Study Desk

But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said to him, "Send that fellow back to the town you gave him. Don't let him go into battle with us; he might turn against us during the fighting. What better way is there for him to win back his master's favor than by the death of our men?

So David and his men started out early the following morning to go back to Philistia, and the Philistines went on to Jezreel.

Two days later David and his men arrived back at Ziklag. The Amalekites had raided southern Judah and attacked Ziklag. They had burned down the town

When David and his men arrived, they found that the town had been burned down and that their wives, sons, and daughters had been carried away.

David and his men started crying and did not stop until they were completely exhausted.

David was now in great trouble, because his men were all very bitter about losing their children, and they were threatening to stone him; but the Lord his God gave him courage.

So David and his six hundred men started out, and when they arrived at Besor Brook, some of them stayed there.

David continued on his way with four hundred men; the other two hundred men were too tired to cross the brook and so stayed behind.

some dried figs, and two bunches of raisins. After he had eaten, his strength returned; he had not had anything to eat or drink for three full days.

David rescued everyone and everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives;

nothing at all was missing. David got back all his men's sons and daughters, and all the loot the Amalekites had taken.

He also recovered all the flocks and herds; his men drove all the livestock in front of them and said, "This belongs to David!"

Then David went back to the two hundred men who had been too weak to go with him and had stayed behind at Besor Brook. They came forward to meet David and his men, and David went up to them and greeted them warmly.

When David returned to Ziklag, he sent part of the loot to his friends, the leaders of Judah, with the message, "Here is a present for you from the loot we took from the Lord 's enemies."

and Hebron. He sent it to all the places where he and his men had roamed.

The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled.

He said to the young man carrying his weapons, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that these godless Philistines won't gloat over me and kill me." But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it.

The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his own sword and died with Saul.

And that is how Saul, his three sons, and the young man died; all of Saul's men died that day.

When the Israelites on the other side of Jezreel Valley and east of the Jordan River heard that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had been killed, they abandoned their towns and fled. Then the Philistines came and occupied the towns.