And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah to Mizpah; and he said unto the children of Israel, "Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you: but ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said unto him, "Nay, but set a king over us." Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands." So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they asked of Jehovah further, "Is there yet a man to come hither?" And Jehovah answered, "Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage." And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" And all the people shouted, and said, "Long live the king!"

Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the host, whose hearts God had touched. But certain worthless fellows said, "How shall this man save us?" And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

LV

JONATHAN AND HIS ARMORBEARER

(I Samuel xiv: 1-23)

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Now it fell upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison,1 that is on yonder side." But he told not his father. And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, wearing an ephod.2 And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few." And his armorbearer said unto him, 'Do all that is in thy heart: turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thy heart." Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto the men, and we will disclose ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us,

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1. The seemingly interminable conflict with the Philistines was renewed immediately after Saul was made king.

2. A distinctive garment worn by priests.

'Tarry until we come to you;' then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, 'Come up unto us;' then we will go up; for Jehovah hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be the sign unto us." And both of them disclosed themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, “Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves." And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you a thing." And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, "Come up after me; for Jehovah hath delivered them into the hand of Israel." And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew them after him. And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the earth quaked: so there was an exceeding great trembling.

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went hither and thither. 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 armorbearer were not there. And Saul said unto Ahijah, "Bring hither the ark of God." For the ark of God was there at that time with the children of Israel. And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, "Withdraw thy hand." And Saul and

all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. Now the Hebrews that were with the Philistines as beforetime, and that 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. Likewise all the men of Israel that had hid themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So Jehovah saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over by Beth-aven.

LVI

SAUL'S SIN OF DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS RESULTS

(I Samuel xv: 1-35)

And Samuel said unto Saul, "Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, "I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and

And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, "Go, depart, get you down from among

the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

I

Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying, "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments." And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal." And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him, "Blessed be thou of Jehovah: have performed the commandment of Jehovah." And Samuel said, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." Then Samuel said unto Saul, "Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night." And he said unto him, "Say on."

And Samuel said, "Though thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes