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14:1 Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto
 the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the
 Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side.  But he told not his
 father.
14:2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate
 tree which is in Migron:  and the people that were with him were
 about six hundred men;
14:3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas,
 the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod.  And the
 people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
14:4 And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the
 Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a
 sharp rock on the other side:  and the name of the one was Bozez, and the
 name of the other Seneh.
14:5 The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash,
 and the other southward over against Gibeah.
14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let
 us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised:  it may be that the
 LORD will work for us:  for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by
 many or by few.
14:7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: 
 turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
14:8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we
 will discover ourselves unto them.
14:9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will
 stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
14:10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up:  for the
 LORD hath delivered them into our hand:  and this shall be a sign unto
 us.
14:11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the
 Philistines:  and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out
 of the holes where they had hid themselves.
14:12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer,
 and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.  And Jonathan said
 unto his armourbearer, Come up after me:  for the LORD hath delivered them
 into the hand of Israel.
14:13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his
 armourbearer after him:  and they fell before Jonathan; and his
 armourbearer slew after him.
14:14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made,
 was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a
 yoke of oxen might plow.
14:15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the
 people:  the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth
 quaked:  so it was a very great trembling.
14:16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold,
 the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
14:17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and
 see who is gone from us.  And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and
 his armourbearer were not there.
14:18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God.  For the ark of
 God was at that time with the children of Israel.
14:19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise
 that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased:  and Saul
 said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
14:20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves,
 and they came to the battle:  and, behold, every man's sword was against
 his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
14:21 Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that
 time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about,
 even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and
 Jonathan.
14:22 Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount
 Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also
 followed hard after them in the battle.
14:23 So the LORD saved Israel that day:  and the battle passed over unto
 Bethaven.
14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day:  for Saul had adjured
 the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until
 evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies.  So none of the people
 tasted any food.
14:25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon
 the ground.
14:26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey
 dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth:  for the people feared the
 oath.
14:27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the
 oath:  wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand,
 and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes
 were enlightened.
14:28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged
 the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food
 this day.  And the people were faint.
14:29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land:  see, I pray
 you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this
 honey.
14:30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the
 spoil of their enemies which they found?  for had there not been now a much
 greater slaughter among the Philistines?
14:31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon:  and
 the people were very faint.
14:32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and
 calves, and slew them on the ground:  and the people did eat them with
 the blood.
14:33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD,
 in that they eat with the blood.  And he said, Ye have transgressed:  roll
 a great stone unto me this day.
14:34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto
 them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay
 them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the
 blood.  And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night,
 and slew them there.
14:35 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD:  the same was the first altar
 that he built unto the LORD.
14:36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and
 spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. 
 And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee.  Then said the priest,
 Let us draw near hither unto God.
14:37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? 
 wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?  But he answered him not
 that day.
14:38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people:  and
 know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.
14:39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in
 Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.  But there was not a man among all
 the people that answered him.
14:40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my
 son will be on the other side.  And the people said unto Saul, Do what
 seemeth good unto thee.
14:41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot.
  And Saul and Jonathan were taken:  but the people escaped.
14:42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.  And
 Jonathan was taken.
14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done.  And Jonathan
 told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod
 that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
14:44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also:  for thou shalt surely
 die, Jonathan.
14:45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought
 this great salvation in Israel?  God forbid:  as the LORD liveth, there
 shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with
 God this day.  So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
14:46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines:  and the Philistines
 went to their own place.
14:47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his
 enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and
 against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: 
 and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
14:48 And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered
 Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.
14:49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua:  and
 the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn
 Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
14:50 And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: 
 and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's
 uncle.
14:51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was
 the son of Abiel.
14:52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: 
 and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.

