8 "What have I done?" David asked Achish. "What have you learned about me from the time I came to you until now? Why shouldn't I fight your enemies, Your Majesty?"

9 Achish answered David, "I admit that in my judgment you're as good as Elohim's Messenger. However, the Philistine officers said, 'He shouldn't go into battle with us.' 10 Get up early in the morning with Saul's servants who came with you, and go to the place I have assigned to you. Don't worry about the unkind words, because I still approve of you.a Get up in the morning, and leave when it's light."

11 Early the next morning David and his men returned to Philistine territory, while the Philistines went to Jezreel.

David Defeats the Amalekites 30 1 Two days later, when David and his men came to Ziklag, the Amalekites had raided the Negev, including Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it. 2 Although they captured the young and old women who were there, they killed no one. Instead, they had taken the women and other prisoners and gone away. 3 By the time David and his men came to the town, it had been burned down, and their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and his men cried loudly until they didn't have the strength to cry anymore. 5 The Amalekites also captured David's two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal's wife) from Carmel. 6 David was in great distress because the people in their bitterness said he should be stoned. (They were thinking of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in Yahweh his Elohim.) 7 David told the priest Abiathar, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring me the priestly ephod."b So Abiathar brought David the ephod.

8 Then David asked Yahweh, "Should I pursue these troops? Will I catch up with them?"

"Pursue them," Yahweh told him. "You will certainly catch up with them and rescue the captives."

9 So David and his 600 men went to the Besor Valley, where some were left behind. 10 David and 400 men went in pursuit, while 200 men who were too exhausted to cross the Besor Valley stayed behind.

11 David's men found an Egyptian in the open country and took him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink. 12 They gave him a slice of fig cake and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, he revived. (He hadn't eaten any food or drunk any water for three whole days.) 13 David asked him, "To whom do you belong? Where do you come from?"

"I'm an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite," the young man answered. "My master left me behind because I got sick three days ago. 14 We raided the portion of the Negev where the Cherethites live, the territory of Judah, the portion of the Negev where Caleb settled, and we burned down Ziklag."

15 "Will you lead me to these troops?" David asked him.

He answered, "Take an oath in front of Elohim that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master, and I'll lead you to these troops."

16 The Egyptian led him to them. They were spread out all over the land, eating, and drinking. They were celebrating because they had taken so much loot from Philistine territory and from the land of Judah. 17 From dawn until evening the next day, David attacked them. No one escaped except 400 young men who rode away on camels. 18 David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing-young or old, sons or daughters, the loot or anything else they had taken with them. David brought back everything. 20 He took all the sheep and the cattle. His men drove the animals ahead of him and said, "This is David's loot."

21 David came to the 200 men who had been too exhausted to go with him and had stayed in the Besor Valley. They came to meet David and the people with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them. 22 Then every wicked and worthless man who had gone with David said, "Since they didn't go with us, they shouldn't be given any of the loot we recovered. Each of them should take only his wife and children and leave."

23 But David said, "My brothers, don't do that with the things which Yahweh has given us. He has protected us and handed the troops that attacked us over to us. 24 Besides, who is going to pay attention to what you have to say in this matter? Certainly, the share of those who go into battle must be like the share of those who stay with the supplies. They will all share alike." 25 From that time on he made this a rule and a custom in Israel as it is to this day.

26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah. He said, "Here is a gift for you from the loot taken from Yahweh's enemies." 27 There were shares for those in Bethel, Ramoth in the Negev, Jattir, 28 Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 29 Racal, the cities belonging to the Jerahmeelites, the cities belonging to the Kenites, 30 Hormah, Borashan, Athach, 31 Hebron, and to all the places David and his men visited from time to time.

The Death of Saul-1 Chronicles 10:1-14 31 1 When the Philistines were fighting against Israel, the men of Israel fled from the Philistines and were killed in battle on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines caught up to Saul and his sons. They killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. 3 The heaviest fighting was against Saul. When the archers got him in their range, he was badly wounded by them.

4 Saul told his armorbearer, "Draw your sword! Stab me, or these godless men will come, stab me, and make fun of me." But his armorbearer refused because he was terrified. So Saul took the sword and fell on it. 5 When the armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that day.

7 When the people of Israel on the other side of the valley and across the Jordan River saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities. So the Philistines came to live in these cities.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent men throughout Philistine territory to tell the people this good news in their idols' temples. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their goddesses-the Asherahs-and fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan.

11 When the people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the fighting men marched all night and took the dead bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan. They came back to Jabesh and burned the bodies there. 13 They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh. Then they fasted seven days.

a 1:18 English equivalent difficult.

b 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek, Latin, Syriac; Masoretic Text "three bulls." (See verse 25.) a 2:10 Or "Anointed One."

b 2:18 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

a 2:33 Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek; Masoretic Text "you."

b 3:3 According to Exodus 27:21, each night the priests were to light a lamp in the tent of meeting which was to burn from dusk to dawn.

a 3:13 Ancient scribal tradition, Greek, and Latin; Masoretic Text "cursing themselves." At times some scribes would alter the text when they thought it was disrespectful to God.

b 3:21 This sentence is the first part of 1 Samuel 4:1 in the Hebrew Bible and most English Bibles.

c 4:2 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

d 4:4 Or "cherubim."

a 4:12 Tearing one's clothes and throwing dirt on one's head was a sign of mourning.

b 4:18 Eli served as a God-appointed political/religious leader of Israel like the judges in the book of Judges.

c 5:4 Greek; Masoretic Text "Only Dagon was left."

a 5:8 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek read "The citizens of Gath said,'Let the ark of God be brought to us.'"

b 5:9 Dead Sea Scrolls add "to Gath."

a 6:18 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

b 6:19 "70 people" is found in a few Hebrew manuscripts and the writings of the ancient Jewish historian Josephus. Masoretic Text and Greek read "50,070 people."

a 8:16 Greek; Masoretic Text "best young men."

a 9:24 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

b 9:24 Hebrew meaning of this sentence uncertain.

c 9:25 Greek; Masoretic Text reads ". . . for the city, and he spoke with Saul on the roof, and they got up early."

d 10:1 "to be ruler of his people . . . has anointed you" Greek; Masoretic Text omits these words.

a 11:1 Dead Sea Scrolls and the ancient Jewish historian Josephus add this first part of verse 1 between chapters 10 and 11 (usually denoted as verse 10:27b).

a 13:1 The text of 1 Samuel 13:1 is problematic in all traditions. Some late Greek manuscripts state Saul was 30 years old when he became king. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus and Acts 13:21 state that Saul ruled for 40 years.

a 13:15 "Samuel. . . from Gilgal" Greek; Masoretic Text omits these words.

b 13:21 A pim was a measure of weight.

c 13:21 Hebrew meaning of "one-tenth . . . a mattock" uncertain.

d 14:3 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

a 14:18 Greek; Masoretic Text problematic: "Bring the ark of Elohim because the ark of Elohim that day and the sons of Israel."

b 14:19 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

c 14:25 Or "The entire land came into the woods."

a 14:41 "Why didn't you. . . your people Israel" Greek, Latin; Masoretic Text omits these words.

a 15:32 Or "Agag came to him in shackles."

b 15:32 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 16:7 Greek; Masoretic Text "Not that which humans see."

a 17:4 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek "seven feet tall."

b 17:12 Greek; Masoretic Text "he came a leader among men."

c 17:25 Hebrew meaning of "elevate the social status of his family" uncertain.

a 18:6 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 20:16 Greek; Masoretic Text omits "name."

b 20:16 Ancient scribal tradition; Masoretic Text "punish David's enemies." At times some scribes would alter the text when they thought it was disrespectful.

c 20:19 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

d 20:26 "Unclean" refers to anything that Moses' Teachings say is not presentable to God.

a 20:30 English equivalent difficult.

b 20:41 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

c 20:42 1 Samuel 20:42b in English Bibles is 1 Samuel 21:1 in the Hebrew Bible.

d 21:1 1 Samuel 21:1-15 in English Bibles is 1 Samuel 21:2-16 in the Hebrew Bible.

e 21:2 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek; Masoretic Text "I've informed."

a 21:9 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

b 22:6 Greek; Masoretic Text "at Ramah."

a 22:18 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

b 22:22 Greek; Masoretic Text "I turned."

c 23:1 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.

a 23:6 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

b 23:13 Masoretic Text; Greek "four hundred."

c 23:15 Or "David saw that."

d 23:16 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek; Masoretic Text "in Elohim."

a 23:28 1 Samuel 23:29 in English Bibles is 1 Samuel 24:1 in the Hebrew Bible.

b 24:1 1 Samuel 24:1-22 in English Bibles is 1 Samuel 24:2-23 in the Hebrew Bible.

c 24:7 Hebrew meaning uncertain.

a 25:22 Greek; Masoretic Text "To David's enemies."

b 25:22 Hebrew uses a coarse term for "men" here and at verse 34.

a 25:37 English equivalent difficult.

a 27:8 Greek; Masoretic Text "lived in the country for a long time."

b 27:10 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek; Masoretic Text "Did you raid today?"

c 28:6 The Urim and Thummim were used by the chief priest to determine God's answer to questions.

a 28:23 Greek; Masoretic Text "the woman broke through."

a 29:10 "and go . . . approve of you" Greek; Masoretic Text omits these words.

b 30:7 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest's clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.

Introduction to 2 SAMUEL.

This book is all about David, Israel's greatest king, called "a man after [God's] own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). To David, God renewed the promises originally made to Abraham-"I will make your name famous like the names of the greatest people on earth. I will make a place for my people Israel and plant them there. They will live in their own place and not be troubled anymore" (2 Samuel 7:9-10).

From David's posterity would come the promised Messiah. "'The days are coming,' declares Yahweh, 'when I will grow a righteous Tsemach for David. He will be a king who will rule wisely. He will do what is fair and right in the land'" (Jeremiah 23:5). "His government and peace will have unlimited growth. He will establish David's throne and kingdom. He will uphold it with justice and righteousness now and forever" (Isaiah 9:7). In the New Testament Gospels, Jesus is repeatedly called the Son of David.

Surprisingly, David was no paragon of virtue. The book of 2 Samuel is full of war, murder, and executions (though most are attributed to David's generals and not to the king himself). David had many wives, many concubines, and a flock of children, some of whom raped and murdered and plotted against one another. Halfway through the book, David committed an egregious sin: first he impregnated Bathsheba, a married woman; and then he arranged for Uriah, her unwitting husband, to be killed in battle. The last chapter tells of another sin that cost the lives of thousands. Why was this man so dear to God?

Read the book and form your own conclusions. Here are some possibilities.

David practiced compassion and forgiveness, not revenge. This is especially obvious in his kindness toward Saul's grandson Mephibosheth and David's own rebellious son Absalom.

Whenever David realized he had sinned, he repented from the heart. Read Psalm 51, "a psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David's adultery with Bathsheba," and feel his anguish.