Study Desk

Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites." And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is gone!"

But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me." But the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'

"And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you."

And he said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

So Saul said to his servants, "Now select for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me."

So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, "Send me your son David, who is with the flock."

He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me.

"If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us."

Then the Philistine said, "I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together."

I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it.

And David said, "The LORD who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you."

So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals."

But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

"This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

Then Saul became very angry, for this lyric displeased him; and he said, "They have given David credit for ten thousands, but to me they have given credit for only thousands! Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"

Then Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife, only be a valiant man for me and fight the LORD'S battles." For Saul thought, "My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."

"And as for me, I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak with my father about you; and whatever I find out, I will tell you."

Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed, so that I may put him to death."

So Saul said to Michal, "Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I put you to death?'"