The vessels... i. e., the bodies, have been holy, that is, have been kept from impurity.-Ibid. Is defiled... Is liable to expose us to dangers of uncleanness.-Ibid. Be sanctified, etc... That is, we shall take care, notwithstanding these dangerous circumstances, to keep our vessels holy, that is, to keep our bodies from every thing that may defile us.
21:6. The priest therefore gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there, but only the loaves of proposition, which had been taken away from before the face of the Lord, that hot loaves might be set up.
21:7. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, within the tabernacle of the Lord: and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of Saul's herdsmen.
21:8. And David said to Achimelech: Hast thou here at hand a spear, or a sword? for I brought not my own sword, nor my own weapons with me, for the king's business required haste.
21:9. And the priest said: Lo, here is the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Terebinth, wrapped up in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take this, take it, for here there is no other but this. And David said: There is none like that, give it me.
21:10. And David arose and fled that day from the face of Saul: and came to Achis, the king of Geth:
21:11. And the servants of Achis, when they saw David, said to him: Is not this David, the king of the land? Did they not sing to him in their dances, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
21:12. But David laid up these words in his heart, and was exceedingly afraid at the face of Achis, the king of Geth.
21:13. And he changed his countenance before them, and slipt down between their hands: and he stumbled against the doors of the gate, and his spittle ran down upon his beard.
21:14. And Achis said to his servants: You saw the man was mad: why have you brought him to me?
21:15. Have we need of mad men, that you have brought in this fellow, to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
1 Kings Chapter 22
Many resort to David. Doeg accuseth Achimelech to Saul. He ordereth him and all the other priests of Nobe to be slain. Abiathar escapeth.
22:1. David therefore went from thence, and fled to the cave of Odollam. And when his brethren, and all his father's house, had heard of it, they went down to him thither.
22:2. And all that were in distress, and oppressed with debt, and under affliction of mind, gathered themselves unto him: and he became their prince, and there were with him about four hundred men.
22:3. And David departed from thence into Maspha of Moab: and he said to the king of Moab: Let my father and my mother tarry with you, I beseech thee, till I know what God will do for me.
22:4. And he left them under the eyes of the king of Moab, and they abode with him all the days that David was in the hold.
The hold... The strong hold, or fortress of Maspha.
22:5. And Gad the prophet said to David: Abide not in the hold, depart, and go into the land of Juda. And David departed, and came into the forest of Haret.
22:6. And Saul heard that David was seen, and the men that were with him. Now whilst Saul abode in Gabaa, and was in the wood, which is by Rama, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him,
22:7. He said to his servants that stood about him: Hear me now, ye sons of Jemini: will the son of Isai give every one of you fields, and vineyards, and make you all tribunes, and centurions:
22:8. That all of you have conspired against me, and there is no one to inform me, especially when even my son hath entered into league with the son of Isai? There is not one of you that pitieth my case, nor that giveth me any information: because my son hath raised up my servant against me, plotting against me to this day.
22:9. And Doeg, the Edomite, who stood by, and was the chief among the servants of Saul, answering, said: I saw the son of Isai, in Nobe, with Achimelech, the son of Achitob, the priest.
22:10. And he consulted the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath, the Philistine.
22:11. Then the king sent to call for Achimelech, the priest, the son of Achitob, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nobe, and they came all of them to the king.
22:12. And Saul said to Achimelech: Hear, thou son of Achitob. He answered: Here I am, my lord.
22:13. And Saul said to him: Why have you conspired against me, thou, and the son of Isai, and thou hast given him bread and a sword, and hast consulted the Lord for him, that he should rise up against me, continuing a traitor to this day.
22:14. And Achimelech answering the king, said: And who amongst all thy servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son in law, and goeth forth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thy house?
22:15. Did I begin to day to consult the Lord for him? far be this from me: let not the king suspect such a thing against his servant, or any one in all my father's house: for thy servant knew nothing of this matter, either little or great.
22:16. And the king said: Dying thou shalt die, Achimelech, thou and all thy father's house.
22:17. And the king said to the messengers that stood about him: Turn, and kill the priests of the Lord, for their hand is with David, because they knew that he was fled, and they told it not to me. And the king'sservants would not put forth their hands against the priests of the Lord.
