<p class="bodytext">Now Samuel did not yet know the <sc>Lordsc>; the word of the <sc>Lordsc> had not yet been revealed to him.

Then Saul&#8217;s servants said to him, &#8220;Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Jonathan responded to his father Saul, &#8220;Why should he be put to death? What has he done?&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

They said to him, &#8220;Look, you are old, and your sons don&#8217;t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead<n id="1" /> us, just like all the other nations have.&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">Saul&#8217;s uncle asked him and his servant, &#8220;Where did you go?&#8221; Saul<n id="1" /> replied, &#8220;To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost,<n id="2" /> we went to Samuel.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">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.p>

Samuel said to him, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you!

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then Samuel said, &#8220;Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.&#8221; So Agag came to him trembling,<n id="1" /> thinking to himself,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Surely death is bitter!&#8221;<n id="3" />

Saul said to him, &#8220;Whose son are you, young man?&#8221; David replied, &#8220;I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father&#8217;s family<n id="1" /> learned about it, they went down there to him.

<p class="bodytext">But David&#8217;s men said to him, &#8220;We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?&#8221;

Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household.<n id="1" /> He is such a wicked person<n id="2" /> that no one tells him anything!&#8221;p>

If the individual said to him, &#8220;First let the fat be burned away, and then take for yourself whatever you wish,&#8221; he would say, &#8220;No!<n id="1" /> Hand it over right now! If you don&#8217;t, I will take it forcibly!&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">A man of God came to Eli and said to him, &#8220;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says: &#8216;Did I not plainly<n id="1" /> reveal myself to your ancestor&#8217;s<n id="2" /> house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

<p class="bodytext">The elders of Jabesh said to him, &#8220;Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">So Jonathan spoke on David&#8217;s behalf<n id="1" /> to his father Saul. He said to him, &#8220;The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial<n id="2" /> for you.

The servants of Achish said to him, &#8220;Isn&#8217;t this David, the king of the land? Isn&#8217;t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Saul struck down his thousands,p> <p class="poetry">But David his tens of thousands&#8217;?&#8221;p>

All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented<n id="1" /> gathered around<n id="2" /> him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.p>

Saul said to him, &#8220;Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave<n id="1" /> him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes<n id="2" /> me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!&#8221;p>