1 Samuel 15-17

First Samuel, chapters 15 through 17.

Samuel told Saul.

The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel.

Now listen to the words of the Lord.

This is what the Lord of armies says.

I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along

the way as they were coming out of Egypt.

Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have.

Do not spare them.

Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.

Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Taliyah, 200,000 foot soldiers and

10,000 men from Judah.

Saul came to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the Wadi.

He warned the kinites.

Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, go on and leave.

Get away from the Amalekites or I'll sweep you away with them.

So the kinites withdrew from the Amalekites.

And Saul struck down the Amalekites from Havela all the way to shore, which is next to Egypt.

He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the

people with the sword.

Saul and the troops spared Agag and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle and choice animals,

as well as the young Rams and the best of everything else.

They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted

things.

Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel.

I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not

carried out my instructions.

So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.

In the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel.

Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself.

Then he turned around and went down to Gilgau.

When Samuel came to him, Saul said,

May the Lord bless you.

I have carried out the Lord's instructions.

Samuel replied,

In what is the sound of sheep, goats and cattle I hear?

Saul answered.

The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats and cattle

in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God.

But the rest we destroyed.

Stop exclaimed Samuel.

Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.

Tell me, he replied.

Samuel continued,

Although you once considered yourself unimportant, haven't you become the leader of the tribes of Israel?

The Lord anointed you king over Israel and then sent you on a mission and said,

Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites.

Fight against them until you have annihilated them.

So why didn't you obey the Lord?

Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord's sight?

But I did obey the Lord.

Saul answered.

I went on the mission the Lord gave me.

I brought back King Aegag of Amalek and I completely destroyed the Amalekites.

The troops took sheep, goats and cattle from the plunder.

The best of what was set apart for destruction.

To sacrifice it to the Lord your God at Gilgal.

Then Samuel said.

Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?

Look to obey is better than sacrifice.

You pay attention is better than the fat of Rams.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord.

He has rejected you as king.

Saul answered Samuel.

I have sinned.

I have transgressed the Lord's command and your words.

Because I was afraid of the people I obeyed them.

Now therefore please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the Lord.

Samuel replied to Saul.

I will not return with you.

Because you rejected the word of the Lord.

The Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.

When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the corner of his robe and it tore.

Samuel said to him.

The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor

who is better than you.

Furthermore, the eternal one of Israel does not lie or change his mind.

For he is not a man who changes his mind.

Saul said.

I have sinned.

Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel.

Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.

Then Samuel went back following Saul and Saul bowed down to the Lord.

Samuel said.

Bring me King Agagavamalak.

Agag came to him trembling for he thought certainly the bitterness of death has come.

Samuel declared.

As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.

Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.

Samuel went to Rama and Saul went up to his home in Ghibya of Saul.

Even to the day of his death, Samuel never saw Saul again.

Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted he had made Saul King over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel.

How long are you going to mourn for Saul since I have rejected him as King over Israel?

Fill your horn with oil and go.

I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected for myself a King from his sons.

Samuel asked.

How can I go?

Saul will hear about it and kill me.

The Lord answered.

Take a young cow with you and say,

I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will let you know what you are to do.

You are to anoint for me the one I indicate to you.

Samuel did what the Lord directed and went to Bethlehem.

When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked,

do you come in peace?

In peace, he replied.

I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.

Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they arrived, Samuel saw a lieb and said,

certainly the Lord's anointed one is here before him.

But the Lord said to Samuel,

do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him.

Humans do not see what the Lord sees.

For humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.

Jesse called a binadab and presented him to Samuel.

The Lord hasn't chosen this one either.

Samuel said.

Then Jesse presented Shama.

But Samuel said,

the Lord hasn't chosen this one either.

After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him,

Samuel told Jesse,

the Lord hasn't chosen any of these.

Samuel asked him,

are these all the sons you have?

There is still the youngest, he answered.

But right now he's tending the sheep.

Samuel told Jesse,

send for him.

We won't sit down to eat until he gets here.

So Jesse sent for him.

He had beautiful eyes and a healthy handsome appearance.

Then the Lord said,

anoint him for he is the one.

So Samuel took the horn of oil

and anointed him in the presence of his brothers.

And the spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David

from that day forward.

Then Samuel set out and went to Rama.

Now the spirit of the Lord had left Saul

and an evil spirit sent from the Lord

began to torment him.

So Saul's servants said to him,

you see that an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.

Let our Lord command your servants here in your presence

to look for someone who knows how to play the liar.

Whenever the evil spirit from God comes on you,

that person can play the liar and you will feel better.

Then Saul commanded his servants.

Find me someone who plays well and bring him to me.

One of the young men answered,

I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem

who knows how to play the liar.

