{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_8309/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_8309","id":"gutenberg_8309","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8309","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Samuel, 1st","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"This eBook was produced by David Widger\nfrom etext #1581 prepared by Dennis McCarthy, Atlanta, Georgia\nand Tad Book, student, Pontifical North American College, Rome.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE HOLY BIBLE\n\n\n\n\nTranslated from the Latin Vulgate\n\n\nDiligently Compared with the Hebrew, Greek,\nand Other Editions in Divers Languages\n\n\nTHE OLD TESTAMENT\nFirst Published by the English College at Douay\nA.D. 1609 & 1610\n\nand\n\nTHE NEW TESTAMENT\nFirst Published by the English College at Rheims\nA.D. 1582\n\n\nWith Annotations\n\n\nThe Whole Revised and Diligently Compared with\nthe Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner\nA.D. 1749-1752\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL, OTHERWISE CALLED THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS\n\nThis and the following Book are called by the Hebrews the books of\nSamuel, because they contain the history of Samuel, and of the two\nkings, Saul and David, whom he anointed. They are more commonly named by\nthe Fathers, the first and second book of kings. As to the writer of\nthem, it is the common opinion that Samuel composed the first book, as\nfar as the twenty-fifth chapter; and that the prophets Nathan and Gad\nfinished the first, and wrote the second book. See 1 Paralipomenon,\nalias 1 Chronicles, 29.29.\n\n\n1 Kings Chapter 1\n\nAnna the wife of Elcana being barren, by vow and prayer obtaineth a son:\nwhom she calleth Samuel: and presenteth him to the service of God in\nSilo, according to her vow:\n\n1:1. There was a man of Ramathaimsophim, of Mount Ephraim, and his name\nwas Elcana, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliu, the son of Thohu, the\nson of Suph, an Ephraimite:\n\nAn Ephraimite... He was of the tribe of Levi, 1. Par. 6.34, but is\ncalled an Ephraimite from dwelling in mount Ephraim.\n\n1:2. And he had two wives, the name of one was Anna, and the name of the\nother Phenenna. Phenenna had children: but Anna had no children.\n\n1:3. And this man went up out of his city upon the appointed days, to\nadore and to offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Silo. And the two\nsons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were there priests of the Lord.\n\n1:4. Now the day came, and Elcana offered sacrifice, and gave to\nPhenenna, his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, portions:\n\n1:5. But to Anna he gave one portion with sorrow, because he loved Anna.\nAnd the Lord had shut up her womb.\n\n1:6. Her rival also afflicted her, and troubled her exceedingly,\ninsomuch that she upbraided her, that the Lord had shut up her womb:\n\n1:7. And thus she did every year, when the time returned, that they went\nup to the temple of the Lord: and thus she provoked her: but Anna wept,\nand did not eat.\n\n1:8. Then Elcana, her husband, said to her: Anna, why weepest thou? and\nwhy dost thou not eat? and why dost thou afflict thy heart? Am not I\nbetter to thee than ten children?\n\n1:9. So Anna arose after she had eaten and drunk in Silo: And Heli, the\npriest, sitting upon a stool before the door of the temple of the Lord;\n\n1:10. As Anna had her heart full of grief, she prayed to the Lord,\nshedding many tears,\n\n1:11. And she made a vow, saying: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look\ndown, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt\ngive to thy servant a manchild: I will give him to the Lord all the days\nof his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.\n\n1:12. And it came to pass, as she multiplied prayers before the Lord,\nthat Heli observed her mouth.\n\n1:13. Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, but her\nvoice was not heard at all. Heli therefore thought her to be drunk,\n\n1:14. And said to her: How long wilt thou be drunk? digest a little the\nwine, of which thou hast taken too much.\n\n1:15. Anna answering, said: Not so, my lord: for I am an exceeding\nunhappy woman, and have drunk neither wine nor any strong drink, but I\nhave poured out my soul before the Lord.\n\n1:16. Count not thy handmaid for one of the daughters of Belial: for out\nof the abundance of my sorrow and grief have I spoken till now.\n\n1:17. Then Heli said to her: Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant\nthee thy petition, which thou hast asked of him.\n\n1:18. And she said: Would to God thy handmaid may find grace in thy\neyes. So the woman went on her way, and ate, and her countenance was no\nmore changed.\n\n1:19. And they rose in the morning, and worshipped before the Lord: and\nthey returned, and came into their house at Ramatha. And Elcana knew\nAnna his wife: And the Lord remembered her.\n\n1:20. And it came to pass when the time was come about, Anna conceived\nand bore a son, and called his name Samuel: because she had asked him of\nthe Lord.\n\nSamuel... This name imports, asked of God.\n\n1:21. And Elcana, her husband, went up, and all his house, to offer to\nthe Lord the solemn sacrifice, and his vow.\n\n1:22. But Anna went not up: for she said to her husband: I will not go\ntill the child be weaned, and till I may carry him, that he may appear\nbefore the Lord, and may abide always there.\n\n1:23. And Elcana, her husband, said to her: Do what seemeth good to\nthee, and stay till thou wean him: and I pray that the Lord may fulfil\nhis word. So the woman staid at home, and gave her son suck, till she\nweaned him.\n\n1:24. And after she had weaned him, she carried him with her, with three\ncalves, and three bushels of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she\nbrought him to the house of the Lord in Silo. Now the child was as yet\nvery young:\n\n1:25. And they immolated a calf, and offered the child to Heli.\n\n1:26. And Anna said: I beseech thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my\nlord: I am that woman, who stood before thee here praying to the Lord.\n\n1:27. For this child did I pray, and the Lord hath granted me my\npetition, which I asked of him.\n\n1:28. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord all the days of his\nlife, he shall be lent to the Lord. And they adored the Lord there. And\nAnna prayed, and said:\n\n1 Kings Chapter 2\n\nThe canticle of Anna. The wickedness of the sons of Heli: for which they\nare not duly corrected by their father. A prophecy against the house of\nHeli.\n\n2:1. My heart hath rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my\nGod: my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy\nsalvation.\n\nMy horn... The horn in the scriptures signifies strength, power, the\nhorn is said to be exalted, when a person receives an increase of\nstrength or glory.\n\n2:2. There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside\nthee, and there is none strong like our God.\n\n2:3. Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting: let old matters\ndepart from your mouth: for the Lord is a God of all knowledge, and to\nhim are thoughts prepared.\n\n2:4. The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with\nstrength.\n\n2:5. They that were full before, have hired out themselves for bread:\nand the hungry are filled, so that the barren hath borne many: and she\nthat had many children is weakened.\n\n2:6. The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to hell, and\nbringeth back again.\n\n2:7. The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, he humbleth and he exalteth:\n\n2:8. He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and lifteth up the poor from\nthe dunghill: that he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of\nglory. For the poles of the earth are the Lord's, and upon them he hath\nset the world.\n\n2:9. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent\nin darkness; because no man shall prevail by his own strength.\n\n2:10. The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he\nthunder in the heavens: The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and\nhe shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his\nChrist.\n\n2:11. And Elcana went to Ramatha, to his house: but the child ministered\nin the sight of the Lord before the face of Heli the priest.\n\n2:12. Now the sons of Heli were children of Belial, not knowing the\nLord,\n\n2:13. Nor the office of the priests to the people: but whosoever had\noffered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest came, while the flesh was\nin boiling, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand,\n\n2:14. And thrust it into the kettle, or into the cauldron, or into the\npot, or into the pan: and all that the fleshhook brought up, the priest\ntook to himself. Thus did they to all Israel that came to Silo.\n\n2:15. Also before they burnt the fat, the servant of the priest came,\nand said to the man that sacrificed: Give me flesh to boil for the\npriest: for I will not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw.\n\n2:16. And he that sacrificed said to him: Let the fat first be burnt to\nday, according to the custom, and then take to thee as much as thy soul\ndesireth. But he answered, and said to him: Not so: but thou shalt give\nit me now, or else I will take it by force.\n\n2:17. Wherefore the sin of the young men was exceeding great before the\nLord: because they withdrew men from the sacrifice of the Lord.\n\n2:18. But Samuel ministered before the face of the Lord: being a child\ngirded with a linen ephod.\n\n2:19. And his mother made him a little coat, which she brought to him on\nthe appointed days, when she went up with her husband, to offer the\nsolemn sacrifice.\n\n2:20. And Heli blessed Elcana and his wife: and he said to him: The Lord\ngive thee seed of this woman, for the loan thou hast lent to the Lord.\nAnd they went to their own home.\n\n2:21. And the Lord visited Anna, and she conceived, and bore three sons,\nand two daughters: and the child Samuel became great before the Lord.\n\n2:22. Now Heli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all\nIsrael: and how they lay with the women that waited at the door of the\ntabernacle:\n\n2:23. And he said to them: Why do ye these kinds of things, which I\nhear, very wicked things, from all the people?\n\n2:24. Do not so, my sons: for it is no good report that I hear, that you\nmake the people of the Lord to transgress.\n\n2:25. If one man shall sin against another, God may be appeased in his\nbehalf: but if a man shall sin against the Lord, who shall pray for him?\nAnd they hearkened not to the voice of their father, because the Lord\nwould slay them.\n\nWho shall pray for him... By this word Heli would have his sons\nunderstand, that by their wicked abuse of sacred things, and of the very\nsacrifices which were appointed to appease the Lord, they deprived\nthemselves of the ordinary means of reconciliation with God; which was\nby sacrifices. The more, because they were the chief priests whose\nbusiness it was to intercede for all others, they had no other to offer\nsacrifices and to make atonement for them. Ibid. Because the Lord would\nslay them... In consequence of their manifold sacrileges, he would not\nsoften their hearts with his efficacious grace, but was determined to\ndestroy them.\n\n2:26. But the child Samuel advanced, and grew on, and pleased both the\nLord and men.\n\n2:27. And there came a man of God to Heli, and said to him: Thus saith\nthe Lord: Did I not plainly appear to thy father's house, when they were\nin Egypt in the house of Pharao?\n\n2:28. And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest,\nto go up to my altar, and burn incense to me, and to wear the ephod\nbefore me: and I gave to thy father's house of all the sacrifices of the\nchildren of Israel.\n\n2:29. Why have you kicked away my victims, and my gifts which I\ncommanded to be offered in the temple: and thou hast rather honoured thy\nsons than me, to eat the firstfruits of every sacrifice of my people\nIsrael?\n\n2:30. Wherefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I said indeed\nthat thy house, and the house of thy father, should minister in my\nsight, for ever. But now saith the Lord: Far be this from me: but\nwhosoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify: but they that despise\nme, shall be despised.\n\n2:31. Behold the days come: and I will cut off thy arm, and the arm of\nthy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.\n\n2:32. And thou shalt see thy rival in the temple, in all the prosperity\nof Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.\n\nThy rival... A priest of another race. This was partly fulfilled, when\nAbiathar, of the race of Heli, was removed from the priesthood, and\nSadoc, who was of another line, was substituted in his place. But it was\nmore fully accomplished in the New Testament, when the priesthood of\nAaron gave place to that of Christ.\n\n2:33. However, I will not altogether take away a man of thee from my\naltar: but that thy eyes may faint, and thy soul be spent: and a great\npart of thy house shall die, when they come to man's estate.\n\n2:34. And this shall be a sign to thee, that shall come upon thy two\nsons, Ophni and Phinees: in one day they shall both of them die.\n\n2:35. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, who shall do according\nto my heart, and my soul and I will build him a faithful house, and he\nshall walk all days before my anointed.\n\n2:36. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall remain in thy\nhouse shall come that he may be prayed for, and shall offer a piece of\nsilver, and a roll of bread, and shall say: Put me, I beseech thee, to\nsomewhat of the priestly office, that I may eat a morsel of bread.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 3\n\nSamuel is four times called by the Lord: who revealeth to him the evil\nthat shall fall on Heli, and his house.\n\n3:1. Now the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli, and the\nword of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no manifest\nvision.\n\nPrecious... That is, rare.\n\n3:2. And it came to pass one day when Heli lay in his place, and his\neyes were grown dim, that he could not see:\n\n3:3. Before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the\nLord, where the ark of God was.\n\n3:4. And the Lord called Samuel. And he answered: Here am I.\n\n3:5. And he ran to Heli, and said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. He\nsaid: I did not call: go back and sleep. And he went and slept.\n\n3:6. And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to\nHeli, and said: Here am I: for thou calledst me. He answered: I did not\ncall thee, my son: return and sleep.\n\n3:7. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither had the word of the\nLord been revealed to him.\n\n3:8. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up\nand went to Heli,\n\n3:9. And said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. Then Heli understood\nthat the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel: Go, and sleep:\nand if he shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: Speak, Lord, for thy\nservant heareth. So Samuel went, and slept in his place.\n\n3:10. And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, as he had called the\nother times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said: Speak, Lord, for thy\nservant heareth.\n\n3:11. And the Lord said to Samuel: Behold I do a thing in Israel: and\nwhosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle.\n\n3:12. In that day I will raise up against Heli all the things I have\nspoken concerning his house: I will begin, and I will make an end.\n\n3:13. For I have foretold unto him, that I will judge his house for\never, for iniquity, because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did\nnot chastise them.\n\n3:14. Therefore have I sworn to the house of Heli, that the iniquity of\nhis house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings for ever.\n\n3:15. And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house\nof the Lord. And Samuel feared to tell the vision to Heli.\n\n3:16. Then Heli called Samuel, and said: Samuel, my son. And he\nanswered: Here am I.\n\n3:17. And he asked him: What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to\nthee? I beseech thee hide it not from me. May God do so and so to thee,\nand add so and so, if thou hide from me one word of all that were said\nto thee.\n\n3:18. So Samuel told him all the words, and did not hide them from him.\nAnd he answered: It is the Lord: let him do what is good in his sight.\n\n3:19. And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his\nwords fell to the ground.\n\n3:20. And all Israel, from Dan to Bersabee, knew that Samuel was a\nfaithful prophet of the Lord.\n\n3:21. And the Lord again appeared in Silo, for the Lord revealed himself\nto Samuel in Silo, according to the word of the Lord. And the word of\nSamuel came to pass to all Israel.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 4\n\nThe Israelites being overcome by the Philistines, send for the ark of\nGod: but they are beaten again, the sons of Heli are killed, and the ark\ntaken: upon the hearing of the news Heli falleth backward and dieth.\n\n4:1. And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered\nthemselves together to fight: and Israel went out to war against the\nPhilistines, and camped by the Stone of help. And the Philistines came\nto Aphec,\n\nThe Stone of help... In Hebrew Eben-ezer; so called from the help which\nthe Lord was pleased afterwards to give to his people Israel in that\nplace, by the prayers of Samuel, chap. 7.12.\n\n4:2. And put their army in array against Israel. And when they had\njoined battle, Israel turned their backs to the Philistines: and there\nwere slain in that fight, here and there in the fields, about four\nthousand men.\n\n4:3. And the people returned to the camp: and the ancients of Israel\nsaid: Why hath the Lord defeated us to day before the Philistines? Let\nus fetch unto us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Silo, and let\nit come in the midst of us, that it may save us from the hand of our\nenemies.\n\n4:4. So the people sent to Silo, and they brought from thence the ark of\nthe covenant of the Lord of hosts, sitting upon the cherubims: and the\ntwo sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were with the ark of the covenant\nof God.\n\n4:5. And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord was come into the\ncamp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth rang again.\n\n4:6. And the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, and they said:\nWhat is this noise of a great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they\nunderstood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp.\n\n4:7. And the Philistines were afraid, saying: God is come into the camp.\nAnd sighing, they said:\n\n4:8. Woe to us: for there was no such great joy yesterday, and the day\nbefore: Woe to us. Who shall deliver us from the hand of these high\nGods? these are the Gods that struck Egypt with all the plagues in the\ndesert.\n\n4:9. Take courage, and behave like men, ye Philistines: lest you come to\nbe servants to the Hebrews, as they have served you: take courage and\nfight.\n\n4:10. So the Philistines fought, and Israel was overthrown, and every\nman fled to his own dwelling: and there was an exceeding great\nslaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.