The First Book of Shemu'el
1:1Now there was a certain man of Ramatayim-Tzofim, of the
hill-country of Efrayim, and his name was Elkana, the son of Yerocham, the
son of Elihu, the son of Tochu, the son of Tzuf, an Efratite:
1:2and he had two wives; the name of the one was Channah, and the
name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Channah had no
children. 1:3This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and
to sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of `Eli, Chofni
and Pinechas, kohanim to the LORD, were there.
1:4When the day came that Elkana sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his
wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
1:5but to Channah he gave a double portion; for he loved Channah,
but the LORD had shut up her womb. 1:6Her rival provoked
her sore, to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
1:7as he did so year by year, when she
went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept,
and did not eat.
1:8Elkana her husband said to her,
Channah, why weep you? and why don't you eat? and why is your heart
grieved? am I not better to you than ten sons?
1:9So
Channah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk.
Now `Eli the kohen was sitting on his seat by the
door-post of the temple of the LORD.
1:10She
was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD, and wept sore.
1:11She vowed a vow, and said, the LORD of hosts, if you will indeed
look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget
your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a man-child, then I will
give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor
come on his head.
1:12It happened, as she continued
praying before the LORD, that `Eli marked her mouth.
1:13Now Channah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her
voice was not heard: therefore `Eli thought she had been drunken.
1:14`Eli said to her, How long will you be drunken? put away your
wine from you.
1:15Channah answered, No, my lord, I
am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong
drink, but I poured out my soul before the LORD.
1:16Don't
count your handmaid for a wicked woman; for out of the abundance of my
complaint and my provocation have I spoken hitherto.
1:17Then `Eli answered, Go in shalom; and the G-d of Yisra'el grant
your petition that you have asked of him.
1:18She
said, Let your handmaid find favor in your sight. So the woman went her
way, and ate; and her facial expression wasn't sad any more.
1:19They rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before the LORD,
and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkana knew Channah
his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
1:20It
happened, when the time was come about, that Channah conceived, and bore a
son; and she named him Shemu'el, saying, Because I have asked him
of the LORD.
1:21The man Elkana, and all his house,
went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
1:22But Channah didn't go up; for she said to her husband, I will
not go up until the child be weaned; and then I will bring him, that
he may appear before the LORD, and there abide forever.
1:23Elkana her husband said to her, Do what seems you good; wait
until you have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman
waited and nursed her son, until she weaned him.
1:24When
she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, and one
efah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the house of the
LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.
1:25They
killed the bull, and brought the child to `Eli.
1:26She
said, Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood
by you here, praying to the LORD. 1:27For this child I
prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him:
1:28therefore also I have granted him to the LORD; as long as he
lives he is granted to the LORD. He worshiped the LORD there.
2:1Channah prayed, and said:
My heart exults in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD;
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies;
Because I rejoice in your salvation.
2:2There is none holy as the LORD;
For there is none besides you,
Neither is there any rock like our G-d.
2:3Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Don't let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a G-d of knowledge,
By him actions are weighed.
2:4The bows of the mighty men are broken;
Those who stumbled are girded with strength.
2:5Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread;
Those who were hungry have ceased to hunger:
Yes, the barren has borne seven;
She who has many children languishes.
2:6The LORD kills, and makes alive:
He brings down to She'ol, and brings up.
2:7The LORD makes poor, and makes rich:
He brings low, he also lifts up.
2:8He raises up the poor out of the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
Inherit the throne of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's,
He has set the world on them.
2:9He will keep the feet of his holy ones;
But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;
For by strength shall no man prevail.
2:10Those who strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces;
Against them will he thunder in the sky:
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
He will give strength to his king,
Exalt the horn of his anointed.
2:11Elkana went to Ramah to his house. The child did minister to the
LORD before `Eli the kohen.
2:12Now
the sons of `Eli were base men; they didn't know the LORD.
2:13The custom of the kohanim with the people was
that when any man offered sacrifice, the kohen's servant
came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his
hand; 2:14and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all
that the flesh-hook brought up the kohen took therewith.
So they did in Shiloh to all the Yisra'elites who came there.
2:15Yes, before they burnt the fat, the kohen's
servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for
the kohen; for he will not have boiled flesh of you, but
raw. 2:16If the man said to him, They will surely burn the fat first, and
then take as much as your soul desires; then he would say, No, but you
shall give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
2:17The sin of the young men was very great before the LORD; for the
men despised the offering of the LORD.
2:18But
Shemu'el ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen
efod. 2:19Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him
from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly
sacrifice.
2:20`Eli blessed Elkana and his wife, and
said, the LORD give you seed of this woman for the petition which was
asked of the LORD. They went to their own home.
2:21The
LORD visited Channah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two
daughters. The child Shemu'el grew before the LORD.
2:22Now `Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all
Yisra'el, and how that they lay with the women who served at the door of
the tent of meeting. 2:23He said to them,
Why do you such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this
people. 2:24No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: you make the
LORD's people to disobey. 2:25If one man sin
against another, G-d shall judge him; but if a man sin against the LORD,
who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they didn't listen to the
voice of their father, because the LORD was minded to kill them.
2:26The child Shemu'el grew on, and increased in favor both with the
LORD, and also with men. 2:27There came a man
of G-d to `Eli, and said to him, Thus says the LORD, Did I reveal myself
to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in bondage to
Par`oh's house?
