CEB Common English Bible with Apocrypha - eBook [ePub]. Common English Bible

CEB Common English Bible with Apocrypha - eBook [ePub]

Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the Philistine camp running all over the place.^d ¹⁷Saul said to the troops with him, "Take a count and see who is missing." So they counted, and Jonathan and his armor-bearer were gone. ¹⁸Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the priestly vest!"^e because at that time, Ahijah wore the priestly vest in Israel's presence.^f ¹⁹As Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp continued to grow. Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."^g

²⁰Then Saul called all his troops together, and they went into battle. The Philistines were completely confused; every soldier's sword was turned against his fellow soldier. ²¹Even those Hebrews who had earlier joined up with the Philistines and moved into their camp changed sides to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²Similarly, when all the Israelites who had been hiding in the highlands of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they also joined the battle in hot pursuit of the Philistines. ²³The LORD saved Israel that day, and the fighting carried on beyond Beth-aven.

²⁴Now the Israelite soldiers were in a difficult situation that day because Saul had bound the troops by a solemn pledge: "Anyone who eats anything before evening when I have taken revenge on my enemies is doomed." So none of the army ate anything. ²⁵The troops^h came across a honeycomb with honey on the ground. ²⁶But even when they came across the honeycomb with the honey still flowing, no one ate any of it because the troops were afraid of the solemn pledge. ²⁷But Jonathan hadn't heard his father make the people swear the pledge, so he dipped the end of the staff he was carrying into the honeycomb. When he ate some his eyes lit up. ²⁸Then one of the soldiers spoke up: "Your father bound the troops by a solemn pledge: 'Anyone who eats food today is doomed.' That's why the troops are exhausted."

²⁹Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble to the land. Look how my eyes lit up when I tasted just a bit of that honey!³⁰It would have been even better if the troops had eaten some of their enemies' plunder today when they found it! But now the Philistine defeat isn't as thorough as it might have been."

³¹That day, after they had fought the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, the troops were completely exhausted. ³²So the troops tore into the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground and devoured them with the blood still in them. ³³When it was reported to Saul, "The troops are sinning against the LORD by eating meat with blood in it," Saul said, "All of you are traitors! Roll a large stone over here right now. ³⁴Go among the troops and say to them, 'Everyone must bring their ox or sheep, and slaughter them here with me. Don't sin against the LORD by eating meat with blood still in it.'" So everyone brought whatever they had and slaughtered it there.ⁱ ³⁵And Saul built an altar to the LORD. It was the first altar he had built to the LORD.

³⁶"Let's go after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning," Saul said. "We won't leave them a single survivor!"

"Do whatever you think is best," the troops replied.

But the priest said, "Let's ask God first."

³⁷So Saul questioned God: "Should I go after the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?" But God did not answer him that day.

³⁸Then Saul said, "All you officers in the army, come forward! Let's find out what sin was committed today. ³⁹As surely as the LORD lives--the one who has saved Israel--even if it's my own son Jonathan, that person will be executed." Not one of the soldiers answered him. ⁴⁰So Saul said to all Israel, "You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other."

"Do whatever you think is best," the troops said.

⁴¹Then Saul asked the LORD God of Israel, "Why haven't you answered your servant today? If the wrongdoing is mine or my son Jonathan's, respond with Urim, but if the wrongdoing belongs to your people Israel, respond with Thummim."^j Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the troops were cleared.

⁴²Then Saul said, "Decide between me and my son Jonathan."^k And Jonathan was selected.

⁴³"Tell me what you've done," Saul said to Jonathan.

So Jonathan told him. "I only took a very small taste of honey on the end of my staff," he said. "And now I'm supposed to die?"

⁴⁴"May God deal harshly with me and worse still if you don't die today!"^l Saul swore.

⁴⁵But the troops said to Saul, "Why should Jonathan die when he has won this great victory for Israel? No way! As surely as the LORD lives, not one hair off his head will fall to the ground, because he did this today with God's help." So the troops rescued Jonathan, and he wasn't executed.

⁴⁶Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back to their own country.

Saul's wars

⁴⁷Saul secured his kingship over Israel. He fought against his enemies on every side: against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the king of Zobah,^m and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he was victorious.ⁿ ⁴⁸He acted heroically, defeating the Amalekites and rescuing Israel from the power of any who had plundered them.

⁴⁹Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab, the oldest, and Michal, the younger daughter. ⁵⁰The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, Ahimaaz's daughter. The name of his general was Abner, Ner's son, Saul's uncle. ⁵¹Kish, Saul's father, and Ner, Abner's father, were Abiel's sons.

⁵²There was fierce warfare against the Philistines throughout Saul's lifetime. So whenever Saul saw any strong or heroic man, he would add him to his troops.

Samuel rejects Saul's kingship

1Samuel 15Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Listen now to the LORD's words!²This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: I am going to punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel: how they attacked the Israelites as they came up from Egypt. ³So go! Attack the Amalekites; put everything that belongs to them under the ban.^o Spare no one. Kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys."

⁴Saul called out the troops and counted them at Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand more troops from Judah. ⁵Then Saul advanced on the Amalekite city and laid an ambush in the valley. ⁶Saul told the Kenites, "Get going! Leave the Amalekites immediately because you showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. Otherwise, I'll destroy you right along with them." So the Kenites left the Amalekites. ⁷Then Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is near Egypt. ⁸He captured Agag the Amalekite king alive, but Saul placed all the people under the ban, killing them with the sword. ⁹Saul and the troops spared Agag along with the best sheep, cattle, fattened calves,^p lambs, and everything of value. They weren't willing to put them under the ban; but anything that was despised or of no value^q they placed under the ban.

¹⁰Then the LORD's word came to Samuel: ¹¹"I regret making Saul king because he has turned away from following me and hasn't done what I said." Samuel was upset at this, and he prayed to the LORD all night long.

¹²Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, and was told, "Saul went to Carmel, where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then he left and went down to Gilgal."

¹³When Samuel reached Saul,^r Saul greeted him, "The LORD bless you! I have done what the LORD said."

¹⁴"Then what," Samuel asked, "is this bleating of sheep in my ears and mooing of cattle I hear?"

¹⁵"They were taken from the Amalekites," Saul said, "because the troops spared the best sheep and cattle in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God.

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