22:18. And the king said to Doeg: Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg, the Edomite, turned, and fell upon the priests, and slew in that day eighty-five men that wore the linen ephod.
22:19. And Nobe, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and ox, and ass, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
22:20. But one of the sons of Achimelech, the son of Achitob, whose name was Abiathar, escaped, and fled to David,
22:21. And told him that Saul had slain the priests of the Lord.
22:22. And David said to Abiathar: I knew that day when Doeg, the Edomite, was there, that without doubt he would tell Saul: I have been the occasion of the death of all the souls of thy father's house.
22:23. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life, seeketh thy life also, and with me thou shalt be saved.
1 Kings Chapter 23
David relieveth Ceila, besieged by the Philistines. He fleeth into the desert of Ziph. Jonathan and he confirm their former covenant. The Ziphites discover him to Saul, who pursuing close after him, is called away by an invasion from the Philistines.
23:1. And they told David, saying: Behold the Philistines fight against Ceila, and they rob the barns.
23:2. Therefore David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said to David: Go, and thou shalt smite the Philistines, and shalt save Ceila.
23:3. And the men that were with David, said to him: Behold we are in fear here in Judea, how much more if we go to Ceila against the bands of the Philistines?
23:4. Therefore David consulted the Lord again. And he answered and said to him: Arise, and go to Ceila: for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand.
23:5. David, therefore, and his men, went to Ceila, and fought against the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and made a great slaughter of them: and David saved the inhabitants of Ceila.
23:6. Now at that time, when Abiathar, the son of Achimelech, fled to David, to Ceila, he came down, having an ephod with him.
An ephod... Or the ephod. That is, the vestment of the high priest, with the urim and thummim, by which the Lord gave his oracle.
23:7. And it was told Saul that David was come to Ceila: and Saul said: The Lord hath delivered him into my hands, and he is shut up, being come into a city that hath gates and bars.
23:8. And Saul commanded all the people to go down to fight against Ceila, and to besiege David and his men.
23:9. Now when David understood that Saul secretly prepared evil against him, he said to Abiathar, the priest: Bring hither the ephod.
23:10. And David said: O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath heard a report, that Saul designeth to come to Ceila, to destroy the city for my sake:
23:11. Will the men of Ceila deliver me into his hands? and will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, tell thy servant. And the Lord said: He will come down.
23:12. And David said: Will the men of Ceila deliver me and my men into the hands of Saul? And the Lord said: They will deliver thee up.
23:13. Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose, and departing from Ceila, wandered up and down, uncertain where they should stay: and it was told Saul that David was fled from Ceila, and had escaped: wherefore he forbore to go out.
23:14. But David abode in the desert in strong holds, and he remained in a mountain of the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him always: but the Lord delivered him not into his hands.
23:15. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David was in the desert of Ziph, in a wood.
23:16. And Jonathan, the son of Saul, arose, and went to David, into the wood, and strengthened his hands in God: and he said to him:
23:17. Fear not: for the hand of my father, Saul, shall not find thee, and thou shalt reign over Israel, and I shall be next to thee; yea and my father knoweth this.
23:18. And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood: but Jonathan returned to his house.
23:19. And the Ziphites went up to Saul, in Gabaa, saying: Lo, doth not David lie hid with us in the strong holds of the wood, in mount Hachila, which is on the right hand of the desert.
23:20. Now therefore come down, as thy soul hath desired to come down: and it shall be our business to deliver him into the king's hands.
23:21. And Saul said: Blessed be ye of the Lord, for you have pitied my case.
23:22. Go, therefore, I pray you, and use all diligence, and curiously inquire, and consider the place where his foot is, and who hath seen him there: for he thinketh of me, that I lie craftily in wait for him.
23:23. Consider, and see all his lurking holes, wherein he is hid, and return to me with the certainty of the thing, that I may go with you. And if he should even go down into the earth to hide himself, I will search him out in all the thousands of Juda.
23:24. And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: and David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain at the right hand of Jesimon.
23:25. Then Saul and his men went to seek him: and it was told David, and forthwith he went down to the rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon: and when Saul had heard of it, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
23:26. And Saul went on this side of the mountain: and David and his men were on the other side of the mountain: and David despaired of being able to escape from the face of Saul: and Saul and his men encompassed David and his men round about, to take them.
