1 ARST Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign. He ruled for forty years. BSB BSB: Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.
2 ARST Some years after he became king, he chose three thousand men from the Israelite army to go with him to fight the Philistines. Then he sent the other soldiers back home. Of the men he chose, two thousand stayed with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country near Bethel, and a thousand stayed with Saul’ s son Jonathan at Gibeah, in the area of the tribe of Benjamin. BSB BSB: He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
3 ARST Jonathan and the men who were with him attacked the Philistine soldiers who were camped at Geba. The other Philistines heard about that. So Saul realized that the army of Philistia would probably come to fight the Israelites again. So Saul sent messengers to blow trumpets throughout Israel to gather the people together and proclaim to them,“All you Hebrews need to hear that now the Philistines will start a war with us!” BSB BSB: Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
4 ARST The messengers told the rest of the army to gather together with Saul at Gilgal. And all the people in Israel heard the news. People were saying,“Saul’ s army has attacked the Philistine camp, with the result that now the Philistines hate us Israelites very much.” BSB BSB: And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 ARST The Philistines gathered together and were given equipment to fight the Israelites. The Philistines had three thousand chariots and six thousand chariot drivers. Their soldiers seemed to be as many as grains of sand on the seashore. They went up and set up their tents at Micmash, to the east of Beth Aven, that is, Bethel. BSB BSB: Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
6 ARST The Philistines attacked the Israelites very strongly, and the Israelite soldiers realized that they were in a very bad situation. So many of the Israelite soldiers hid in caves and holes in the ground, or among the rocks, or in pits, or in wells. BSB BSB: Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
7 ARST Some of them crossed the Jordan River and went to the area where the descendants of Gad lived and to the region of Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the soldiers who were with him were shaking because they were so afraid. BSB BSB: Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, remained at Gilgal, and all his troops were quaking in fear.
8 ARST Saul waited seven days, which was the number of days that Samuel had told him to wait for him. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal during that time, so many of the men in Saul’ s army began to leave him and run away. BSB BSB: And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul.
9 ARST So Saul said to the soldiers,“Bring to me an animal to be completely burned on the altar and one for the offering to enable us to continue to have fellowship with God.” So the men did that. BSB BSB: So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.
10 ARST And just as he was finished burning these offerings, Samuel arrived. Saul went to greet him. BSB BSB: Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 ARST Samuel saw what Saul had done, and he said to Saul,“Why have you done this?” Saul replied,“I saw that my men were leaving me and running away, and that you did not come here during the time that you said that you would come, and that the Philistine army was gathering together at Micmash. BSB BSB: “What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
12 ARST So I thought,‘The Philistine army is going to attack us here at Gilgal, and I have not yet asked Yahweh to bless us.’ So I felt it was necessary to offer the burnt offerings to seek God’ s blessings.” BSB BSB: I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 ARST Samuel replied,“What you did was very foolish! You have not obeyed what Yahweh, your God, commanded about sacrifices. If you had obeyed him, God would have allowed you and your descendants to rule Israel for a long time. BSB BSB: “You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
14 ARST But now because of what you have done, after you die none of your descendants will continue to rule. Yahweh is seeking a man to be king who will be just the kind of person that he wants him to be, so that he can appoint him to be the leader of his people. Yahweh will do this because you have not obeyed what he commanded.” BSB BSB: But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
15 ARST Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah. Saul stayed at Gilgal with his soldiers. There were only about six hundred of them left who did not run away. BSB BSB: Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
16 ARST Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers who were with them went to the city of Geba in the area of the tribe of Benjamin and set up their tents there. The Philistine army set up their tents at Micmash. BSB BSB: Now Saul and Jonathan his son and the troops with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash.
17 ARST Three groups of Philistia soldiers soon left the place where their army was staying, and went and made raids on Israelite towns. One group went north toward the city of Ophrah in the region of Shual. BSB BSB: And raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three divisions. One headed toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,
18 ARST One group went west to the city of Beth Horon. The third group went toward the Israelite border, above Zeboim Valley, near the wilderness. BSB BSB: another toward Beth-horon, and the third down the border road overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the wilderness.
19 ARST At that time, there were no men in Israel who were blacksmiths. The people of Philistia would not permit the Israelites to have men who could do that, because they were afraid that they would make iron swords and spears for the Hebrews to use. BSB BSB: And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”
20 ARST So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen the blades of their plows, or picks, or axes, or sickles, they were forced to take those things to a Philistine man who could sharpen those things. BSB BSB: Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.
21 ARST They needed to pay about eight grams of silver for the sharpening of their plow blades and their picks. They needed to pay about four grams of silver for the sharpening of their axes or sickles, or to straighten the goads used to drive the oxen. BSB BSB: The charge was a pim for sharpening a plowshare or mattock, a third of a shekel for sharpening a pitchfork or an axe, and a third of a shekel for repointing an oxgoad.
22 ARST So because the Israelites could not make swords and spears out of iron, at the time when the Israelites fought against the army of Philistia. Saul and Jonathan were the only Israelite men who had swords. None of the others had a sword. They had only bows and arrows and some kinds of other weapons. BSB BSB: So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.
23 ARST Before the battle started, some Philistine soldiers went to the mountain pass outside Micmash to guard it. BSB BSB: And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.