1 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
15:1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be
 king over his people, over Israel:  now therefore hearken thou unto the
 voice of the words of the LORD.
15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to
 Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and
 spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and
 sheep, camel and ass.
15:4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two
 hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
15:5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
15:6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the
 Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them:  for ye showed kindness to all
 the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.  So the Kenites
 departed from among the Amalekites.
15:7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur,
 that is over against Egypt.
15:8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly
 destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of
 the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and
 would not utterly destroy them:  but every thing that was vile and
 refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
15:10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
15:11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king:  for he is
 turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.  And
 it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
15:12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told
 Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place,
 and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
15:13 And Samuel came to Saul:  and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of
 the LORD:  I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in
 mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15:15 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 unto the
 LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD
 hath said to me this night.  And he said unto him, Say on.
15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast
 thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed
 thee king over Israel?
15:18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy
 the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst
 fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD,
 and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the
 king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the
 things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD
 thy God in Gilgal.
15:22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as
 iniquity and idolatry.  Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he
 hath also rejected thee from being king.
15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned:  for I have transgressed the
 commandment of the LORD, and thy words:  because I feared the people, and
 obeyed their voice.
15:25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me,
 that I may worship the LORD.
15:26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee:  for thou hast
 rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being
 king over Israel.
15:27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of
 his mantle, and it rent.
15:28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel
 from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is
 better than thou.
15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent:  for he is
 not a man, that he should repent.
15:30 Then he said, I have sinned:  yet honour me now, I pray thee, before
 the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I
 may worship the LORD thy God.
15:31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
15:32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the
 Amalekites.  And Agag came unto him delicately.  And Agag said, Surely the
 bitterness of death is past.
15:33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy
 mother be childless among women.  And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before
 the LORD in Gilgal.
15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of
 Saul.
15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: 
 nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul:  and the LORD repented that he had
 made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel  |  Top  | Up  |  Down
16:1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,
 seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?  fill thine horn with
 oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite:  for I have
 provided me a king among his sons.
16:2 And Samuel said, How can I go?  if Saul hear it, he will kill me. 
 And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to
 sacrifice to the LORD.
16:3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt
 do:  and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
16:4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem.  And
 the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou
 peaceably?
16:5 And he said, Peaceably:  I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: 
 sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.  And he sanctified
 Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
16:6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and
 said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.
16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the
 height of his stature; because I have refused him:  for the LORD seeth
 not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD
 looketh on the heart.
16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel.  And he
 said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by.  And he said, Neither hath the LORD
 chosen this.
16:10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.  And Samuel
 said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children?  And he said,
 There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.  And
 Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him:  for we will not sit down till
 he come hither.
16:12 And he sent, and brought him in.  Now he was ruddy, and withal of
 a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.  And the LORD said, Arise,
 anoint him:  for this is he.
16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his
 brethren:  and the spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day
 forward.  So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
16:14 But the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from
 the LORD troubled him.
16:15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God
 troubleth thee.
16:16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to
 seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp:  and it shall come to
 pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with
 his hand, and thou shalt be well.
16:17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play
 well, and bring him to me.
16:18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son
 of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty
 valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person,
 and the LORD is with him.
16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy
 son, which is with the sheep.
16:20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a
 kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
16:21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him:  and he loved him
 greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
16:22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before
 me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul,
 that David took an harp, and played with his hand:  so Saul was refreshed,
 and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

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17:1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were
 gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched
 between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammin.
17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by
 the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
17:3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel
 stood on a mountain on the other side:  and there was a valley between
 them.
17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named
 Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
17:5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with
 a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of
 brass.
17:6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass
 between his shoulders.
17:7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's
 head weighed six hundred shekels of iron:  and one bearing a shield went
 before him.
17:8 And 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.
17:9 If he be able to fight with me, and to 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.
17:10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me
 a man, that we may fight together.
17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they
 were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose
 name was Jesse; and he had eight sons:  and the man went among men for
 an old man in the days of Saul.
17:13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed 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.
17:14 And David was the youngest:  and the three eldest followed Saul.
17:15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at
 Bethlehem.
17:16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented
 himself forty days.
17:17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah
 of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy
 brethren;
17:18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and
 look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
17:19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of
 Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
17:20 And 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
 trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the
 battle.
17:21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army
 against army.
17:22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage,
 and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
17:23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the
 Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines,
 and spake according to the same words:  and David heard them.
17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and
 were sore afraid.
17:25 And 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.
17:26 And 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?
17:27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be
 done to the man that killeth him.
17:28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and
 Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down
 hither?  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.
17:29 And David said, What have I now done?  Is there not a cause?
17:30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same
 manner:  and the people answered him again after the former manner.
17:31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them
 before Saul:  and he sent for him.
17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy
 servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
17:33 And 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.
17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and
 there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
17:35 And I 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.
17:36 Thy servant slew 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.
17:37 David said moreover, 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 be with thee.
17:38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass
 upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, 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.
17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones
 out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a
 scrip; and his sling was in his hand:  and he drew near to the
 Philistine.
17:41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that
 bare the shield went before him.
17:42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him:
  for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
17:43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to
 me with staves?  And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
17:44 And 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.
17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and
 with a spear, and with a shield:  but I come to thee in the name of the
 LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite
 thee, and take thine head from 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.
17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword
 and spear:  for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our
 hands.
17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh
 to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the
 Philistine.
17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang
 it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into
 his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
17:50 So 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.
17:51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his
 sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his
 head therewith.  And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they
 fled.
17:52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the
 Philistines, until thou come to the valley, 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.
17:53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the
 Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to
 Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
17:55 And 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.
17:56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.
17:57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took
 him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his
 hand.
17:58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man?  And
 David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