2:28and did I choose him out of all
the tribes of Yisra'el to be my kohen, to go up to my
altar, to burn incense, to wear an efod before me? and did I give to the
house of your father all the offerings of the children of Yisra'el made by
fire? 2:29Why kick you at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have
commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make
yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Yisra'el my people?
2:30Therefore the LORD, the G-d of Yisra'el, says, I said indeed that
your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever:
but now the LORD says, Be it far from me; for those who honor me I will
honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
2:31Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm
of your father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.
2:32You shall see the affliction of my habitation, in all the
wealth which God shall give Yisra'el; and there shall not be an old
man in your house forever. 2:33The man of yours,
whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall be to consume
your eyes, and to grieve your heart; and all the increase of your house
shall die in the flower of their age.
2:34This
shall be the sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Chofni and
Pinechas: in one day they shall die both of them.
2:35I
will raise me up a faithful kohen, that shall do
according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build
him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed forever.
2:36It shall happen, that everyone who is left in your house shall
come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and
shall say, Please put me into one of the kohanim'
offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
3:1The child Shemu'el ministered to the LORD before `Eli. The word
of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.
3:2It happened at that time, when `Eli was laid down in his place
(now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),
3:3and the lamp of G-d hadn't yet gone out, and Shemu'el had laid
down to sleep, in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of G-d was;
3:4that the LORD called Shemu'el; and he said, Here am I.
3:5He ran to `Eli, and said, Here am I; for you called me. He said,
I didn't call; lie down again. He went and lay down.
3:6The LORD called yet again, Shemu'el. Shemu'el arose and went to
`Eli, and said, Here am I; for you called me. He answered, I didn't call,
my son; lie down again. 3:7Now Shemu'el
didn't yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed to
him. 3:8The LORD called Shemu'el again the third time. He arose and went
to `Eli, and said, Here am I; for you called me. `Eli perceived that the
LORD had called the child. 3:9Therefore `Eli
said to Shemu'el, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call you, that you
shall say, Speak, the LORD; for your servant hears. So Shemu'el went and
lay down in his place. 3:10The LORD came,
and stood, and called as at other times, Shemu'el, Shemu'el. Then Shemu'el
said, Speak; for your servant hears.
3:11The
LORD said to Shemu'el, Behold, I will do a thing in Yisra'el, at which
both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.
3:12In that day I will perform against `Eli all that I have spoken
concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.
3:13For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the
iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse on themselves,
and he didn't restrain them. 3:14Therefore I have
sworn to the house of `Eli, that the iniquity of `Eli's house shall not be
expiated with sacrifice nor offering forever.
3:15Shemu'el
lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD.
Shemu'el feared to show `Eli the vision.
3:16Then
`Eli called Shemu'el, and said, Shemu'el, my son. He said, Here am I.
3:17He said, "What is the thing that the LORD has spoken to
you? Please don't hide it from me. G-d do so to you, and more also, if you
hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you."
3:18Shemu'el told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. He said,
It is the LORD: let him do what seems him good.
3:19Shemu'el
grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the
ground. 3:20All Yisra'el from Dan even to Be'er-Sheva knew that Shemu'el was
established to be a prophet of the LORD.
3:21The
LORD appeared again in Shiloh; for the LORD revealed himself to Shemu'el
in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
4:1The word of Shemu'el came to all Yisra'el. Now Yisra'el went out
against the Pelishtim to battle, and encamped beside Even-Ha`ezer: and the
Pelishtim encamped in Afek. 4:2The Pelishtim put
themselves in array against Yisra'el: and when they joined battle,
Yisra'el was struck before the Pelishtim; and they killed of the army in
the field about four thousand men. 4:3When the people
were come into the camp, the elders of Yisra'el said, Why has the LORD
struck us today before the Pelishtim? Let us get the ark of the covenant
of the LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us
out of the hand of our enemies. 4:4So the people sent
to Shiloh; and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD
of Hosts, who sits above the Keruvim: and the two sons of `Eli,
Chofni and Pinechas, were there with the ark of the covenant of G-d.
4:5When the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all
Yisra'el shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.
4:6When the Pelishtim heard the noise of the shout, they said, What
means the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? They
understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
4:7The Pelishtim were afraid, for they said, G-d is come into the
camp. They said, Woe to us! for there has not been such a thing
heretofore. 4:8Woe to us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty
gods? these are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all manner of
plagues in the wilderness. 4:9Be strong, and
behave yourselves like men, O you Pelishtim, that you not be servants to
the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and
fight. 4:10The Pelishtim fought, and Yisra'el was struck, and they fled
every man to his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there
fell of Yisra'el thirty thousand footmen.
4:11The
ark of G-d was taken; and the two sons of `Eli, Chofni and Pinechas, were
slain. 4:12There ran a man of Binyamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh
the same day, with his clothes torn, and with dirt on his head.
4:13When he came, behold, `Eli was sitting on his seat by the road
watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of G-d. When the man came
into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
4:14When `Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What means the
noise of this tumult? The man hurried, and came and told `Eli.
4:15Now `Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so
that he could not see. 4:16The man said to
`Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.
He said, How went the matter, my son?
4:17He
who brought the news answered, Yisra'el is fled before the Pelishtim, and
there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons
also, Chofni and Pinechas, are dead, and the ark of G-d is taken.
