19 And all the people said unto Samuel, qPray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; 21 And rturn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot sprofit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22 For tthe Lord will not forsake his people for uhis great name’s sake: because xit hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. 23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord †in ceasing yto pray for you: but zI will teach you the agood and the right way: 24 bOnly fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for cconsider ||how dgreat things he hath done for you. 25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, dye shall be consumed, eboth ye and your king.

13 *Saul †reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in aMichmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in bGibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan smote the cgarrison of the Philistines that was in ||Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul dblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a cgarrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also †was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people ewere called together after Saul to Gilgal. 5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people fas the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from gBeth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people hwere distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in icaves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in jhigh places, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people †followed him trembling.

8 And khe tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might †salute him. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not †made supplication unto the Lord: I lforced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13 And Samuel said to Saul, mThou hast done foolishly: nthou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 oBut now thy kingdom shall not continue: pthe Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.

15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto qGibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were †present with him, rabout six hundred men. 16 And Saul, and sJonathan his son, and the people that were †present with them, abode in †Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And tthe spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to uOphrah, unto the land of vShual: 18 And another company turned the way to wBeth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of xZeboim toward the wilderness. 19 Now ythere was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: 20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his zcoulter, and his axe, and his mattock. 21 Yet they had †a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and †to sharpen the agoads. 22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that bthere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. 23 And the ||garrison of the Philistines went out to cthe passage of Michmash.

14 *Now ||it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. 2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of aGibeah under a bpomegranate tree which is in cMigron: and the people that were with him were dabout six hundred men; 3 And ||Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, eIchabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in fShiloh, gwearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 4 And between hthe passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The †forefront of the one was isituate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against jGibeah. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these kuncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord lto save by many or by few. 7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. 8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. 9 If they say thus unto us, †Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. 10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for mthe Lord hath delivered them into our hand: and nthis shall be a sign unto us. 11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews ocome forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. 13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. 14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were ||an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. 15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and pthe spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was †a very great trembling.

16 And the watchmen of Saul in qGibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude rmelted away, and they went on sbeating down one another. 17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there. 18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 19 And it came to pass, while tSaul talked unto the priest, that the ||noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. 20 And Saul and all the people that were with him †assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, uevery man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great vdiscomfiture. 21 Moreover wthe Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel which xhad hid themselves in ymount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 zSo the Lord saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over aunto Beth-aven.

24 And the men of Israel bwere distressed that day: for Saul had cadjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. 25 And dall they of the land came to a wood; and there was ehoney upon the ground. 26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, ethe honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an fhoneycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. 28 Then ganswered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were ||faint. 29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater …