1 Samuel 17-20

I Samuel 17

¹Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

²And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

³And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

⁴And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

⁵And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.

⁷And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.

⁸And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

⁹If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

¹⁰And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

¹¹And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

¹²Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man was an old man in the days of Saul, stricken in years among men.

¹³And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

¹⁴And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

¹⁵Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Beth-lehem.

¹⁶And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

¹⁷And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;

¹⁸and bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

¹⁹Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the vale of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.

²¹And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

²²And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

²³And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

²⁴And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

²⁵And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.

²⁶And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

²⁷And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

²⁸And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

²⁹And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

³⁰And he turned away from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

³¹And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him.

³²And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

³³And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

³⁴And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock,

³⁵I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

³⁶Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

³⁷And David said, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD shall be with thee.

³⁸And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

³⁹And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

⁴⁰And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

⁴¹And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

⁴²And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance.

⁴³And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

⁴⁵Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which thou hast defied.

⁴⁶This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from off thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel:

⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hand.

⁴⁸And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

⁴⁹And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

⁵¹Then David ran, and stood over 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 that their champion was dead, they fled.

⁵²And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to Gai, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.

⁵³And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their camp.

⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

⁵⁵And 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 said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

⁵⁶And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.

⁵⁷And 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.

⁵⁸And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.

I Samuel 18

¹And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

²And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.

³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

⁴And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

⁵And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

⁶And it came to pass as they came, when David 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 timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music.

⁷And the women sang one to another in their play, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

⁸And Saul was very wroth, and this 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?

⁹And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

¹⁰And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day: and Saul had his spear in his hand.

¹¹and Saul cast the spear; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

¹²And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

¹³Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

¹⁴And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.

¹⁵And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him.

¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me. and fight the LORD’S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

¹⁸And 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?

¹⁹But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul’s daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.

²⁰And Michal Saul’s daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

²¹And 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 a second time.

²²And 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.

²³And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of 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?

²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.

²⁵And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

²⁶And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son in law. And the days were not expired;

²⁷and David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king’s son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

²⁸And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David; and Michal Saul’s daughter loved him.

²⁹And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, as often as they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.

I Samuel 19

¹And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David.

²And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:

³and 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 if I see aught, I will tell thee.

⁴And 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:

⁵for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great victory for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?

⁶And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be put to death.

⁷And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.

⁸And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.

⁹And an evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David played with his hand.

¹⁰And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

¹¹And Saul 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, tomorrow thou shalt be slain.

¹²So Michal let David down through the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped;

¹³And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.

¹⁴And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

¹⁵And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

¹⁶And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof.

¹⁷And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

¹⁸Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

¹⁹And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

²⁰And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied;

²¹And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.

²²Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

²³And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

²⁴And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

I Samuel 20

¹And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?

²And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.

³And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father knoweth well 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.

⁴Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.

⁵And 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.

⁶If thy father miss me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city: for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.

⁷If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him.

⁸Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?

⁹And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?

¹⁰Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly?

¹¹And Jonathan said unto David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

¹²And Jonathan said unto David, The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness; when I have sounded my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee?

¹³The LORD do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

¹⁴And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:

¹⁵but 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.

¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And the LORD shall require it at the hand of David’s enemies.

¹⁷And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said unto him, Tomorrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

¹⁹And when thou hast stayed three days, 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.

²⁰And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.

²¹And, behold, I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee: take them, and come; for there is peace to thee and no hurt, as the LORD liveth.

²²But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee: go thy way; for the LORD hath sent thee away.

²³And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD is between thee and me for ever.

²⁴So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.

²⁵And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul’s side: but David’s place was empty.

²⁶Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

²⁷And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon, which was the second day, 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 today?

²⁸And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem:

²⁹and 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 is not come unto the king’s table.

³⁰Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame of thy mother’s nakedness?

³¹For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be stablished, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.

³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore should he be put to death? what hath he done?

³³And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death.

³⁴So 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.

³⁵And 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.

³⁶And he said unto his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

³⁷And 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?

³⁸And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

³⁹But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.

⁴¹And 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.

⁴²And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD shall 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.