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18:1 And 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.
18:2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his
 father's house.
18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his
 own soul.
18:4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave
 it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to
 his girdle.
18:5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself
 wisely:  and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the
 sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
18:6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the
 slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of
 Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and
 with instruments of music.
18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul
 hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
18:8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said,
 They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed
 but thousands:  and what can he have more but the kingdom?
18:9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
18:10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came
 upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house:  and David played
 with his hand, as at other times:  and there was a javelin in Saul's
 hand.
18:11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the
 wall with it.  And David avoided out of his presence twice.
18:12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was
 departed from Saul.
18:13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a
 thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
18:14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was
 with him.
18:15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was
 afraid of him.
18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in
 before them.
18:17 And 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.
18:18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I?  and what is my life, or my
 father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?
18:19 But 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.
18:20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved David:  and they told Saul, and the
 thing pleased him.
18:21 And 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 in the one of the
 twain.
18:22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David
 secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his
 servants love thee:  now therefore be the king's son in law.
18:23 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David.  And David
 said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing
 that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
18:24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.
18:25 And 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.  But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the
 Philistines.
18:26 And 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.
18:27 Wherefore 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.
18:28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that
 Michal Saul's daughter loved him.
18:29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's
 enemy continually.
18:30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth:  and it came to pass,
 after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all
 the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.

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19:1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they
 should kill David.
19:2 But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David:  and Jonathan told
 David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee:  now therefore, I pray
 thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret
 place, and hide thyself:
19:3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou
 art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I
 will tell thee.
19:4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto
 him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he
 hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee -
 ward very good:
19:5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the
 LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel:  thou sawest it, and didst
 rejoice:  wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay
 David without a cause?
19:6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan:  and Saul sware, As
 the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
19:7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. 
 And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times
 past.
19:8 And there was war again:  and David went out, and fought with the
 Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
19:9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house
 with his javelin in his hand:  and David played with his hand.
19:10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but
 he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the
 wall:  and David fled, and escaped that night.
19:11 Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to
 slay him in the morning:  and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou
 save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.
19:12 So Michal let David down through a window:  and he went, and fled, and
 escaped.
19:13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow
 of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
19:14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
19:15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him
 up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
19:16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in
 the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.
19:17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away
 mine enemy, that he is escaped?  And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me,
 Let me go; why should I kill thee?
19:18 So 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.
19:19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
19:20 And Saul sent messengers to take David:  and when they saw the company
 of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them,
 the spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also
 prophesied.
19:21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they
 prophesied likewise.  And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and
 they prophesied also.
19:22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in
 Sechu:  and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David?  And one
 said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
19:23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah:  and the spirit of God was
 upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in
 Ramah.
19:24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in
 like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night.  Wherefore
 they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

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20:1 And 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?
20:2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die:  behold, my
 father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me: 
 and why should my father hide this thing from me?  it is not so.
20:3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I
 have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this,
 lest he be grieved:  but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
 liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
20:4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will
 even do it for thee.
20:5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow 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.
20:6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave
 of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city:  for there is a yearly
 sacrifice there for all the family.
20:7 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace:  but if he
 be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
20:8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast
 brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: 
 notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why
 shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
20:9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee:  for if I knew certainly that
 evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell
 it thee?
20:10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me?  or what if thy
 father answer thee roughly?
20:11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. 
 And they went out both of them into the field.
20:12 And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have
 sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and,
 behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and
 show it thee;
20:13 The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan:  but if it please my father
 to do thee evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou
 mayest go in peace:  and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my
 father.
20:14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the
 LORD, that I die not:
20:15 But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever:
  no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the
 face of the earth.
20:16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let
 the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
20:17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him:  for
 he loved him as he loved his own soul.
20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon:  and thou
 shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
20:19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down
 quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the
 business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.
20:20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot
 at a mark.
20:21 And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows.  If
 I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of
 thee, take them; then come thou:  for there is peace to thee, and no
 hurt; as the LORD liveth.
20:22 But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond
 thee; go thy way:  for the LORD hath sent thee away.
20:23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold,
 the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
20:24 So David hid himself in the field:  and when the new moon was come,
 the king sat him down to eat meat.
20:25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat
 by the wall:  and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's
 place was empty.
20:26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day:  for he thought,
 Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
20:27 And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the
 month, that David's place was empty:  and Saul said unto Jonathan his son,
 Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to
 day?
20:28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to
 go to Bethlehem:
20:29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice
 in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there:  and now,
 if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see
 my brethren.  Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.
20:30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him,
 Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast
 chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of
 thy mother's nakedness?
20:31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not
 be established, nor thy kingdom.  Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me,
 for he shall surely die.
20:32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore
 shall he be slain?  what hath he done?
20:33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him:  whereby Jonathan knew
 that it was determined of his father to slay David.
20:34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat
 the second day of the month:  for he was grieved for David, because his
 father had done him shame.
20:35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the
 field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
20:36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. 
 And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
20:37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had
 shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond
 thee?
20:38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not.  And
 Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
20:39 But the lad knew not any thing:  only Jonathan and David knew the
 matter.
20:40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go,
 carry them to the city.
20:41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward
 the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three
 times:  and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David
 exceeded.
20:42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn
 both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and
 thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.  And he arose and
 departed:  and Jonathan went into the city.