What the Bible Says About the Meaning of the Name Saul

Scripture

¹ There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.
² He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”
⁴ And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
⁵ And when they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”
⁶ But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”
⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
⁸ The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.”
⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.)
¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
¹² They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.
¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.”
¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel:
¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”
¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”
¹⁸ As Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me, where is the house of the seer?”
¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.
²⁰ As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?”
²¹ And Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
²² Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons.
²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’”
²⁴ So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”
²⁵ And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.
²⁶ They rose early, and at dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

1 Samuel 9:1-27

1 Samuel 10:1-27: ¹ Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
² When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”‘
³ Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.
⁴ And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.
⁵ After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.
⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
⁷ And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as occasion demands, for God is with you.
⁸ Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
⁹ When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
¹⁰ When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
¹¹ And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
¹² And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” So it became a proverb in Israel: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
¹⁴ Now Saul’s uncle said to him, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”
¹⁵ And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, what did Samuel say to you?”
¹⁶ He said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
¹⁷ Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah.
¹⁸ and he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
¹⁹ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
²⁰ Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.
²¹ And when he had brought him to his house, he gave him gifts.
²² So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
²³ They ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. So Samuel sent all the people away, every one to his home.
²⁶ Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.
²⁷ But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

1 Samuel 11:1-15: ¹ Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.”
³ And the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.”
⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
⁵ Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.
⁶ And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
⁷ And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
⁸ And he mustered them at Bezek, and the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
⁹ And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’” Then the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.
¹⁰ Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.”
¹¹ And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
¹² The people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”
¹³ But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”
¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.”
¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

1 Samuel 13:1-23: ¹³ Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,
² Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent.
³ Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.”
⁴ And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
⁵ And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.
⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns,
⁷ And some of the Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
⁸ He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him.
⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.
¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him.
¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash,
¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
¹⁵ And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.
¹⁶ Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
¹⁷ And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual,
¹⁸ And another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
¹⁹ Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.”
²⁰ but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles,
²¹ The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.
²² So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.
²³ And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

1 Samuel 14:1-52: ¹ One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
² Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron.
³ Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.”
⁴ Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
⁵ The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.
⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”
⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”
⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.
⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.
¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. This shall be the sign to us.”
¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”
¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”
¹³ And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.
¹⁴ In that first strike, when Jonathan and his armor-bearer made their attack and killed some twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land.
¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.
¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there.
¹⁷ And Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.
¹⁸ And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel.
¹⁹ And when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle.
²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.
²¹ Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle.
²³ So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.
²⁴ And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food.
²⁵ Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground.
²⁶ And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright.
²⁸ Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were faint.
²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey.
³⁰ How much more, if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found? For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”
³¹ They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint.
³² The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood.
³³ Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.”
³⁴ And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there.
³⁵ And Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.
³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”
³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.
³⁸ And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today.
³⁹ For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him.
⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
⁴¹ Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped.
⁴² Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.
⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.”
⁴⁴ And Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.”
⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die.
⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
⁴⁷ Now when Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. And wherever he turned he routed them.
⁴⁸ And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
⁴⁹ Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.
⁵⁰ And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.
⁵¹ Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to his service.

1 Samuel 15:1-35: ¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.”
² Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.
³ Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
⁴ So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.
⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
⁶ Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
⁷ And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.
⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
¹⁰ The word of the Lord came to Samuel:
¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.
¹² And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”
¹³ And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”
¹⁴ But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”
¹⁵ And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.”
¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
¹⁷ And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
²¹ But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
²² And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
²⁵ Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.
²⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
²⁷ As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
²⁸ And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
²⁹ And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”
³⁰ Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.”
³¹ So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
³² Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
³³ And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
³⁵ And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 16:1-23: ¹⁶ The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.
⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.
¹⁵ And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.
¹⁶ Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.”
¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
¹⁸ One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”
¹⁹ Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”
²⁰ And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul.
²¹ And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.
²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.”
²³ And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

1 Samuel 17:1-58: ¹⁷ Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
² And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
³ And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
⁴ And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
⁵ He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
⁶ And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
⁷ And 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.
⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
⁹ If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
¹⁰ And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”
¹¹ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
¹² Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul, the man was already old and advanced in years.
¹³ The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
¹⁴ David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul.
¹⁵ but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
¹⁶ For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
¹⁷ And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.
¹⁸ Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.
¹⁹ Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
²⁰ And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
²¹ And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
²² And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.
²³ As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
²⁴ All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
²⁵ And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
²⁶ And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
²⁸ Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
²⁹ And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”
³⁰ Then he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
³¹ When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.
³² And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
³⁵ I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.
³⁷ And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,
³⁹ Then David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.
⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
⁴¹ And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
⁴² And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
⁴³ And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
⁴⁴ The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.
⁴⁷ And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.
⁴⁸ When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.
⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
⁵² And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
⁵³ And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.
⁵⁴ Then David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
⁵⁵ As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
⁵⁶ The king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.”
⁵⁷ And as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
⁵⁸ And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

