We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us ¹  and fight our battles.”

So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. ¹ 

Saul and the Israelite army ¹  assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against ²  the Philistines.

Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; ¹  the archers ²  spotted him and wounded him severely.

Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the ¹  three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest.

Samuel revealed the word of the Lord ¹  to all Israel.Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. ²  They camped at Ebenezer, ³  and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

The Philistines arranged their forces to fight ¹  Israel. As the battle spread out, ²  Israel was defeated by ³  the Philistines, who ⁴  killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.

He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, ¹  as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment.

Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found ¹  the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. ² 

When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle.

There was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw anyone who was a warrior or a brave individual, he would conscript him.

¹ The Philistines gathered their troops ²  for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.

and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”

Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ¹  and they ran away from him.

So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. ¹ 

David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away.

Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!”

But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said ¹  to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become ²  our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? ³ 

As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. ¹  But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by ²  Israel.

So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.