\n\n4:11. And the ark of God was taken: and the two sons of Heli, Ophni and\nPhinees, were slain.\n\n4:12. And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Silo\nthe same day, with his clothes rent, and his head strewed with dust.\n\n4:13. And when he was come, Heli sat upon a stool over against the way,\nwatching. For his heart was fearful for the ark of God. And when the man\nwas come into the city, he told it: and all the city cried out.\n\n4:14. And Heli heard the noise of the cry, and he said: What meaneth the\nnoise of this uproar? But he made haste, and came, and told Heli.\n\n4:15. Now Heli was ninety and eight years old, and his eyes were dim,\nand he could not see.\n\n4:16. And he said to Heli: I am he that came from the battle, and have\nfled out of the field this day. And he said to him: What is there done,\nmy son?\n\n4:17. And he that brought the news answered, and said: Israel is fled\nbefore the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter of the\npeople: moreover thy two sons, Ophni and Phinees, are dead: and the ark\nof God is taken.\n\n4:18. And when he had named the ark of God, he fell from his stool\nbackwards by the door, and broke his neck and died. For he was an old\nman, and far advanced in years: And he judged Israel forty years.\n\nNamed the ark, etc... There is great reason, by all these circumstances,\nto hope that Heli died in a state of grace; and by his temporal\npunishments escaped the eternal.\n\n4:19. And his daughter in law, the wife of Phinees, was big with child,\nand near her time: and hearing the news that the ark of God was taken,\nand her father in law, and her husband, were dead, she bowed herself and\nfell in labour: for her pains came upon her on a sudden.\n\n4:20. And when she was upon the point of death, they that stood about\nher said to her: Fear not, for thou hast borne a son. She answered them\nnot, nor gave heed to them.\n\n4:21. And she called the child Ichabod, saying: The glory is gone from\nIsrael, because the ark of God was taken, and for her father in law, and\nfor her husband:\n\nIchabod... That is, Where is the glory? or, there is no glory. We see\nhow much the Israelites lamented the loss of the ark, which was but the\nsymbol of God's presence among them. How much more ought Christians to\nlament the loss of God himself, when by sin they have driven him out of\ntheir souls.\n\n4:22. And she said: The glory is departed from Israel, because the ark\nof God was taken.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 5\n\nDagon twice falleth down before the ark. The Philistines are grievously\nafflicted, wherever the ark cometh.\n\n5:1. And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the\nStone of help into Azotus.\n\n5:2. And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the\ntemple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.\n\n5:3. And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold Dagon lay\nupon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord: and they took\nDagon, and set him again in his place.\n\n5:4. And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, they found\nDagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and\nthe head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon\nthe threshold:\n\n5:5. And only the stump of Dagon remained in its place. For this cause\nneither the priests of Dagon, nor any that go into the temple, tread on\nthe threshold of Dagon in Azotus unto this day.\n\n5:6. And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he\ndestroyed them, and afflicted Azotus and the coasts thereof with\nemerods. And in the villages and fields in the midst of that country,\nthere came forth a multitude of mice, and there was the confusion of a\ngreat mortality in the city.\n\n5:7. And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague, said: The ark of\nthe God of Israel shall not stay with us: for his hand is heavy upon us,\nand upon Dagon, our god.\n\n5:8. And sending, they gathered together all the lords of the\nPhilistines to them, and said: What shall we do with the ark of the God\nof Israel? And the Gethites answered: Let the ark of the God of Israel\nbe carried about. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about.\n\n5:9. And while they were carrying it about, the hand of the Lord came\nupon every city with an exceeding great slaughter: and he smote the men\nof every city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their\nsecret parts. And the Gethites consulted together, and made themselves\nseats of skins.\n\n5:10. Therefore they sent the ark of God into Accaron. And when the ark\nof God was come into Accaron, the Accaronites cried out, saying: They\nhave brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our\npeople.\n\n5:11. They sent therefore, and gathered together all the lords of the\nPhilistines: and they said: Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and\nlet it return into its own place, and not kill us and our people.\n\n5:12. For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God\nwas exceeding heavy. The men also that did not die, were afflicted with\nthe emerods: and the cry of every city went up to heaven.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 6\n\nThe ark is sent back to Bethsames: where many are slain for looking\nthrough curiosity into it.\n\n6:1. Now the ark of God was in the land of the Philistines seven months.\n\n6:2. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners,\nsaying: What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? tell us how we are to\nsend it back to its place. And they said:\n\n6:3. If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away\nempty, but render unto him what you owe for sin, and then you shall be\nhealed: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you.\n\n6:4. They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him for sin? and\nthey answered:\n\n6:5. According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines you\nshall make five golden emerods, and five golden mice: for the same\nplague hath been upon you all, and upon your lords. And you shall make\nthe likeness of your emerods, and the likeness of the mice, that have\ndestroyed the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel: to\nsee if he will take off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from\nyour land.\n\n6:6. Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their\nhearts? did not he, after he was struck, then let them go, and they\ndeparted?\n\n6:7. Now, therefore, take and make a new cart: and two kine that have\ncalved, on which there hath come no yoke, tie to the cart, and shut up\ntheir calves at home.\n\n6:8. And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and lay it on the cart, and\nthe vessels of gold, which you have paid him for sin, you shall put into\na little box at the side thereof: and send it away, that it may go.\n\n6:9. And you shall look: and if it go up by the way of his own coasts,\ntowards Bethsames, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, we\nshall know that it is not his hand hath touched us, but it hath happened\nby chance.\n\n6:10. They did therefore in this manner: and taking two kine, that had\nsucking calves, they yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at\nhome.\n\n6:11. And they laid the ark of God upon the cart, and the little box\nthat had in it the golden mice, and the likeness of the emerods.\n\n6:12. And the kine took the straight way, that leadeth to Bethsames, and\nthey went along the way, lowing as they went: and turned not aside\nneither to the right hand nor to the left: and the lords of the\nPhilistines followed them as far as the borders of Bethsames.\n\n6:13. Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley: and lifting\nup their eyes, they saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.\n\n6:14. And the cart came into the field of Josue, a Bethsamite, and stood\nthere. And there was a great stone, and they cut in pieces the wood of\nthe cart, and laid the kine upon it a holocaust to the Lord.\n\n6:15. And the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that\nwas at the side of it, wherein were the vessels of gold, and they put\nthem upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames offered holocausts,\nand sacrificed victims that day to the Lord.\n\n6:16. And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they returned to\nAccaron the same day.\n\n6:17. And these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines returned\nfor sin to the Lord: For Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for\nGeth one, for Accaron one:\n\n6:18. And the golden mice, according to the number of the cities of the\nPhilistines, of the five provinces, from the fenced city to the village\nthat was without wall, and to the great Abel (the stone) whereon they\nset down the ark of the Lord, which was till that day in the field of\nJosue the Bethsamite.\n\n6:19. But he slew of the men of Bethsames, because they had seen the ark\nof the Lord, and he slew of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand\nof the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had\nsmitten the people with a great slaughter.\n\nSeen... And curiously looked into. It is likely this plague reached to\nall the neighbouring country, as well as the city of Bethsames.\n\n6:20. And the men of Bethsames said: Who shall be able to stand before\nthe Lord this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?\n\n6:21. And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim,\nsaying: The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, come ye\ndown and fetch it up to you.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 7\n\nThe ark is brought to Cariathiarim. By Samuel's exhortation the people\ncast away their idols and serve God alone. The Lord defeateth the\nPhilistines, while Samuel offereth sacrifice.\n\n7:1. And the men of Cariathiarim came, and fetched up the ark of the\nLord, and carried it into the house of Abinadab, in Gabaa: and they\nsanctified Eleazar, his son, to keep the ark of the Lord.\n\nIn Gabaa... That is, on the hill, for Gabaa signifieth a hill.\n\n7:2. And it came to pass, that from the day the ark of the Lord abode in\nCariathiarim, days were multiplied (for it was now the twentieth year)\nand all the house of Israel rested, following the Lord.\n\n7:3. And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying: If you turn to\nthe Lord with all your heart, put away the strange gods from among you,\nBaalim and Astaroth: and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve\nhim only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.\n\n7:4. Then the children of Israel put away Baalim and Astaroth, and\nserved the Lord only.\n\n7:5. And Samuel said: Gather all Israel to Masphath, that I may pray to\nthe Lord for you.\n\n7:6. And they gathered together to Masphath, and they drew water, and\npoured it out before the Lord, and they fasted on that day, and they\nsaid there: We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the\nchildren of Israel in Masphath.\n\n7:7. And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered\ntogether to Masphath, and the lords of the Philistines went up against\nIsrael. And when the children of Israel heard this, they were afraid of\nthe Philistines.\n\n7:8. And they said to Samuel: Cease not to cry to the Lord our God for\nus, that he may save us out of the hand of the Philistines.\n\n7:9. And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it whole for a\nholocaust to the Lord: and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the\nLord heard him.\n\n7:10. And it came to pass, when Samuel was offering the holocaust, the\nPhilistines began the battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with\na great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and terrified them,\nand they were overthrown before the face of Israel.\n\n7:11. And the men of Israel going out of Masphath, pursued after the\nPhilistines, and made slaughter of them till they came under Bethchar.\n\n7:12. And Samuel took a stone, and laid it between Masphath and Sen: and\nhe called the place The stone of help. And he said: Thus far the Lord\nhath helped us.\n\n7:13. And the Philistines were humbled, and they did not come any more\ninto the borders of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the\nPhilistines, all the days of Samuel.\n\n7:14. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel, were\nrestored to Israel, from Accaron to Geth, and their borders: and he\ndelivered Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and there was peace\nbetween Israel and the Amorrhites.\n\n7:15. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life:\n\n7:16. And he went every year about to Bethel and to Galgal and to\nMasphath, and he judged Israel in the foresaid places.\n\n7:17. And he returned to Ramatha: for there was his house, and there he\njudged Israel: he built also there an altar to the Lord.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 8\n\nSamuel growing old, and his sons not walking in his ways, the people\ndesire a king.\n\n8:1. And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he appointed his\nsons to be judges over Israel.\n\n8:2. Now the name of his firstborn son was Joel: and the name of the\nsecond was Abia, judges in Bersabee.\n\n8:3. And his sons walked not in his ways: but they turned aside after\nlucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.\n\n8:4. Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled came to Samuel to\nRamatha.\n\n8:5. And they said to him: Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in\nthy ways: make us a king, to judge us, as all nations have.\n\n8:6. And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they\nshould say: Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord.\n\n8:7. And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to the voice of the people in\nall that they say to thee. For they have not rejected thee, but me, that\nI should not reign over them.\n\nRejected, etc... The government of Israel hitherto had been a theocracy,\nin which God himself immediately ruled, by laws which he had enacted,\nand by judges extraordinarily raised up by himself; and therefore he\ncomplains that his people rejected him, in desiring a change of\ngovernment.\n\n8:8. According to all their works, they have done from the day that I\nbrought them out of Egypt until this day: as they have forsaken me, and\nserved strange gods, so do they also unto thee.\n\n8:9. Now, therefore, hearken to their voice: but yet testify to them,\nand foretell them the right of the king, that shall reign over them.\n\nThe right... That is, the manner (misphat) after which he shall proceed,\nhaving no one to control him, when he has the power in his hand.\n\n8:10. Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that had\ndesired a king of him,\n\n8:11. And said: This will be the right of the king that shall reign over\nyou: He will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make\nthem his horsemen, and his running footmen, to run before his chariots,\n\n8:12. And he will appoint of them to be his tribunes, and his\ncenturions, and to plough his fields, and to reap his corn, and to make\nhim arms and chariots.\n\n8:13. Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be\nhis cooks, and bakers.\n\n8:14. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your best\noliveyards, and give them to his servants.\n\n8:15. Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues\nof your vineyards, to give to his eunuchs and servants.\n\n8:16. Your servants also, and handmaids, and your goodliest young men,\nand your asses, he will take away, and put them to his work.\n\n8:17. Your flocks also he will tithe, and you shall be his servants.\n\n8:18. And you shall cry out in that day from the face of the king, whom\nyou have chosen to yourselves: and the Lord will not hear you in that\nday, because you desired unto yourselves a king.\n\n8:19. But the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, and they said,\nNay: but there shall be a king over us,\n\n8:20. And we also will be like all nations: and our king shall judge us,\nand go out before us, and fight our battles for us.\n\n8:21. And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and rehearsed them\nin the ears of the Lord.\n\n8:22. And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to their voice, and make them\na king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel: Let every man go to his\ncity.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 9\n\nSaul seeking his father's asses, cometh to Samuel, by whom he is\nentertained.\n\n9:1. Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Cis, the son of\nAbiel, the son of Seror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphia, the son\nof a man of Jemini, valiant and strong.\n\n9:2. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and goodly man, and\nthere was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he:\nfrom his shoulders and upward he appeared above all the people.\n\n9:3. And the asses of Cis, Saul's father, were lost: and Cis said to his\nson Saul: Take one of the servants with thee, and arise, go, and seek\nthe asses. And when they had passed through Mount Ephraim,\n\n9:4. And through the land of Salisa, and had not found them, they passed\nalso through the land of Salim, and they were not there: and through the\nland of Jemini, and found them not.\n\n9:5. And when they were come to the land of Suph, Saul said to the\nservant that was with him: Come, let us return, lest perhaps my father\nforget the asses, and be concerned for us.\n\n9:6. And he said to him: Behold there is a man of God in this city, a\nfamous man: all that he saith, cometh certainly to pass. Now, therefore,\nlet us go thither, perhaps he may tell us of our way, for which we are\ncome.\n\n9:7. And Saul said to his servant: Behold we will go: but what shall we\ncarry to the man of God? the bread is spent in our bags: and we have no\npresent to make to the man of God, nor any thing at all.\n\n9:8. The servant answered Saul again, and said: Behold there is found in\nmy hand the fourth part of a sicle of silver, let us give it to the man\nof God, that he may tell us our way.\n\n9:9. Now in time past in Israel, when a man went to consult God, he\nspoke thus: Come, let us go to the seer. For he that is now called a\nprophet, in time past was called a seer.\n\nSeer... Because of his seeing by divine light hidden things and things\nto come.\n\n9:10. And Saul said to his servant: Thy word is very good, come let us\ngo. And they went into the city, where the man of God was.\n\n9:11. And when they went up the ascent to the city, they found maids\ncoming out to draw water, and they said to them: Is the seer here?\n\n9:12. They answered and said to them: He is: behold he is before you,\nmake haste now: for he came to day into the city, for there is a\nsacrifice of the people to day in the high place.\n\nA sacrifice... The law did not allow of sacrifices in any other place,\nbut at the tabernacle, or temple, in which the ark of the covenant was\nkept; but Samuel, by divine dispensation, offered sacrifices in other\nplaces. For which dispensation this reason may be alleged, that the\nhouse of God in Silo, having lost the ark, was now cast off; as a figure\nof the reprobation of the Jews, Ps. 77.60, 67. And in Cariathiarim where\nthe ark was, there was neither tabernacle, nor altar.-Ibid. The high\nplace... Excelsum. The excelsa, or high places, so often mentioned in\nscripture, were places of worship, in which were altars for sacrifice.