4:18It happened, when he made mention of the ark of G-d, that `Eli
fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck
broke, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged
Yisra'el forty years. 4:19His
daughter-in-law, Pinechas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and
when she heard the news that the ark of G-d was taken, and that her
father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought
forth; for her pains came on her. 4:20About the time of
her death the women who stood by her said to her, Don't be afraid; for you
have brought forth a son. But she didn't answer, neither did she regard
it. 4:21She named the child Ikhavod, saying, The glory is departed from
Yisra'el; because the ark of G-d was taken, and because of her
father-in-law and her husband. 4:22She said, The
glory is departed from Yisra'el; for the ark of G-d is taken.
5:1Now the Pelishtim had taken the ark of G-d, and they brought it
from Even-Ha`ezer to Ashdod. 5:2The Pelishtim took
the ark of G-d, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by
Dagon. 5:3When they of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon
was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. They took
Dagon, and set him in his place again.
5:4When
they arose early on the next day morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his
face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and
both the palms of his hands lay cut off on the threshold; only
the stump of Dagon was left to him.
5:5Therefore
neither the kohanim of Dagon, nor any who come into
Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.
5:6But the hand of the LORD was heavy on them of Ashdod, and he
destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and the borders
of it. 5:7When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of
the G-d of Yisra'el shall not abide with us; for his hand is sore on us,
and on Dagon our G-d. 5:8They sent
therefore and gathered all the lords of the Pelishtim to them, and said,
What shall we do with the ark of the G-d of Yisra'el? They answered, Let
the ark of the G-d of Yisra'el be carried about to Gat. They carried the
ark of the G-d of Yisra'el there.
5:9It
was so, that after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was
against the city with a very great confusion: and he struck the men of the
city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them.
5:10So they sent the ark of G-d to `Ekron. It happened, as the ark of
G-d came to `Ekron, that the `Ekroni cried out, saying, They have brought
about the ark of the G-d of Yisra'el to us, to kill us and our people.
5:11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the
Pelishtim, and they said, Send away the ark of the G-d of Yisra'el, and
let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people. For
there was a deadly confusion throughout all the city; the hand of G-d was
very heavy there.
5:12The men who didn't die were
struck with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
6:1The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Pelishtim seven
months. 6:2The Pelishtim called for the kohanim and the
diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Show us with
which we shall send it to its place."
6:3They said, "If you send away the ark of the G-d of Yisra'el,
don't send it empty; but by all means return him a trespass-offering: then
you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not
removed from you."
6:4Then they said, "What shall be the trespass-offering which we
shall return to him?"
They said, "Five golden tumors, and five golden mice,
according to the number of the lords of the Pelishtim; for one plague
was on you all, and on your lords. 6:5Therefore you
shall make images of your tumors, and images of your mice that mar the
land; and you shall give glory to the G-d of Yisra'el: peradventure he
will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off
your land. 6:6Why then do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Par`oh
hardened their hearts? When he had worked wonderfully among them, didn't
they let the people go, and they departed?
6:7Now
therefore take and prepare yourselves a new cart, and two milk cattle, on
which there has come no yoke; and tie the cattle to the cart, and bring
their calves home from them; 6:8and take the ark
of the LORD, and lay it on the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which you
return him for a trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side of it; and
send it away, that it may go. 6:9Behold; if it goes
up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he has done us this
great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that
struck us; it was a chance that happened to us."
6:10The men did so, and took two milk cattle, and tied them to the
cart, and shut up their calves at home;
6:11and
they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the coffer with the mice of
gold and the images of their tumors.
6:12The
cattle took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along
the highway, lowing as they went, and didn't turn aside to the right hand
or to the left; and the lords of the Pelishtim went after them to the
border of Beth-shemesh. 6:13They of Beth-shemesh
were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their
eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
6:14The
cart came into the field of Yehoshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there,
where there was a great stone: and they split the wood of the cart, and
offered up the cattle for a burnt offering to the LORD.
6:15The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that
was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great
stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed
sacrifices the same day to the LORD.
6:16When
the five lords of the Pelishtim had seen it, they returned to `Ekron the
same day. 6:17These are the golden tumors which the Pelishtim returned for a
trespass-offering to the LORD: for Ashdod one, for `Aza one, for Ashkelon
one, for Gat one, for `Ekron one; 6:18and the golden
mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Pelishtim belonging
to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even
to the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD, which
stone remains to this day in the field of Yehoshua the Beth-shemite.
6:19He struck of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked
into the teivah of the LORD, he struck of the people
fifty thousand seventy men; and the people mourned, because the LORD had
struck the people with a great slaughter.
6:20The
men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy
G-d? and to whom shall he go up from us?
6:21They
sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiryat-Ye`arim, saying, The
Pelishtim have brought back the ark of the LORD; come you down, and bring
it up to you.
7:1The men of Kiryat-Ye`arim came, and fetched up the ark of the
LORD, and brought it into the house of Avinadav in the hill, and
sanctified El`azar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
7:2It happened, from the day that the ark abode in Kiryat-Ye`arim,
that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of
Yisra'el lamented after the LORD. 7:3Shemu'el spoke to
all the house of Yisra'el, saying, If you do return to the LORD with all
your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the `Ashtarot from among
you, and direct your hearts to the LORD, and serve him only; and he will
deliver you out of the hand of the Pelishtim.
7:4Then
the children of Yisra'el did put away the Ba`alim and the `Ashtarot, and
served the LORD only. 7:5Shemu'el said,
Gather all Yisra'el to Mitzpah, and I will pray for you to the LORD.
