 CHAPTER XXIV And it came to pass when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Ingeti. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheep-coats, by the way, where it was a cave, and Saul went in to cover his feet, and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him, as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My Lord, the king! And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave. And some bade me kill thee, but mine eye spared thee, and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand, for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee, but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, wickedness precedeth from the wicked, but mine hand shall not be upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea. The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand. And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me, for as much as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killest me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? Wherefore the Lord reward thee good, for that thou hast done unto me this day? And now behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. Swear now, therefore, unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. And David swear unto Saul, and Saul went home, but David and his men get them up unto the hold." CHAPTER XXV Then Samuel died, and all the Israelites were gathered together and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah, and David arose and went down to the wilderness of Peran. And there was a man in Maun, his possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail, and she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance, but the man was churlish and evil in his doings, and he was of the house of Caleb. And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did cheer his sheep, and David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel and go to Nabal and greet him in my name, and thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast shears. Now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not. Neither was their ought missing unto them all the while they were in Carmel. Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes, for we come in a good day. Give I pray thee, what is o'ever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. And when David's young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be? So David's young men turned their way and went again, and came and told him all those sayings. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword? And they girded on every man his sword, and David also girded on his sword? And they went up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred abode by the stuff. But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master, and he railed on them. But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we anything as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields. There were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him. Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready-dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. And she said unto her servants, Go on before me, Behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband, Nabal. And it was so as she rode on the ass that she came down by the covert on the hill, and Behold, David and his men came down against her, and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him, and he hath requited me evil for good. So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and fell at his feet and said, upon me, my Lord, upon me, let this iniquity be, and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. Let not my Lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my Lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my Lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the Lord hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my Lord, be as Nabal. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my Lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my Lord. I pray thee, forgive the trispice of thine handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house, because my Lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul. But the soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God, and the souls of thine enemies, then shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my Lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel, that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my Lord, either that thou hath shed blood causeless, or that my Lord hath avenged himself. But when the Lord shall have dealt well with my Lord, then remember thine handmaid. And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hath kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my own hand. For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hath hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto navel by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house, See, I have harkened to thy voice, and I have accepted thy person. And Abigail came to navel, and behold he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king, and navel's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken. Wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. But it came to pass in the morning when the wine was gone out of navel, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after that the Lord smote navel, that he died. And when David heard that navel was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of navel, and hath kept his servant from evil, for the Lord hath returned the wickedness of navel upon his own head, and David sent and communed with Abigail to take her to him to wife. And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her saying, David sent us unto thee to take thee to him to wife. And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord. And Abigail hasted and arose and rode upon an ass with five damsels of hers that went after her, and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. David also took Ahinoem of Jezreel, and they were also both of them his wives. But Saul had given Michael his daughter, David's wife, to faulty the son of Laish, which was of Gallum. CHAPTER XXVI And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachala, which is before Jeshamon? Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachala, which is before Jeshamon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. And David arose and came to the place where Saul had pitched, and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and abner the son of Neur, the captain of his host. And Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Avishai the son of Zariah, the brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster, but Avner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day. Now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with this spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David said furthermore, As the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed. But I pray thee, take thou now this spear that is at his bolster, and the crews of water, and let us go. So David took the spear and the crews of water from Saul's bolster, and they get them away, and no man saw it nor knew it, neither awaked, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of Van Hill afar off, a great space being between them. And David cried to the people, and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, Answers thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that Christ to the King? And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man, and who is like to thee in Israel? For then hast thou not kept thy Lord the King? For there came one of the people into destroy the King thy Lord. This thing is not good that thou hast done, as the Lord liveth ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master the Lord's anointed, and now see where the King's spear is, and the crews of water that was at his bolster. And Saul knew David's voice and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my Lord, O King. And he said, Wherefore doth my Lord thus pursue after his servant? For what have I done, and what evil is in my hand? Now therefore I pray thee, let my Lord the King hear the words of his servant. If the Lord hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering. But if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods. Now therefore let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord, for the King of Israel has come out to seek a flee, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. Then said Saul, I have sinned, return my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day. But I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, Behold the King's spear, and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. The Lord rendered to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord delivered thee into my hand today, but I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. And behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou my son David, thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel, so shall I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Akish, the son of Mayok, the king of Gath. And David dwelt with Akish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinom the Jesrealitus, and Abigail the Kamalitus, Nabal's wife. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath, and he sought no more again for him. And David said unto Akish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there, for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? Then Akish gave Ziklag that day, wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. And David and his men went up and invaded the Geshurites, and the Geshurites, and the Amalekites, for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to share, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smoked the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the aparel, and returned and came to Akish. And Akish said, Whither have ye made a road to-day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jeremulites, and against the south of the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manor all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. And Akish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel, utterly to abhor him, therefore he shall be my servant for ever. CHAPTER XXVIII And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Akish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. And David said to Akish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Akish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. And now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Rama, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunam. And Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams nor by earm, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him. He came to the woman by night, and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that hath familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land, wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life to cause me to die. And Saul swear to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall be no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up, Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice, and the woman specked to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me, for thou art Saul? And the king said unto her, Be not afraid, for what saw us thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called to thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and has become thine enemy? And the Lord had done to him, as he spake by me, for the Lord had rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. Because thou obeyest not the voice of the Lord, nor executes his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and to-morrow shall thou and thy sons be with me. The Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was so afraid, because of the words of Samuel, and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all the day nor all the night. And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was Saul troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. Now therefore I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee, and eat that thou mayest have strength when thou goest on thy way. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him, and he hearkened unto their voice, so he arose from the earth and sat upon the bed. And the woman had a fat calf in the house, and she hasted and killed it, and took flour and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof. And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants, and they did eat. Then they rose up and went away that night. CHAPTER XXIX Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Ephek, and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands. But David and his men passed on in the re-reward with Akish. Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews hear? And Akish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me, unto this day. And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him, and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us. For wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? Should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? Then Akish called David and said unto him, Surely as the Lord liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out, and thy coming in with me in the host, is good in my sight. For I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me, unto this day. Nevertheless the lords favour thee not. Wherefore now return and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. And David said unto Akish, But what have I done? And what has thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my Lord the King? And Akish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God. Notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, he shall not go up with us to the battle. Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee, and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel. CHAPTER XXXV And it came to pass when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amel Akites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and Smit and Ziklag, and burned it with fire, and had taken the women captives that were therein. They slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoem the Jezreelitis, and Abigail the wife of Nabel the Camelite. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God, and David said to Abyrtha the priest, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod, and Abyrtha brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the Brook Beesaw, where those that were left behind stayed. But David pursued he and four hundred men, for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the Brook Beesaw. And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him, for he had eaten no bread, nor drug any water, three days and three nights. And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou, and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an amelokite, and my master left me, because three days are gone, I fell sick. We made an invasion upon the south of the charathites, and upon the coast which belongedeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said unto him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Sue unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating, and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them, say four hundred young men, which rode upon camels and fled. And David recovered all that the amelokites had carried away, and David rescued his two new wives. And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil nor anything that they had taken to them. David recovered all. And David took all the flocks and the herds which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint, that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Beesaw. And they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him. And when David came near to the people, he saluted them. Then answered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them all of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man, his wife, and his children, that they may lead them away and depart. Then said David, ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? But as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff, they shall part alike. And it was so from that day forward that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoils unto the elders of Judah even to his friends, saying, Behold, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord, to them which were in Bethel, to them which were in S. Reimoth, and to them which were in Jatia, and to them which were in steresh Timoah, and to them which were in Rachel, and to them which were in the cities of the dramalites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, and to them which were in Horma, and to them which were in Choroshan, and to them which were in Aethac, and to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were want to haunt." CHAPTER XXXI OF THE BIBLE King James Version This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Joy Chan, the Bible, King James Version, 1 Samuel, Chapter 31. Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons, and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through thy wreath, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men that same day together. And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they foresook the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Goboa, and they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines roundabout to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people. And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. And when the inhabitants of Jabash-Gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabash, and burnt them there. And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabash, and fasted seven days. End of Chapter 31 The First Samuel