New International Version  
Chapter 12
Samuel's Farewell Speech
1Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
2Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.
3Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right.”
4“You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone's hand.”
5Samuel said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
“He is witness,” they said.
6Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt.
7Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
8“After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
9“But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
10They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’
11Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal,Also called Gideon Barak,Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew Bedan Jephthah and Samuel,Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac Samson and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.
12“But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king.
13Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.
14If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good!
15But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!
17Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king.”
18Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.
19The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
21Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.
22For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.
23As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.
24But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
25Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
Chapter 13
Samuel Rebukes Saul
1Saul was thirtyA few late manuscripts of the Septuagint; Hebrew does not have thirty. years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-See the round number in Acts 13:21; Hebrew does not have forty-. two years.
2SaulOr and when he had reigned over Israel two years, 2 he chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
3Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
4So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousandSome Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew thirty thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.
6When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.
7Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.
8He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter.
9So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.Traditionally peace offerings” And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
10Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11“What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,
12I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13“You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
14But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command.”
15Then Samuel left GilgalHebrew; Septuagint Gilgal and went his way; the rest of the people went after Saul to meet the army, and they went out of Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
Israel Without Weapons
16Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in GibeahTwo Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts Geba, a variant of Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Micmash.
17Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual,
18another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the desert.
19Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!”
20So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sicklesSeptuagint; Hebrew plowshares sharpened.
21The price was two thirds of a shekelHebrew pim; that is, about 1/4 ounce (about 8 grams) for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekelThat is, about 1/8 ounce (about 4 grams) for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.
22So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Jonathan Attacks the Philistines
23Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.
Chapter 14
1One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
2Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men,
3among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left.
4On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez, and the other Seneh.
5One cliff stood to the north toward Micmash, the other to the south toward Geba.
6Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
7“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”
8Jonathan said, “Come, then; we will cross over toward the men and let them see us.
9If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them.
10But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.”
11So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”
12The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we'll teach you a lesson.”
So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”
13Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him.
14In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.Hebrew half a yoke; a “yoke” was the land plowed by a yoke of oxen in one day.
Israel Routs the Philistines
15Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.Or a terrible panic
16Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions.
17Then Saul said to the men who were with him, “Muster the forces and see who has left us.” When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there.
18Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.)Hebrew; Septuagint “Bring the ephod.” (At that time he wore the ephod before the Israelites.)
19While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
20Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords.
21Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
22When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit.
23So the LORD rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.
Jonathan Eats Honey
24Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
25The entire armyOr Now all the people of the land entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.
26When they went into the woods, they saw the honey oozing out, yet no one put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
27But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.Or his strength was renewed
28Then one of the soldiers told him, “Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be any man who eats food today!’ That is why the men are faint.”
29Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightenedOr my strength was renewed when I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”
31That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, they were exhausted.
32They pounced on the plunder and, taking sheep, cattle and calves, they butchered them on the ground and ate them, together with the blood.
33Then someone said to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the LORD by eating meat that has blood in it.”
“You have broken faith,” he said. “Roll a large stone over here at once.”
34Then he said, “Go out among the men and tell them, ‘Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with blood still in it.’”
So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.
35Then Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first time he had done this.
36Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.”
“Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied.
But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.”
37So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel's hand?” But God did not answer him that day.
38Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today.
39As surely as the LORD who rescues Israel lives, even if it lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” But not one of the men said a word.
40Saul then said to all the Israelites, “You stand over there; I and Jonathan my son will stand over here.”
“Do what seems best to you,” the men replied.
41Then Saul prayed to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Give me the right answer.”Hebrew; Septuagint “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, respond with Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared.
42Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.
43Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told him, “I merely tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now must I die?”
44Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
45But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God's help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
46Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.
47After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kingsMasoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint king of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.Hebrew; Septuagint he was victorious
48He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.
Saul's Family
49Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal.
50His wife's name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul's army was Abner son of Ner, and Ner was Saul's uncle.
51Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.
 
 

LOADING .......