1 Samuel 13

1Saul was 30 years old when he became king. He was king over Israel 42 years.# This is how the verse is worded in some early Greek copies. The Hebrew is not clear here. 2Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel. There were 2,000 men who stayed with him at Micmash in the mountains of Bethel. And 1,000 men stayed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul sent the other men in the army back home.

3Jonathan attacked the Philistine camp in Geba. And the other Philistines heard about it. Saul said, “Let the Hebrew people hear what happened.” So he told the men to blow trumpets through all the land of Israel. 4All the Israelites heard the news. The men said, “Saul has defeated the Philistine camp. Now the Philistines really hate us!” Then the Israelites were called to join Saul at Gilgal.

5The Philistines gathered to fight Israel. They had 3,000# Some Greek copies say 3,000. The Hebrew copies say 30,000. chariots and 6,000 men to ride in the chariots. Their soldiers were many in number, like the grains of sand on the seashore. The Philistines went and camped at Micmash which is east of Beth Aven. 6The Israelites saw that they were in trouble. So they went to hide in caves and bushes. They also hid among the rocks and in pits and wells. 7Some Hebrews even went across the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead.

But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the men in his army were shaking with fear. 8Saul waited seven days, because Samuel had said he would meet him then. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And the soldiers began to leave.

9So Saul said, “Bring me the whole burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then Saul offered the whole burnt offering. 10Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. Saul went to meet him.

11Samuel asked, “What have you done?”

Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me, and you were not here. The Philistines were gathering at Micmash. 12Then I thought, ‘The Philistines will come against me at Gilgal. And I haven’t asked for the Lord’s approval.’ So I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.”

13Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed God’s command. If you had obeyed him, God would make your kingdom continue in Israel forever. 14But now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has looked for the kind of man he wants. The Lord has appointed him to become ruler of his people. He is doing this because you haven’t obeyed his command.”

15Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the army followed Saul into battle. Saul counted the men still with him, and there were about 600.

Hard Times for Israel

16Saul and his son Jonathan stayed in Geba in the land of Benjamin. The soldiers with them also stayed there. The Philistines made their camp at Micmash. 17Three groups went out from their camp to attack. One group went on the Ophrah road in the land of Shual. 18The second group went on the Beth Horon road. And the third group went on the border road. It overlooked the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.

19The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith. This is because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might make swords and spears.” 20So all the Israelites went down to the Philistines. They went to have their plows, hoes, axes and sickles sharpened. 21The Philistine blacksmiths charged about one-fourth of an ounce of silver for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged one-eighth of an ounce of silver for sharpening picks, axes and the sticks used to guide oxen.

22So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Israel Defeats the Philistines

23A group from the Philistine army had gone out to the mountain pass at Micmash.

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1 Samuel 13: ICB

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Sh'mu'el Alef (1 Sa) 13

1Sha’ul was — years old when he began his reign, and he had ruled Isra’el for two years, 2when he chose three thousand of Isra’el’s men. Two thousand of them were with Sha’ul in Mikhmas and in the hills of Beit-El, and a thousand were with Y’honatan in Giv‘at-Binyamin. The rest of the people he sent back to their respective tents.

3Y’honatan assassinated the governor of the P’lishtim in Geva. The P’lishtim heard of it; so Sha’ul had the shofar sounded throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4All Isra’el heard that Sha’ul had assassinated the governor of the P’lishtim and thus made Isra’el a stench in the nostrils of the P’lishtim. So the people rallied behind Sha’ul in Gilgal; 5while the P’lishtim assembled themselves together to make war on Isra’el — 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and an army as large as the number of sand grains on the seashore. They came up and pitched camp at Mikhmas, east of Beit-Aven. 6The men of Isra’el saw that their options were limited and that the people felt so hard pressed that they were hiding themselves in caves, thickets, crevices, watchtowers and cisterns; 7while some of the Hebrews crossed the Yarden to the territory of Gad and Gil‘ad. But Sha’ul was still in Gilgal, where all the people were eager to follow him. 8He waited seven days, as Sh’mu’el had instructed; but Sh’mu’el didn’t come to Gilgal; so the army began to drift away from him. 9Sha’ul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings,” and he offered the burnt offering. 10As soon as he had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, there was Sh’mu’el — he had come, and Sha’ul went out to meet and greet him.

11Sh’mu’el said, “What have you done?” Sha’ul answered, “I saw that the army was drifting away from me, that you hadn’t come during the time appointed and that the P’lishtim had assembled at Mikhmas. 12I said, ‘Now the P’lishtim will fall on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t asked the favor of Adonai,’ so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” 13Sh’mu’el said to Sha’ul, “You did a foolish thing. You didn’t observe the mitzvah of Adonai, which he gave you. If you had, Adonai would have set up your kingship over Isra’el forever. 14But as it is, your kingship will not be established. Adonai has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and Adonai has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you did not observe what Adonai ordered you to do.” 15Then Sh’mu’el left Gilgal and went up to Giv‘at-Binyamin.

Sha’ul counted how many were still there with him, about 600 men. 16Sha’ul, Y’honatan his son and the men with him took up quarters at Giv‘at-Binyamin, while the P’lishtim remained in camp at Mikhmas. 17Then raiding parties began coming out from the camp of the P’lishtim, three of them: one group turned toward the road leading to ‘Ofrah in the territory of Shu‘al; 18another group took the road toward Beit-Horon; and another company took the road toward the desert through the territory overlooking Vadi Tzvo‘im.

19Now there was no metalsmith to be found anywhere in all the land of Isra’el, because the P’lishtim had said, “We don’t want the Hebrews making themselves swords or spears.” 20So whenever any of the people of Isra’el wanted to sharpen his hoe, plowshare, axe or pick, he had to go down to the P’lishtim, 21where the exorbitant prices were two-thirds of a shekel for filing a pick or plowshare and one-third of a shekel for filing an axe or setting an oxgoad in its handle. 22Thus when the time came to fight, no one in the army of Sha’ul and Y’honatan was equipped with either sword or spear; although Sha’ul and Y’honatan his son did have them.

23A garrison of the P’lishtim had gone out to the pass of Mikhmas.

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