1 Samuel 13

War with the Philistines

¹Saul was ... years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel two years.^{ab 2}Saul chose 3,000 men of Israel for himself. Of these, 2,000 stayed with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and 1,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, each to his own tent. ³Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴All Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines.” And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. ⁵The Philistines gathered to fight against Israel: 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and foot soldiers as many as the sand on the seashore. They came up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.^{c 6}When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble, because the army was hard pressed, the people hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, in holes in the ground, and in cisterns. ⁷Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the troops who followed him were trembling. ⁸He waited seven days, the time Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to slip away from Saul. ⁹So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering and the peace offerings here to me.” Then he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul answered, “I saw that the troops were scattering from me, that you had not come within the days you had set, and that the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, ¹²I thought, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not yet sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.”

Saul’s kingdom will not last

¹³Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment the LORD your God gave you. Had you kept it, the LORD would now have made your kingdom over Israel secure for all time. ¹⁴But now your kingdom will not last. The LORD has looked for a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

¹⁵Then Samuel got up and went from Gilgal up to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the troops who were still with him, about 600 men.^{d 16}Saul and his son Jonathan and the troops who were with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines were camped at Michmash. ¹⁷Raiding parties came out of the Philistine camp in three companies. One company turned toward the road to Ophrah, in the land of Shual. ¹⁸Another company turned toward the road to Beth-horon, and another turned toward the road to the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim, toward the wilderness.

No blacksmith in Israel

¹⁹No blacksmith could be found anywhere in Israel’s land, for the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not make swords or spears.” ²⁰So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and colters sharpened.^{e 21}The charge was about 1/4 ounce for plowshares and mattocks, and about 1/8 ounce for forks and axes and for fixing the points on ox goads.^{f 22}So on the day of battle, not one of the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or a spear in hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. ²³Now the Philistine garrison had moved out to the pass at Michmash.