1Sa 13, 1Sa 31 | ESV | STEP | Saul lived for one year and then became king , and when he had reigned for two years over Israel ,

1 Samuel 13

Saul Fights the Philistines

1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, ^{▼▼Hebrew Saul was one year old when he became king, and he reigned two years over Israel (see 1 Samuel 10:6); some Greek manuscripts give Saul’s age when he began to reign as thirty years} 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^bMichmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^cGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated ^dthe garrison of the Philistines that was ^eat Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^fblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^glike the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^hBeth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ⁱin caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

8 ^jHe waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, ^k“You have done foolishly. ^lYou have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now ^myour kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ⁿafter his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince ^{▼▼Or leader} over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks The rest of the people . . . from Gilgal} to ^qGibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^rabout six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^sGeba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And ^traiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward ^uBeth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^vZeboim toward the wilderness.

19 ^wNow there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew plowshare} 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel ^{▼▼Hebrew was a pim} for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain} 22 So on the day of the battle ^abthere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And ^acthe garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^adpass of ^aeMichmash.

1 Samuel 31

The Death of Saul

1 ^afNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^agon Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^ahJonathan and ^aiAbinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 ^ajThe battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 ^akThen Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^aluncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^amfor he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^anand fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^aoto carry the good news ^apto the house of their idols and to the people. 10 ^aqThey put his armor in the temple of ^arAshtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^asBeth-shan. 11 ^atBut when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 ^auall the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh ^avand burned them there. 13 And they took their bones ^awand buried them under ^axthe tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ^ayfasted seven days.