There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the raiders, also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an exceedingly great trembling.
Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before, and who went up with them into the camp, from all around, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
So Yahweh saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over by Beth Aven.
But Jonathan didn’t hear when his father commanded the people with the oath. Therefore he put out the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened.
Then one of the people answered, and said, “Your father directly commanded the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’” The people were faint.
Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Please look how my eyes have brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
They struck the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. The people were very faint;
The people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he has worked with God today!” So the people rescued Jonathan, that he didn’t die.
Then Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.
Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he 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. Wherever he turned himself, he defeated them.
He did valiantly, and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.
Saul summoned the people, and counted them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.”
Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
Then one of the young men answered, and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and Yahweh is with him.”
David came to Saul, and stood before him. He loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer.
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span went out.
He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he wore a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
He had brass shin armor on his legs, and a brass javelin between his shoulders.
The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. His shield bearer went before him.
He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.”
The Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel today! Give me a man, that we may fight together!”
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
The Philistine came near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
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 said the same words; and David heard them.
David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to 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?”
The people answered him in this way, saying, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
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 a man of war from his youth.”
David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock,
I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.
Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
David said, “Yahweh who 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.” Saul said to David, “Go! Yahweh will be with you.”
Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
David strapped his sword on his clothing, and he tried to move; for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine.
The Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.
The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods.
The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
When the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
The men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as Gai and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and to Ekron.
David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
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.
David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely; and Saul set him over the men of war. It was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and Yahweh was with him.
Then the princes of the Philistines went out; and as often as they went out, David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.
for he put his life in his hand, and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”
There was war again. David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and killed them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.
The priest said, “Behold, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you would like to take that, take it; for there is no other except that here.” David said, “There is none like that. Give it to me.”
He changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard.
He inquired of Yahweh for him, gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
Therefore David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go and strike these Philistines?” Yahweh said to David, “Go strike the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”
Then David inquired of Yahweh yet again. Yahweh answered him, and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their livestock, and killed them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn’t deliver him into his hand.
Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose, and went to David into the woods, and strengthened his hand in God.
So Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines. Therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.
David went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
So David checked his men with these words, and didn’t allow them to rise against Saul. Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
David said to his men, “Every man put on his sword!” Every man put on his sword. David also put on his sword. About four hundred men followed David, and two hundred stayed by the baggage.
Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”
Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let us go.”
So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head; and they went away: and no man saw it, or knew it, nor did any awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from Yahweh was fallen on them.
Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of the mountain afar off; a great space being between them;
David said to Abner, “Aren’t you 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 the king your lord.
Then Saul said to David, “You are blessed, my son David. You will both do mightily, and will surely prevail.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
David said to Achish, “Therefore you will know what your servant can do.” Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you my bodyguard forever.”
Then Saul fell immediately his full length on the earth, and was terrified, because of Samuel’s words. There was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all day long or all night long.
Now therefore, please listen also to the voice of your servant, and let me set a morsel of bread before you. Eat, that you may have strength, when you go on your way.”
David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.
So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed.
But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they couldn’t go over the brook Besor.
They gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, and drank no water for three days and three nights.
David struck them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men, who rode on camels and fled.
David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives.
David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other livestock, and said, “This is David’s plunder.”
Then David said, “Do not do so, my brothers, with that which Yahweh has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
all the valiant men arose, went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burned them there.
You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled and cast away, The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan’s bow didn’t turn back. Saul’s sword didn’t return empty.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.
How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places.