\nThese were sometimes employed in the service of the true God, as in the\npresent case: but more frequently in the service of idols; and were\ncalled excelsa, which is commonly (though perhaps not so accurately)\nrendered high places; not because they were always upon hills, for the\nvery worst of all, which was that of Topheth, or Geennom, (Jer. 19.) was\nin a valley; but because of the high altars, and pillars, or monuments,\nerected there, on which were set up the idols, or images of their\ndeities.\n\n9:13. As soon as you come into the city, you shall immediately find him,\nbefore he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat\ntill he come; because he blesseth the victim, and afterwards they eat\nthat are invited. Now, therefore, go up, for to day you shall find him.\n\n9:14. And they went up into the city. And when they were walking in the\nmidst of the city, behold Samuel was coming out over against them, to go\nup to the high place.\n\n9:15. Now the Lord had revealed to the ear of Samuel the day before Saul\ncame, saying:\n\n9:16. To morrow about this same hour I will send thee a man of the land\nof Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be ruler over my people\nIsrael: and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines:\nfor I have looked down upon my people, because their cry is come to me.\n\n9:17. And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him: Behold the man, of\nwhom I spoke to thee, this man shall reign over my people.\n\n9:18. And Saul came to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said: Tell\nme, I pray thee, where is the house of the seer?\n\n9:19. And Samuel answered Saul, saying: I am the seer; go up before me\nto the high place, that you may eat with me to day, and I will let thee\ngo in the morning: and tell thee all that is in thy heart.\n\n9:20. And as for the asses, which were lost three days ago, be not\nsolicitous, because they are found. And for whom shall be all the best\nthings of Israel? Shall they not be for thee and for all thy father's\nhouse?\n\n9:21. And Saul answering, said: Am not I a son of Jemini of the least\ntribe of Israel, and my kindred the last among all the families of the\ntribe of Benjamin? Why then hast thou spoken this word to me?\n\n9:22. Then Samuel taking Saul, and his servant, brought them into the\nparlour, and gave them a place at the head of them that were invited.\nFor there were about thirty men.\n\n9:23. And Samuel said to the cook: Bring the portion which I gave thee,\nand commanded thee to set it apart by thee.\n\n9:24. And the cook took up the shoulder, and set it before Saul. And\nSamuel said: Behold what is left, set it before thee, and eat; because\nit was kept of purpose for thee, when I invited the people. And Saul ate\nwith Samuel that day.\n\n9:25. And they went down from the high place into the town, and he spoke\nwith Saul upon the top of the house: and he prepared a bed for Saul on\nthe top of the house and he slept.\n\n9:26. And when they were risen in the morning, and it began now to be\nlight, Samuel called Saul on the top of the house, saying: Arise, that I\nmay let thee go. And Saul arose: and they went out both of them: to wit,\nhe and Samuel.\n\n9:27. And as they were going down in the end of the city, Samuel said to\nSaul: Speak to the servant to go before us, and pass on: but stand thou\nstill a while, that I may tell thee the word of the Lord.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 10\n\nSaul is anointed. He prophesieth, and is changed into another man.\nSamuel calleth the people together, to make a king: the lot falleth on\nSaul.\n\n10:1. And Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it upon his head,\nand kissed him, and said: Behold, the Lord hath anointed thee to be\nprince over his inheritance, and thou shalt deliver his people out of\nthe hands of their enemies, that are round about them. And this shall be\na sign unto thee, that God hath anointed thee to be prince.\n\n10:2. When thou shalt depart from me this day, thou shalt find two men\nby the sepulchre of Rachel in the borders of Benjamin to the south, and\nthey shall say to thee: The asses are found which thou wentest to seek:\nand thy father, thinking no more of the asses, is concerned for you, and\nsaith: What shall I do for my son?\n\n10:3. And when thou shalt depart from thence, and go farther on, and\nshalt come to the oak of Thabor, there shall meet thee three men going\nup to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another three loaves\nof bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.\n\nBethel... Where there was at that time an altar of God; it being one of\nthe places where Samuel judged Israel.\n\n10:4. And they will salute thee, and will give thee two loaves, and thou\nshalt take them at their hand.\n\n10:5. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where the garrison\nof the Philistines is: and when thou shalt be come there into the city,\nthou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place,\nwith a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp before them, and\nthey shall be prophesying.\n\nThe hill of God... Gabaa, in which there was also at that time, a high\nplace or altar.-Prophets... These were men whose office it was to sing\nhymns and praises to God; for such in holy writ are called prophets, and\ntheir singing praises to God is called prophesying. See 1 Par. alias 1\nChr. 15.22, and 25.1. Now there were in those days colleges, or shcools\nfor training up these prophets; and it seems there was one of these\nschools at this hill of God; and another at Najoth in Ramatha. See 1\nKings 19.20, 21, etc.\n\n10:6. And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shalt\nprophesy with them, and shalt be changed into another man.\n\n10:7. When therefore these signs shall happen to thee, do whatsoever thy\nhand shall find, for the Lord is with thee.\n\n10:8. And thou shalt go down before me to Galgal, (for I will come down\nto thee), that thou mayst offer an oblation, and sacrifice victims of\npeace: seven days shalt thou wait, till I come to thee, and I will shew\nthee what thou art to do.\n\nGalgal... Here also by dispensation was an altar of God.\n\n10:9. So when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave unto\nhim another heart, and all these things came to pass that day.\n\n10:10 And they came to the foresaid hill, and behold a company of\nprophets met him: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he\nprophesied in the midst of them.\n\n10:11. And all that had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing\ntha the was with the prophets, and prophesied, said to each other: What\nis this that hath happened to the son of Cis? is Saul also among the\nprophets?\n\n10:12. And one answered another, saying: And who is their father?\ntherefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?\n\nTheir father... That is, their teacher, or superior. As much as to say,\nWho could bring about such a wonderful change as to make Saul a prophet?\n\n10:13. And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high\nplace.\n\n10:14. And Saul's uncle said to him, and to his servant: Whither went\nyou? They answered: To seek the asses: and not finding them, we went to\nSamuel.\n\n10:15. And his uncle said to him: Tell me what Samuel said to thee.\n\n10:16. And Saul said to his uncle: He told us that the asses were found.\nBut of the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken to him, he\ntold him not.\n\n10:17. And Samuel called together the people to the Lord in Maspha:\n\n10:18. And he said to the children of Israel: Thus saith the Lord the\nGod of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from\nthe hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who\nafflicted you.\n\n10:19. But you this day have rejected your God, who only hath saved you\nout of all your evils and your tribulations: and you have said: Nay: but\nset a king over us. Now therefore stand before the Lord by your tribes,\nand by your families.\n\n10:20. And Samuel brought to him all the tribes of Israel, and the lot\nfell on the tribe of Benjamin.\n\n10:21. And he brought the tribe of Benjamin and the kindreds thereof,\nand the lot fell upon the kindred of Metri, and it came to Saul, the son\nof Cis. They sought him therefore, and he was not found.\n\n10:22. And after this they consulted the Lord whether he would come\nthither. And the Lord answered: Behold he is hidden at home.\n\n10:23. And they ran and fetched him thence: and he stood in the midst of\nthe people, and he was higher than any of the people from the shoulders\nand upward.\n\n10:24. And Samuel said to all the people: Surely you see him whom the\nLord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And\nall the people cried and said: God save the king.\n\n10:25. And Samuel told the people the law of the kingdom, and wrote it\nin a book, and laid it up before the Lord: and Samuel sent away all the\npeople, every one to his own house.\n\n10:26. Saul also departed to his own house in Gabaa: and there went with\nhim a part of the army, whose hearts God had touched.\n\n10:27. But the children of Belial said: Shall this fellow be able to\nsave us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents; but he\ndissembled as though he heard not.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 11\n\nSaul defeateth the Ammonites, and delivereth Jabes Galaad.\n\n11:1. And it came to pass about a month after this, that Naas, the\nAmmonite, came up, and began to fight against Jabes Galaad. And all the\nmen of Jabes said to Naas: Make a covenant with us, and we will serve\nthee.\n\n11:2. And Naas, the Ammonite, answered them: On this condition will I\nmake a covenant with you, that I may pluck out all your right eyes, and\nmake you a reproach in all Israel.\n\n11:3. And the ancients of Jabes said to him: Allow us seven days, that\nwe may send messengers to all the coasts of Israel: and if there be no\none to defend us, we will come out to thee.\n\n11:4. The messengers therefore came to Gabaa of Saul: and they spoke\nthese words in the hearing of the people: and all the people lifted up\ntheir voices, and wept.\n\n11:5. And behold Saul came, following oxen out of the field, and he\nsaid: What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the words\nof the men of Jabes.\n\n11:6. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, when he had heard these\nwords, and his anger was exceedingly kindled.\n\n11:7. And taking both the oxen, he cut them in pieces, and sent them\ninto all the coasts of Israel, by messengers, saying: Whosoever shall\nnot come forth, and follow Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his\noxen. And the fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and they went out\nas one man.\n\n11:8. And he numbered them in Bezec: and there were of the children of\nIsrael three hundred thousand: and of the men of Juda thirty thousand.\n\n11:9. And they said to the messengers that came: Thus shall you say to\nthe men of Jabes Galaad: To morrow, when the sun shall be hot, you shall\nhave relief. The messengers therefore came, and told the men of Jabes,\nand they were glad.\n\n11:10. And they said: In the morning we will come out to you: and you\nshall do what you please with us.\n\n11:11. And it came to pass, when the morrow was come, that Saul put the\npeople in three companies: and he came into the midst of the camp in the\nmorning watch, and he slew the Ammonites until the day grew hot, and the\nrest were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.\n\n11:12. And the people said to Samuel: Who is he that said: Shall Saul\nreign over us? Bring the men, and we will kill them.\n\n11:13. And Saul said: No man shall be killed this day: because the Lord\nthis day hath wrought salvation in Israel:\n\n11:14. And Samuel said to the people: Come, and let us go to Galgal, and\nlet us renew the kingdom there.\n\n11:15. And all the people went to Galgal, and there they made Saul king,\nbefore the Lord in Galgal, and they sacrificed there victims of peace\nbefore the Lord. And there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced\nexceedingly.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 12\n\nSamuel's integrity is acknowledged. God sheweth by a sign from heaven\nthat they had done ill in asking for a king.\n\n12:1. And Samuel said to all Israel: Behold I have hearkened to your\nvoice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.\n\n12:2. And now the king goeth before you: but I am old and greyheaded:\nand my sons are with you: having then conversed with you from my youth\nuntil this day, behold here I am.\n\n12:3. Speak of me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whether I\nhave taken any man's ox, or ass: if I have wronged any man, if I have\noppressed any man, if I have taken a bribe at any man's hand: and I will\ndespise it this day, and will restore it to you.\n\n12:4. And they said: Thou hast not wronged us, nor oppressed us, nor\ntaken ought at any man's hand.\n\n12:5. And he said to them: The Lord is witness against you, and his\nanointed is witness this day, that you have not found any thing in my\nhand. And they said: He is witness.\n\n12:6. And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord who made Moses and\nAaron, and brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt.\n\n12:7. Now, therefore, stand up, that I may plead in judgment against you\nbefore the Lord, concerning all the kindness of the Lord, which he hath\nshewn to you, and to your fathers:\n\n12:8. How Jacob went into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the Lord: and\nthe Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and brought your fathers out of Egypt,\nand made them dwell in this place.\n\n12:9. And they forgot the Lord their God, and he delivered them into the\nhands of Sisara, captain of the army of Hasor, and into the hands of the\nPhilistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought\nagainst them.\n\n12:10 But afterwards they cried to the Lord, and said: We have sinned,\nbecause we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Astaroth:\nbut now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.\n\n12:11. And the Lord sent Jerobaal, and Badan, and Jephte, and Samuel,\nand delivered you from the hand of your enemies round about, and you\ndwelt securely.\n\nJerobaal and Badan... That is, Gedeon and Samson called here Badan or\nBedan, because he was of Dan.\n\n12:12. But seeing that Naas, king of the children of Ammon, was come\nagainst you, you said to me: Nay, but a king shall reign over us:\nwhereas the Lord your God was your king.\n\n12:13. Now, therefore, your king is here, whom you have chosen and\ndesired: Behold the Lord hath given you a king.\n\n12:14. If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his\nvoice, and not provoke the mouth of the Lord: then shall both you, and\nthe king who reigneth over you, be followers of the Lord your God.\n\n12:15. But if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord, but will\nrebel against his words, the hand of the Lord shall be upon you, and\nupon your fathers.\n\n12:16. Now then stand, and see this great thing which the Lord will do\nin your sight.\n\n12:17. Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call upon the Lord, and he\nshall send thunder and rain: and you shall know, and see that you\nyourselves have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord, in desiring\na king over you.\n\nWheat harvest... At which time of the year, it never thunders or rains\nin those countries.\n\n12:18. And Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and\nrain that day.\n\n12:19. And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all\nthe people said to Samuel: Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God,\nthat we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask\nfor a king.\n\n12:20. And Samuel said to the people: Fear not, you have done all this\nevil: but yet depart not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord\nwith all your heart.\n\n12:21. And turn not aside after vain things, which shall never profit\nyou, nor deliver you, because they are vain.\n\n12:22. And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's\nsake: because the Lord hath sworn to make you his people.\n\n12:23. And far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease\nto pray for you: and I will teach you the good and right way.\n\n12:24. Therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in truth, and with your\nwhole heart, for you have seen the great works which he hath done among\nyou.\n\n12:25. But if you will still do wickedly: both you and your king shall\nperish together.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 13\n\nThe war between Saul and the Philistines. The distress of the\nIsraelites. Saul offereth sacrifice before the coming of Samuel: for\nwhich he is reproved.\n\n13:1. Saul was a child of one year when he began to reign, and he\nreigned two years over Israel.\n\nOf one year... That is, he was good and like an innocent child, and for\ntwo years continued in that innocency.\n\n13:2. And Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel: and two thousand\nwere with Saul in Machmas, and in mount Bethel: and a thousand with\nJonathan in Gabaa of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent back\nevery man to their dwellings.\n\n13:3. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines which was in\nGabaa. And when the Philistines had heard of it, Saul sounded the\ntrumpet over all the land, saying: Let the Hebrews hear.\n\n13:4. And all Israel heard this report: Saul hath smitten the garrison\nof the Philistines: and Israel took courageagainst the Philistines. And\nthe people were called together after Saul to Galgal.\n\n13:5. The Philistines also were assembled to fight against Israel,\nthirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and a multitude of\npeople besides, like the sand on the seashore for number. And going up\nthey camped in Machmas, at the east of Bethaven.\n\n13:6. And when the men of Israel saw that they were straitened (for the\npeople were distressed), they hid themselves in caves, and in thickets,\nand in rocks, and in dens, and in pits.\n\n13:7. And some of the Hebrews passed over the Jordan into the land of\nGad and Galaad. And when Saul was yet in Galgal, all the people that\nfollowed him were greatly afraid.\n\n13:8. And he waited seven days, according to the appointment of Samuel,\nand Samuel came not to Galgal, and the people slipt away from him.\n\n13:9. Then Saul said: Bring me the holocaust, and the peace offerings.\nAnd he offered the holocaust.\n\n13:10. And when he had made an end of offering the holocaust, behold\nSamuel came: and Saul went forth to meet him and salute him.\n\n13:11. And Samuel said to him: What hast thou done? Saul answered:\nBecause I saw that the people slipt from me, and thou wast not come\naccording to the days appointed, and the Philistines were gathered\ntogether in Machmas,\n\n13:12. I said: Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Galgal, and\nI have not appeased the face of the Lord. Forced by necessity, I offered\nthe holocaust.\n\n13:13. And Samuel said to Saul: Thou hast done foolishly, and hast not\nkept the commandments of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. And\nif thou hadst not done thus, the Lord would now have established thy\nkingdom over Israel for ever:\n\n13:14. But thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a\nman according to his own heart: and him hath the Lord commanded to be\nprince over his people, because thou hast not observed that which the\nLord commanded.\n\n13:15. And Samuel arose and went up from Galgal to Gabaa of Benjamin.\nAnd the rest of the people went up after Saul, to meet the people who\nfought against them, going from Galgal to Gabaa, in the hill of\nBenjamin. And Saul numbered the people, that were found with him, about\nsix hundred men.\n\n13:16. And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present\nwith them, were in Gabaa of Benjamin: But the Philistines encamped in\nMachmas.\n\n13:17. And there went out of the camp of the Philistines three companies\nto plunder. One company went towards the way of Ephra to the land of\nSual;\n\n13:18. And another went by the way of Bethoron, and the third turned to\nthe way of the border, above the valley of Seboim towards the desert.\n\n13:19. Now there was no smith to be found in all the land of Israel, for\nthe Philistines had taken this precaution, lest the Hebrews should make\nthem swords or spears.\n\n13:20. So all Israel went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man\nhis ploughshare, and his spade, and his axe, and his rake.\n\n13:21. So that their shares, and their spades, and their forks, and\ntheir axes, were blunt, even to the goad, which was to be mended.\n\n13:22. And when the day of battle was come, there was neither sword nor\nspear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and\nJonathan, except Saul and Jonathan his son.\n\n13:23. And the army of the Philistines went out in order to advance\nfurther in Machmas.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 14\n\nJonathan attacketh the Philistines. A miraculous victory. Saul's\nunadvised oath, by which Jonathan is put in danger of his life, but is\ndelivered by the people.\n\n14:1. Now it came to pass one day that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said\nto the young man that bore his armour: Come, and let us go over to the\ngarrison of the Philistines, which is on the other side of yonder place.\nBut he told not this to his father.\n\n14:2. And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Gabaa, under the\npomegranate tree, which was in Magron: and the people with him were\nabout six hundred men.\n\n14:3. And Achias, the son of Achitob, brother of Ichabod the son of\nPhinees, the son of Heli, the priest of the Lord in Silo, wore the\nephod. And the people knew not whither Jonathan was gone.\n\n14:4. Now there were between the ascents, by which Jonathan sought to go\nover to the garrison of the Philistines, rocks standing up on both\nsides, and steep cliffs like teeth on the one side, and on the other,\nthe name of the one was Boses, and the name of the other was Sene:\n\n14:5. One rock stood out toward the north, over against Machmas, and the\nother to the south, over against Gabaa.\n\n14:6. And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armour: Come, let\nus go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised, it may be the Lord\nwill do for us: because it is easy for the Lord to save either by many,\nor by few.\n\n14:7. And his armourbearer said to him: Do all that pleaseth thy mind:\ngo whither thou wilt, and I will be with thee wheresoever thou hast a\nmind.\n\n14:8. And Jonathan said: Behold we will go over to these men. And when\nwe shall be seen by them,\n\n14:9. If they shall speak thus to us: Stay till we come to you: let us\nstand still in our place, and not go up to them.\n\n14:10. But if they shall say: Come up to us: let us go up, because the\nLord hath delivered them into our hands, this shall be a sign unto us.\n\nThis shall be a sign... It is likely Jonathan was instructed by divine\ninspiration to make a choice of this sign: otherwise the observation of\nomens is superstitious and sinful.\n\n14:11. So both of them discovered themselves to the garrison of the\nPhilistines: and the Philistines said: Behold the Hebrews come forth out\nof the holes wherein they were hid.\n\n14:12. And the men of the garrison spoke to Jonathan, and to his\narmourbearer, and said: Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And\nJonathan said to his armourbearer: Let us go up, follow me: for the Lord\nhath delivered them into the hands of Israel.\n\n14:13. And Jonathan went up creeping on his hands and feet, and his\narmourbearer after him. And some fell before Jonathan, others his\narmourbearer slew as he followed him.\n\n14:14. And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made,\nwas of about twenty men, within half an acre of land, which a yoke of\noxen is wont to plough in a day.\n\n14:15. And there was a miracle in the camp, in the fields: and all the\npeople of their garrison, who had gone out to plunder, were amazed, and\nthe earth trembled: and it happened as a miracle from God.\n\n14:16. And the watchmen of Saul, who were in Gabaa of Benjamin looked,\nand behold a multitude overthrown, and fleeing this way and that.\n\n14:17. And Saul said to the people that were with him: Look, and see who\nis gone from us. And when they had sought, it was found that Jonathan\nand his armourbearer were not there.\n\n14:18. And Saul said to Achias: Bring the ark of the Lord. (For the ark\nof God was there that day with the children of Israel.)\n\n14:19. And while Saul spoke to the priest, there arose a great uproar in\nthe camp of the Philistines: and it increased by degrees, and was heard\nmore clearly. And Saul said to the priest: Draw in thy hand.\n\n14:20. Then Saul, and all the people that were with him, shouted\ntogether, and they came to the place of the fight: and behold every\nman's sword was turned upon his neighbour, and there was a very great\nslaughter.\n\n14:21. Moreover, the Hebrews that had been with the Philistines\nyesterday and the day before, and went up with them into the camp,\nreturned to be with the Israelites, who were with Saul and Jonathan.\n\n14:22. And all the Israelites that had hid themselves in mount Ephraim,\nhearing that the Philistines fled, joined themselves with their\ncountrymen in the fight. And there were with Saul about ten thousand\nmen.\n\n14:23. And the Lord saved Israel that day. And the fight went on as far\nas Bethaven.\n\n14:24. And the men of Israel were joined together that day: and Saul\nadjured the people, saying: Cursed be the man that shall eat food till\nevening, till I be revenged of my enemies. So none of the people tasted\nany food.\n\n14:25. And all the common people came into a forest, in which there was\nhoney upon the ground.\n\n14:26. And when the people came into the forest, behold the honey\ndropped, but no man put his hand to his mouth. For the people feared the\noath.\n\n14:27. But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people:\nand he put forth the end of the rod, which he had in his hand, and dipt\nit in a honeycomb: and he carried his hand to his mouth, and his eyes\nwere enlightened.\n\n14:28. And one of the people answering, said: Thy father hath bound the\npeople with an oath, saying: Cursed be the man that shall eat any food\nthis day. (And the people were faint.)\n\n14:29. And Jonathan said: My father hath troubled the land: you have\nseen yourselves that my eyes are enlightened, because I tasted a little\nof this honey:\n\n14:30. How much more if the people had eaten of the prey of their\nenemies, which they found? had there not been made a greater slaughter\namong the Philistines?\n\n14:31. So they smote that day the Philistines, from Machmas to Aialon.\nAnd the people were wearied exceedingly.\n\n14:32. And falling upon the spoils, they took sheep, and oxen, and\ncalves, and slew them on the ground: and the people ate them with the\nblood.\n\n14:33. And they told Saul that the people had sinned against the Lord,\neating with the blood. And he said: You have transgressed: roll here to\nme now a great stone.\n\n14:34. And Saul said: Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell\nthem to bring me every man his ox and his ram and slay them upon this\nstone, and eat, and you shall not sin against the Lord, in eating with\nthe blood. So all the people brought every man his ox with him till the\nnight: and slew them there.\n\n14:35. And Saul built an altar to the Lord: and he then first began to\nbuild an altar to the Lord.\n\n14:36. And Saul said: Let us fall upon the Philistines by night, and\ndestroy them till the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.\nAnd the people said: Do all that seemeth good in thy eyes. And the\npriest said: Let us draw near hither unto God.\n\n14:37. And Saul consulted the Lord: Shall I pursue after the\nPhilistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hands of Israel? And he\nanswered him not that day.\n\n14:38. And Saul said: Bring hither all the corners of the people: and\nknow, and see by whom this sin hath happened to day.\n\n14:39. As the Lord liveth, who is the Saviour of Israel, if it was done\nby Jonathan, my son, he shall surely die. In this none of the people\ngainsayed him.\n\n14:40. And he said to all Israel: Be you on one side and I, with\nJonathan, my son, will be on the other side. And the people answered\nSaul: Do what seemeth good in thy eyes.\n\n14:41. And Saul said to the Lord: O Lord God of Israel, give a sign, by\nwhich we may know, what the meaning is, that thou answerest not thy\nservant to day: If this iniquity be in me, or in my son Jonathan, give a\nproof: or if this iniquity be in thy people, give holiness. And Jonathan\nand Saul were taken, and the people escaped.\n\n14:42. And Saul said: Cast lots between me, and Jonathan, my son. And\nJonathan was taken.\n\nJonathan was taken... Though Jonathan was excused from sin, through\nignorance of the prohibition, yet God was pleased on this occasion to\nlet the lot fall upon him, to shew unto all the great obligation of\nobedience to princes and parents.\n\n14:43. And Saul said to Jonathan: Tell me what thou hast done. And\nJonathan told him, and said: I did but taste a little honey with the end\nof the rod, which was in my hand, and behold I must die.\n\n14:44. And Saul said: May God do so and so to me, and add still more:\nfor dying thou shalt die, O Jonathan.\n\n14:45. And the people said to Saul: Shall Jonathan then die, who hath\nwrought this great salvation in Israel? this must not be: As the Lord\nliveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he\nhath wrought with God this day. So the people delivered Jonathan, that\nhe should not die.\n\n14:46. And Saul went back, and did not pursue after the Philistines: and\nthe Philistines went to their own places.\n\n14:47. And Saul having his kingdom established over Israel, fought\nagainst all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the\nchildren of Ammon, and Edom, and the kings of Soba, and the Philistines:\nand whithersoever he turned himself, he overcame.\n\n14:48. And gathering together an army, he defeated Amalec, and delivered\nIsrael from the hand of them that spoiled them.\n\n14:49. And the sons of Saul, were Jonathan, and Jessui, and Melchisua:\nand the names of his two daughters, the name of the firstborn was Merob,\nand the name of the younger Michol.\n\n14:50. And the name of Saul's wife was Achinoam, the daughter of\nAchimaas; and the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of\nNer, the cousin german of Saul.\n\n14:51. For Cis was the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, was\nson of Abiel.\n\n14:52. And there was a great war against the Philistines all the days of\nSaul. For whomsoever Saul saw to be a valiant man, and fit for war, he\ntook him to himself.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 15\n\nSaul is sent to destroy Amalec: he spareth their king and the best of\ntheir cattle: for which disobedience he is cast off by the Lord.\n\n15:1. And Samuel said to Saul: The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over\nhis people Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the\nLord:\n\n15:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have reckoned up all that Amalec\nhath done to Israel: how he opposed them in the way when they came up\nout of Egypt.\n\n15:3. Now therefore go, and smite Amalec, and utterly destroy all that\nhe hath: spare him not, nor covet anything that is his: but slay both\nman and woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.\n\nChild... The great Master of life and death (who cuts off one half of\nall mankind whilst they are children) has been pleased sometimes to\nordain that children should be put to the sword, in detestation of the\ncrimes of their parents, and that they might not live to follow the same\nwicked ways. But without such ordinance of God it is not allowable, in\nany wars, how just soever, to kill children.\n\n15:4. So Saul commanded the people, and numbered them as lambs: two\nhundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand of the men of Juda.\n\n15:5. And when Saul was come to the city of Amalec, he laid ambushes in\nthe torrent.\n\n15:6. And Saul said to the Cinite: Go, depart, and get ye down from\nAmalec: lest I destroy thee with him. For thou hast shewn kindness to\nall the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. And the\nCinite departed from the midst of Amalec.\n\n15:7. And Saul smote Amalec from Hevila, until thou comest to Sur, which\nis over against Egypt.\n\n15:8. And he took Agag, the king of Amalec, alive: but all the common\npeople he slew with the edge of the sword.\n\n15:9. And Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the flocks of\nsheep, and of the herds, and the garments and the rams, and all that was\nbeautiful, and would not destroy them: but every thing that was vile,\nand good for nothing, that they destroyed.\n\n15:10. And the word of the Lord came to Samuel,\n\n15:11. It repenteth me that I have made Saul king: for he hath forsaken\nme, and hath not executed my commandments. And Samuel was grieved, and\nhe cried unto the Lord all night.\n\n15:12. And when Samuel rose early, to go to Saul in the morning, it was\ntold Samuel that Saul was come to Carmel, and had erected for himself a\ntriumphant arch, and returning had passed on, and gone down to Galgal.\nAnd Samuel came to Saul, and Saul was offering a holocaust to the Lord,\nout of the choicest of the spoils, which he had brought from Amalec.\n\n15:13. And when Samuel was come to Saul, Saul said to him: Blessed be\nthou of the Lord, I have fulfilled the word of the Lord.\n\n15:14. And Samuel said: What meaneth then this bleating of the flocks,\nwhich soundeth in my ears, and the lowing of the herds, which I hear?\n\n15:15. And Saul said: They have brought them from Amalec: for the people\nspared the best of the sheep and of the herds, that they might be\nsacrificed to the Lord thy God, but the rest we have slain.\n\n15:16. And Samuel said to Saul: Suffer me, and I will tell thee what the\nLord hath said to me this night. And he said to him: Speak.\n\n15:17. And Samuel said: When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes,\nwast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord\nanointed thee to be king over Israel.\n\n15:18. And the Lord sent thee on the way, and said: Go, and kill the\nsinners of Amalec, and thou shalt fight against them until thou hast\nutterly destroyed them.\n\n15:19. Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the Lord: but\nhast turned to the prey, and hast done evil in the eyes of the Lord?\n\n15:20. And Saul said to Samuel: Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of\nthe Lord, and have walked in the way by which the Lord sent me, and have\nbrought Agag, the king of Amalec, and Amalec I have slain.\n\n15:21. But the people took of the spoils, sheep and oxen, as the\nfirstfruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the\nLord their God in Galgal.\n\n15:22. And Samuel said: Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and\nnot rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is\nbetter than sacrifices: and to hearken rather than to offer the fat or\nrams.\n\n15:23. Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to rebel: and like the\ncrime of idolatry, to refuse to obey. Forasmuch, therefore, as thou hast\nrejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from\nbeing king.\n\n15:24. And Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned, because I have\ntransgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, fearing the\npeople, and obeying their voice.\n\n15:25. But now bear, I beseech thee, my sin, and return with me, that I\nmay adore the Lord.\n\n15:26. And Samuel said to Saul: I will not return with thee, because\nthou hath rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee\nfrom being king over Israel.\n\n15:27. And Samuel turned about to go away: but he laid hold upon the\nskirt of his mantle, and it rent.\n\n15:28. And Samuel said to him: The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel\nfrom thee this day, and hath given it to thy neighbour who is better\nthan thee.\n\n15:29. But the triumpher in Israel will not spare, and will not be moved\nto repentance: for he is not a man that he should repent.\n\n15:30. Then he said: I have sinned: yet honour me now before the\nancients of my people, and before Israel, and return with me, that I may\nadore the Lord thy God.\n\n15:31. So Samuel turned again after Saul: and Saul adored the Lord.\n\n15:32. And Samuel said: Bring hither to me Agag, the king of Amalec. And\nAgag was presented to him very fat, and trembling. And Agag said: Doth\nbitter death separate in this manner? 15:33. And Samuel said: As thy\nsword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among\nwomen. And Samuel hewed him in pieces before the Lord in Galgal.\n\n15:34. And Samuel departed to Ramatha: but Saul went up to his house in\nGabaa.\n\n15:35. And Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death:\nnevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul, because the Lord repented that he\nhad made him king over Israel.\n\nSaw Saul no more till the day of his death... That is, he went no more\nto see him: he visited him no more.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 16\n\nSamuel is sent to Bethlehem, where he anointeth David: who is taken into\nSaul's family.\n\n16:1. And the Lord said to Samuel: How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,\nwhom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil,\nand come, that I may send thee to Isai, the Bethlehemite: for I have\nprovided me a king among his sons.\n\n16:2. And Samuel said: How shall I go? for Saul will hear of it, and he\nwill kill me. And the Lord said: Thou shalt take with thee a calf of the\nherd, and thou shalt say: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.\n\n16:3. And thou shalt call Isai to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee\nwhat thou art to do, and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall shew to\nthee.\n\n16:4. Then Samuel did as the Lord had said to him. And he came to\nBethlehem, and the ancients of the city wondered, and meeting him, they\nsaid: Is thy coming hither peaceable?\n\n16:5. And he said: It is peaceable: I am come to offer sacrifice to the\nLord, be ye sanctified, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he\nsanctified Isai and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.\n\n16:6. And when they were come in, he saw Eliab, and said: Is the Lord's\nanointed before him?\n\n16:7. And the Lord said to Samuel: Look not on his countenance, nor on\nthe height of his stature: because I have rejected him, nor do I judge\naccording to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear,\nbut the Lord beholdeth the heart.\n\n16:8. And Isai called Abinadab, and brought him before Samuel. And he\nsaid: Neither hath the Lord chosen this,\n\n16:9. And Isai brought Samma, and he said of him: Neither hath the Lord\nchosen this.\n\n16:10. Isai therefore brought his seven sons before Samuel: and Samuel\nsaid to Isai: The Lord hath not chosen any one of these.\n\n16:11. And Samuel said to Isai: Are here all thy sons? He answered:\nThere remaineth yet a young one, who keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said\nto Isai: Send, and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come\nhither.\n\n16:12. He sent therefore and brought him. Now he was ruddy and beautiful\nto behold, and of a comely face. And the Lord said: Arise, and anoint\nhim, for this is he.\n\n16:13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst\nof his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that\nday forward: and Samuel rose up, and went to Ramatha.\n\n16:14. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit\nfrom the Lord troubled him.\n\nFrom the Lord... An evil spirit, by divine permission, and for his\npunishment, either possessed or obsessed him.\n\n16:15. And the servants of Saul said to him: Behold now an evil spirit\nfrom God troubleth thee.\n\n16:16. Let our lord give orders, and thy servants who are before thee,\nwill seek out a man skilful in playing on the harp, that when the evil\nspirit from the Lord is upon thee, he may play with his hand, and thou\nmayst bear it more easily.\n\n16:17. And Saul said to his servants: Provide me then some man that can\nplay well, and bring him to me.\n\n16:18. And one of the servants answering, said: Behold I have seen a son\nof Isai, the Bethlehemite, a skilful player, and one of great strength,\nand a man fit for war, and prudent in his words, and a comely person:\nand the Lord is with him.\n\n16:19. Then Saul sent messengers to Isai, saying: Send me David, thy\nson, who is in the pastures.\n\n16:20. And Isai took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and\na kid of the flock, and sent them by the hand of David, his son, to\nSaul.\n\n16:21. And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him\nexceedingly, and made him his armourbearer.\n\n16:22. And Saul sent to Isai, saying: Let David stand before me: for he\nhath found favour in my sight.\n\n16:23. So whensoever the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, David\ntook his harp, and played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed, and was\nbetter, for the evil spirit departed from him.\n\nDeparted from him... Chased away by David's devotion.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 17\n\nWar with the Philistines. Goliath challengeth Israel. He is slain by\nDavid.\n\n17:1. Now the Philistines gathering together their troops to battle,\nassembled at Socho of Juda: and camped between Socho and Azeca, in the\nborders of Dommim.\n\n17:2. And Saul and the children of Israel being gathered together, came\nto the valley of Terebinth, and they set the army in array to fight\nagainst the Philistines.\n\n17:3. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and\nIsrael stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley\nbetween them.\n\n17:4. And there went out a man baseborn from the camp of the\nPhilistines, named Goliath, of Geth, whose height was six cubits and a\nspan:\n\n17:5. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clothed\nwith a coat of mail with scales, and the weight of his coat of mail was\nfive thousand sicles of brass:\n\n17:6. And he had greaves of brass on his legs, and a buckler of brass\ncovered his shoulders.\n\n17:7. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head\nof his spear weighed six hundred sicles of iron: and his armourbearer\nwent before him.\n\n17:8. And standing, he cried out to the bands of Israel, and said to\nthem: Why are you come out prepared to fight? am not I a Philistine, and\nyou the servants of Saul? Choose out a man of you, and let him come down\nand fight hand to hand.\n\n17:9. If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, we will be servants\nto you: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, you shall be\nservants, and shall serve us.\n\n17:10. And the Philistine said: I have defied the bands of Israel this\nday: give me a man, and let him fight with me hand to hand.\n\n17:11. And Saul and all the Israelites hearing these words of the\nPhilistine, were dismayed, and greatly afraid.\n\n17:12. Now David was the son of that Ephrathite, of Bethlehem Juda,\nbefore mentioned, whose name was Isai, who had eight sons, and was an\nold man in the days of Saul, and of great age among men.\n\n17:13. And his three eldest sons followed Saul to the battle: and the\nnames of his three sons that went to the battle, were Eliab, the\nfirstborn, and the second, Abinadab, and the third Samma:\n\n17:14. But David was the youngest. So the three eldest having followed\nSaul,\n\n17:15. David went, and returned from Saul, to feed his father's flock at\nBethlehem.\n\n17:16. Now the Philistine came out morning and evening, and presented\nhimself forty days.\n\n17:17. And Isai said to David, his son: Take for thy brethren an ephi of\nfrumenty, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren,\n\n17:18. And carry these ten little cheeses to the tribune: and go see thy\nbrethren, if they are well: and learn with whom they are placed.\n\n17:19. But Saul, and they, and all the children of Israel, were in the\nvalley of Terebinth, fighting against the Philistines.\n\n17:20. David, therefore, arose in the morning, and gave the charge of\nthe flock to the keeper: and went away loaded, as Isai had commanded\nhim. And he came to the place of Magala, and to the army, which was\ngoing out to fight, and shouted for the battle.\n\n17:21. For Israel had put themselves in array, and the Philistines who\nstood against them were prepared.\n\n17:22. And David leaving the vessels which he had brought, under the\ncare of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the place of the battle, and\nasked if all things went well with his brethren.\n\n17:23. And as he talked with them, that baseborn man, whose name was\nGoliath, the Philistine, of Geth, shewed himself coming up from the camp\nof the Philistines: and he spoke according to the same words, and David\nheard them,\n\n17:24. And all the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from his\nface, fearing him exceedingly.\n\n17:25. And some one of Israel said: Have you seen this man that is come\nup, for he is come up to defy Israel. And the man that shall slay him,\nthe king will enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter,\nand will make his father's house free from tribute in Israel.\n\n17:26. And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying: What shall\nbe given to the man that shall kill this Philistine, and shall take away\nthe reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that\nhe should defy the armies of the living God?\n\n17:27. And the people answered him the same words, saying: These things\nshall be given to the man that shall slay him.\n\n17:28. Now when Eliab his eldest brother heard this, when he was\nspeaking with others, he was angry with David, and said: Why camest thou\nhither? and why didst thou leave those few sheep in the desert? I know\nthy pride, and the wickedness of thy heart: that thou art come down to\nsee the battle.\n\n17:29. And David said: What have I done? is there not cause to speak?\n\n17:30. And he turned a little aside from him to another: and said the\nsame word. And the people answered him as before.\n\n17:31. And the words which David spoke were heard, and were rehearsed\nbefore Saul.\n\n17:32. And when he was brought to Saul, he said to him. Let not any\nman's heart be dismayed in him: I thy servant will go, and will fight\nagainst the Philistine.\n\n17:33. And Saul said to David: Thou art not able to withstand this\nPhilistine, nor to fight against him: for thou art but a boy, but he is\na warrior from his youth.\n\n17:34. And David said to Saul: Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and\nthere came a lion, or a bear, and took a ram out of the midst of the\nflock:\n\n17:35. And I pursued after them, and struck them, and delivered it out\nof their mouth: and they rose up against me, and I caught them by the\nthroat, and I strangled, and killed them.\n\n17:36. For I thy servant have killed both a lion and a bear: and this\nuncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them. I will go now,\nand take away the reproach of the people: for who is this uncircumcised\nPhilistine, who hath dared to curse the army of the living God?\n\n17:37. And David said: The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the\nlion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand\nof this Philistine. And Saul said to David: Go, and the Lord be with\nthee.\n\n17:38. And Saul clothed David with his garments, and put a helmet of\nbrass upon his head, and armed him with a coat of mail.\n\n17:39. And David having girded his sword upon his armour, began to try\nif he could walk in armour: for he was not accustomed to it. And David\nsaid to Saul: I cannot go thus, for I am not used to it. And he laid\nthem off,\n\n17:40. And he took his staff, which he had always in his hands: and\nchose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them into the\nshepherd's scrip, which he had with him, and he took a sling in his\nhand, and went forth against the Philistine.\n\n17:41. And the Philistine came on, and drew nigh against David, and his\narmourbearer went before him.\n\n17:42. And when the Philistine looked, and beheld David, he despised\nhim. For he was a young man, ruddy, and of a comely countenance.\n\n17:43. And the Philistine said to David: Am I a dog, that thou comest to\nme with a staff? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.\n\n17:44. And he said to David: Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to\nthe birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth.\n\n17:45. And David said to the Philistine: Thou comest to me with a sword,\nand with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of\nthe Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which thou hast\ndefied.\n\n17:46. This day, and the Lord will deliver thee into my hand, and I will\nslay thee, and take away thy head from thee: and I will give the\ncarcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the\nair, and to the beasts of the earth: that all the earth may know that\nthere is a God in Israel.\n\n17:47. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with\nsword and spear: for it is his battle, and he will deliver you into our\nhands.\n\n17:48. And when the Philistine arose, and was coming, and drew nigh to\nmeet David, David made haste, and ran to the fight to meet the\nPhilistine.\n\n17:49. And he put his hand into his scrip, and took a stone, and cast it\nwith the sling, and fetching it about, struck the Philistine in the\nforehead, and he fell on his face upon the earth.\n\n17:50. And David prevailed over the Philistine, with a sling and a\nstone, and he struck, and slew the Philistine. And as David had no sword\nin his hand,\n\n17:51. He ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and\ndrew it out of the sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head. And the\nPhilistines seeing that their champion was dead, fled away.\n\n17:52. And the men of Israel and Juda rising up shouted, and pursued\nafter the Philistines till they came to the valley and to the gates of\nAccaron, and there fell many wounded of the Philistines in the way of\nSaraim, and as far as Geth, and as far as Accaron.\n\n17:53. And the children of Israel returning, after they had pursued the\nPhilistines, fell upon their camp.\n\n17:54. And David taking the head of the Philistine, brought it to\nJerusalem: but his armour he put in his tent.\n\n17:55. Now at the time that Saul saw David going out against the\nPhilistines, he said to Abner, the captain of the army: Of what family\nis this young man descended, Abner? And Abner said: As thy soul liveth,\nO king, I know not.\n\n17:56. And the king said: Inquire thou, whose son this young man is.\n\n17:57. And when David was returned, after the Philistine was slain,\nAbner took him, and brought him in before Saul, with the head of the\nPhilistine in his hand.\n\n17:58. And Saul said to him: Young man, of what family art thou? And\nDavid said: I am the son of thy servant Isai the Bethlehemite.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 18\n\nThe friendship of Jonathan and David. The envy of Saul, and his design\nupon David's life. He marrieth him to his daughter Michol.\n\n18:1. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul,\nthe son of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved\nhim as his own soul.\n\n18:2. And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his\nfather's house.\n\n18:3. And David and Jonathan made a covenant, for he loved him as his\nown soul.\n\n18:4. And Jonathan stripped himself of the coat with which he was\nclothed, and gave it to David, and the rest of his garments, even to his\nsword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.\n\n18:5. And David went out to whatsoever business Saul sent him, and he\nbehaved himself prudently: and Saul set him over the soldiers, and he\nwas acceptable in the eyes of all the people, and especially in the eyes\nof Saul's servants.\n\n18:6. Now when David returned, after he slew the Philistine, the women\ncame out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king\nSaul, with timbrels of joy, and cornets.\n\n18:7. And the women sung as they played, and they said: Saul slew his\nthousands, and David his ten thousands.\n\n18:8. And Saul was exceeding angry, and this word was displeasing in his\neyes, and he said: They have given David ten thousands, and to me they\nhave given but a thousand, what can he have more but the kingdom?\n\n18:9. And Saul did not look on David with a good eye from that day and\nforward.\n\n18:10. And the day after, the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and\nhe prophesied in the midst of his house. And David played with his hand\nas at other times. And Saul held a spear in his hand,\n\nProphesied... Acted the prophet in a mad manner.\n\n18:11. And threw it, thinking to nail David to the wall: and David stept\naside out of his presence twice.\n\n18:12. And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, and was\ndeparted from Saul himself.\n\n18:13. Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him a captain over\na thousand men, and he went out and came in before the people.\n\n18:14. And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with\nhim.\n\n18:15. And Saul saw that he was exceeding prudent, and began to beware\nof him.\n\n18:16. But all Israel and Juda loved David, for he came in and went out\nbefore them.\n\n18:17. And Saul said to David: Behold my elder daughter Merob, her will\nI give thee to wife: only be a valiant man, and fight the battles of the\nLord. Now Saul said within himself: Let not my hand be upon him, but let\nthe hands of the Philistines be upon him.\n\n18:18. And David said to Saul: Who am I, or what is my life, or my\nfather's family in Israel, that I should be son in law of the king?\n\n18:19. And it came to pass at the time when Merob, the daughter of Saul,\nshould have been given to David, that she was given to Hadriel, the\nMolathite, to wife.\n\n18:20. But Michol, the other daughter of Saul, loved David. And it was\ntold Saul, and it pleased him.\n\n18:21. And Saul said: I will give her to him, that she may be a\nstumblingblock to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be upon\nhim. And Saul said to David: In two things thou shalt be my son in law\nthis day.\n\n18:22. And Saul commanded his servants to speak to David privately,\nsaying: Behold, thou pleasest the king, and all his servants love thee.\nNow, therefore be the king's son in law.\n\n18:23. And the servants of Saul spoke all these words in the ear of\nDavid. And David said: Doth it seem to you a small matter to be the\nking's son in law? But I am a poor man, and of small ability.\n\n18:24. And the servants of Saul told him, saying: Such words as these\nhath David spoken.\n\n18:25. And Saul said: Speak thus to David: The king desireth not any\ndowry, but only a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of\nthe king's enemies. Now Saul thought to deliver David into the hands of\nthe Philistines.\n\n18:26. And when his servants had told David the words that Saul had\nsaid, the word was pleasing in the eyes of David to be the king's son in\nlaw.\n\n18:27. And after a few days David rose up, and went with the men that\nwere under him, and he slew of the Philistines two hundred men, and\nbrought their foreskins and numbered them out to the king, that he might\nbe his son in law. Saul therefore gave him Michol, his daughter, to\nwife.\n\n18:28. And Saul saw, and understood that the Lord was with David. And\nMichol, the daughter of Saul, loved him.\n\n18:29. And Saul began to fear David more: and Saul became David's enemy\ncontinually.\n\n18:30. And the princes of the Philistines went forth: and from the\nbeginning of their going forth, David behaved himself more wisely than\nall the servants of Saul, and his name became very famous.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 19\n\nOther attempts of Saul upon David's life. He cometh to Samuel. Saul's\nmessengers, and Saul himself prophesy.\n\n19:1. And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that\nthey should kill David. But Jonathan, the son of Saul, loved David\nexceedingly.\n\n19:2. And Jonathan told David, saying: Saul, my father, seeketh to kill\nthee: wherefore look to thyself, I beseech thee, in the morning and thou\nshalt abide in a secret place, and shalt be hid.\n\n19:3. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where\nthou art: and I will speak of thee to my father, and whatsoever I shall\nsee, I will tell thee.\n\n19:4. And Jonathan spoke good things of David to Saul, his father: and\nsaid to him: Sin not, O king, against thy servant, David, because he\nhath not sinned against thee, and his works are very good towards thee.\n\n19:5. And he put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the\nLord wrought great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it and didst\nrejoice. Why therefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood, by killing\nDavid, who is without fault?\n\n19:6. And when Saul heard this, he was appeased with the words of\nJonathan, and swore: As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.\n\n19:7. Then Jonathan called David, and told him all these words: and\nJonathan brought in David to Saul, and he was before him, as he had been\nyesterday and the day before.\n\n19:8. And the war began again, and David went out, and fought against\nthe Philistines, and defeated them with a great slaughter, and they fled\nfrom his face.\n\n19:9. And the evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul; and he sat in\nhis house, and held a spear in his hand: and David played with his hand.\n\n19:10. And Saul endeavoured to nail David to the wall with his spear.\nAnd David slipt away out of the presence of Saul: and the spear missed\nhim, and was fastened in the wall, and David fled, and escaped that\nnight.\n\n19:11. Saul therefore sent his guards to David's house to watch him,\nthat he might be killed in the morning. And when Michol, David's wife,\nhad told him this, saying: Unless thou save thyself this night, to\nmorrow thou wilt die:\n\n19:12. She let him down through a window. And he went and fled away, and\nescaped.\n\n19:13. And Michol took an image, and laid it on the bed, and put a\ngoat's skin, with the hair at the head of it, and covered it with\nclothes.\n\n19:14. And Saul sent officers to seize David; and it was answered that\nhe was sick.\n\n19:15. And again Saul sent to see David, saying: Bring him to me in the\nbed, that he may be slain.\n\n19:16. And when the messengers were come in, they found an image upon\nthe bed, and a goat skin at his head.\n\n19:17. And Saul said to Michol: Why hast thou deceived me so, and let my\nenemy go and flee away? And Michol answered Saul: Because he said to me:\nLet me go, or else I will kill thee.\n\n19:18. But David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel in Ramatha, and\ntold him all that Saul had done to him: and he and Samuel went and dwelt\nin Najoth.\n\nNajoth... It was probably a school or college of prophets, in or near\nRamath under the direction of Samuel.\n\n19:19. And it was told Saul by some, saying: Behold David is in Najoth,\nin Ramatha.\n\n19:20. So Saul sent officers to take David: and when they saw a company\nof prophets prophesying, and Samuel presiding over them, the Spirit of\nthe Lord came also upon them, and they likewise began to prophesy.\n\nProphesying... That is, singing praises to God by a divine impulse. God\nwas pleased on this occasion that both Samuel's messengers and himself\nshould experience the like impulse, that he might understand, by this\ninstance of the divine power, how vain are the designs of man against\nhim whom God protects.\n\n19:21. And when this was told Saul, he sent other messengers: but they\nalso prophesied. And again Saul sent messengers the third time: and they\nprophesied also. And Saul being exceeding angry,\n\n19:22. Went also himself to Ramatha, and came as far as the great\ncistern, which is in Socho, and he asked, and said: In what place are\nSamuel and David? And it was told him: Behold they are in Najoth, in\nRamatha.\n\n19:23. And he went to Najoth, in Ramatha, and the Spirit of the Lord\ncame upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied till he came to\nNajoth, in Ramatha.\n\n19:24. And he stripped himself also of his garments, and prophesied with\nthe rest before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and night. This\ngave occasion to a proverb: What! is Saul too among the prophets?\n\n1 Kings Chapter 20\n\nSaul being obstinately bent upon killing David, he is sent away by\nJonathan.\n\n20:1. But David fled from Najoth, which is in Ramatha, and came and said\nto Jonathan: What have I done? what is my iniquity, and what is my sin\nagainst thy father, that he seeketh my life?\n\n20:2. And he said to him: God forbid, thou shalt not die: for my father\nwill do nothing, great or little, without first telling me: hath then my\nfather hid this word only from me? no, this shall not be.\n\n20:3. And he swore again to David. And David said: Thy father certainly\nknoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, and he will say: Let not\nJonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth,\nand thy soul liveth, there is but one step (as I may say) between me and\ndeath.\n\n20:4. And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I\nwill do for thee.\n\n20:5. And David said to Jonathan: Behold to morrow is the new moon, and\nI, according to custom, am wont to sit beside the king to eat: let me go\nthen that I may be hid in the field till the evening of the third day.\n\nTo morrow is the new moon... The neomenia, or first day of the moon,\nkept according to the law, as a festival; and therefore Saul feasted on\nthat day: and expected the attendance of his family.\n\n20:6. If thy father look and inquire for me, thou shalt answer him:\nDavid asked me that he might run to Bethlehem, his own city: because\nthere are solemn sacrifices there for all of his tribe.\n\n20:7. If he shall say: It is well: thy servant shall have peace: but if\nhe be angry, know that his malice is come to its height.\n\n20:8. Deal mercifully then with thy servant: for thou hast brought me,\nthy servant, into a covenant of the Lord with thee. But if there be any\niniquity in me, do thou kill me, and bring me not in to thy father.\n\n20:9. And Jonathan said: Far be this from thee: for if I should\ncertainly know that evil is determined by my father against thee, I\ncould do no otherwise than tell thee.\n\n20:10. And David answered Jonathan: Who shall bring me word, if thy\nfather should answer thee harshly concerning me?\n\n20:11. And Jonathan said to David: Come, and let us go out into the\nfield. And when they were both of them gone out into the field,\n\n20:12. Jonathan said to David: O Lord God of Israel, if I shall discover\nmy father's mind, to morrow, or the day after, and there be any thing\ngood for David, and I send not immediately to thee, and make it known to\nthee,\n\n20:13. May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan, and add still more. But if\nmy father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to\nthy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayst go in peace, and the\nLord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.\n\n20:14. And if I live, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but\nif I die,\n\n20:15. Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever,\nwhen the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of\nthem from the earth, may he take away Jonathan from his house, and may\nthe Lord require it at the hands of David's enemies.\n\nMay he take away Jonathan, etc... It is a curse upon himself, if he\nshould not be faithful to his promise.-Ibid. Require it, etc... That is,\nrevenge it upon David's enemies, and upon me, if I should fail of my\nword given to him.\n\n20:16. Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David: and\nthe Lord required it at the hands of David's enemies.\n\n20:17. And Jonathan swore again to David, because he loved him: for he\nloved him as his own soul.\n\n20:18. And Jonathan said to him: To morrow is the new moon, and thou\nwilt be missed:\n\n20:19. For thy seat will be empty till after to morrow. So thou shalt go\ndown quickly, and come to the place where thou must he hid, on the day\nwhen it is lawful to work, and thou shalt remain beside the stone, which\nis called Ezel.\n\n20:20. And I will shoot three arrows near it, and will shoot as if I\nwere exercising myself at a mark.\n\n20:21. And I will send a boy, saying to him: Go and fetch me the arrows.\n\n20:22. If I shall say to the boy: Behold the arrows are on this side of\nthee, take them up: come thou to me, because there is peace to thee, and\nthere is no evil, as the Lord liveth. But if I shall speak thus to the\nboy: Behold the arrows are beyond thee: go in peace, for the Lord hath\nsent thee away.\n\n20:23. And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be\nbetween thee and me forever.\n\n20:24. So David was hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the\nking sat down to eat bread.\n\n20:25. And when the king sat down upon his chair, (according to custom)\nwhich was beside the wall, Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side,\nand David's place appeared empty.\n\n20:26. And Saul said nothing that day, for he thought it might have\nhappened to him, that he was not clean, nor purified.\n\n20:27. And when the second day after the new moon was come, David's\nplace appeared empty again. And Saul said to Jonathan, his son: Why\ncometh not the son of Isai to meat neither yesterday, nor to day?\n\n20:28. And Jonathan answered Saul: He asked leave of me earnestly to go\nto Bethlehem.\n\n20:29. And he said: Let me go, for there is a solemn sacrifice in the\ncity, one of my brethren hath sent for me: and now if I have found\nfavour in thy eyes, I will go quickly, and see my brethren. For this\ncause he came not to the king's table.\n\n20:30. Then Saul being angry against Jonathan, said to him: Thou son of\na woman that is the ravisher of a man, do I not know that thou lovest\nthe son of Isai to thy own confusion, and to the confusion of thy\nshameless mother?\n\n20:31. For as long as the son of Isai liveth upon earth, thou shalt not\nbe established, nor thy kingdom. Therefore now presently send, and fetch\nhim to me: for he is the son of death.\n\nThe son of death... That is, one that deserveth death, and shall surely\nbe put to death.\n\n20:32. And Jonathan answering Saul, his father, said: Why shall he die?\nWhat hath he done?\n\n20:33. And Saul caught up a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood\nthat it was determined by his father to kill David.\n\n20:34. So Jonathan rose from the table in great anger, and did not eat\nbread on the second day after the new moon. For he was grieved for\nDavid, because his father had put him to confusion.\n\n20:35. And when the morning came, Jonathan went into the field according\nto the appointment with David, and a little boy with him.\n\n20:36. And he said to his boy: Go, and fetch me the arrows which I\nshoot. And when the boy ran, he shot another arrow beyond the boy.\n\n20:37. The boy therefore came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan\nhad shot: and Jonathan cried after the boy, and said: Behold the arrow\nis there further beyond thee.\n\n20:38. And Jonathan cried again after the boy, saying: Make haste\nspeedily, stand not. And Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows, and\nbrought them to his master:\n\n20:39. And he knew not at all what was doing: for only Jonathan and\nDavid knew the matter.\n\n20:40. Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and said to him: Go,\nand carry them into the city.\n\n20:41. And when the boy was gone, David rose out of his place, which was\ntoward the south, and falling on his face to the ground, adored thrice:\nand kissing one another, they wept together; but David more.\n\n20:42. And Jonathan said to David: Go in peace: and let all stand that\nwe have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying: The Lord be\nbetween me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.\n\n20:43. And David arose, and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 21\n\nDavid receiveth holy bread of Achimelech, the priest: and feigneth\nhimself mad before Achis, king of Geth.\n\n21:1. And David came to Nobe, to Achimelech, the priest and Achimelech\nwas astonished at David's coming. And he said to him: Why art thou\nalone, and no man with thee?\n\nNobe... A city in the tribe of Benjamin, to which the tabernacle of the\nLord had been translated from Silo.\n\n21:2. And David said to Achimelech, the priest: The king hath commanded\nme a business, and said: Let no man know the thing for which thou art\nsent by me, and what manner of commands I have given thee: and I have\nappointed my servants to such and such a place.\n\n21:3. Now therefore if thou have any thing at hand, though it were but\nfive loaves, give me, or whatsoever thou canst find.\n\n21:4. And the priest answered David, saying: I have no common bread at\nhand, but only holy bread, if the young men be clean, especially from\nwomen?\n\nIf the young men be clean, etc... If this cleanness was required of them\nthat were to eat that bread, which was a figure of the bread of life\nwhich we receive in the blessed sacrament; how clean ought Christians to\nbe when they approach to our tremendous mysteries. And what reason hath\nthe church of God to admit none to be her ministers to consecrate and\ndaily receive this most pure sacrament, but such as devote themselves to\na life of perpetual purity.\n\n21:5. And David answered the priest, and said to him: Truly, as to what\nconcerneth women, we have refrained ourselves from yesterday and the day\nbefore, when we came out, and the vessels of the young men were holy.\nNow this way is defiled, but it shall also be sanctified this day in the\nvessels.\n\nThe vessels... i. e., the bodies, have been holy, that is, have been\nkept from impurity.-Ibid. Is defiled... Is liable to expose us to\ndangers of uncleanness.-Ibid. Be sanctified, etc... That is, we shall\ntake care, notwithstanding these dangerous circumstances, to keep our\nvessels holy, that is, to keep our bodies from every thing that may\ndefile us.\n\n21:6. The priest therefore gave him hallowed bread: for there was no\nbread there, but only the loaves of proposition, which had been taken\naway from before the face of the Lord, that hot loaves might be set up.\n\n21:7. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day,\nwithin the tabernacle of the Lord: and his name was Doeg, an Edomite,\nthe chiefest of Saul's herdsmen.\n\n21:8. And David said to Achimelech: Hast thou here at hand a spear, or a\nsword? for I brought not my own sword, nor my own weapons with me, for\nthe king's business required haste.\n\n21:9. And the priest said: Lo, here is the sword of Goliath, the\nPhilistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Terebinth, wrapped up in\na cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take this, take it, for here\nthere is no other but this. And David said: There is none like that,\ngive it me.\n\n21:10. And David arose and fled that day from the face of Saul: and came\nto Achis, the king of Geth:\n\n21:11. And the servants of Achis, when they saw David, said to him: Is\nnot this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing to him in their\ndances, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten\nthousands?\n\n21:12. But David laid up these words in his heart, and was exceedingly\nafraid at the face of Achis, the king of Geth.\n\n21:13. And he changed his countenance before them, and slipt down\nbetween their hands: and he stumbled against the doors of the gate, and\nhis spittle ran down upon his beard.\n\n21:14. And Achis said to his servants: You saw the man was mad: why have\nyou brought him to me?\n\n21:15. Have we need of mad men, that you have brought in this fellow, to\nplay the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?\n\n1 Kings Chapter 22\n\nMany resort to David. Doeg accuseth Achimelech to Saul. He ordereth him\nand all the other priests of Nobe to be slain. Abiathar escapeth.\n\n22:1. David therefore went from thence, and fled to the cave of Odollam.\nAnd when his brethren, and all his father's house, had heard of it, they\nwent down to him thither.\n\n22:2. And all that were in distress, and oppressed with debt, and under\naffliction of mind, gathered themselves unto him: and he became their\nprince, and there were with him about four hundred men.\n\n22:3. And David departed from thence into Maspha of Moab: and he said to\nthe king of Moab: Let my father and my mother tarry with you, I beseech\nthee, till I know what God will do for me.\n\n22:4. And he left them under thc eyes of the king of Moab, and they\nabode with him all the days that David was in the hold.\n\nThe hold... The strong hold, or fortress of Maspha.\n\n22:5. And Gad the prophet said to David: Abide not in the hold, depart,\nand go into the land of Juda. And David departed, and came into the\nforest of Haret.\n\n22:6. And Saul heard that David was seen, and the men that were with\nhim. Now whilst Saul abode in Gabaa, and was in the wood, which is by\nRama, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing\nabout him,\n\n22:7. He said to his servants that stood about him: Hear me now, ye sons\nof Jemini: will the son of Isai give every one of you fields, and\nvineyards, and make you all tribunes, and centurions:\n\n22:8. That all of you have conspired against me, and there is no one to\ninform me, especially when even my son hath entered into league with the\nson of Isai? There is not one of you that pitieth my case, nor that\ngiveth me any information: because my son hath raised up my servant\nagainst me, plotting against me to this day.\n\n\n22:9. And Doeg, the Edomite, who stood by, and was the chief among the\nservants of Saul, answering, said: I saw the son of Isai, in Nobe, with\nAchimelech, the son of Achitob, the priest.\n\n22:10. And he consulted the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and\ngave him the sword of Goliath, the Philistine.\n\n22:11. Then the king sent to call for Achimelech, the priest, the son of\nAchitob, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nobe, and\nthey came all of them to the king.\n\n22:12. And Saul said to Achimelech: Hear, thou son of Achitob. He\nanswered: Here I am, my lord.\n\n22:13. And Saul said to him: Why have you conspired against me, thou,\nand the son of Isai, and thou hast given him bread and a sword, and hast\nconsulted the Lord for him, that he should rise up against me,\ncontinuing a traitor to this day.\n\n22:14. And Achimelech answering the king, said: And who amongst all thy\nservants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son in law, and\ngoeth forth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thy house?\n\n22:15. Did I begin to day to consult the Lord for him? far be this from\nme: let not the king suspect such a thing against his servant, or any\none in all my father's house: for thy servant knew nothing of this\nmatter, either little or great.\n\n22:16. And the king said: Dying thou shalt die, Achimelech, thou and all\nthy father's house.\n\n22:17. And the king said to the messengers that stood about him: Turn,\nand kill the priests of the Lord, for their hand is with David, because\nthey knew that he was fled, and they told it not to me. And the\nking'sservants would not put forth their hands against the priests of\nthe Lord.\n\n22:18. And the king said to Doeg: Turn thou, and fall upon the priests.\nAnd Doeg, the Edomite, turned, and fell upon the priests, and slew in\nthat day eighty-five men that wore the linen ephod.\n\n22:19. And Nobe, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the\nsword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and ox, and ass, and\nsheep, with the edge of the sword.\n\n22:20. But one of the sons of Achimelech, the son of Achitob, whose name\nwas Abiathar, escaped, and fled to David,\n\n22:21. And told him that Saul had slain the priests of the Lord.\n\n22:22. And David said to Abiathar: I knew that day when Doeg, the\nEdomite, was there, that without doubt he would tell Saul: I have been\nthe occasion of the death of all the souls of thy father's house.\n\n22:23. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life,\nseeketh thy life also, and with me thou shalt be saved.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 23\n\nDavid relieveth Ceila, besieged by the Philistines. He fleeth into the\ndesert of Ziph. Jonathan and he confirm their former covenant. The\nZiphites discover him to Saul, who pursuing close after him, is called\naway by an invasion from the Philistines.\n\n23:1. And they told David, saying: Behold the Philistines fight against\nCeila, and they rob the barns.\n\n23:2. Therefore David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go and smite\nthese Philistines? And the Lord said to David: Go, and thou shalt smite\nthe Philistines, and shalt save Ceila.\n\n23:3. And the men that were with David, said to him: Behold we are in\nfear here in Judea, how much more if we go to Ceila against the bands of\nthe Philistines?\n\n23:4. Therefore David consulted the Lord again. And he answered and said\nto him: Arise, and go to Ceila: for I will deliver the Philistines into\nthy hand.\n\n23:5. David, therefore, and his men, went to Ceila, and fought against\nthe Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and made a great\nslaughter of them: and David saved the inhabitants of Ceila.\n\n23:6. Now at that time, when Abiathar, the son of Achimelech, fled to\nDavid, to Ceila, he came down, having an ephod with him.\n\nAn ephod... Or the ephod. That is, the vestment of the high priest, with\nthe urim and thummim, by which the Lord gave his oracle.\n\n23:7. And it was told Saul that David was come to Ceila: and Saul said:\nThe Lord hath delivered him into my hands, and he is shut up, being come\ninto a city that hath gates and bars.\n\n23:8. And Saul commanded all the people to go down to fight against\nCeila, and to besiege David and his men.