Study Desk

He said to her, "How does he appear?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe." Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

"Furthermore, the LORD will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the LORD will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!"

But he refused and said, "I will not eat." However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

And the governors of the Philistines were proceeding on, leading hundreds and thousands, and David and his men were proceeding in the back with Achish.

Then the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found nothing at all suspicious in him since the day he deserted to me to this day?"

But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back, so that he will return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For how could this man find favor with his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men?

Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have indeed been honest, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the governors.

But Achish replied to David, "I know that you are pleasing in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us into the battle.'

"Now then, rise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have risen early in the morning and have light, leave."

Then it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;

When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep.

So David left, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed.

"We carried out an attack on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."

When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David and had been left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them.

Then all the wicked and worthless men among those who went with David said, "Since they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, so that they may lead them away and leave."

But David said, "You must not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us.

Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me." But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. So Saul took his sword and fell on it.

When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him.

So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.