Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel:

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel ¹  through the word of the Lord. ² 

Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I really like him.” ¹ 

Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. ¹  Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.

Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as ¹  king.”

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 Preeminent One ¹  of Israel does not go back on his word ²  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ³ 

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! ¹  The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” ²  Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.

Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness. ¹  I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? ² 

But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know ¹  and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. ²  May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father.

So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best. ¹  Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.” ²  So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?” ¹ 

It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” So he did. ¹  Samuel then said, ²  “You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God’s message.”

Eli ¹  said, “What message did he speak to you? Don’t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely ²  if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!”

Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told ¹  Samuel:

When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep,

David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived. ¹