- Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first born, Merab, and the name of the younger, Michal. And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. And Kish was the father of Saul. And Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
- And there was serious war against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him unto himself. Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore listen unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of Hosts: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
- And Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get yourselves down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
- And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, that is next to Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul 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 would not utterly destroy them. But everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
- Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, I have set up Saul to be a king, and he repents not that he has sinned, for he is turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on and gone down to Gilgal.
- And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be you of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, What then does this bleating of the sheep in my ears mean, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord your God. And the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Wait, and I will tell you what the Lord has said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
- And Samuel said, When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but did fly upon the spoil and did evil in the sight of the Lord?
- And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, 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 Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord your God in Gilgal.
- And Samuel 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; for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.
- And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray you, pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord. And Samuel said unto Saul, 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 Israel.
- And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The Lord has rent the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours that is better than you. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned; yet honor me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God. So Samuel returned after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
- Then said Samuel, Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
- Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house, to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord rent the kingdom from Saul, whom he had made king over Israel.
- And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord, and call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint unto me him whom I name unto you.
- And Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, Do you come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice unto the Lord. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
- And it came to pass, when they had come, that he looked on Eliab and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him; for the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
- Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, and Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are all your children here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down until he come here. And he sent and brought him in.
- Now he was ruddy, and of a beautiful countenance, and handsome to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
- But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit which was not of the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold, now an evil spirit which is not of God troubles you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is a skilled player on a harp. And it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit which is not of God is upon you, that he shall play with his hand and you shall be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me.
- Then answered one of the servants and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite that is skilled in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. Wherefore, Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, Send me David your son who is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass loaded with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
- And David came to Saul and stood before him, and he loved him greatly. And he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray you, stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit which was not of God was upon Saul, that David took a harp and played with his hand; so Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Chapter 7