1 Samuel 28; 1 Samuel 29; 1 Samuel 30; 1 Samuel 31; Psalms 18

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1 Samuel 28

1 Some time later the Philistines gathered their troops to fight Israel, and Achish said to David, "Of course you understand that you and your men are to fight on my side."

2 "Of course," David answered. "I am your servant, and you will see for yourself what I can do." Achish said, "Good! I will make you my permanent bodyguard."

3 Now Samuel had died, and all the Israelites had mourned for him and had buried him in his hometown of Ramah. Saul had forced all the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel.

4 The Philistine troops assembled and camped near the town of Shunem; Saul gathered the Israelites and camped at Mount Gilboa.

5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was terrified,

6 and so he asked the Lord what to do. But the Lord did not answer him at all, either by dreams or by the use of Urim and Thummim or by prophets.

7 Then Saul ordered his officials, "Find me a woman who is a medium, and I will go and consult her." "There is one in Endor," they answered.

8 So Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his men to see the woman. "Consult the spirits for me and tell me what is going to happen," he said to her. "Call up the spirit of the man I name."

9 The woman answered, "Surely you know what King Saul has done, how he forced the fortunetellers and mediums to leave Israel. Why, then, are you trying to trap me and get me killed?"

10 Then Saul made a sacred vow. "By the living Lord I promise that you will not be punished for doing this," he told her.

11 "Whom shall I call up for you?" the woman asked. "Samuel," he answered.

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul, "Why have you tricked me? You are King Saul!"

13 "Don't be afraid!" the king said to her. "What do you see?" "I see a spirit coming up from the earth," she answered.

14 "What does it look like?" he asked. "It's an old man coming up," she answered. "He is wearing a cloak." Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed to the ground in respect.

15 Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me? Why did you make me come back?" Saul answered, "I am in great trouble! The Philistines are at war with me, and God has abandoned me. He doesn't answer me any more, either by prophets or by dreams. And so I have called you, for you to tell me what I must do."

16 Samuel said, "Why do you call me when the Lord has abandoned you and become your enemy?

17 The Lord has done to you what he told you through me: he has taken the kingdom away from you and given it to David instead.

18 You disobeyed the Lord's command and did not completely destroy the Amalekites and all they had. That is why the Lord is doing this to you now.

19 He will give you and Israel over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will join me, and the Lord will also give the army of Israel over to the Philistines."

20 At once Saul fell down and lay stretched out on the ground, terrified by what Samuel had said. He was weak, because he had not eaten anything all day and all night.

21 The woman went over to him and saw that he was terrified, so she said to him, "Please, sir, I risked my life by doing what you asked.

22 Now please do what I ask. Let me fix you some food. You must eat so that you will be strong enough to travel."

23 Saul refused and said he would not eat anything. But his officers also urged him to eat. He finally gave in, got up from the ground, and sat on the bed.

24 The woman quickly killed a calf which she had been fattening. Then she took some flour, prepared it, and baked some bread without yeast.

25 She set the food before Saul and his officers, and they ate it. And they left that same night.

1 Samuel 29

1 The Philistines brought all their troops together at Aphek, while the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel Valley.

2 The five Philistine kings marched out with their units of a hundred and of a thousand men; David and his men marched in the rear with King Achish.

3 The Philistine commanders saw them and asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish answered, "This is David, an official of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me for quite some time now. He has done nothing I can find fault with since the day he came over to me."

4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said to him, "Send that fellow back to the town you gave him. Don't let him go into battle with us; he might turn against us during the fighting. What better way is there for him to win back his master's favor than by the death of our men?

5 After all, this is David, the one about whom the women sang, as they danced, "Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands.' "

6 Achish called David and said to him, "I swear by the living God of Israel that you have been loyal to me; and I would be pleased to have you go with me and fight in this battle. I have not found any fault in you from the day you came over to me. But the other kings don't approve of you.

7 So go back home in peace, and don't do anything that would displease them."

8 David answered, "What have I done wrong, sir? If, as you say, you haven't found any fault in me since the day I started serving you, why shouldn't I go with you, my master and king, and fight your enemies?"

9 "I agree," Achish replied. "I consider you as loyal as an angel of God. But the other kings have said that you can't go with us into battle.

10 So then, David, tomorrow morning all of you who left Saul and came over to me will have to get up early and leave as soon as it's light."

11 So David and his men started out early the following morning to go back to Philistia, and the Philistines went on to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 30

1 Two days later David and his men arrived back at Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided southern Judah and attacked Ziklag. They had burned down the town

2 and captured all the women; they had not killed anyone, but had taken everyone with them when they left.

3 When David and his men arrived, they found that the town had been burned down and that their wives, sons, and daughters had been carried away.

4 David and his men started crying and did not stop until they were completely exhausted.

5 Even David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken away.

6 David was now in great trouble, because his men were all very bitter about losing their children, and they were threatening to stone him; but the Lord his God gave him courage.

7 David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod," and Abiathar brought it to him.

8 David asked the Lord, "Shall I go after those raiders? And will I catch them?" He answered, "Go after them; you will catch them and rescue the captives."

9 So David and his six hundred men started out, and when they arrived at Besor Brook, some of them stayed there.

10 David continued on his way with four hundred men; the other two hundred men were too tired to cross the brook and so stayed behind.

11 The men with David found a young Egyptian out in the country and brought him to David. They gave him some food and water,

12 some dried figs, and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, his strength returned; he had not had anything to eat or drink for three full days.

13 David asked him, "Who is your master, and where are you from?" "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite," he answered. "My master left me behind three days ago because I got sick.

14 We had raided the territory of the Cherethites in the southern part of Judah and the territory of the clan of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag."

15 "Will you lead me to those raiders?" David asked him. He answered, "I will if you promise me in God's name that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master."

