David Is Rejected by the Philistines

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

²The 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.

³The 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.”

⁴But 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?

⁵After 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.’”

⁶Achish 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.

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

⁸David 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.

¹⁰So 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.”

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

The War against the Amalekites

¹Two 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

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

³When 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.

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

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

⁶David 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.

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

⁸David 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.”

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

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

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

¹²some 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.

¹³David 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.

¹⁴We 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.”

¹⁶And 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.

¹⁷At 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.

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

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

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

²¹Then 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.

²²But 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.”

²³But 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.

²⁴No 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.”

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

²⁶When 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.”

²⁷He 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,

²⁸Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,

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

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

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

The Death of Saul and His Sons

¹The 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.

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

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

⁴He 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.

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

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

⁷When 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.

⁸The 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.

⁹They 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.

¹⁰Then 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.

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

¹²the 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.

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

David's Song of Victory

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

²The 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.

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

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

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

⁶In 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁵The 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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