7:6They gathered together to Mitzpah, and drew water, and poured it
out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have
sinned against the LORD. Shemu'el judged the children of Yisra'el in
Mitzpah. 7:7When the Pelishtim heard that the children of Yisra'el were
gathered together at Mitzpah, the lords of the Pelishtim went up against
Yisra'el. When the children of Yisra'el heard it, they were afraid of the
Pelishtim. 7:8The children of Yisra'el said to Shemu'el, "Don't cease to cry to
the LORD our G-d for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the
Pelishtim." 7:9Shemu'el took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole
burnt-offering to the LORD: and Shemu'el cried to the LORD for Yisra'el;
and the LORD answered him. 7:10As Shemu'el was
offering up the burnt offering, the Pelishtim drew near to battle against
Yisra'el; but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day on the
Pelishtim, and confused them; and they were struck down before Yisra'el.
7:11The men of Yisra'el went out of Mitzpah, and pursued the
Pelishtim, and struck them, until they came under Beit-Kar.
7:12Then Shemu'el took a stone, and set it between Mitzpah and Shen,
and called the name of it Even-Ha`ezer, saying, Hitherto has the LORD
helped us.
7:13So the Pelishtim were subdued, and
they came no more within the border of Yisra'el: and the hand of the LORD
was against the Pelishtim all the days of Shemu'el.
7:14The cities which the Pelishtim had taken from Yisra'el were
restored to Yisra'el, from `Ekron even to Gat; and the border of it did
Yisra'el deliver out of the hand of the Pelishtim. There was shalom
between Yisra'el and the Amori. 7:15Shemu'el judged
Yisra'el all the days of his life. 7:16He went from year
to year in circuit to Beit-El and Gilgal, and Mitzpah; and he judged
Yisra'el in all those places. 7:17His return was to
Ramah, for there was his house; and there he judged Yisra'el: and he built
there an altar to the LORD.
8:1It happened, when Shemu'el was old, that he made his sons judges
over Yisra'el.
8:2Now the name of his firstborn was
Yo'el; and the name of his second, Aviyah: they were judges in Be'er-Sheva.
8:3His sons didn't walk in his ways, but turned aside after lucre,
and took bribes, and perverted justice.
8:4Then
all the elders of Yisra'el gathered themselves together, and came to
Shemu'el to Ramah;
8:5and they said to him, Behold, you
are old, and your sons don't walk in your ways: now make us a king to
judge us like all the nations. 8:6But the thing
displeased Shemu'el, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Shemu'el
prayed to the LORD.
8:7The LORD said to Shemu'el, Listen
to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not
rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over
them. 8:8According to all the works which they have done since the day
that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have
forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also to you.
8:9Now therefore listen to their voice: however you shall protest
solemnly to them, and shall show them the manner of the king who shall
reign over them.
8:10Shemu'el told all the words of
the LORD to the people who asked of him a king.
8:11He
said, This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: he
will take your sons, and appoint them to him, for his chariots, and to be
his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;
8:12and he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and
captains of fifties; and he will set some to plow his ground, and
to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the
instruments of his chariots. 8:13He will take your
daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
8:14He will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive
groves, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
8:15He will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and
give to his officers, and to his servants.
8:16He
will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your best young
men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
8:17He
will take the tenth of your flocks: and you shall be his servants.
8:18You shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you shall
have chosen you; and the LORD will not answer you in that day.
8:19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Shemu'el; and
they said, No: but we will have a king over us,
8:20that
we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and
go out before us, and fight our battles.
8:21Shemu'el
heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of
the LORD. 8:22The LORD said to Shemu'el, Listen to their voice, and make them a
king. Shemu'el said to the men of Yisra'el, Go you every man to his city.
9:1Now there was a man of Binyamin, whose name was Kish, the son of
Aviel, the son of Tzeror, the son of Bekhorat, the son of Afiach, the son
of a Binyamini, a mighty man of valor.
9:2He
had a son, whose name was Sha'ul, an impressive young man; and there was
not among the children of Yisra'el a better person than he. From his
shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
9:3The donkeys of Kish, Sha'ul's father, were lost. Kish said to
Sha'ul his son, Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go seek
the donkeys.
9:4He passed through the hill-country of
Efrayim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they didn't find
them: then they passed through the land of Sha`alim, and there they
weren't there: and he passed through the land of the Binyamini, but they
didn't find them.
9:5When they had come to the land of
Tzuf, Sha'ul said to his servant who was with him, Come, and let us
return, lest my father leave off caring for the donkeys, and be anxious
for us. 9:6He said to him, See now, there is in this city a man of G-d, and
he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes surely to pass:
now let us go there; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey
whereon we go.
9:7Then said Sha'ul to his servant, But,
behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in
our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of G-d: what
have we? 9:8The servant answered Sha'ul again, and said, Behold, I have in my
hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of
G-d, to tell us our way. 9:9(In earlier times
in Yisra'el, when a man went to inquire of G-d, thus he said, Come, and
let us go to the seer; for he who is now called a Prophet was before
called a Seer.)
9:10Then said Sha'ul to his servant,
Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of G-d
was. 9:11As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens
going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the seer here?
9:12They answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before
you: make haste now, for he is come today into the city; for the people
have a sacrifice today in the high place:
9:13as
soon as you are come into the city, you shall immediately find him, before
he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he
come, because he does bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat
who are invited. Now therefore get you up; for at this time you shall find
him. 9:14They went up to the city; and as they came within the
city, behold, Shemu'el came out toward them, to go up to the high place.
9:15Now the LORD had revealed to Shemu'el a day before Sha'ul came,
saying, 9:16Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of
Binyamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Yisra'el;
and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Pelishtim: for I have
looked on my people, because their cry is come to me.
