1 Samuel 29–31

1Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek; and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.

2The lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rear with Achish.

3Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years? I have found no fault in him since he fell away until today.”

4But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For with what should this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?

5Isn’t this David, of whom people sang to one another in dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”

6Then Achish called David and said to him, “As Yahweh lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight; for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords don’t favor you.

7Therefore now return, and go in peace, that you not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant so long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9Achish answered David, “I know that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God. Notwithstanding, the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’

10Therefore now rise up early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you; and as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

11So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines; and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1When David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the South and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire,

2and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They didn’t kill any, but carried them off and went their way.

3When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters were taken captive.

4Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep.

5David’s two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

6David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

7David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “If I pursue after this troop, will I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and will without fail recover all.”

9So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.

10But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they couldn’t go over the brook Besor.

11They found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they gave him water to drink.

12They gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, and drank no water for three days and three nights.

13David asked him, “To whom do you belong? Where are you from?” He said, “I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I got sick.

14We made a raid on the South of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”

15David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this troop?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and not deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop.”

16When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread around over all the ground, eating, drinking, and dancing, because of all the great plunder that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

17David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

18David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.

19There was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither plunder, nor anything that they had taken. David brought them all back.

20David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s plunder.”

21David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to stay at the brook Besor; and they went out to meet David, and to meet the people who were with him. When David came near to the people, he greeted them.

22Then all the wicked men and worthless fellows of those who went with David answered and said, “Because they didn’t go with us, we will not give them anything of the plunder that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away and depart.”

23Then David said, “Do not do so, my brothers, with that which Yahweh has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.

24Who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays with the baggage. They shall share alike.”

25It was so from that day forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

26When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, “Behold, a present for you from the plunder of Yahweh’s enemies.”

27He sent it to those who were in Bethel, to those who were in Ramoth of the South, to those who were in Jattir,

28to those who were in Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in Eshtemoa,

29to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,

30to those who were in Hormah, to those who were in Borashan, to those who were in Athach,

31to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men used to stay.

1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.

2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

3The battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.

4Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me!” But his armor bearer would not, for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell on it.

5When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died with him.

6So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men that same day together.

7When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.

8On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to the house of their idols and to the people.

10They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

11When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12all the valiant men arose, went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

13They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.