Samuel & King Saul

And the woman cometh in unto Saul, and seeth that he hath been greatly troubled, and saith unto him, `Lo, thy maid-servant hath hearkened to thy voice, and I put my soul in my hand, and I obey thy words which thou hast spoken unto me;

and now, hearken, I pray thee, also thou, to the voice of thy maid-servant, and I set before thee a morsel of bread, and eat, and there is in thee power when thou goest in the way.'

And he refuseth, and saith, `I do not eat;' and his servants urge on him, and also the woman, and he hearkeneth to their voice, and riseth from the earth, and sitteth on the bed.

And the woman hath a calf of the stall in the house, and she hasteth and slaughtereth it, and taketh flour, and kneadeth, and baketh it unleavened things,

and bringeth nigh before Saul, and before his servants, and they eat, and rise, and go on, during that night.

And the Philistines gather all their camps to Aphek, and the Israelites are encamping at a fountain which is in Jezreel,

and the princes of the Philistines are passing on by hundreds, and by thousands, and David and his men are passing on in the rear with Achish.

And the heads of the Philistines say, `What are these Hebrews?' and Achish saith unto the heads of the Philistines, `Is not this David servant of Saul king of Israel, who hath been with me these days or these years, and I have not found in him anything wrong from the day of his falling away till this day.'

And the heads of the Philistines are wroth against him, and the heads of the Philistines say to him, `Send back the man, and he doth turn back unto his place whither thou hast appointed him, and doth not go down with us into battle, and is not to us for an adversary in battle; and wherewith doth this one reconcile himself unto his lord--is it not with the heads of those men?'

Is not this David, of whom they answer in choruses, saying, Saul hath smitten among his thousands, and David among his myriads?'

And Achish calleth unto David, and saith unto him, `Jehovah liveth, surely thou art upright, and good in mine eyes is thy going out, and thy coming in, with me in the camp, for I have not found in thee evil from the day of thy coming in unto me till this day; and in the eyes of the princes thou art not good;

and now, turn back, and go in peace, and thou dost do no evil in the eyes of the princes of the Philistines.'

And David saith unto Achish, `But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the day that I have been before thee till this day--that I go not in and have fought against the enemies of my lord the king?'

And Achish answereth and saith unto David, `I have known that thou art good in mine eyes as a messenger of God; only, the princes of the Philistines have said, He doth not go up with us into battle;

and now, rise thou early in the morning, and the servants of thy lord who have come with thee, when ye have risen early in the morning, and have light, then go ye.'

And David riseth early, he and his men, to go in the morning, to turn back unto the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone up to Jezreel.

And it cometh to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed unto the south, and unto Ziklag, and smite Ziklag, and burn it with fire,

and they take captive the women who are in it; from small unto great they have not put any one to death, and they lead away, and go on their way.

And David cometh in--and his men--unto the city, and lo, burnt with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters have been taken captive!

And David lifteth up--and the people who are with him--their voice and weep, till that they have no power to weep.

And the two wives of David have been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;

and David hath great distress, for the people have said to stone him, for the soul of all the people hath been bitter, each for his sons and for his daughters; and David doth strengthen himself in Jehovah his God.

And David saith unto Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, `Bring nigh, I pray thee, to me the ephod;' and Abiathar bringeth nigh the ephod unto David,

and David asketh at Jehovah, saying, `I pursue after this troop--do I overtake it?' And He saith to him, `Pursue, for thou dost certainly overtake, and dost certainly deliver.'

And David goeth on, he and six hundred men who are with him, and they come in unto the brook of Besor, and those left have stood still,