9:17When Shemu'el saw Sha'ul, the LORD said to him, Behold, the man
of whom I spoke to you! this same shall have authority over my people.
9:18Then Sha'ul drew near to Shemu'el in the gate, and said, Tell me,
Please, where the seer's house is. 9:19Shemu'el answered
Sha'ul, and said, I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for
you shall eat with me today: and in the morning I will let you go, and
will tell you all that is in your heart.
9:20As
for your donkeys who were lost three days ago, don't set your mind on
them; for they are found. For whom is all that is desirable in Yisra'el?
Is it not for you, and for all your father's house?
9:21Sha'ul answered, Am I not a Binyamini, of the smallest of the
tribes of Yisra'el? and my family the least of all the families of the
tribe of Binyamin? why then speak you to me after this manner?
9:22Shemu'el took Sha'ul and his servant, and brought them into the
guest-chamber, and made them sit in the best place among those who were
invited, who were about thirty persons.
9:23Shemu'el
said to the cook, Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to
you, Set it by you. 9:24The cook took up
the thigh, and that which was on it, and set it before Sha'ul. Shemu'el
said, Behold, that which has been reserved! set it before you and eat;
because to the appointed time has it been kept for you, for I said, I have
invited the people. So Sha'ul ate with Shemu'el that day.
9:25When they were come down from the high place into the city, he
talked with Sha'ul on the housetop.
9:26They
arose early: and it happened about the spring of the day, that Shemu'el
called to Sha'ul on the housetop, saying, Up, that I may send you away.
Sha'ul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Shemu'el, abroad.
9:27As they were going down at the end of the city, Shemu'el said to
Sha'ul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand
you still first, that I may cause you to hear the word of G-d.
10:1Then Shemu'el took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head,
and kissed him, and said, Isn't it that the LORD has anointed you to be
prince over his inheritance? 10:2When you are
departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb, in
the border of Binyamin at Tzeltzach; and they will tell you, The donkeys
which you went to seek are found; and, behold, your father has left off
caring for the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do
for my son?
10:3Then shall you go on forward from
there, and you shall come to the oak of Tavor; and there shall meet you
there three men going up to G-d to Beit-El, one carrying three kids, and
another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of
wine: 10:4and they will greet you, and give you two loaves of bread, which
you shall receive of their hand. 10:5After that you
shall come to the hill of G-d, where is the garrison of the Pelishtim: and
it shall happen, when you are come there to the city, that you shall meet
a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a
tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be
prophesying:
10:6and the Spirit of the LORD will come
mightily on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned
into another man.
10:7Let it be, when these signs are
come to you, that you do as occasion shall serve you; for G-d is with you.
10:8You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come
down to you, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of
peace-offerings: seven days shall you wait, until I come to you, and show
you what you shall do. 10:9It was so, that
when he had turned his back to go from Shemu'el, G-d gave him another
heart: and all those signs happened that day.
10:10When
they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the
Spirit of G-d came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.
10:11It happened, when all who knew him before saw that, behold, he
prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is
this that is come to the son of Kish? Is Sha'ul also among the prophets?
10:12One of the same place answered, Who is their father? Therefore it
became a proverb, Is Sha'ul also among the prophets?
10:13When he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high
place. 10:14Sha'ul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Where went you? He
said, To seek the donkeys; and when we saw that they were not found, we
came to Shemu'el.
10:15Sha'ul's uncle said, Tell me,
Please, what Shemu'el said to you.
10:16Sha'ul
said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys were found. But
concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Shemu'el spoke, he didn't
tell him.
10:17Shemu'el called the people together
to the LORD to Mitzpah; 10:18and he said to
the children of Yisra'el, Thus says the LORD, the G-d of Yisra'el, I
brought up Yisra'el out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of
the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you:
10:19but you have this day rejected your G-d, who himself saves you
out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him,
No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before
the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.
10:20So
Shemu'el brought all the tribes of Yisra'el near, and the tribe of
Binyamin was taken. 10:21He brought the
tribe of Binyamin near by their families; and the family of the Matri was
taken; and Sha'ul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he
could not be found. 10:22Therefore they
asked of the LORD further, Is there yet a man to come here? the LORD
answered, Behold, he has hid himself among the baggage.
10:23They ran and fetched him there; and when he stood among the
people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and
upward. 10:24Shemu'el said to all the people, "You see him whom the LORD has
chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?"
All the people shouted, and said, Long live the
king. 10:25Then Shemu'el told the people the manner of the kingdom, and
wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. Shemu'el sent all the
people away, every man to his house.
10:26Sha'ul
also went to his house to Gevah; and there went with him the host, whose
hearts G-d had touched. 10:27But certain
worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? They despised him, and
brought him no present. But he held his shalom.
11:1Then Nachash the `Ammonite came up, and encamped against
Yavesh-Gil`ad: and all the men of Yavesh said to Nachash, Make a covenant
with us, and we will serve you. 11:2Nachash the
`Ammonite said to them, On this condition will I make it with you, that
all your right eyes be put out; and I will lay it for a reproach on all
Yisra'el. 11:3The elders of Yavesh said to him, Give us seven days' respite,
that we may send messengers to all the borders of Yisra'el; and then, if
there be none to save us, we will come out to you.
11:4Then
came the messengers to Gevah of Sha'ul, and spoke these words in the ears
of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
11:5Behold, Sha'ul came following the oxen out of the field; and
Sha'ul said, What ails the people that they weep? They told him the words
of the men of Yavesh. 11:6The Spirit of G-d
came mightily on Sha'ul when he heard those words, and his anger was
kindled greatly.
11:7He took a yoke of oxen, and cut
them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Yisra'el by
the hand of messengers, saying, Whoever doesn't come forth after Sha'ul
and after Shemu'el, so shall it be done to his oxen. The dread of the LORD
fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
11:8He
numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Yisra'el were three hundred
thousand, and the men of Yehudah thirty thousand.
11:9They
said to the messengers who came, Thus shall you tell the men of
Yavesh-Gil`ad, Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have
deliverance. The messengers came and told the men of Yavesh; and they were
glad. 11:10Therefore the men of Yavesh said, Tomorrow we will come out to
you, and you shall do with us all that seems good to you.
11:11It was so on the next day, that Sha'ul put the people in three
companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch,
and struck the `Ammonim until the heat of the day: and it happened, that
those who remained were scattered, so that no two of them were left
together.
11:12The people said to Shemu'el, Who is
he who said, Shall Sha'ul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put
them to death.
11:13Sha'ul said, There shall not a
man be put to death this day; for today the LORD has worked deliverance in
Yisra'el.
11:14Then said Shemu'el to the people,
Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.
11:15All the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Sha'ul king
before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they offered sacrifices of
peace-offerings before the LORD; and there Sha'ul and all the men of
Yisra'el rejoiced greatly.
12:1Shemu'el said to all Yisra'el, Behold, I have listened to your
voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.
12:2Now, behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and
gray-headed; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before
you from my youth to this day. 12:3Here I am:
witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have
I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have
I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes
therewith? and I will restore it you.
12:4They
said, You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken
anything of any man's hand. 12:5He said to them,
the LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day,
that you have not found anything in my hand. They said, He is witness.
12:6Shemu'el said to the people, It is the LORD who appointed Moshe
and Aharon, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
12:7Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the
LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you
and to your fathers. 12:8When Ya`akov was
come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent
Moshe and Aharon, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made
them to dwell in this place. 12:9But they forgot
the LORD their G-d; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of
the host of Chatzor, and into the hand of the Pelishtim, and into the hand
of the king of Mo'av; and they fought against them.
12:10They cried to the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have
forsaken the LORD, and have served the Ba`alim and the `Ashtarot: but now
deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.
12:11The LORD sent Yerubba`al, and Bedan, and Yiftach, and Shemu'el,
and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you
lived in safety.
12:12When you saw that Nachash the
king of the children of `Ammon came against you, you said to me, No, but a
king shall reign over us; when the LORD your G-d was your king.
12:13Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen, and whom you
have asked for: and, behold, the LORD has set a king over you.
12:14If you will fear the LORD, and serve him, and listen to his
voice, and not rebel against the mitzvah of the LORD,
and both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the
LORD your G-d, well: 12:15but if you will
not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the
mitzvah of the LORD, then will the hand of the LORD be against you, as
it was against your fathers. 12:16Now therefore
stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your
eyes. 12:17Isn't it wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that he
may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that your wickedness
is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a
king. 12:18So Shemu'el called to the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and
rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Shemu'el.
12:19All the people said to Shemu'el, Pray for your servants to the
LORD your G-d, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this
evil, to ask us a king. 12:20Shemu'el said to
the people, "Don't be afraid; you have indeed done all this evil; yet
don't turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your
heart: 12:21and don't turn aside; for then would you go after vain
things which can't profit nor deliver, for they are vain.
12:22For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's
sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people to himself.
12:23Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against
the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good
and the right way. 12:24Only fear the
LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great
things he has done for you. 12:25But if you shall
still do wickedly, you shall be consumed, both you and your king."
13:1Sha'ul was forty years old when he began to reign; and
when he had reigned two years over Yisra'el,
13:2Sha'ul
chose him three thousand men of Yisra'el, of which two thousand were with
Sha'ul in Mikhmash and in the Mount of Beit-El, and one thousand were with
Yonatan in Gevah of Binyamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man
to his tent.
13:3Yonatan struck the garrison of the
Pelishtim that was in Geva: and the Pelishtim heard of it. Sha'ul blew the
shofar throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews
hear. 13:4All Yisra'el heard say that Sha'ul had struck the garrison of the
Pelishtim, and also that Yisra'el was had in abomination with the
Pelishtim. The people were gathered together after Sha'ul to Gilgal.
13:5The Pelishtim assembled themselves together to fight with
Yisra'el, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people
as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude: and they came up, and
encamped in Mikhmash, eastward of Beit-Aven.
13:6When
the men of Yisra'el saw that they were in a strait (for the people were
distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in
thickets, and in rocks, and in coverts, and in pits.
13:7Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Yarden to the land of
Gad and Gil`ad; but as for Sha'ul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the
people followed him trembling. 13:8He stayed seven
days, according to the set time that Shemu'el had appointed: but
Shemu'el didn't come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
13:9Sha'ul said, Bring here the burnt offering to me, and the
peace-offerings. He offered the burnt offering.
13:10It
came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, behold, Shemu'el came; and Sha'ul went out to meet him, that he
might greet him.
13:11Shemu'el said, What have you
done? Sha'ul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me,
and that you didn't come within the days appointed, and that the Pelishtim
assembled themselves together at Mikhmash;
13:12therefore
said I, Now will the Pelishtim come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven't
entreated the favor of the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered
the burnt offering. 13:13Shemu'el said to
Sha'ul, You have done foolishly; you have not kept the
mitzvah of the LORD your G-d, which he commanded you: for now would
the LORD have established your kingdom on Yisra'el forever.
13:14But now your kingdom shall not continue: the LORD has sought him
a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be prince
over his people, because you have not kept that which the LORD commanded
you. 13:15Shemu'el arose, and got him up from Gilgal to Gevah of Binyamin.
Sha'ul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred
men. 13:16Sha'ul, and Yonatan his son, and the people who were present with
them, abode in Geva of Binyamin: but the Pelishtim encamped in Mikhmash.
13:17The spoilers came out of the camp of the Pelishtim in three
companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ofrat, to the land
of Shual;
13:18and another company turned the way to
Beit-Choron; and another company turned the way of the border that looks
down on the valley of Tzevo`im toward the wilderness.
13:19Now there was no smith found throughout all Eretz-Yisra'el; for
the Pelishtim said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
13:20but all the Yisra'elites went down to the Pelishtim, to sharpen
every man his plowshare, mattock, axe, and sickle;
13:21yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the plowshares, and
for the forks, and for the axes, and to set the goads.
13:22So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither
sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with
Sha'ul and Yonatan: but with Sha'ul and with Yonatan his son was there
found. 13:23The garrison of the Pelishtim went out to the pass of Mikhmash.
14:1Now it fell on a day, that Yonatan the son of Sha'ul said to the
young man who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the Pelishtim'
garrison, that is on yonder side. But he didn't tell his father.
14:2Sha'ul abode in the uttermost part of Gevah under the pomegranate
tree which is in Migron: and the people who were with him were about six
hundred men;
14:3and Achiyah, the son of Achituv,
Ikhavod's brother, the son of Pinechas, the son of `Eli, the
kohen of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an efod. The
people didn't know that Yonatan was gone.
14:4Between
the passes, by which Yonatan sought to go over to the Pelishtim' garrison,
there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other
side: and the name of the one was Botzetz, and the name of the other
Senneh. 14:5The one crag rose up on the north in front of Mikhmash, and the
other on the south in front of Geva.
14:6Yonatan
said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the
garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us;
for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.
14:7His armor bearer said to him, Do all that is in your heart: turn
you, behold, I am with you according to your heart.
14:8Then said Yonatan, Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we
will disclose ourselves to them. 14:9If they say thus
to us, Wait until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place,
and will not go up to them. 14:10But if they say
thus, Come up to us; then we will go up; for the LORD has delivered them
into our hand: and this shall be the sign to us.
14:11Both
of them disclosed themselves to the garrison of the Pelishtim: and the
Pelishtim said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they
had hid themselves. 14:12The men of the
garrison answered Yonatan and his armor bearer, and said, Come up to us,
and we will show you a thing. Yonatan said to his armor bearer, Come up
after me; for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Yisra'el.
14:13Yonatan climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armor
bearer after him: and they fell before Yonatan; and his armor bearer
killed them after him. 14:14That first
slaughter, which Yonatan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men,
within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land.
14:15There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all
the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the
earth quaked: so there was an exceeding great trembling.
14:16The watchmen of Sha'ul in Gevah of Binyamin looked; and, behold,
the multitude melted away, and they went here and there.
14:17Then said Sha'ul to the people who were with him, Number now, and
see who is gone from us. When they had numbered, behold, Yonatan and his
armor bearer were not there. 14:18Sha'ul said to
Achiyah, Bring here the ark of G-d. For the ark of G-d was there at
that time with the children of Yisra'el.
14:19It
happened, while Sha'ul talked to the kohen, that the
tumult that was in the camp of the Pelishtim went on and increased: and
Sha'ul said to the kohen, Withdraw your hand.
14:20Sha'ul and all the people who were with him were gathered
together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was
against his fellow, and there was a very great confusion.
14:21Now the Hebrews who were with the Pelishtim as before, and who
went up with them into the camp, from the country round about, even
they also turned to be with the Yisra'elites who were with Sha'ul
and Yonatan.
14:22Likewise all the men of Yisra'el who
had hid themselves in the hill-country of Efrayim, when they heard that
the Pelishtim fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
14:23So the LORD saved Yisra'el that day: and the battle passed over
by Beit-Aven.
14:24The men of Yisra'el were
distressed that day; for Sha'ul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be
the man who eats any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on my
enemies. So none of the people tasted food.
14:25All
the people came into the forest; and there was honey on the ground.
14:26When the people were come to the forest, behold, the honey
dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the
oath. 14:27But Yonatan didn't hear when his father charged the people with
the oath: therefore he put forth the end of the rod who was in his hand,
and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his
eyes were enlightened. 14:28Then answered
one of the people, and said, Your father directly charged the people with
an oath, saying, Cursed be the man who eats food this day. The people were
faint. 14:29Then said Yonatan, My father has troubled the land. Please look
how my eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this
honey. 14:30How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely today of the
spoil of their enemies which they found? for now has there been no great
slaughter among the Pelishtim. 14:31They struck of
the Pelishtim that day from Mikhmash to Ayalon. The people were very
faint; 14:32and the people flew on the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and
calves, and killed them on the ground; and the people ate them with the
blood. 14:33Then they told Sha'ul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the
LORD, in that they eat with the blood. He said, you have dealt
treacherously: roll a great stone to me this day.
14:34Sha'ul
said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them, Bring me here
every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and kill them here, and eat;
and don't sin against the LORD in eating with the blood. All the people
brought every man his ox with him that night, and killed them there.