He is also a valiant man, a warrior,

eloquent, handsome, and the Lord is with him.

Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said,

Send me your son David who is with the sheep.

So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread,

a wine skin, and one young goat,

and sent them by his son David to Saul.

When David came to Saul and entered his service,

Saul loved him very much and David became his armor bearer.

Then Saul sent word to Jesse.

Let David remain in my service for he has found favor with me.

Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul,

David would pick up his liar and play,

and Saul would then be relieved,

feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Soko in Judah,

and camped between Soko and Ezeka in Ephesan.

Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the valley of Eela.

Then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.

The Philistines were standing on one hill,

and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.

Then a champion named Goliath from Gath came out from the Philistine camp.

He was nine feet, nine inches tall, and wore a bronze helmet,

and bronze scale armor that weighed 125 pounds.

There was bronze armor on his shins,

and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders.

His spear shaft was like a weaver's beam,

and the iron point of his spear weighed 15 pounds.

In addition, a shield bearer was walking in front of him.

He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations.

Why do you come out to line up in battle formation? He asked them,

Am I not a Philistine? And are you not servants of Saul?

Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.

If he wins a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants.

But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and service.

Then the Philistine said,

I defy the ranks of Israel today.

Send me a man so we can fight each other.

When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine,

they lost their courage and were terrified.

Now David was the son of the Ephraffite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse.

Jesse had eight sons and during Saul's reign was already an old man.

Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war and their names were Alayab,

the firstborn, Abinadab, the next and Shama the third. And David was the youngest.

The three oldest had followed Saul, but David kept going back and forth from Saul

to tend his father's flock in Bethlehem.

Every morning and evening for 40 days, the Philistine came forward and took his stand.

One day, Jesse had told his son, David,

take this half-bushal of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread for your brothers

and hurry to their camp. Also, take these ten portions of cheese to the field commander.

Check on the well-being of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them.

They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Ila fighting with the Philistines.

So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it,

loaded up and set out as Jesse had charged him. He arrived at the perimeter of the camp as the

army was marching out to its battle formation, shouting their battle cry.

Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other.

David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line.

When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were.

While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from

Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard.

When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.

Previously, and Israelite men had declared,

do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel.

The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter.

The king will also make the family of that man's father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.

David spoke to the men who were standing with him.

What will be done for the man who kills the Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?

Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?

The troops told him about the offer concluding. That is what will be done for the man who kills him.

David's oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men and he became angry with him.

Why did you come down here? He asked,

who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness?

I know your arrogance and your evil heart. You came down to see the battle.

What have I done now, protested David? It was just a question.

Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer.

The people gave him the same answer as before.

What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him.

David said to Saul,

don't let anyone be discouraged by him, your servant will go and fight this Philistine.

But Saul replied, you can't go fight this Philistine?

You're just a youth and he's been a warrior since he was young.

David answered Saul, your servant has been tending his father's sheep.

Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

I went after it, struck it down and rescued the lamb from its mouth.

If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down and kill it.

Your servant has killed lions and bears.

This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them

for he has defied the armies of the living God.

Then David said,

the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear

will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.

Saul said to David,

go and may the Lord be with you.

Then Saul had his military clothes put on David.

He put a bronze helmet on David's head and had him put on armor.

David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk,

but he was not used to them.

I can't walk in these, David said to Saul, I'm not used to them.

So David took them off.

Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi

and put them in the pouch in his shepherd's bag.

Then with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

The Philistine came closer and closer to David with the shield bearer in front of him.

When the Philistine looked and saw David,

he despised him because he was just a youth healthy and handsome.

He said to David,

Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?

Then he cursed David by his gods.

Come here, the Philistine called to David.

And I'll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts.

David said to the Philistine,

You come against me with a sword, spear, and a javelin.

But I come against you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the ranks of Israel.

You have defied him.

Today the Lord will hand you over to me.

Today I'll strike you down, remove your head and give the corpses of the Philistine

camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth.

Then all the world will know that Israel has a God and this whole assembly will know that it is

not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves. For the battle is the Lord's.

He will hand you over to us.

When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet

the Philistine. David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on

his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell face down to the ground.

David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone.

David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword.

David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistines sword, pulled it from its sheath

and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head.

When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.

The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry and chased the Philistines to the

entrance of the valley and to the gates of Echron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the

Sharia road to Gath and Echron. When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines,

they plundered their camps. David took Goliath's head and brought it to Jerusalem,

but he put Goliath's weapons in his own tent. When Saul had seen David going out to confront the

Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army. Whose son is this youth, Abner?

Your majesty, as surely as you live, I don't know. Abner replied.

The king said, find out whose son this young man is.

When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul,

with the Philistines' head still in his hand. Saul said to him,

whose son are you young man? The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem, David answered.