The sons of Eli were wicked men. ¹  They did not recognize the Lord’s authority. ² 

Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies’ provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”

He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.

They cut off Saul’s ¹  head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines.

She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash ¹  the feet of the servants of my lord.”

The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumble find their strength reinforced.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah.

He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants.

Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; ¹  the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ²  He sent all the rest of the people back home. ³ 

Saul proceeded to the city ¹  of Amalek, where he set an ambush ²  in the wadi. ³ 

When the army ¹  came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by ²  the Philistines? Let’s take with us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. When it is with us, it will save us ³  from the hand of our enemies.

So Saul ¹  crossed through the hill country of Ephraim, passing through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. So they crossed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he crossed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.

Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly ¹  to the camp to your brothers.

Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning ¹  to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power ¹  of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.

When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him.

When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

He took a pair ¹  of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army. ² 

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa.

He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. ¹