3 And athe child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And bthe word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, cand his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3 And ere dthe lamp of God went out ein the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 ||Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, fat which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli gall things which I have spoken concerning his house: †when I begin, I will also make an end. 13 ||gFor I have told him that I will hjudge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because ihis sons made themselves ||vile, and he †krestrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that lthe iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and †more also, if thou hide any ||thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 18 And Samuel told him †every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, mIt is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

19 And Samuel ngrew, and othe Lord was with him, and pdid let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel qfrom Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was ||established to be a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again in rShiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh sby the word of the Lord.

24 And it came to pass, awhen Saul was returned from †following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. 2 Then Saul took three thousand bchosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 3 And he came to the csheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to dcover his feet: and eDavid and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 4 And the men of David said unto him, fBehold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of †Saul’s robe privily. 5 And it came to pass afterward, that gDavid’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6 And he said unto his men, hThe Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, ithe Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. 7 So David †stayed his servants with these words, and jsuffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.

9 And David said to Saul, kWherefore hearest thou men’s words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and lsome bade me kill thee: but mmine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed. 11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. 12 nThe Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? oafter a dead dog, after pa flea. 15 qThe Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and rsee, and splead my cause, and †deliver me out of thine hand.

16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, tIs this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 17 uAnd he said to David, Thou art xmore righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 18 And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had †delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. 19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. 20 And now, behold, yI know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. 21 zSwear now therefore unto me by the Lord, athat thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father’s house. 22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto bthe hold.

25 *And aSamuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and blamented him, and buried him cin his house at dRamah. And David arose, and went down to ethe wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in fgMaon, whose ||possessions were in gCarmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was hof the house of Caleb. 4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did ishear his sheep. 5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and †greet him in my name: 6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, jPeace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast. 7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we †hurt them not, neither was there ought kmissing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men lfind favour in thine eyes: for we come in ma good day: give, I pray thee, nwhatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. 9 And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and †ceased. 10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, oWho