⁶When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁵²And the war with the Philistines was fierce for all the days of Saul. So whenever he noticed any strong or brave man, Saul would enlist him.

²⁷and since the Lord had said that He would not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

¹Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

²But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.”

¹Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.

³David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.

¹⁹When the Lord your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

³Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

³³Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

²The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

²⁰When David returned home to bless his own household, Saul’s daughter Michal came out to meet him. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today!” she said. “He has uncovered himself today in the sight of the maidservants of his subjects, like a vulgar person would do.”

²¹But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the Lord,

³⁹Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

⁴⁴But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

⁷And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

⁸And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?”

⁸Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,

⁵⁵As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”

²⁷When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.

¹Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

²¹Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”

¹¹He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots.

¹When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.