1 Samuel 18:1-30: ¹ As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
² And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.
³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.
⁴ And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
⁵ And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
⁶ As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.
⁷ And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
⁸ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?”
⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day on.
¹⁰ The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.
¹¹ And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.
¹² Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
¹³ So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.
¹⁴ And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.
¹⁵ And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.
¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
¹⁸ Then David said to 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?”
¹⁹ But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
²⁰ Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
²¹ Saul thought, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall now be my son-in-law.”
²² And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.’”
²³ And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?”
²⁴ And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.”
²⁵ Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
²⁶ And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law.
²⁷ David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife.
²⁸ Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him.
²⁹ And Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.
³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

1 Samuel 19:1-24: ¹ And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
² And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself.
³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.”
⁴ And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.
⁵ For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?”
⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.”
⁷ And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
⁸ And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him.
⁹ Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
¹⁰ And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
¹¹ Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
¹² So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
¹³ Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes.
¹⁴ And when David fled and escaped, he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.
¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.”
¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head.
¹⁷ And Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me so and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”
¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.
¹⁹ And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”
²⁰ Then 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.
²¹ And 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.
²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”
²³ And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
²⁴ And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

1 Samuel 20:1-42: ¹ Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
² he said to him, “Far be it from you! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.”
³ Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening.
⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’
⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him.
⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”
⁹ And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?”
¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?”
¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
¹² And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?
¹³ But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.
¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die;
¹⁵ but do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.
¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies.”
¹⁷ And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
¹⁹ And on the third day I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
²⁰ I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
²¹ And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.
²² But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away.
²³ And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.”
²⁴ So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.
²⁵ And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
²⁶ Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.”
²⁷ But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
²⁸ Then Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
²⁹ He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
³⁰ Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?
³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
³² And Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”
³³ But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.
³⁴ Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy.
³⁶ And he said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
³⁷ And when the boy had come to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
³⁸ And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
³⁹ But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.”
⁴¹ And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most.
⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

1 Samuel 22:1-23: ¹ David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
² And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
³ And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.”
⁴ And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
⁵ Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
⁶ Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.
⁷ And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds,
⁸ that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. And none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”
⁹ Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub,
¹⁰ And he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
¹¹ Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king.
¹² And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.”
¹³ And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?”
¹⁴ Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house?
¹⁵ Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? No! Far be it from me. Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.”
¹⁶ And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.”
¹⁷ And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord.
¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod.
¹⁹ And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey, and sheep, he put to the sword.
²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.
²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord.
²² And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house.
²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be safe.”

1 Samuel 24:1-22: ¹ When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”
² Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks.
³ And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.
⁴ And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
⁵ And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”
⁷ So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
⁸ Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage.
⁹ And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’?
¹⁰ Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
¹¹ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it.
¹² May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you.
¹⁴ After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea!
¹⁵ May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
¹⁶ As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
¹⁷ He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.
¹⁸ And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands.
¹⁹ For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.
²⁰ And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
²¹ Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.
²² And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

1 Samuel 26:1-25: ¹ Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?”
² So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
³ And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness.
⁴ David sent out spies and learned that Saul had come in very deed.
⁵ Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
⁶ Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”
⁷ So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him.
⁸ Then said Abishai to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.”
⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”
¹⁰ And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
¹¹ The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.
¹² So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.
¹³ Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them.
¹⁴ And David called out to the army and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?”
¹⁵ And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king.
¹⁶ This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”
¹⁷ The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.
¹⁸ And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands?
¹⁹ Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
²⁰ Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.
²¹ Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.”
²² And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it.
²³ The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.
²⁴ Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.
²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.

1 Samuel 28:1-25: ³ Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.
² And David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.”
³ Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.
⁴ And the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa.
⁵ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
⁶ And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”
⁸ So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”
⁹ The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
¹⁰ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.”
¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.”
¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.
¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have summoned you to tell me what I should do.”
¹⁶ And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy?
¹⁷ The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.
¹⁸ Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.
¹⁹ Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.
²⁰ Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
²¹ And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was terrified, and said to him, “Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me.
²² Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
²³ But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed.
²⁴ Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it,
²⁵ And she brought it before Saul and before his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

1 Samuel 31:1-13: ¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
³ The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.
⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.
⁶ Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.
⁸ The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
⁹ They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people.
¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
¹¹ But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
¹² all the valiant men arose and 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.
¹³ And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

Acts 7:54-60: ⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.
⁵⁵ But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.
⁵⁸ Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
⁶⁰ Then falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 8:1-3: ¹ And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
² Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.
³ But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Acts 9:1-31: ¹ But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
² and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
³ Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
⁶ But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
⁷ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
⁸ Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,
¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.
¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized.
¹⁹ and taking food, he was strengthened.
²⁰ And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
²¹ And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
²² But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
²³ When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
²⁴ but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,
²⁵ but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
²⁶ And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
²⁸ So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
²⁹ And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.
³⁰ And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
³¹ So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Acts 13:1-12: Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.
⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.
⁷ He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
⁸ But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
¹⁰ and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” So immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.
¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.