angel of God. Only the princes of the Philistines have said: 10 He shall not go up with us to the battle. And now, rise up early in the morning, with thy master's servants that are come with thee; and as soon as ye are up early in the morn11 ing and have light, depart. And David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 AND it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it 2 with fire. And they had taken captive the women that were therein, both small and great; they slew not any, but carried them off, and went on their way.

3 And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and 4 their daughters, were taken captives. Then David, and the people that were with him, lifted up their voice and wept, 5 until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was in a great strait; for the people thought to stone him, because the soul of all the people was embittered, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son: Bring me, I pray thee, the ephod. And 8 Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of Jehovah, saying: Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him: Pursue; for thou 9 shalt surely overtake, and without fail recover. And David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him; and they came to the brook Besor, where those that were left 10 behind stayed. And David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor.

11

And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him

to David. And they gave him bread, and he ate, and they 12 gave him water to drink; and they gave him a piece of a

cake of figs, and two cakes of raisins. And he ate, and his spirit returned to him; for he had not eaten bread, nor drunk 13 water, three days and three nights. And David said to him : To whom belongest thou? And whence art thou? And he said: I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion in the south of the Cherethites, and upon that which belongs to Judah, and upon the south of 15 Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. And David said to him: Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said: Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop.

16

And he brought him down; and behold, they were spread abroad over the whole land, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 And David smote them from the dawn unto the evening of

the next day. And there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried 19 away. And David recovered his two wives. And there was

nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, nor spoil, nor anything that they had taken to 20 them. David brought back all. And he took all the flocks and the herds; which they drove before those cattle, and said: This is David's spoil.

21

And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, and were left behind at the brook Besor. And they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him; and David came 22 near to the people, and saluted them. Then answered all

V. 20. Before those cattle. Cattle of the same kind. David's spoil consisted of the flocks and herds belonging to the Amalekites; and these were driven in advance of cattle recovered from them. That David returned with abundant "spoil of the enemies of Jehovah” (v. 26), is evident from vs. 26-31.

the wicked and worthless men, of those that went with David, and said: Because they went not with us, we will not give them of the spoil that we have recovered; save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and 23 depart. And David said: Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah has given us, and has preserved us, 24 and given the troop that came against us into our hand. And who will hearken to you in this matter? For as his part is that goes down to the battle, so shall his part be that remains by the baggage; they shall share alike. And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.

25

26

And David came to Ziklag. And he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying: Behold a present 27 for you, of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah; to them who were in Beth-el, and to them who were in Ramoth28 negeb, and to them who were in Jattir, and to them who were in Aroer, and to them who were in Siphmoth, and to 29 them who were in Eshtemoa, and to them who were in Rachal, and to them who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them who were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 and to them who were in Hormah, and to them who were in 31 Chor-ashan, and to them who were in Athach, and to them who were in Hebron; and to all the places which David frequented, he and his men.

1

AND the Philistines fought against Israel. And the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in 2 mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and 3 Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went hard against Saul, and the archers, men with bows, hit him; and he was sore afraid of the archers. And Saul said to his armor-bearer: Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. And Saul took the sword, and fell upon it. And

5

his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead; he also fell upon 6 his sword, and died with him. And Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, yea, all his men, that same day together.

7 And the men of Israel that were beyond the plain, and that were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead; and they forsook the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in. 8 them. And it came to pass, on the morrow, that the Philistines came to strip the slain; and they found Saul and his 9 three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their 10 idols, and among the people. And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

11

And the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which 12 the Philistines had done to Saul. And all the valiant men

arose, and went all night; and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and 13 came to Jabesh, and burned them there. And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh; and they fasted seven days.

V. 10. In the house of Ashtaroth. See the writer's note on Gen. 14: 5.

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1

THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL.

AND it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that 2 David abode in Ziklag two days. And it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head. And so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the 3 earth, and bowed himself. And David said to him: From whence comest thou? And he said to him: Out of the 4 camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said to him: How went the matter? Tell me, I pray thee. And he said: The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are 5 dead also. And David said to the young man that told him: How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? And the young man that told him said: I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, and, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard 7 after him. And he looked behind him, and saw me, and he 8 called to me. And I said: Here am I. And he said to me:

Who art thou? And I said to him: I am an Amalekite. 9 And he said to me: Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me; for the anguish is come upon me, for my life is yet whole 10 in me. And I stood upon him, and slew him, because I knew that he would not live after he had fallen. And I took

V. 1. And it came to pass. The narrative is here resumed and continued, from the last two chapters of the preceding book. "The two streams of narrative in ch. xxx. and in ch. xxxi. form their confluence in this chapter." (The Speaker's Commentary.)

V. 9. The anguish; of defeat and impending death. According to others, perplexity, confusion of mind, unknowing what to do.

V. 10. After he had falien; under the weapons of his pursuers.-The true account of Saul's death is given in 1 Sam. 31: 4. The story of the Amalekite, with the exception of his stripping the bodies of the dead, was invented by him, in expectation of a reward from David.