The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
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2 And Saul took for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom he kept two thousand with him in Michmash and in the mountain of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin: the rest of the people he sent back to their tents.
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Saul picked three thousand men, keeping two thousand of them with him in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel and sending one thousand with his son Jonathan to Gibeah, in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. The rest of the men Saul sent home.
3 And Jonathan made an attack on the armed force of the Philistines stationed at Gibeah; and news was given to the Philistines that the Hebrews were turned against them. And Saul had a horn sounded through all the land,
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Jonathan killed the Philistine commander in Geba, and all the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul sent messengers to call the Hebrews to war by blowing a trumpet throughout the whole country.
4 And all Israel had the news that Saul had made an attack on the Philistines, and that Israel was bitterly hated by the Philistines. And the people came together after Saul to Gilgal.
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All the Israelites were told that Saul had killed the Philistine commander and that the Philistines hated them. So the people answered the call to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 And the Philistines came together to make war on Israel, three thousand war-carriages and six thousand horsemen and an army of people like the sands of the sea in number: they came up and took up their position in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.
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The Philistines assembled to fight the Israelites; they had thirty thousand war chariots, six thousand cavalry troops, and as many soldiers as there are grains of sand on the seashore. They went to Michmash, east of Bethaven, and camped there.
6 When the men of Israel saw the danger they were in, (for the people were troubled,) they took cover in cracks in the hillsides and in the woods and in rocks and holes and hollows.
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Then they launched a strong attack against the Israelites, putting them in a desperate situation. Some of the Israelites hid in caves and holes or among the rocks or in pits and wells;
7 And a great number of the people had gone over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people went after him shaking in fear.
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others crossed the Jordan River into the territories of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and the people with him were trembling with fear.
8 And he went on waiting there for seven days, the time fixed by Samuel: but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were starting to go away from him.
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He waited seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him to do, but Samuel still had not come to Gilgal. The people began to desert Saul,
9 Then Saul said, Come here and give me the burned offering and the peace-offerings. And he made a burned offering to the Lord.
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so he said to them, "Bring me the burnt sacrifices and the fellowship sacrifices." He offered a burnt sacrifice,
10 And when the burned offering was ended, Samuel came; and Saul went out to see him and to give him a blessing.
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and just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him,
11 And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were going away from me, and you had not come at the time which had been fixed, and the Philistines had come together at Michmash;
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but Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul answered, "The people were deserting me, and you had not come when you said you would; besides that, the Philistines are gathering at Michmash.
12 I said, Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal, and I have made no prayer for help to the Lord: and so, forcing myself to do it, I made a burned offering.
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So I thought, "The Philistines are going to attack me here in Gilgal, and I have not tried to win the Lord's favor.' So I felt I had to offer a sacrifice."
13 And Samuel said to Saul, You have done a foolish thing: you have not kept the rules which the Lord your God gave you; it was the purpose of the Lord to make your authority over Israel safe for ever.
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"That was a foolish thing to do," Samuel answered. "You have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. If you had obeyed, he would have let you and your descendants rule over Israel forever.
14 But now, your authority will not go on: the Lord, searching for a man who is pleasing to him in every way, has given him the place of ruler over his people, because you have not done what the Lord gave you orders to do.
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But now your rule will not continue. Because you have disobeyed him, the Lord will find the kind of man he wants and make him ruler of his people."
15 Then Samuel went up from Gilgal and the rest of the people went up after Saul against the men of war, and they came from Gilgal to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin: and Saul took the number of the people who were with him, about six hundred men.
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Samuel left Gilgal and went on his way. The rest of the people followed Saul as he went to join his soldiers. They went from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul inspected his troops, about six hundred men.
16 And Saul, with Jonathan his son and the people who were with them, was waiting in Geba in the land of Benjamin: but the tents of the Philistines were in Michmash.
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Saul, his son Jonathan, and their men camped in Geba in the territory of Benjamin; the Philistine camp was at Michmash.
17 And three bands of men came out from the Philistines to make an attack; one band went by the road which goes to Ophrah, into the land of Shual:
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The Philistine soldiers went out on raids from their camp in three groups: one group went toward Ophrah in the territory of Shual,
18 And another went in the direction of Beth-horon: and another went by the hill looking down on the valley of Zeboiim, in the direction of the waste land.
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another went toward Beth Horon, and the other one went to the border overlooking Zeboim Valley and the wilderness.
19 Now there was no iron-worker in all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, For fear the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears:
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There were no blacksmiths in Israel because the Philistines were determined to keep the Hebrews from making swords and spears
20 But all the Israelites had to go to the Philistines to get their ploughs and blades and axes and hooks made sharp;
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(The Israelites had to go to the Philistines to get their plows, hoes, axes, and sickles sharpened;
21 For they had instruments for putting an edge on their ploughs and blades and forks and axes, and for putting iron points on their ox-driving rods.
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the charge was one small coin for sharpening axes and for fixing goads, and two coins for sharpening plows or hoes.)
22 So on the day of the fight at Michmash, not a sword or a spear was to be seen in the hands of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan: only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
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And so on the day of battle none of the Israelite soldiers except Saul and his son Jonathan had swords or spears.
23 And the armed force of the Philistines went out to the narrow way of Michmash.
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The Philistines sent a group of soldiers to defend Michmash Pass.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.