23:27. And a messenger came to Saul, saying: Make haste to come, for the Philistines have poured in themselves upon the land.
23:28. Wherefore Saul returned, leaving the pursuit of David, and went to meet the Philistines. For this cause they called that place the rock of division.
1 Kings Chapter 24
Saul seeketh David in the wilderness of Engaddi: he goeth into a cave where David hath him in his power.
24:1. Then David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds of Engaddi.
24:2. And when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, they told him, saying: Behold, David is in the desert of Engaddi.
24:3. Saul, therefore, took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went out to seek after David and his men, even upon the most craggy rocks, which are accessible only to wild goats.
24:4. And he came to the sheepcotes which were in his way. And there was a cave, into which Saul went, to ease nature: now David and his men lay hid in the inner part of the cave.
24:5. And the servants of David said to him: Behold the day, of which the Lord said to thee: I will deliver thy enemy unto thee, that thou mayst do to him as it shall seem good in thy eyes. Then David arose, and secretly cut off the hem of Saul's robe.
24:6. After which David's heart struck him, because he had cut off the hem of Saul's robe.
Heart struck him... Viz., with remorse, as fearing he had done amiss.
24:7. And he said to his men: The Lord be merciful unto me, that I may do no such thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, as to lay my hand upon him, because he is the Lord's anointed.
24:8. And David stopped his men with his words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul: but Saul, rising up out of the cave, went on his way.
24:9. And David also rose up after him: and going out of the cave, cried after Saul, saying: My lord the king. And Saul looked behind him: and David bowing himself down to the ground, worshipped,
24:10. And said to Saul: Why dost thou hear the words of men that say: David seeketh thy hurt?
24:11 Behold this day thy eyes have seen, that the Lord hath delivered thee into my hand, in the cave, and I had a thought to kill thee, but my eye hath spared thee. For I said: I will not put out my hand against my lord, because he is the Lord's anointed.
A thought to kill thee... That is, a suggestion, to which I did not consent.
24:12. Moreover, see and know, O my father, the hem of thy robe in my hand, that when I cut off the hem of thy robe, I would not put out my hand against thee. Reflect, and see, that there is no evil in my hand, nor iniquity, neither have I sinned against thee: but thou liest in wait for my life, to take it away.
24:13. The Lord judge between me and thee and the Lord revenge me of thee: but my hand shall not be upon thee.
Revenge me of thee... Or, as it is in the Hebrew, will revenge me. The meaning is, that he refers his whole cause to God, to judge and punish according to his justice: yet so as to keep himself in the mean time, from all personal hatred to Saul, or desire of gratifying his own passion, by seeking revenge. So far from it, that when Saul was afterwards slain, we find, that instead of rejoicing at his death, he mourned most bitterly for him.
24:14. As also it is said in the old proverb: From the wicked shall wickedness come forth: therefore my hand shall not be upon thee. After whom dost thou come out, O king of Israel?
24:15. After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea.
24:16. Be the Lord judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and judge my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand.
24:17. And when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, Saul said: Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept:
24:18. And he said to David: Thou art more just than I: for thou hast done good to me, and I have rewarded thee with evil.
24:19. And thou hast shewed this day what good things thou hast done to me: how the Lord delivered me into thy hand, and thou hast not killed me.
24:20. For who when he hath found his enemy, will let him go well away? But the Lord reward thee for this good turn, for what thou hast done to me this day.
24:21. And now as I know that thou shalt surely be king, and have the kingdom of Israel in thy hand:
24:22. Swear to me by the Lord, that thou wilt not destroy my seed after me, nor take away my name from the house of my father.
24:23. And David swore to Saul. So Saul went home: and David and his men went up into safer places.
1 Kings Chapter 25
The death of Samuel. David, provoked by Nabal, threateneth to destroy him: but is appeased by Abigail.
25:1. And Samuel died, and all Israel was gathered together, and they mourned for him, and buried him in his house in Ramatha. And David rose, and went down into the wilderness of Pharan.
25:2. Now there was a certain man in the wilderness of Maon, and his possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great: and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and it happened that he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
25:3. Now the name of the man was Nabal: and the name of his wife was Abigail. And she was a prudent and very comely woman: but her husband was churlish, and very bad and ill natured: and he was of the house of Caleb.
25:4. And when David heard in the wilderness, that Nabal was shearing his sheep,
25:5. He sent ten young men, and said to them: Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and salute him in my name with peace.
25:6. And you shall say: Peace be to my brethren, and to thee, and peace to thy house, and peace to all that thou hast.
25:7. I have heard that thy shepherds that were with us in the desert were shearing: we never molested them, neither was there ought missing to them of the flock at any time, all the while they were with us in Carmel.
25:8. Ask thy servants, and they will tell thee. Now therefore let thy servants find favour in thy eyes: for we are come in a good day, whatsoever thy hand shall find give to thy servants, and to thy son David.
25:9. And when David's servants came, they spoke to Nabal all these words in David's name, and then held their peace.
25:10. But Nabal answering the servants of David, said: Who is David? and what is the son of Isai? servants are multiplied now days who flee from their masters.
25:11. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and the flesh of my cattle, which I have killed for my shearers, and give to men whom I know not whence they are?
25:12. So the servants of David went back their way, and returning came and told him all the words that he said.
25:13. Then David said to his young men: Let every man gird on his sword. And they girded on every man his sword. And David also girded on his sword: and there followed David about four hundred men, and two hundred remained with the baggage.
25:14. But one of the servants told, Abigail, the wife of Nabal, saying: Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness, to salute our master: and he rejected them.
25:15. These men were very good to us, and gave us no trouble: Neither did we ever lose any thing all the time that we conversed with them in the desert.
25:16. They were a wall unto us, both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
25:17. Wherefore consider, and think what thou hast to do: for evil is determined against thy husband, and against thy house, and he is a son of Belial, so that no man can speak to him.
25:18. Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two vessels of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of dry figs, and laid them upon asses:
25:19. And she said to her servants: Go before me: behold, I will follow after you: but she told not her husband, Nabal.
25:20. And when she had gotten upon an ass, and was coming down to the foot of the mountain, David and his men came down over against her, and she met them.
25:21. And David said: Truly in vain have I kept all that belonged to this fellow in the wilderness, and nothing was lost of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.
25:22. May God do so and so, and add more to the foes of David, if I leave of all that belong to him till the morning, any that pisseth against the wall.
If I leave, etc... David certainly sinned in his designs against Nabal and his family, as he himself was afterwards sensible, when he blessed God for hindering him from executing the revenge he had proposed.
25:23. And when Abigail saw David, she made haste and lighted off the ass, and fell before David, on her face, and adored upon the ground.
25:24. And she fell at his feet, and said: Upon me let this iniquity be, my lord: let thy handmaid speak, I beseech thee, in thy ears, and hear the words of thy servant.
25:25. Let not my lord the king, I pray thee, regard this naughty man, Nabal: for according to his name, he is a fool, and folly is with him: but I, thy handmaid, did not see thy servants, my lord, whom thou sentest.
His name... Nabal, in Hebrew, signifies a fool.
25:26. Now therefore, my lord, the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, who hath withholden thee from coming to blood, and hath saved thy hand to thee: and now let thy enemies be as Nabal, and all they that seek evil to my lord.
25:27. Wherefore receive this blessing, which thy handmaid hath brought to thee, my lord: and give it to the young men that follow thee, my lord.
25:28. Forgive the iniquity of thy handmaid: for the Lord will surely make for my lord a faithful house, because thou, my lord, fightest the battles of the Lord: let not evil therefore be found in thee all the days of thy life.
25:29. For if a man at any time shall rise, and persecute thee, and seek thy life, the soul of my lord shall be kept, as in the bundle of the living, with the Lord thy God: but the souls of thy enemies shall be whirled, as with the violence and whirling of a sling.
25:30. And when the Lord shall have done to thee, my lord, all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have made thee prince over Israel,
25:31 This shall not be an occasion of grief to thee, and a scruple of heart to my lord, that thou hast shed innocent blood, or hast revenged thyself: and when the Lord shall have done well by my lord, thou shalt remember thy handmaid.
25:32. And David said to Abigail: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me, and blessed be thy speech:
25:33. And blessed be thou, who hast kept me to day from coming to blood, and revenging me with my own hand.
25:34. Otherwise, as the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, who hath withholden me from doing thee any evil, if thou hadst not quickly come to meet me, there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light, any that pisseth against the wall.
