1 Samuel 13
13
War with the Philistines
1Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth–el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gib´e-ah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 3And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
5And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth–a´ven. 6When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 7And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gil´e-ad. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 #
1 Sam 10.8. And he 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. 9And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 10And 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. 11And 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; 12therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou 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#Acts 13.22. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the 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. 15And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gib´e-ah of Benjamin.
And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. 16And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gib´e-ah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shu´al: 18and another company turned the way to Beth–ho´ron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zebo´im toward the wilderness.
19Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: 20but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. 21Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. 22So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there 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. 23And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
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1 Samuel 13: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
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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