'sacrifice unto the LORD thy GOD; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.' Then Samuel said unto Saul, 'Stay, ( and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this 'night.' And he said unto him, 'Say on.'

And Samuel said, 'When thou wast little in thine own 'sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, ' and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? And the 'LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, "Go and utterly 'destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against 'them until they be consumed." Wherefore then didst 'thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon 'the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?' And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of 'the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD 'sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the 'things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sac'rifice unto the LORD thy GOD in Gilgal.' And Samuel said,Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? '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 iniquity and idolatry. 'Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, HE

hath also rejected thee from being king.' And Saul said unto Samuel, 'I have sinned: for I have transgressed the 'commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I 'feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with 'me, that I may worship the LORD.' And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast

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I rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.' And as

Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, 'The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from

thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, 'that is better than thou. And also the Strength of • Israel will not lie nor repent for HE is not a man that 'HE should repent.' Then he said, 'I have sinned: yet 'honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my 'people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that 6 I may worship the LORD thy GOD.' So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.

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Then said Samuel, 'Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.' And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of 'death is past.' And Samuel said, 'As thy sword hath 'made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless 6 among women.' And Samuel hewed Agag in piec before the LORD in Gilgal.

Then Samuel went to Ramah ; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul.

And the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. And the LORD said unto Samuel

'How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected 'him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil ' and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I ' have provided me a king among his sons.'

And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came

to Beth-lehem.

And the elders of the town trembled at

his coming, and said, 'Comest thou peaceably?' And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.' And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, 'Surely the But the LORD said unto 'LORD's anointed is before HIM. Samuel

'Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his sta'ture; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth 'not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.'

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, 'Neither hath the LORD chosen 'this.' Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, 'Neither hath the LORD chosen this.' Again, Jesse And made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said unto Jesse, 'The LORD hath not chosen 'these.' And Samuel said unto Jesse, 'Are here all thy ' children?' And he said, 'There remaineth yet the 'youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.' And Samuel said unto Jesse, 'Send and fetch him: for we 'will not sit down till he come hither.' And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.

'Arise, anoint him; for this is he.'

And the LORD said

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servant said unto him, 'Behold now, an evil spirit from GOD " troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, 'which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning ' player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the ' evil spirit from GOD is upon thee, that he shall play with 'his hand, and thou shalt be well.' And Saul said unto his servants, 'Provide me now a man that can play well, ' and bring him to me.' Then answered one of the servants, and said, 'Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the 'Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty ' valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, ' and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.' Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, 'Send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep.' And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood before him and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, 'Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.' And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from GOD was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders, and the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, 'Why are ye come out to set your battle in array am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? 'choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 'If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants : but if I prevail against him, and 'kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.' And the Philistine said, 'I defy the armies of Israel this 'day; give me a man, that we may fight together.' When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

And David said to Saul, 'Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this 'Philistine.' And Saul said to David, 'Thou art not able 'to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art 'but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.' And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, ' and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of 'the flock and I went out after him, and smote him, and ' delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against:

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