American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
(for we walk by faith, not by {Greek: appearance.}sight);
נ NUN.Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,And light unto my path.
Now these things happened unto them {Greek: by way of figure.}by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through {Or, stedfastness}patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.
And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a {Or, choice}young man and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;
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 earth, and did obeisance.
And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.
And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
And David said unto 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, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after him.
And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.
And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.
And he said unto me, Stand, I pray thee, {Or, over}beside me, and slay me; for {Or, giddiness}anguish hath taken hold of me, because my life is yet whole in me.
So I stood {Or, over}beside him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.
Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.
And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to put forth thy hand to destroy Jehovah's anointed?
And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him, so that he died.
And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain Jehovah's anointed.
And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son
(and he bade them teach the children of Judah the song of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of {Or, The Upright}Jashar):
{Or, The gazelle}Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places!How are the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon;Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
Ye mountains of Gilboa,Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of offerings:For there the shield of the mighty was {Or, defiled}vilely cast away,The shield of Saul, {Or, as of one not anointed}not anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,The bow of Jonathan turned not back,And the sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives,And in their death they were not divided:They were swifter than eagles,They were stronger than lions.
Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,Who clothed you in scarlet {Hebrew: with delights.}delicately,Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! {Or, O Jonathan, slain &c.}Jonathan is slain upon thy high places.
I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan:Very pleasant hast thou been unto me:Thy love to me was wonderful,Passing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen,And the weapons of war perished!
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of {Or, wealth}valor.
And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a {Or, choice}young man and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
And he passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the asses, and be anxious for us.
And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honor; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.
Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here?
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place.
As soon as ye are come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he goeth up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall find him.
And they went up to the city; and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.
Now Jehovah had {Hebrew: uncovered the ear of Samuel.}revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul came, saying,
To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be {Or, leader}prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah {Hebrew: answered him.}said unto him, Behold, the man {Or, of whom i said unto thee, This same &c.}of whom I spake to thee! this same shall have authority over my people.
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.
And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer; go up before me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me to-day: and in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart.
And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And {Or, on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all &c.?}for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for thee, and for all thy father's house?
And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the {Hebrew: tribes.}tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou to me after this manner?
And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the guest-chamber, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, who were about thirty persons.
And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
And the cook took up the {Or, shoulder}thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold, that which hath been reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept for thee, {Hebrew: saying.}for I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
And when they were come down from the high place into the city, he communed with Saul upon the housetop.
And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.
As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou still {Hebrew: to-day.}first, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.
Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that Jehovah hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance?
When thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the {Ot, terebinth}oak of Tabor; and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a {Or, skin}bottle of wine:
and they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread, which thou shalt receive of their hand.
After that thou shalt come to {Or, Gibeah}the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying:
and the Spirit of Jehovah will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
And {Hebrew: it shall come to pass, that when these signs &c.}let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, {Hebrew: do for thee as thy hand shall find.}that thou do as occasion shall serve thee; for God is with thee.
And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come unto thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.
And it was so, that, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God {Hebrew: turned.}gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.
And when they came thither to {Or, Gibeah}the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them.
And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
And one of the same place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.
And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.
And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.
And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But concerning the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.
And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah to Mizpah;
and he said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you:
but ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands.
So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found.
Therefore they asked of Jehovah further, {Or, Is the man yet come hither?}Is there yet a man to come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.
And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him along all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, Long live the king.
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in {Or, the}a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the {Or, men of valor}host, whose hearts God had touched.
But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. {Or, But he was as though he had been deaf}But he held his peace.
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
And Nahash the Ammonite said unto them, On this condition will I make it with you, that all your right eyes be put out; and I will lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the borders of Israel; and then, if there be none to save us, we will come out to thee.
Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and spake these words in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
And, behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.
And the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was kindled greatly.
And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And {Or, a terror from Jehovah}the dread of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
And he numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To-morrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have deliverance. And the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.
And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and smote the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they that remained were scattered, so that not two of them were left together.
And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.
And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day Jehovah hath wrought {Hebrew: salvation.}deliverance in Israel.
Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.
And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal; and there they offered sacrifices of peace-offerings before Jehovah; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against Jehovah, we will go up and fight, according to all that Jehovah our God commanded us. And ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and {Or, deemed it a light thing}were forward to go up into the hill-country.
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee.
And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard him that spake unto me.
And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day.
And the children are impudent and stiffhearted: {Or, unto whom I send thee}I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah.
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.
And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
And Saul said, Bring hither the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering.
And it came to pass that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might {Or, bless}salute him.
And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash;
therefore said I, Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Jehovah: I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering.
And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would Jehovah have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee.
And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin.And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
And again he saith, {Deuteronomy 32:43}Rejoice, ye {Greek: nations. Compare Matthew 4:15.}Gentiles, with his people.
For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done {Greek: though.}in the body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
So Saul died {Or, in}for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire thereby,
and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
And his affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not {Some ancient authorities omit as.}as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you: but I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple unto that which is evil.
and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
In that same hour he rejoiced {Or, by}in the Holy Spirit, and said, I {Or, praise}thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, Father; {Or, that}for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
casting down {Or, reasonings Romans 2:15.}imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have {Or, thankfulness Compare 1 Corinthians 10:30.}grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with {Or, godly fear Compare chapter 5:7.}reverence and awe: