1 Samuel 13
13
1A son of a year [is] Saul in his reigning, yea, two years he hath reigned over Israel,
2and Saul chooseth for himself three thousand [men] out of Israel; and two thousand are with Saul in Michmash, and in the hill-country of Beth-El; and a thousand have been with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; and the remnant of the people he hath sent each to his tents.
3And Jonathan smiteth the garrison of the Philistines which [is] in Geba, and the Philistines hear, and Saul hath blown with a trumpet through all the land, saying, ‘Let the Hebrews hear.’
4And all Israel have heard, saying, ‘Saul hath smitten the garrison of the Philistines,’ and also, ‘Israel hath been abhorred by the Philistines;’ and the people are called after Saul to Gilgal.
5And the Philistines have been gathered to fight with Israel; thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and a people as the sand which [is] on the sea-shore for multitude; and they come up and encamp in Michmash, east of Beth-Aven.
6And the men of Israel have seen that they are distressed, that the people hath been oppressed, and the people hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
7And Hebrews have passed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; and Saul [is] yet in Gilgal, and all the people have trembled after him.
8And he waiteth seven days, according to the appointment with Samuel, and Samuel hath not come to Gilgal, and the people are scattered from off him.
9And Saul saith, ‘Bring nigh unto me the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings;’ and he causeth the burnt-offering to ascend.
10And it cometh to pass at his completing to cause the burnt-offering to ascend, that lo, Samuel hath come, and Saul goeth out to meet him, to bless him;
11and Samuel saith, ‘What hast thou done?’ And Saul saith, ‘Because I saw that the people were scattered from off me, and thou hadst not come at the appointment of the days, and the Philistines are gathered to Michmash,
12and I say, Now do the Philistines come down unto me to Gilgal, and the face of Jehovah I have not appeased; and I force myself, and cause the burnt-offering to ascend.’
13And Samuel saith unto Saul, ‘Thou hast been foolish; thou hast not kept the command of Jehovah thy God, which He commanded thee, for now had Jehovah established thy kingdom over Israel unto the age;
14and, now, thy kingdom doth not stand, Jehovah hath sought for Himself a man according to His own heart, and Jehovah chargeth him for leader over His people, for thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee.’
15And Samuel riseth, and goeth up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin; and Saul inspecteth the people who are found with him, about six hundred men,
16and Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who are found with them, are abiding in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the Philistines have encamped in Michmash.
17And the destroyer goeth out from the camp of the Philistines — three detachments; the one detachment turneth unto the way of Ophrah, unto the land of Shual;
18and the one detachment turneth the way of Beth-Horon, and the one detachment turneth the way of the border which is looking on the valley of the Zeboim, toward the wilderness.
19And an artificer is not found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, ‘Lest the Hebrews make sword or spear;’
20and all Israel go down to the Philistines, to sharpen each his ploughshare, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock;
21and there hath been the file for mattocks, and for coulters, and for three-pronged rakes, and for the axes, and to set up the goads.
22And it hath been, in the day of battle, that there hath not been found sword and spear in the hand of any of the people who [are] with Saul and with Jonathan — and there is found to Saul and to Jonathan his son.
23And the station of the Philistines goeth out unto the passage of Michmash.
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1 Samuel 13: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 13
13
1[Saul was…years old when he became king and he reigned…-two years over Israel.]#A formula like that of 2 Sm 5:4 was introduced here at some time; but the age of Saul when he became king remains a blank, and the two years assigned for his reign in the Masoretic text cannot be correct. Acts 13:21 offers the round number of forty years.
Saul Offers Sacrifice. 2Saul chose three thousand of Israel, of whom two thousand remained with him in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the army back to their tents. 3Now Jonathan struck the Philistine garrison#The Philistine garrison: see note on 10:5. Let the Hebrews hear: a different reading of these verses, based on the Greek, would yield: “And the Philistines heard that the Hebrews (or: the slaves) had revolted. Saul in the meantime sounded the trumpet throughout all the land (v. 4), and all Israel heard that Saul….” in Gibeah, and the Philistines got word of it. Then Saul sounded the horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”#1 Sm 14:1–15; Jgs 3:27; 6:34; 2 Sm 20:1–2. 4Then all Israel heard the report, “Saul has struck the garrison of the Philistines! Israel has become odious to the Philistines!” Then the army was called up to Saul in Gilgal. 5The Philistines also assembled for battle against Israel, with thirty thousand chariots,#Thirty thousand chariots: some Greek manuscripts read “three thousand chariots.” six thousand horsemen, and foot soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore.#Gn 22:17; 41:49; Jgs 7:12. They came up and encamped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven.#1 Sm 14:22. 6When the soldiers saw they were in danger because the army was hardpressed, they hid themselves in caves, thickets, rocks, caverns, and cisterns. 7Other Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, held out in Gilgal, all his army trembling in fear behind him.#These verses, like 10:8, anticipate the rejection of Saul; a different occasion and motivation for this are given in chap. 15 and 28:17–18. 8He waited seven days, until the appointed time Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come, and the army deserted Saul.#1 Sm 10:8. 9He then said, “Bring me the burnt offering and communion offerings!” Then he sacrificed the burnt offering.
King Saul Reproved. 10As he finished sacrificing the burnt offering, there came Samuel! So Saul went out toward him in order to greet him. 11Samuel asked him, “What have you done?” Saul explained: “When I saw that the army was deserting me and you did not come on the appointed day, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, 12I said to myself, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet sought the Lord’s blessing.’ So I thought I should sacrifice the burnt offering.” 13Samuel replied to Saul: “You have acted foolishly! Had you kept the command the Lord your God gave you, the Lord would now establish your kingship in Israel forever; 14but now your kingship shall not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart#After his own heart: i.e., of his choosing, for his purpose. While the verse undoubtedly refers to David, it concerns the Lord’s decision to continue the kingship, even though he has rejected Saul, by selecting the heir to Saul’s throne. to appoint as ruler over his people because you did not observe what the Lord commanded you.”#1 Sm 15:28; 25:30; 2 Sm 7:15–16; Ps 78:70; Acts 13:22.
Philistine Invasion. 15Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went his own way; but what was left of the army went up after Saul to meet the soldiers, going from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul then counted the soldiers he had with him, about six hundred.#1 Sm 14:2. 16Saul, his son Jonathan, and the soldiers they had with them were now occupying Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines were encamped at Michmash. 17Meanwhile, raiders left the camp of the Philistines in three bands.#1 Sm 14:15. One band took the Ophrah road toward the district of Shual; 18another turned in the direction of Beth-horon; and the third took the road for Geba that overlooks the Valley of the Hyenas toward the desert.
Disarmament of Israel.#These details emphasize the Philistines’ military power and superior technology, a reminder that an Israelite victory depends on God. 19Not a single smith was to be found anywhere in Israel, for the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears.”#Jgs 5:8. 20All Israel, therefore, had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles. 21The price for the plowshares and mattocks was two thirds of a shekel, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the ox-goads. 22And so on the day of battle neither sword nor spear could be found in the hand of any of the soldiers with Saul or Jonathan. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Jonathan’s Exploit. 23An outpost of the Philistines had pushed forward to the pass of Michmash.#1 Sm 14:15.
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