25:35. And David received at her hand all that she had brought him, and said to her: Go in peace into thy house, behold I have heard thy voice, and honoured thy face.
25:36. And Abigail came to Nabal: and behold he had a feast in his house, like the feast of a king: and Nabal's heart was merry, for he was very drunk: and she told him nothing less or more until morning.
25:37. But early in the morning, when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife told him these words, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.
25:38. And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
25:39. And when David had heard that Nabal was dead, he said: Blessed be the Lord, who hath judged the cause of my reproach, at the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil, and the Lord hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his head. Then David sent and treated with Abigail, that he might take her to himself for a wife.
Blessed be, etc... David praiseth God, on this occasion, not out of joy for the death of Nabal (which would have argued a rancour of heart), but because he saw that God had so visibly taken his cause in hand, in punishing the injury done to him; whilst, by a merciful providence he kept him from revenging himself.
25:40. And David's servants came to Abigail, to Carmel, and spoke to her, saying: David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to himself for a wife.
25:41. And she arose, and bowed herself down with her face to the earth, and said: Behold, let thy servant be a handmaid, to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
25:42. And Abigail arose, and made haste, and got upon an ass, and five damsels went with her, her waiting maids, and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.
25:43. Moreover David took also Achinoam of Jezrahel: and they were both of them his wives.
25:44. But Saul gave Michol, his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti, the son of Lais, who was of Gallim.
1 Kings Chapter 26
Saul goeth out again after David, who cometh by night where Saul and his men are asleep, but suffereth him not to be touched. Saul again confesseth his fault, and promiseth peace.
26:1. And the men of Ziph came to Saul in Gabaa, saying: Behold David is hid in the hill of Hachila, which is over against the wilderness.
26:2. And Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
26:3. And Saul encamped in Gabaa Hachila, which was over against the wilderness in the way: and David abode in the wilderness. And seeing that Saul was come after him into the wilderness,
26:4. He sent spies, and learned that he was most certainly come thither.
26:5. And David arose secretly, and came to the place where Saul was: and when he had beheld the place, wherein Saul slept, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his army, and Saul sleeping in a tent, and the rest of the multitude round about him,
26:6. David spoke to Achimelech, the Hethite, and Abisai, the son of Sarvia, the brother of Joab, saying: Who will go down with me to Saul into the camp? And Abisai said: I will go with thee.
26:7. So David and Abisai came to the people by night, and found Saul lying and sleeping in the tent, and his spear fixed in the ground at his head: and Abner and the people sleeping round about him.
26:8. And Abisai said to David: God hath shut up thy enemy this day into thy hands: now then I will run him through with my spear, even to the earth at once, and there shall be no need of a second time.
26:9. And David said to Abisai: Kill him not: for who shall put forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and shall be guiltless?
26:10. And David said: As the Lord liveth, unless the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go down to battle, and perish:
26:11. The Lord be merciful unto me, and keep me that I never put forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. But now take the spear which is at his head, and the cup of water, and let us go.
26:12. So David took the spear, and the cup of water which was at Saul's head, and they went away: and no man saw it, or knew it, or awaked, but they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them.
26:13. And when David was gone over to the other side, and stood on the top of the hill afar off, and a good space was between them,
26:14. David cried to the people, and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying: Wilt thou not answer, Abner? And Abner answering, said: Who art thou, that criest, and disturbest the king?
26:15. And David said to Abner: Art not thou a man? and who is like unto thee in Israel? why then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to kill the king thy lord.
26:16. This thing is not good, that thou hast done: as the Lord liveth, you are the sons of death, who have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now where is the king's spear, and the cup of water, which was at his head?
26:17. And Saul knew David's voice, and said: Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said: It is my voice, my lord the king.
26:18. And he said: Wherefore doth my lord persecute his servant? What have I done? or what evil is there in my hand?
26:19. Now therefore hear, I pray thee, my lord the king, the words of thy servant: If the Lord stir thee up against me, let him accept of sacrifice: but if the sons of men, they are cursed in the sight of the Lord, who have cast me out this day, that I should not dwell in the inheritance of the Lord, saying: Go, serve strange gods.
26:20. And now let not my blood be shed upon the earth before the Lord: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as the partridge is hunted in the mountains.
26:21. And Saul said: I have sinned; return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, because my life hath been precious in thy eyes this day: for it appeareth that I have done foolishly, and have been ignorant in very many things.
26:22. And David answering, said: Behold the king's spear: let one of the king's servants come over and fetch it.
26:23. And the Lord will reward every one according to his justice, and his faithfulness: for the Lord hath delivered thee this day into my hand, and I would not put forth my hand against the Lord's anointed.
26:24. And as thy life hath been much set by this day in my eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me from all distress.
26:25. Then Saul said to David: Blessed art thou, my son David: and truly doing thou shalt do, and prevailing thou shalt prevail. And David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
1 Kings Chapter 27
David goeth again to Achis king of Geth, and obtaineth of him the city of Siceleg.
27:1. And David said in his heart: I shall one day or other fall into the hands of Saul: is it not better for me to flee, and to be saved in the land of the Philistines, that Saul may despair of me, and cease to seek me in all the coasts of Israel? I will flee then out of his hands.
27:2. And David arose, and went away, both he and the six hundred men that were with him, to Achis, the son of Maoch, king of Geth.
27:3. And David dwelt with Achis at Geth, he and his men; every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Achinoam, the Jezrahelitess, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
27:4. And it was told Saul that David was fled to Geth, and he sought no more after him.
27:5. And David said to Achis: If I have found favour in thy sight, let a place be given me in one of the cities of this country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?
27:6. Then Achis gave him Siceleg that day: for which reason Siceleg belongeth to the kings of Juda unto this day.
27:7. And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines, was four months.
27:8. And David and his men went up, and pillaged Gessuri, and Gerzi, and the Amalecites: for these were of old the inhabitants of the countries, as men go to Sur, even to the land of Egypt.
Pillaged Gessuri, etc... These probably were enemies of the people of God: and some, if not all of them, were of the number of those whom God had ordered to be destroyed: which justifies David's proceedings in their regard. Though it is to be observed here, that we are not under an obligation of justifying every thing that he did: for the scripture, in relating what was done, does not say that it was well done. And even such as are true servants of God, are not to be imitated in all they do.
27:9. And David wasted all the land, and left neither man nor woman alive: and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achis.
27:10. And Achis said to him: Whom hast thou gone against to day? David answered: Against the south of Juda, and against the south of Jerameel, and against the south of Ceni.
27:11. And David saved neither man nor woman, neither brought he any of them to Geth, saying: Lest they should speak against us. So did David, and such was his proceeding all the days that he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
27:12. And Achis believed David, saying: He hath done much harm to his people Israel: Therefore he shall be my servant for ever.
1 Kings Chapter 28
The Philistines go out to war against Israel. Saul being forsaken by God, hath recourse to a witch. Samuel appeareth to him.
28:1. And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered together their armies, to be prepared for war against Israel: And Achis said to David: Know thou now assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to the war, thou, and thy men.
28:2. And David said to Achis: Now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achis said to David: And I will appoint thee to guard my life for ever.
28:3. Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel mourned for him, and buried him in Ramatha, his city. And Saul had put away all the magicians and soothsayers out of the land.
28:4. And the Philistines were gathered together, and came and encamped in Sunam: and Saul also gathered together all Israel, and came to Gelboe.
28:5. And Saul saw the army of the Philistines, and was afraid, and his heart was very much dismayed.
28:6. And he consulted the Lord, and he answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by priests, nor by prophets.
28:7. And Saul said to his servants: Seek me a woman that hath a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire by her. And his servants said to him: There is a woman that hath a divining spirit at Endor.
28:8. Then he disguised himself: and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night, and he said to her: Divine to me by thy divining spirit, and bring me up him whom I shall tell thee.
28:9. And the woman said to him: Behold thou knowest all that Saul hath done, and how he hath rooted out the magicians and soothsayers from the land: why then dost thou lay a snare for my life, to cause me to be put to death?
28:10. And Saul swore unto her by the Lord, saying: As the Lord liveth, there shall no evil happen to thee for this thing.
28:11. And the woman said to him: Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and said to Saul: Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
28:13. And the king said to her: Fear not: what hast thou seen? and the woman said to Saul: I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
28:14. And he said to her: What form is he of? And she said: An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground, and adored.
