1 Samuel 13
13
Saul Makes His First Mistake
1Saul was 30#13:1 30 This first number and part of the second number in this verse are missing in the Hebrew text. The whole verse is missing from most copies of the ancient Greek version, but a few late Greek copies have the numbers 30 and 42. Acts 13:21 says that Saul was king for 40 years. years old when he became king. He ruled over Israel 42 years.#13:1 He ruled … 42 years Or “After he had ruled over Israel for 2 years, ….” 2Saul chose 3000 men from Israel. There were 2000 men who stayed with him at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel. There were 1000 men who stayed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul sent the other men in the army back home.
3Jonathan defeated the Philistines at their camp in Geba. The Philistines heard about this. They said, “The Hebrews have rebelled.”#13:3 They said … rebelled This is from the ancient Greek version.
Saul said, “Let the Hebrew people hear what happened.” So Saul told the men to blow trumpets through all the land of Israel. 4All the Israelites heard this news: “Saul has killed the Philistine leader. Now the Philistines will really hate the Israelites!”
The Israelites were called to join Saul at Gilgal. 5The Philistines gathered to fight Israel. The Philistines camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. They had 3000#13:5 3000 This is found in some copies of the ancient Greek version and the Syriac version. The standard Hebrew text has “30,000.” chariots and 6000 horse soldiers. There were so many Philistines that they were like sand on the seashore.
6The Israelites saw that they were in trouble. They felt trapped. They ran away to hide in caves and cracks in the rock. They hid among the rocks, in wells, and in other holes in the ground. 7Some Hebrews even went across the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal. All the men in his army were shaking with fear.
8Samuel said he would meet Saul at Gilgal. Saul waited there seven days. But Samuel had not yet come to Gilgal, and the soldiers began to leave Saul. 9So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings.” Then Saul offered the burnt offering. 10As soon as Saul finished offering that sacrifice, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him.
11Samuel asked, “What have you done?”
Saul answered, “I saw the soldiers leaving me. You were not here on time, and the Philistines were gathering at Micmash. 12I thought to myself, ‘The Philistines will come here and attack me at Gilgal, and I haven’t asked the Lord to help us yet.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”
13Samuel said, “You did a foolish thing. You did not obey the Lord your God. If you had done what he commanded, the Lord would have let your family rule Israel forever. 14But now your kingdom won’t continue. The Lord was looking for a man who wants to obey him.#13:14 a man who wants to obey him Literally, “a man according to his heart.” This could also mean “a man of his own choosing.” He has found that man—and the Lord has chosen him to be the new leader of his people, because you didn’t obey his command.” 15Then Samuel got up and left Gilgal.
The Battle at Micmash
Saul and the rest of his army left Gilgal#13:15 Saul and the rest of his army left Gilgal This is found in the ancient Greek version but not in the standard Hebrew text. and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted the men who were still with him. There were about 600. 16Saul, his son Jonathan, and the soldiers went to Geba in Benjamin.
The Philistines were camped at Micmash. 17So their best soldiers began the attack. The Philistine army split into three groups. One group went north on the road to Ophrah, near Shual. 18The second group went southeast on the road to Beth Horon, and the third group went east on the road to the border. That road looks over the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.
19There were no blacksmiths in Israel. The Philistines would not allow them because they were afraid the Israelites would make iron swords and spears. 20Only the Philistines could sharpen iron tools. So if the Israelites needed to sharpen their plows, hoes, axes, or sickles, they had to go to the Philistines. 21The Philistine blacksmiths charged 1/3 ounce#13:21 1/3 ounce Literally, “1 pim” (7.8 g). of silver for sharpening plows and hoes and 1/6 ounce#13:21 1/6 ounce Literally, “1/3 shekel” (3.8 g). of silver for sharpening picks, axes, and the iron tip on ox goads. 22So on the day of battle, none of the Israelite soldiers with Saul had iron swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had such weapons.
23A group of Philistine soldiers guarded the mountain pass at Micmash.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Samuel 13
13
Samuel Judges Saul’s Sin
1Saul was 30 years old when he became king. He ruled over Israel for 42 years.
2Saul chose 3,000 of Israel’s men. Two thousand of them were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel. One thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. Saul sent the rest back to their homes.
3Some Philistine soldiers were stationed at Geba. Jonathan attacked them. The other Philistines heard about it. Saul announced, “Let the Hebrew people hear about what has happened!” He had trumpets blown all through the land. 4So all the Israelites heard the news. They were told, “Saul has attacked the Philistine army camp at Geba. Now the Philistines can’t stand the Israelites.” The Israelites were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
5The Philistines gathered together to fight against Israel. They had 3,000 chariots and 6,000 chariot drivers. Their soldiers were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash. It was east of Beth Aven. 6The Israelites saw that their army was in deep trouble. So they hid in caves. They hid among bushes and rocks. They also hid in pits and empty wells. 7Some of them even went across the Jordan River. They went to the lands of Gad and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal. All the troops with him were shaking with fear. 8He waited seven days, just as Samuel had told him to. But Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal. And Saul’s men began to scatter. 9So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the friendship offerings.” Then he offered up the burnt offering. 10Just as Saul finished offering the sacrifice, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to greet him.
11“What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “I saw that the men were scattering. I saw that the Philistines were gathering together at Mikmash. You didn’t come when you said you would. 12So I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down to attack me at Gilgal. And I haven’t asked the Lord for his blessing.’ So I felt I had to sacrifice the burnt offering.”
13“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You haven’t obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. If you had, he would have made your kingdom secure over Israel for all time to come. 14But now your kingdom won’t last. The Lord has already looked for a man who is dear to his heart. He has appointed him king of his people. That’s because you haven’t obeyed the Lord’s command.”
15Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. Saul counted the men who were with him. The total number was about 600.
Israel Doesn’t Have Weapons
16Saul and his son Jonathan were staying in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The men who remained in the army were there with them. At the same time, the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17Three groups of soldiers went out from the Philistine camp to attack Israel. One group turned and went toward Ophrah in the area of Shual. 18Another went toward Beth Horon. The third went toward the border that looked out over the Valley of Zeboim. That valley faces the desert.
19There weren’t any blacksmiths in the whole land of Israel. That’s because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might hire them to make swords or spears!” 20So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines. They had to go to them to get their plows, hoes, axes and sickles sharpened. 21It cost a fourth of an ounce of silver to sharpen a plow or a hoe. It cost an eighth of an ounce to sharpen a pitchfork or an axe. That’s also what it cost to put new tips on the large sticks used to drive oxen.
22So the Israelite soldiers went out to battle without swords or spears in their hands. That was true for all of Saul’s and Jonathan’s soldiers. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had those weapons.
Jonathan Attacks the Philistines
23A group of Philistine soldiers had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.
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