and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and 21 oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And 22 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. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness 23 is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And 24 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. Now therefore, I pray 25 thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return 26 with thee for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And 27 as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The 28 LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is 29 not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: 30 yet honor 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. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and 31 Saul worshipped the LORD.

THEN said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of 32 the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, 33 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.

THEN Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his 34 house to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see 35 Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul.

AND the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over 36 Israel. And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou16 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 Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill 2 And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacri- 3 fice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LCRD spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice 5

me.

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. And it came to pass, when they were come, 6 that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on 7 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. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass be- 8 fore Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 'Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither 9 hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his 10 sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are 11 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. 'And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was 12 ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look 10. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst 13 of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

BUT the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil 14 spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said 15 unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, 16 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. And 17 Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can Then answered one of the 18 play well, and bring him to me. 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. Wherefore Saul sent messengers 19 unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of 20 wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And 21 David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to 22 Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight. And it came to pass, when the 23 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.

Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle,17 and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in

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array against the Philistines. 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. And there 4 went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And 5 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. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and 6 a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his 7 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. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and 8 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 If he be able to man for you, and let him come down to me. 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. And the Philistine said. I defy the arinies 10 of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, 11 they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

9

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem- 12 judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And 13 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 first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. And David was the youngest: and the three eldest 14 followed Saul. But David went and returned from Saul to feed 15 his father's sheep at Beth-lehem. And the Philistine drew near 16 morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. And 17 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; and carry these ten cheeses unto the 18 captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, 19 were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. And 20 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. For Israel and the Philistines had 21 put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his 22 carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked 23 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. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from 24 lim, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have 25 Je seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he ome up and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the

king will enrich him with great riches, and will give h his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel And 26 David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What all be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketaway the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcisePhilistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? nd the 27 people answered him after this manner, saying, So sh it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab his eldes rother 28 heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's angeras kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou dowhither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wierness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart or thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. Al David 29 said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? And he 30 turned from him toward another, and spake afterne same Inanner: and the people answered him again after e former

manner.

AND when the words were heard which David spal, they re- 31 hearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. ad David 32 said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of his thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Sal said to 33 David, Thou art not able to go against this Philiste to fight with him for thou art but a youth, and he a man c war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servat kept his 34 father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, anismote him, 35 and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he cose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, ad slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: an this uncir- 36 cumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said mreover, The 37 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. And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put 38 an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armor, and 39 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.

AND he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth 40 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. And the Philistine came on and 41 drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw 42 David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, 43 Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to 44 David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of

the air,d to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the 45 Philisti Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hostsne God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. T day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; 46 and I wismite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will givee carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth ay know that there is a God in Israel. And all this 47 assembly all know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: fothe battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and 48 came and ew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward thermy to meet the Philistine. And David put his 49 hand in hisag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philisti: in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehend; and fell upon his face to the earth. So David pre- 50 vailed overhe Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Filistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of avid. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the 51 Philistine, al took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and lew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Pilistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the metof Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and 52 pursued the Filistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekro And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to haaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And 53 the children ofsrael returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoild their tents. And David took the head of the 54 Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

AND when Sul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he 55 said unto Abne, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And he king said, Inquire thou whose son the strip- 56 ling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Phi- 57 listine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Phirstine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose 58 son art thou, thot young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite. And it came to pass,18 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. And Saul took him that day, and 2 would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then 3 Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that 4 was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. And David went 5 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 ser

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