Understood that it was Samuel... It is the more common opinion of the holy fathers, and interpreters, that the soul of Samuel appeared indeed: and not, as some have imagined, an evil spirit in his shape. Not that the power of her magic could bring him thither, but that God was pleased for the punishment of Saul, that Samuel himself should denounce unto him the evils that were falling upon him. See Eccli. 46.23.
28:15. And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou disturbed my rest, that I should be brought up? And Saul said: I am in great distress: for the Philistines fight against me, and God is departed from me, and would not hear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayst shew me what I shall do.
28:16. And Samuel said: Why askest thou me, seeing the Lord has departed from thee, and is gone over to thy rival?
28:17. For the Lord will do to thee as he spoke by me, and he will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David:
28:18. Because thou didst not obey the voice of the Lord, neither didst thou execute the wrath of his indignation upon Amalec. Therefore hath the Lord done to thee what thou sufferest this day.
28:19. And the Lord also will deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines: and to morrow thou and thy sons shall be with me: and the Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
With me... That is, in the state of the dead, and in another world, though not in the same place.
28:20. And forthwith Saul fell all along on the ground; for he was frightened with the words of Samuel, and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day.
28:21. And the woman came to Saul, (for he was very much troubled) and said to him: Behold thy handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand: and I hearkened unto the words which thou spokest to me.
28:22. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy handmaid, and let me set before thee a morsel of bread, that thou mayst eat and recover strength, and be able to go on thy journey.
28:23. But he refused, and said: I will not eat. But his servants and the woman forced him, and at length hearkening to their voice, he arose from the ground, and sat upon the bed.
28:24. Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she made haste and killed it: and taking meal, kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread,
28:25. And set it before Saul, and before his servants. And when they had eaten they rose up, and walked all that night.
1 Kings Chapter 29
David going with the Philistines is sent back by their princes.
29:1. Now all the troops of the Philistines were gathered together to Aphec: and Israel also encamped by the fountain, which is in Jezrahel.
29:2. And the lords of the Philistines marched with their hundreds and their thousands: but David and his men were in the rear with Achis.
29:3. And the princes of the Philistines said to Achis: What mean these Hebrews? And Achis said to the princes of the Philistines: Do you not know David who was the servant of Saul, the king of Israel, and hath been with me many days, or years, and I have found no fault in him, since the day that he fled over to me until this day?
29:4. But the prices of the Philistines were angry with him, and they said to him: Let this man return, and abide in his place, which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest he be an adversary to us, when we shall begin to fight: for how can he otherwise appease his master, but with our heads?
29:5. Is not this David, to whom they sung in their dances, saying: Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
29:6. Then Achis called David, and said to him: As the Lord liveth, thou art upright and good in my sight: and so is thy going out, and thy coming in with me in the army: and I have not found any evil in thee, since the day that thou camest to me unto this day: but thou pleasest not the lords.
29:7. Return therefore, and go in peace, and offend not the eyes of the princes of the Philistines.
29:8. And David said to Achis: But what have I done, or what hast thou found in me thy servant, from the day that I have been in thy sight until this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
29:9. And Achis answering, said to David: I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: But the princes of the Philistines have said: He shall not go up with us to the battle.
29:10. Therefore arise in the morning, thou, and the servants of thy lord, who came with thee: and when you are up before day, and it shall begin to be light, go on your way.
29:11. So David and his men arose in the night, that they might set forward in the morning, and returned to the land of the Philistines: and the Philistines went up to Jezrahel.
1 Kings Chapter 30
The Amalecites burn Siceleg, and carry off the prey: David pursueth after them, and recovereth all out of their hands.
30:1. Now when David and his men were come to Siceleg on the third day, the Amalecites had made an invasion on the south side upon Siceleg, and had smitten Siceleg, and burnt it with fire,
30:2. And had taken the women captives that were in it, both little and great: and they had not killed any person, but had carried them with them, and went on their way.
30:3. So when David and his men came to the city, and found it burnt with fire, and that their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives,
30:4. David and the people that were with him, lifted up their voices, and wept till they had no more tears.
30:5. For the two wives also of David were taken captives, Achinoam, the Jezrahelitess, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
30:6. And David was greatly afflicted: for the people had a mind to stone him, for the soul of every man was bitterly grieved for his sons and daughters: but David took courage in the Lord his God.
