As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, ¹  and David heard it.

David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. ¹  Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”

When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy.

If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ ¹  then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. ² 

Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth

Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan ¹  in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced ²  that his father had decided to kill David.

Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon?

Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks.

So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men.

David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. ¹  David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow.

When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him.

But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, ¹  we won’t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!”

He lifts the weak ¹  from the dust; he raises ²  the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes and to bestow on them an honored position. ³  The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.

So the army ¹  sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the people ¹  of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, for he has attacked ²  both us and our god Dagon!”

Samuel replied to Saul, “I am the seer! Go up in front of me to the high place! Today you will eat with me and in the morning I will send you away. I will tell you everything that you are thinking. ¹ 

So the cook picked up the leg and brought it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel ¹  said, “What was kept is now set before you! Eat, for it has been kept for you for this meeting time, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”

For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 ¹  chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.

One of his attendants replied, ¹  “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem ²  who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior ³  and is articulate ⁴  and handsome, ⁵  for the Lord is with him.”