16 And he led David to them. The raiders were scattered all over the place, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the enormous amount of loot they had captured from Philistia and Judah.

17 At dawn the next day David attacked them and fought until evening. Except for four hundred young men who mounted camels and got away, none of them escaped.

18 David rescued everyone and everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives;

19 nothing at all was missing. David got back all his men's sons and daughters, and all the loot the Amalekites had taken.

20 He also recovered all the flocks and herds; his men drove all the livestock in front of them and said, "This belongs to David!"

21 Then David went back to the two hundred men who had been too weak to go with him and had stayed behind at Besor Brook. They came forward to meet David and his men, and David went up to them and greeted them warmly.

22 But some mean and worthless men who had gone with David said, "They didn't go with us, and so we won't give them any of the loot. They can take their wives and children and go away."

23 But David answered, "My brothers, you can't do this with what the Lord has given us! He kept us safe and gave us victory over the raiders.

24 No one can agree with what you say! All must share alike: whoever stays behind with the supplies gets the same share as the one who goes into battle."

25 David made this a rule, and it has been followed in Israel ever since.

26 When David returned to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah, with the message, "Here is a present for you from the loot we took from the Lord's enemies."

27 He sent it to the people in Bethel, to the people in Ramah in the southern part of Judah, and to the people in the towns of Jattir,

28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,

29 and Racal; to the clan of Jerahmeel, to the Kenites,

30 and to the people in the towns of Hormah, Borashan, Athach,

31 and Hebron. He sent it to all the places where he and his men had roamed.

1 Samuel 31

1 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled.

2 But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

3 The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he himself was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded.

4 He said to the young man carrying his weapons, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that these godless Philistines won't gloat over me and kill me." But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it.

5 The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his own sword and died with Saul.

6 And that is how Saul, his three sons, and the young man died; all of Saul's men died that day.

7 When the Israelites on the other side of Jezreel Valley and east of the Jordan River heard that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had been killed, they abandoned their towns and fled. Then the Philistines came and occupied the towns.

8 The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa.

9 They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people.

10 Then they put his weapons in the temple of the goddess Astarte, and they nailed his body to the wall of the city of Beth Shan.

11 When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 the bravest men started out and marched all night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, brought them back to Jabesh, and burned them there.

13 Then they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in town, and fasted for seven days.

Psalms 18

1 How I love you, Lord! You are my defender.

2 The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress. My God is my protection, and with him I am safe. He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe.

3 I call to the Lord, and he saves me from my enemies. Praise the Lord!

4 The danger of death was all around me; the waves of destruction rolled over me.

5 The danger of death was around me, and the grave set its trap for me.

6 In my trouble I called to the Lord; I called to my God for help. In his temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help.

7 Then the earth trembled and shook; the foundations of the mountains rocked and quivered, because God was angry.

8 Smoke poured out of his nostrils, a consuming flame and burning coals from his mouth.

9 He tore the sky open and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.

10 He flew swiftly on his winged creature; he traveled on the wings of the wind.

11 He covered himself with darkness; thick clouds, full of water, surrounded him.

12 Hailstones and flashes of fire came from the lightning before him and broke through the dark clouds.

13 Then the Lord thundered from the sky; and the voice of the Most High was heard.

14 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; with flashes of lightning he sent them running.

15 The floor of the ocean was laid bare, and the foundations of the earth were uncovered, when you rebuked your enemies, Lord, and roared at them in anger.

16 The Lord reached down from above and took hold of me; he pulled me out of the deep waters.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemies and from all those who hate me - they were too strong for me.

18 When I was in trouble, they attacked me, but the Lord protected me.

19 He helped me out of danger; he saved me because he was pleased with me.

20 The Lord rewards me because I do what is right; he blesses me because I am innocent.

21 I have obeyed the law of the Lord; I have not turned away from my God.

22 I have observed all his laws; I have not disobeyed his commands.

23 He knows that I am faultless, that I have kept myself from doing wrong.

24 And so he rewards me because I do what is right, because he knows that I am innocent.

25 O Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful to you; completely good to those who are perfect.

26 You are pure to those who are pure, but hostile to those who are wicked.

27 You save those who are humble, but you humble those who are proud.

28 O Lord, you give me light; you dispel my darkness.

29 You give me strength to attack my enemies and power to overcome their defenses.

30 This God - how perfect are his deeds! How dependable his words! He is like a shield for all who seek his protection.

31 The Lord alone is God; God alone is our defense.

32 He is the God who makes me strong, who makes my pathway safe.

33 He makes me sure-footed as a deer; he keeps me safe on the mountains.

34 He trains me for battle, so that I can use the strongest bow.

35 O Lord, you protect me and save me; your care has made me great, and your power has kept me safe.

36 You have kept me from being captured, and I have never fallen.

37 I pursue my enemies and catch them; I do not stop until I destroy them.

38 I strike them down, and they cannot rise; they lie defeated before me.

39 You give me strength for the battle and victory over my enemies.

40 You make my enemies run from me; I destroy those who hate me.

41 They cry for help, but no one saves them; they call to the Lord, but he does not answer.

42 I crush them, so that they become like dust which the wind blows away. I trample on them like mud in the streets.

43 You saved me from a rebellious people and made me ruler over the nations; people I did not know have now become my subjects.

44 Foreigners bow before me; when they hear me, they obey.

45 They lose their courage and come trembling from their fortresses.

46 The Lord lives! Praise my defender! Proclaim the greatness of the God who saves me.

47 He gives me victory over my enemies; he subdues the nations under me

48 and saves me from my foes. O Lord, you give me victory over my enemies and protect me from violent people.

49 And so I praise you among the nations; I sing praises to you.

50 God gives great victories to his king; he shows constant love to the one he has chosen, to David and his descendants forever.