30:7. And he said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Achimelech: Bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
30:8. And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I pursue after these robbers, and shall I overtake them, or not? And the Lord said to him: Pursue after them: for thou shalt surely overtake them and recover the prey.
30:9. So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the torrent Besor: and some, being weary, stayed there.
30:10. But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred stayed, who, being weary, could not go over the torrent Besor.
30:11. And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David: and they gave him bread to eat, and water to drink,
30:12. As also a piece of a cake of figs, and two bunches of raisins. And when he had eaten them, his spirit returned, and he was refreshed: for he had not eaten bread, nor drunk water, three days and three nights.
30:13. And David said to him: To whom dost thou belong; or whence dost thou come? and whither art thou going? He said: I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amalecite: and my master left me, because I began to be sick three days ago.
30:14. For we made an invasion on the south side of Cerethi, and upon Juda, and upon the south of Caleb, and we burnt Siceleg with fire.
30:15. And David said to him: Canst thou bring me to this company? and he said: Swear to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee to this company. And David swore to him.
30:16. And when he had brought him, behold they were lying spread abroad upon all the ground, eating and drinking, and as it were keeping a festival day, for all the prey and the spoils which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Juda.
30:17. And David slew them from the evening unto the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them, but four hundred young men, who had gotten upon camels, and fled.
30:18. So David recovered all that the Amalecites had taken, and he rescued his two wives.
30:19. And there was nothing missing small or great, neither of their sons or their daughters, nor of the spoils, and whatsoever they had taken, David recovered all.
30:20. And he took all the flocks and the herds, and made them go before him: and they said: This is the prey of David.
30:21. And David came to the two hundred men, who, being weary, had stayed, and were not able to follow David, and he had ordered them to abide at the torrent Besor: and they came out to meet David, and the people that were with him. And David coming to the people, saluted them peaceably.
30:22. Then all the wicked and unjust men, that had gone with David, answering, said: Because they came not with us, we will not give them any thing of the prey which we have recovered: but let every man take his wife, and his children, and be contented with them, and go his way.
30:23. But David said: You shall not do so, my brethren, with these things, which the Lord hath given us, who hath kept us, and hath delivered the robbers that invaded us into our hands:
30:24. And no man shall hearken to you in this matter. But equal shall be the portion of him that went down to battle, and of him that abode at the baggage, and they shall divide alike.
30:25. And this hath been done from that day forward, and since was made a statute and an ordinance, and as a law in Israel.
30:26. Then David came to Siceleg, and sent presents of the prey to the ancients of Juda, his neighbours, saying: Receive a blessing of the prey of the enemies of the Lord.
30:27. To them that were in Bethel, and that were in Ramoth to the south, and to them that were in Jether.
30:28. And to them that were in Aroer, and that were in Sephamoth, and that were in Esthamo,
30:29. And that were in Rachal, and that were in the cities of Jerameel, and that were in the cities of Ceni,
30:30. And that were in Arama, and that were in the lake Asan, and that were in Athach,
30:31. And that were in Hebron, and to the rest that were in those places, in which David had abode with his men.
1 Kings Chapter 31
Israel is defeated by the Philistines: Saul and his sons are slain.
31:1. And the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gelboe.
31:2. And the Philistines fell upon Saul, and upon his sons, and they slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchisua, the sons of Saul.
31:3. And the whole weight of the battle was turned upon Saul: and the archers overtook him, and he was grievously wounded by the archers.
31:4. Then Saul said to his armourbearer: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest these uncircumcised come, and slay me, and mock at me. And his armourbearer would not: for he was struck with exceeding great fear. Then Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.
31:5. And when his armourbearer saw this, to wit, that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.
31:6. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men that same day together.
31:7. And the men of Israel, that were beyond the valley, and beyond the Jordan, seeing that the Israelites were fled, and that Saul was dead, and his sons, forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt there.
31:8. And on the morrow the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons lying in mount Gelboe.
31:9. And they cut off Saul's head, and stripped him of his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the temples of their idols and among their people.
31:10. And they put his armour in the temple of Astaroth, but his body they hung on the wall of Bethsan.
31:11. Now when the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad had heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,
31:12. All the most valiant men arose, and walked all the night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Bethsan: and they came to Jabes Galaad, and burnt them there.
31:13. And they took their bones, and buried them in the wood of Jabes: and fasted seven days.