14:35Sha'ul built an altar to the LORD: the same was the first altar
that he built to the LORD. 14:36Sha'ul said, Let
us go down after the Pelishtim by night, and take spoil among them until
the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. They said, Do
whatever seems good to you. Then said the kohen, Let us
draw near here to G-d. 14:37Sha'ul asked
counsel of G-d, Shall I go down after the Pelishtim? will you deliver them
into the hand of Yisra'el? But he didn't answer him that day.
14:38Sha'ul said, Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people; and
know and see in which this sin has been this day.
14:39For,
as the LORD lives, who saves Yisra'el, though it be in Yonatan my son, he
shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people who
answered him.
14:40Then said he to all Yisra'el, Be
you on one side, and I and Yonatan my son will be on the other side. The
people said to Sha'ul, Do what seems good to you.
14:41Therefore
Sha'ul said to the LORD, the G-d of Yisra'el, Show the right. Yonatan and
Sha'ul were taken by lot; but the people escaped.
14:42Sha'ul said, Cast lots between me and Yonatan my son.
Yonatan was taken. 14:43Then Sha'ul said
to Yonatan, Tell me what you have done. Yonatan told him, and said, I did
certainly taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my
hand; and, behold, I must die. 14:44Sha'ul said, G-d
do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Yonatan.
14:45The people said to Sha'ul, Shall Yonatan die, who has worked this
great salvation in Yisra'el? Far from it: as the LORD lives, there shall
not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he has worked with G-d
this day. So the people rescued Yonatan, that he didn't die.
14:46Then Sha'ul went up from following the Pelishtim; and the
Pelishtim went to their own place.
14:47Now
when Sha'ul had taken the kingdom over Yisra'el, he fought against all his
enemies on every side, against Mo'av, and against the children of `Ammon,
and against Edom, and against the kings of Tzovah, and against the
Pelishtim: and wherever he turned himself, he put them to the
worse. 14:48He did valiantly, and struck the `Amaleki, and delivered Yisra'el
out of the hands of those who despoiled them.
14:49Now
the sons of Sha'ul were Yonatan, and Yishvi, and Malki-Shua; and the names
of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merav, and the
name of the younger Mikhal: 14:50and the name of
Sha'ul's wife was Achino'am the daughter of Achima`atz. The name of the
captain of his host was Aviner the son of Ner, Sha'ul's uncle.
14:51Kish was the father of Sha'ul; and Ner the father of Aviner was
the son of Aviel.
14:52There was sore war against the
Pelishtim all the days of Sha'ul: and when Sha'ul saw any mighty man, or
any valiant man, he took him to him.
15:1Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, the LORD sent me to anoint you to be
king over his people, over Yisra'el: now therefore listen you to the voice
of the words of the LORD. 15:2Thus says the
LORD of Hosts, I have marked that which `Amalek did to Yisra'el, how he
set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
15:3Now go and strike `Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they
have, and don't spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and
suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
15:4Sha'ul
summoned the people, and numbered them in Tela'im, two hundred thousand
footmen, and ten thousand men of Yehudah.
15:5Sha'ul
came to the city of `Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
15:6Sha'ul said to the Kinim, Go, depart, get you down from among the
`Amaleki, lest I destroy you with them; for you shown kindness to all the
children of Yisra'el, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kinim
departed from among the `Amaleki. 15:7Sha'ul struck the
`Amaleki, from Chavilah as you go to Shur, that is before Egypt.
15:8He took Agag the king of the `Amaleki alive, and utterly
destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
15:9But Sha'ul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep,
and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was
good, and wouldn't utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and
refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
15:10Then
came the word of the LORD to Shemu'el, saying,
15:11It
repents me that I have set up Sha'ul to be king; for he is turned back
from following me, and has not performed my mitzvot.
Shemu'el was angry; and he cried to the LORD all night.
15:12Shemu'el rose early to meet Sha'ul in the morning; and it was
told Shemu'el, saying, Sha'ul came to Karmel, and, behold, he set him up a
monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
15:13Shemu'el came to Sha'ul; and Sha'ul said to him, Blessed are you
by the LORD: I have performed the mitzvah of the LORD.
15:14Shemu'el said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my
ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15:15Sha'ul
said, They have brought them from the `Amaleki: for the people spared the
best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your G-d; and
the rest we have utterly destroyed.
15:16Then
Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Stay, and I will tell you what the LORD has said
to me this night. He said to him, Say on.
15:17Shemu'el
said, "Though you were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head
of the tribes of Yisra'el? the LORD anointed you king over Yisra'el;
15:18and the LORD sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly
destroy the sinners the `Amaleki, and fight against them until they are
consumed.'
15:19Why then didn't you obey the voice of
the LORD, but flew on the spoil, and did that which was evil in the sight
of the LORD?"
15:20Sha'ul said to Shemu'el, Yes, I
have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD
sent me, and have brought Agag the king of `Amalek, and have utterly
destroyed the `Amaleki. 15:21But the people
took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to
sacrifice to the LORD your G-d in Gilgal.
15:22Shemu'el
said, Has 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 listen than the fat of rams.
15:23For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and
terafim. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also
rejected you from being king. 15:24Sha'ul said to
Shemu'el, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the
mitzvah of the LORD, and your words, because I feared the people, and
obeyed their voice. 15:25Now therefore,
please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
15:26Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, I will not return with you; for you have
rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being
king over Yisra'el. 15:27As Shemu'el
turned about to go away, Sha'ul laid hold on the skirt of his robe,
and it tore.
15:28</