\n\n23:9. Now when David understood that Saul secretly prepared evil against\nhim, he said to Abiathar, the priest: Bring hither the ephod.\n\n23:10. And David said: O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath heard a\nreport, that Saul designeth to come to Ceila, to destroy the city for my\nsake:\n\n23:11. Will the men of Ceila deliver me into his hands? and will Saul\ncome down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, tell thy\nservant. And the Lord said: He will come down.\n\n23:12. And David said: Will the men of Ceila deliver me and my men into\nthe hands of Saul? And the Lord said: They will deliver thee up.\n\n23:13. Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose, and\ndeparting from Ceila, wandered up and down, uncertain where they should\nstay: and it was told Saul that David was fled from Ceila, and had\nescaped: wherefore he forbore to go out.\n\n23:14. But David abode in the desert in strong holds, and he remained in\na mountain of the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him\nalways: but the Lord delivered him not into his hands.\n\n23:15. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David\nwas in the desert of Ziph, in a wood.\n\n23:16. And Jonathan, the son of Saul, arose, and went to David, into the\nwood, and strengthened his hands in God: and he said to him:\n\n23:17. Fear not: for the hand of my father, Saul, shall not find thee,\nand thou shalt reign over Israel, and I shall be next to thee; yea and\nmy father knoweth this.\n\n23:18. And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in\nthe wood: but Jonathan returned to his house.\n\n23:19. And the Ziphites went up to Saul, in Gabaa, saying: Lo, doth not\nDavid lie hid with us in the strong holds of the wood, in mount Hachila,\nwhich is on the right hand of the desert.\n\n23:20. Now therefore come down, as thy soul hath desired to come down:\nand it shall be our business to deliver him into the king's hands.\n\n23:21. And Saul said: Blessed be ye of the Lord, for you have pitied my\ncase.\n\n23:22. Go, therefore, I pray you, and use all diligence, and curiously\ninquire, and consider the place where his foot is, and who hath seen him\nthere: for he thinketh of me, that I lie craftily in wait for him.\n\n23:23. Consider, and see all his lurking holes, wherein he is hid, and\nreturn to me with the certainty of the thing, that I may go with you.\nAnd if he should even go down into the earth to hide himself, I will\nsearch him out in all the thousands of Juda.\n\n23:24. And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: and David and his\nmen were in the desert of Maon, in the plain at the right hand of\nJesimon.\n\n23:25. Then Saul and his men went to seek him: and it was told David,\nand forthwith he went down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of\nMaon: and when Saul had heard of it, he pursued after David in the\nwilderness of Maon.\n\n23:26. And Saul went on this side of the mountain: and David and his men\nwere on the other side of the mountain: and David despaired of being\nable to escape from the face of Saul: and Saul and his men encompassed\nDavid and his men round about, to take them.\n\n23:27. And a messenger came to Saul, saying: Make haste to come, for the\nPhilistines have poured in themselves upon the land.\n\n23:28. Wherefore Saul returned, leaving the pursuit of David, and went\nto meet the Philistines. For this cause they called that place the rock\nof division.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 24\n\nSaul seeketh David in the wilderness of Engaddi: he goeth into a cave\nwhere David hath him in his power.\n\n24:1. Then David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds of\nEngaddi.\n\n24:2. And when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, they\ntold him, saying: Behold, David is in the desert of Engaddi.\n\n24:3. Saul, therefore, took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel,\nand went out to seek after David and his men, even upon the most craggy\nrocks, which are accessible only to wild goats.\n\n24:4. And he came to the sheepcotes which were in his way. And there was\na cave, into which Saul went, to ease nature: now David and his men lay\nhid in the inner part of the cave.\n\n24:5. And the servants of David said to him: Behold the day, of which\nthe Lord said to thee: I will deliver thy enemy unto thee, that thou\nmayst do to him as it shall seem good in thy eyes. Then David arose, and\nsecretly cut off the hem of Saul's robe.\n\n24:6. After which David's heart struck him, because he had cut off the\nhem of Saul's robe.\n\nHeart struck him... Viz., with remorse, as fearing he had done amiss.\n\n24:7. And he said to his men: The Lord be merciful unto me, that I may\ndo no such thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, as to lay my hand\nupon him, because he is the Lord's anointed.\n\n24:8. And David stopped his men with his words, and suffered them not to\nrise against Saul: but Saul, rising up out of the cave, went on his way.\n\n24:9. And David also rose up after him: and going out of the cave, cried\nafter Saul, saying: My lord the king. And Saul looked behind him: and\nDavid bowing himself down to the ground, worshipped,\n\n24:10. And said to Saul: Why dost thou hear the words of men that say:\nDavid seeketh thy hurt?\n\n24:11 Behold this day thy eyes have seen, that the Lord hath delivered\nthee into my hand, in the cave, and I had a thought to kill thee, but my\neye hath spared thee. For I said: I will not put out my hand against my\nlord, because he is the Lord's anointed.\n\nA thought to kill thee... That is, a suggestion, to which I did not\nconsent.\n\n24:12. Moreover, see and know, O my father, the hem of thy robe in my\nhand, that when I cut off the hem of thy robe, I would not put out my\nhand against thee. Reflect, and see, that there is no evil in my hand,\nnor iniquity, neither have I sinned against thee: but thou liest in wait\nfor my life, to take it away.\n\n24:13. The Lord judge between me and thee and the Lord revenge me of\nthee: but my hand shall not be upon thee.\n\nRevenge me of thee... Or, as it is in the Hebrew, will revenge me. The\nmeaning is, that he refers his whole cause to God, to judge and punish\naccording to his justice: yet so as to keep himself in the mean time,\nfrom all personal hatred to Saul, or desire of gratifying his own\npassion, by seeking revenge. So far from it, that when Saul was\nafterwards slain, we find, that instead of rejoicing at his death, he\nmourned most bitterly for him.\n\n24:14. As also it is said in the old proverb: From the wicked shall\nwickedness come forth: therefore my hand shall not be upon thee. After\nwhom dost thou come out, O king of Israel?\n\n24:15. After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea.\n\n24:16. Be the Lord judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and\njudge my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand.\n\n24:17. And when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul,\nSaul said: Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his\nvoice, and wept:\n\n24:18. And he said to David: Thou art more just than I: for thou hast\ndone good to me, and I have rewarded thee with evil.\n\n24:19. And thou hast shewed this day what good things thou hast done to\nme: how the Lord delivered me into thy hand, and thou hast not killed\nme.\n\n24:20. For who when he hath found his enemy, will let him go well away?\nBut the Lord reward thee for this good turn, for what thou hast done to\nme this day.\n\n24:21. And now as I know that thou shalt surely be king, and have the\nkingdom of Israel in thy hand:\n\n24:22. Swear to me by the Lord, that thou wilt not destroy my seed after\nme, nor take away my name from the house of my father.\n\n24:23. And David swore to Saul. So Saul went home: and David and his men\nwent up into safer places.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 25\n\nThe death of Samuel. David, provoked by Nabal, threateneth to destroy\nhim: but is appeased by Abigail.\n\n25:1. And Samuel died, and all Israel was gathered together, and they\nmourned for him, and buried him in his house in Ramatha. And David rose,\nand went down into the wilderness of Pharan.\n\n25:2. Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his\npossessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great: and he had three\nthousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and it happened that he was\nshearing his sheep in Carmel.\n\n25:3. Now the name of the man was Nabal: and the name of his wife was\nAbigail. And she was a prudent and very comely woman: but her husband\nwas churlish, and very bad and ill natured: and he was of the house of\nCaleb.\n\n25:4. And when David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal was shearing\nhis sheep,\n\n25:5. He sent ten young men, and said to them: Go up to Carmel, and go\nto Nabal, and salute him in my name with peace.\n\n25:6. And you shall say: Peace be to my brethren, and to thee, and peace\nto thy house, and peace to all that thou hast.\n\n25:7. I have heard that thy shepherds that were with us in the desert\nwere shearing: we never molested them, neither was there ought missing\nto them of the flock at any time, all the while they were with us in\nCarmel.\n\n25:8. Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Now therefore let thy\nservants find favour in thy eyes: for we are come in a good day,\nwhatsoever thy hand shall find give to thy servants, and to thy son\nDavid.\n\n25:9. And when David's servants came, they spoke to Nabal all these\nwords in David's name, and then held their peace.\n\n25:10. But Nabal answering the servants of David, said: Who is David?\nand what is the son of Isai? servants are multiplied now days who flee\nfrom their masters.\n\n25:11. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and the flesh of my\ncattle, which I have killed for my shearers, and give to men whom I know\nnot whence they are?\n\n25:12. So the servants of David went back their way, and returning came\nand told him all the words that he said.\n\n25:13. Then David said to his young men: Let every man gird on his\nsword. And they girded on every man his sword. And David also girded on\nhis sword: and there followed David about four hundred men, and two\nhundred remained with the baggage.\n\n25:14. But one of the servants told, Abigail, the wife of Nabal, saying:\nBehold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness, to salute our\nmaster: and he rejected them.\n\n25:15. These men were very good to us, and gave us no trouble: Neither\ndid we ever lose any thing all the time that we conversed with them in\nthe desert.\n\n25:16. They were a wall unto us, both by night and day, all the while we\nwere with them keeping the sheep.\n\n25:17. Wherefore consider, and think what thou hast to do: for evil is\ndetermined against thy husband, and against thy house, and he is a son\nof Belial, so that no man can speak to him.\n\n25:18. Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two\nvessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of\nparched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes\nof dry figs, and laid them upon asses:\n\n25:19. And she said to her servants: Go before me: behold, I will follow\nafter you: but she told not her husband, Nabal.\n\n25:20. And when she had gotten upon an ass, and was coming down to the\nfoot of the mountain, David and his men came down over against her, and\nshe met them.\n\n25:21. And David said: Truly in vain have I kept all that belonged to\nthis fellow in the wilderness, and nothing was lost of all that\npertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.\n\n25:22. May God do so and so, and add more to the foes of David, if I\nleave of all that belong to him till the morning, any that pisseth\nagainst the wall.\n\nIf I leave, etc... David certainly sinned in his designs against Nabal\nand his family, as he himself was afterwards sensible, when he blessed\nGod for hindering him from executing the revenge he had proposed.\n\n25:23. And when Abigail saw David, she made haste and lighted off the\nass, and fell before David, on her face, and adored upon the ground.\n\n25:24. And she fell at his feet, and said: Upon me let this iniquity be,\nmy lord: let thy handmaid speak, I beseech thee, in thy ears, and hear\nthe words of thy servant.\n\n25:25. Let not my lord the king, I pray thee, regard this naughty man,\nNabal: for according to his name, he is a fool, and folly is with him:\nbut I, thy handmaid, did not see thy servants, my lord, whom thou\nsentest.\n\nHis name... Nabal, in Hebrew, signifies a fool.\n\n25:26. Now therefore, my lord, the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, who\nhath withholden thee from coming to blood, and hath saved thy hand to\nthee: and now let thy enemies be as Nabal, and all they that seek evil\nto my lord.\n\n25:27. Wherefore receive this blessing, which thy handmaid hath brought\nto thee, my lord: and give it to the young men that follow thee, my\nlord.\n\n25:28. Forgive the iniquity of thy handmaid: for the Lord will surely\nmake for my lord a faithful house, because thou, my lord, fightest the\nbattles of the Lord: let not evil therefore be found in thee all the\ndays of thy life.\n\n25:29. For if a man at any time shall rise, and persecute thee, and seek\nthy life, the soul of my lord shall be kept, as in the bundle of the\nliving, with the Lord thy God: but the souls of thy enemies shall be\nwhirled, as with the violence and whirling of a sling.\n\n25:30. And when the Lord shall have done to thee, my lord, all the good\nthat he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have made thee prince\nover Israel,\n\n25:31 This shall not be an occasion of grief to thee, and a scruple of\nheart to my lord, that thou hast shed innocent blood, or hast revenged\nthyself: and when the Lord shall have done well by my lord, thou shalt\nremember thy handmaid.\n\n25:32. And David said to Abigail: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,\nwho sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy speech:\n\n25:33. And blessed be thou, who hast kept me to day from coming to\nblood, and revenging me with my own hand.\n\n25:34. Otherwise, as the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, who hath\nwithholden me from doing thee any evil, if thou hadst not quickly come\nto meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light, any\nthat pisseth against the wall.\n\n25:35. And David received at her hand all that she had brought him, and\nsaid to her: Go in peace into thy house, behold I have heard thy voice,\nand honoured thy face.\n\n25:36. And Abigail came to Nabal: and behold he had a feast in his\nhouse, like the feast of a king: and Nabal's heart was merry, for he was\nvery drunk: and she told him nothing less or more until morning.\n\n25:37. But early in the morning, when Nabal had digested his wine, his\nwife told him these words, and his heart died within him, and he became\nas a stone.\n\n25:38. And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he\ndied.\n\n25:39. And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: Blessed be\nthe Lord, who hath judged the cause of my reproach, at the hand of\nNabal, and hath kept his servant from evil, and the Lord hath returned\nthe wickedness of Nabal upon his head. Then David sent and treated with\nAbigail, that he might take her to himself for a wife.\n\nBlessed be, etc... David praiseth God, on this occasion, not out of joy\nfor the death of Nabal (which would have argued a rancour of heart), but\nbecause he saw that God had so visibly taken his cause in hand, in\npunishing the injury done to him; whilst, by a merciful providence he\nkept him from revenging himself.\n\n25:40. And David's servants came to Abigail, to Carmel, and spoke to\nher, saying: David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a\nwife.\n\n25:41. And she arose, and bowed herself down with her face to the earth,\nand said: Behold, let thy servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the\nservants of my lord.\n\n25:42. And Abigail arose, and made haste, and got upon an ass, and five\ndamsels went with her, her waiting maids, and she followed the\nmessengers of David, and became his wife.\n\n25:43. Moreover David took also Achinoam of Jezrahel: and they were both\nof them his wives.\n\n25:44. But Saul gave Michol, his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti, the\nson of Lais, who was of Gallim.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 26\n\nSaul goeth out again after David, who cometh by night where Saul and his\nmen are asleep, but suffereth him not to be touched. Saul again\nconfesseth his fault, and promiseth peace.\n\n26:1. And the men of Ziph came to Saul in Gabaa, saying: Behold David is\nhid in the hill of Hachila, which is over against the wilderness.\n\n26:2. And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph having\nwith him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the\nwilderness of Ziph.\n\n26:3. And Saul encamped in Gabaa Hachila, which was over against the\nwilderness in the way: and David abode in the wilderness. And seeing\nthat Saul was come after him into the wilderness,\n\n26:4. He sent spies, and learned that he was most certainly come\nthither.\n\n26:5. And David arose secretly, and came to the place where Saul was:\nand when he had beheld the place, wherein Saul slept, and Abner, the son\nof Ner, the captain of his army, and Saul sleeping in a tent, and the\nrest of the multitude round about him,\n\n26:6. David spoke to Achimelech, the Hethite, and Abisai, the son of\nSarvia, the brother of Joab, saying: Who will go down with me to Saul\ninto the camp? And Abisai said: I will go with thee.\n\n26:7. So David and Abisai came to the people by night, and found Saul\nlying and sleeping in the tent, and his spear fixed in the ground at his\nhead: and Abner and the people sleeping round about him.\n\n26:8. And Abisai said to David: God hath shut up thy enemy this day into\nthy hands: now then I will run him through with my spear, even to the\nearth at once, and there shall be no need of a second time.\n\n26:9. And David said to Abisai: Kill him not: for who shall put forth\nhis hand against the Lord's anointed, and shall be guiltless?\n\n26:10. And David said: As the Lord liveth, unless the Lord shall strike\nhim, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down to battle, and\nperish:\n\n26:11. The Lord be merciful unto me, and keep me that I never put forth\nmy hand against the Lord's anointed. But now take the spear which is at\nhis head, and the cup of water, and let us go.\n\n26:12. So David took the spear, and the cup of water which was at Saul's\nhead, and they went away: and no man saw it, or knew it, or awaked, but\nthey were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon\nthem.\n\n26:13. And when David was gone over to the other side, and stood on the\ntop of the hill afar off, and a good space was between them,\n\n26:14. David cried to the people, and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying:\nWilt thou not answer, Abner? And Abner answering, said: Who art thou,\nthat criest, and disturbest the king?\n\n26:15. And David said to Abner: Art not thou a man? and who is like unto\nthee in Israel? why then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there\ncame one of the people in to kill the king thy lord.\n\n26:16. This thing is not good, that thou hast done: as the Lord liveth,\nyou are the sons of death, who have not kept your master, the Lord's\nanointed. And now where is the king's spear, and the cup of water, which\nwas at his head?\n\n26:17. And Saul knew David's voice, and said: Is this thy voice, my son\nDavid? And David said: It is my voice, my lord the king.\n\n26:18. And he said: Wherefore doth my lord persecute his servant? What\nhave I done? or what evil is there in my hand?\n\n26:19. Now therefore hear, I pray thee, my lord the king, the words of\nthy servant: If the Lord stir thee up against me, let him accept of\nsacrifice: but if the sons of men, they are cursed in the sight of the\nLord, who have cast me out this day, that I should not dwell in the\ninheritance of the Lord, saying: Go, serve strange gods.\n\n26:20. And now let not my blood be shed upon the earth before the Lord:\nfor the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as the partridge is\nhunted in the mountains.\n\n26:21. And Saul said: I have sinned; return, my son David, for I will no\nmore do thee harm, because my life hath been precious in thy eyes this\nday: for it appeareth that I have done foolishly, and have been ignorant\nin very many things.\n\n26:22. And David answering, said: Behold the king's spear: let one of\nthe king's servants come over and fetch it.\n\n26:23. And the Lord will reward every one according to his justice, and\nhis faithfulness: for the Lord hath delivered thee this day into my\nhand, and I would not put forth my hand against the Lord's anointed.\n\n26:24. And as thy life hath been much set by this day in my eyes, so let\nmy life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me\nfrom all distress.\n\n26:25. Then Saul said to David: Blessed art thou, my son David: and\ntruly doing thou shalt do, and prevailing thou shalt prevail. And David\nwent on his way, and Saul returned to his place.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 27\n\nDavid goeth again to Achis king of Geth, and obtaineth of him the city\nof Siceleg.\n\n27:1. And David said in his heart: I shall one day or other fall into\nthe hands of Saul: is it not better for me to flee, and to be saved in\nthe land of the Philistines, that Saul may despair of me, and cease to\nseek me in all the coasts of Israel? I will flee then out of his hands.\n\n27:2. And David arose, and went away, both he and the six hundred men\nthat were with him, to Achis, the son of Maoch, king of Geth.\n\n27:3. And David dwelt with Achis at Geth, he and his men; every man with\nhis household, and David with his two wives, Achinoam, the\nJezrahelitess, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.\n\n27:4. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Geth, and he sought no\nmore after him.\n\n27:5. And David said to Achis: If I have found favour in thy sight, let\na place be given me in one of the cities of this country, that I may\ndwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with\nthee?\n\n27:6. Then Achis gave him Siceleg that day: for which reason Siceleg\nbelongeth to the kings of Juda unto this day.\n\n27:7. And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines,\nwas four months.\n\n27:8. And David and his men went up, and pillaged Gessuri, and Gerzi,\nand the Amalecites: for these were of old the inhabitants of the\ncountries, as men go to Sur, even to the land of Egypt.\n\nPillaged Gessuri, etc... These probably were enemies of the people of\nGod: and some, if not all of them, were of the number of those whom God\nhad ordered to be destroyed: which justifies David's proceedings in\ntheir regard. Though it is to be observed here, that we are not under an\nobligation of justifying every thing that he did: for the scripture, in\nrelating what was done, does not say that it was well done. And even\nsuch as are true servants of God, are not to be imitated in all they do.\n\n27:9. And David wasted all the land, and left neither man nor woman\nalive: and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the\ncamels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achis.\n\n27:10. And Achis said to him: Whom hast thou gone against to day? David\nanswered: Against the south of Juda, and against the south of Jerameel,\nand against the south of Ceni.\n\n27:11. And David saved neither man nor woman, neither brought he any of\nthem to Geth, saying: Lest they should speak against us. So did David,\nand such was his proceeding all the days that he dwelt in the country of\nthe Philistines.\n\n27:12. And Achis believed David, saying: He hath done much harm to his\npeople Israel: Therefore he shall be my servant for ever.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 28\n\nThe Philistines go out to war against Israel. Saul being forsaken by\nGod, hath recourse to a witch. Samuel appeareth to him.\n\n28:1. And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered\ntogether their armies, to be prepared for war against Israel: And Achis\nsaid to David: Know thou now assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me\nto the war, thou, and thy men.\n\n28:2. And David said to Achis: Now thou shalt know what thy servant will\ndo. And Achis said to David: And I will appoint thee to guard my life\nfor ever.\n\n28:3. Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel mourned for him, and buried\nhim in Ramatha, his city. And Saul had put away all the magicians and\nsoothsayers out of the land.\n\n28:4. And the Philistines were gathered together, and came and encamped\nin Sunam: and Saul also gathered together all Israel, and came to\nGelboe.\n\n28:5. And Saul saw the army of the Philistines, and was afraid, and his\nheart was very much dismayed.\n\n28:6. And he consulted the Lord, and he answered him not, neither by\ndreams, nor by priests, nor by prophets.\n\n28:7. And Saul said to his servants: Seek me a woman that hath a\ndivining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire by her. And his\nservants said to him: There is a woman that hath a divining spirit at\nEndor.\n\n28:8. Then he disguised himself: and put on other clothes, and he went,\nand two men with him, and they came to the woman by night, and he said\nto her: Divine to me by thy divining spirit, and bring me up him whom I\nshall tell thee.\n\n28:9. And the woman said to him: Behold thou knowest all that Saul hath\ndone, and how he hath rooted out the magicians and soothsayers from the\nland: why then dost thou lay a snare for my life, to cause me to be put\nto death?\n\n28:10. And Saul swore unto her by the Lord, saying: As the Lord liveth,\nthere shall no evil happen to thee for this thing.\n\n28:11. And the woman said to him: Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he\nsaid, Bring me up Samuel.\n\n28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice,\nand said to Saul: Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.\n\n28:13. And the king said to her: Fear not: what hast thou seen? and the\nwoman said to Saul: I saw gods ascending out of the earth.\n\n28:14. And he said to her: What form is he of? And she said: An old man\ncometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul understood that it\nwas Samuel, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground, and\nadored.\n\nUnderstood that it was Samuel... It is the more common opinion of the\nholy fathers, and interpreters, that the soul of Samuel appeared indeed:\nand not, as some have imagined, an evil spirit in his shape. Not that\nthe power of her magic could bring him thither, but that God was pleased\nfor the punishment of Saul, that Samuel himself should denounce unto him\nthe evils that were falling upon him. See Eccli. 46.23.\n\n28:15. And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou disturbed my rest, that I\nshould be brought up? And Saul said: I am in great distress: for the\nPhilistines fight against me, and God is departed from me, and would not\nhear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I\nhave called thee, that thou mayst shew me what I shall do.\n\n28:16. And Samuel said: Why askest thou me, seeing the Lord has departed\nfrom thee, and is gone over to thy rival?\n\n28:17. For the Lord will do to thee as he spoke by me, and he will rend\nthy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David:\n\n28:18. Because thou didst not obey the voice of the Lord, neither didst\nthou execute the wrath of his indignation upon Amalec. Therefore hath\nthe Lord done to thee what thou sufferest this day.\n\n28:19. And the Lord also will deliver Israel with thee into the hands of\nthe Philistines: and to morrow thou and thy sons shall be with me: and\nthe Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the\nPhilistines.\n\nWith me... That is, in the state of the dead, and in another world,\nthough not in the same place.\n\n28:20. And forthwith Saul fell all along on the ground; for he was\nfrightened with the words of Samuel, and there was no strength in him,\nfor he had eaten no bread all that day.\n\n28:21. And the woman came to Saul, (for he was very much troubled) and\nsaid to him: Behold thy handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put\nmy life in my hand: and I hearkened unto the words which thou spokest to\nme.\n\n28:22. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy\nhandmaid, and let me set before thee a morsel of bread, that thou mayst\neat and recover strength, and be able to go on thy journey.\n\n28:23. But he refused, and said: I will not eat. But his servants and\nthe woman forced him, and at length hearkening to their voice, he arose\nfrom the ground, and sat upon the bed.\n\n28:24. Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she made haste\nand killed it: and taking meal, kneaded it, and baked some unleavened\nbread,\n\n28:25. And set it before Saul, and before his servants. And when they\nhad eaten they rose up, and walked all that night.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 29\n\nDavid going with the Philistines is sent back by their princes.\n\n29:1. Now all the troops of the Philistines were gathered together to\nAphec: and Israel also encamped by the fountain, which is in Jezrahel.\n\n29:2. And the lords of the Philistines marched with their hundreds and\ntheir thousands: but David and his men were in the rear with Achis.\n\n29:3. And the princes of the Philistines said to Achis: What mean these\nHebrews? And Achis said to the princes of the Philistines: Do you not\nknow David who was the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, and hath\nbeen with me many days, or years, and I have found no fault in him,\nsince the day that he fled over to me until this day?\n\n29:4. But the prices of the Philistines were angry with him, and they\nsaid to him: Let this man return, and abide in his place, which thou\nhast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest he\nbe an adversary to us, when we shall begin to fight: for how can he\notherwise appease his master, but with our heads?\n\n29:5. Is not this David, to whom they sung in their dances, saying: Saul\nslew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?\n\n29:6. Then Achis called David, and said to him: As the Lord liveth, thou\nart upright and good in my sight: and so is thy going out, and thy\ncoming in with me in the army: and I have not found any evil in thee,\nsince the day that thou camest to me unto this day: but thou pleasest\nnot the lords.\n\n29:7. Return therefore, and go in peace, and offend not the eyes of the\nprinces of the Philistines.\n\n29:8. And David said to Achis: But what have I done, or what hast thou\nfound in me thy servant, from the day that I have been in thy sight\nuntil this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my\nlord the king?\n\n29:9. And Achis answering, said to David: I know that thou art good in\nmy sight, as an angel of God: But the princes of the Philistines have\nsaid: He shall not go up with us to the battle.\n\n29:10. Therefore arise in the morning, thou, and the servants of thy\nlord, who came with thee: and when you are up before day, and it shall\nbegin to be light, go on your way.\n\n29:11. So David and his men arose in the night, that they might set\nforward in the morning, and returned to the land of the Philistines: and\nthe Philistines went up to Jezrahel.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 30\n\nThe Amalecites burn Siceleg, and carry off the prey: David pursueth\nafter them, and recovereth all out of their hands.\n\n30:1. Now when David and his men were come to Siceleg on the third day,\nthe Amalecites had made an invasion on the south side upon Siceleg, and\nhad smitten Siceleg, and burnt it with fire,\n\n30:2. And had taken the women captives that were in it, both little and\ngreat: and they had not killed any person, but had carried them with\nthem, and went on their way.\n\n30:3. So when David and his men came to the city, and found it burnt\nwith fire, and that their wives, and their sons, and their daughters,\nwere taken captives,\n\n30:4. David and the people that were with him, lifted up their voices,\nand wept till they had no more tears.\n\n30:5. For the two wives also of David were taken captives, Achinoam, the\nJezrahelitess, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.\n\n30:6. And David was greatly afflicted: for the people had a mind to\nstone him, for the soul of every man was bitterly grieved for his sons\nand daughters: but David took courage in the Lord his God.\n\n30:7. And he said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Achimelech: Bring\nme hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.\n\n30:8. And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I pursue after these\nrobbers, and shall I overtake them, or not? And the Lord said to him:\nPursue after them: for thou shalt surely overtake them and recover the\nprey.\n\n30:9. So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and\nthey came to the torrent Besor: and some, being weary, stayed there.\n\n30:10. But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred\nstayed, who, being weary, could not go over the torrent Besor.\n\n30:11. And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to\nDavid: and they gave him bread to eat, and water to drink,\n\n30:12. As also a piece of a cake of figs, and two bunches of raisins.\nAnd when he had eaten them, his spirit returned, and he was refreshed:\nfor he had not eaten bread, nor drunk water, three days and three\nnights.\n\n30:13. And David said to him: To whom dost thou belong; or whence dost\nthou come? and whither art thou going? He said: I am a young man of\nEgypt, the servant of an Amalecite: and my master left me, because I\nbegan to be sick three days ago.\n\n30:14. For we made an invasion on the south side of Cerethi, and upon\nJuda, and upon the south of Caleb, and we burnt Siceleg with fire.\n\n30:15. And David said to him: Canst thou bring me to this company? and\nhe said: Swear to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, nor deliver me\ninto the hands of my master, and I will bring thee to this company. And\nDavid swore to him.\n\n30:16. And when he had brought him, behold they were lying spread abroad\nupon all the ground, eating and drinking, and as it were keeping a\nfestival day, for all the prey and the spoils which they had taken out\nof the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Juda.\n\n30:17. And David slew them from the evening unto the evening of the next\nday, and there escaped not a man of them, but four hundred young men,\nwho had gotten upon camels, and fled.\n\n30:18. So David recovered all that the Amalecites had taken, and he\nrescued his two wives.\n\n30:19. And there was nothing missing small or great, neither of their\nsons or their daughters, nor of the spoils, and whatsoever they had\ntaken, David recovered all.\n\n30:20. And he took all the flocks and the herds, and made them go before\nhim: and they said: This is the prey of David.\n\n30:21. And David came to the two hundred men, who, being weary, had\nstayed, and were not able to follow David, and he had ordered them to\nabide at the torrent Besor: and they came out to meet David, and the\npeople that were with him. And David coming to the people, saluted them\npeaceably.\n\n30:22. Then all the wicked and unjust men, that had gone with David,\nanswering, said: Because they came not with us, we will not give them\nany thing of the prey which we have recovered: but let every man take\nhis wife, and his children, and be contented with them, and go his way.\n\n30:23. But David said: You shall not do so, my brethren, with these\nthings, which the Lord hath given us, who hath kept us, and hath\ndelivered the robbers that invaded us into our hands:\n\n30:24. And no man shall hearken to you in this matter. But equal shall\nbe the portion of him that went down to battle, and of him that abode at\nthe baggage, and they shall divide alike.\n\n30:25. And this hath been done from that day forward, and since was made\na statute and an ordinance, and as a law in Israel.\n\n30:26. Then David came to Siceleg, and sent presents of the prey to the\nancients of Juda, his neighbours, saying: Receive a blessing of the prey\nof the enemies of the Lord.\n\n30:27. To them that were in Bethel, and that were in Ramoth to the\nsouth, and to them that were in Jether.\n\n30:28. And to them that were in Aroer, and that were in Sephamoth, and\nthat were in Esthamo,\n\n30:29. And that were in Rachal, and that were in the cities of Jerameel,\nand that were in the cities of Ceni,\n\n30:30. And that were in Arama, and that were in the lake Asan, and that\nwere in Athach,\n\n30:31. And that were in Hebron, and to the rest that were in those\nplaces, in which David had abode with his men.\n\n1 Kings Chapter 31\n\nIsrael is defeated by the Philistines: Saul and his sons are slain.\n\n31:1. And the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel\nfled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gelboe.\n\n31:2. And the Philistines fell upon Saul, and upon his sons, and they\nslew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchisua, the sons of Saul.\n\n31:3. And the whole weight of the battle was turned upon Saul: and the\narchers overtook him, and he was grievously wounded by the archers.\n\n31:4. Then Saul said to his armourbearer: Draw thy sword, and kill me:\nlest these uncircumcised come, and slay me, and mock at me. And his\narmourbearer would not: for he was struck with exceeding great fear.\nThen Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.\n\n31:5. And when his armourbearer saw this, to wit, that Saul was dead, he\nalso fell upon his sword and died with him.\n\n31:6. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all\nhis men that same day together.\n\n31:7. And the men of Israel, that were beyond the valley, and beyond the\nJordan, seeing that the Israelites were fled, and that Saul was dead,\nand his sons, forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came\nand dwelt there.\n\n31:8. And on the morrow the Philistines came to strip the slain, and\nthey found Saul and his three sons lying in mount Gelboe.\n\n31:9. And they cut off Saul's head, and stripped him of his armour, and\nsent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the\ntemples of their idols and among their people.\n\n31:10. And they put his armour in the temple of Astaroth, but his body\nthey hung on the wall of Bethsan.\n\n31:11. Now when the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad had heard all that the\nPhilistines had done to Saul,\n\n31:12. All the most valiant men arose, and walked all the night, and\ntook the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of\nBethsan: and they came to Jabes Galaad, and burnt them there.\n\n31:13. And they took their bones, and buried them in the wood of Jabes:\nand fasted seven days.","title":"The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 09: 1 Kings: The Challoner Revision","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":29027}