1 Samuel 13

1 Saul chose for himself three thousand men out of the men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, [a] 2 and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; and the rest of the people he sent away, each man to his own tent.

3 And Jonathan struck down Nasib the Philistine, who was on the hill, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet through all the land, saying, “The slaves have broken faith.” [b] 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had struck down Nasib the Philistine, and Israel was put to shame before the Philistines. And the people cried out after Saul in Gilgal. [c]

5 And the Philistines gathered for war against Israel — thirty thousand chariots came up against Israel, and six thousand horsemen, and people as many as the sand beside the sea. And they came up and camped at Michmash, opposite Baithon, to the south. [d] 6 And the men of Israel saw that they were hard pressed and could not come near, and the people hid themselves in the caves and in the sheepfolds and among the rocks and in the pits and in the cisterns. 7 And those who crossed over crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. And Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed after him beside themselves.

8 And he waited seven days for the appointed witness, as Samuel had said; and Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and his people were scattered away from him. [e] 9 And Saul said, “Bring them here, so that I may make a whole burnt offering and peaceable offerings.” And he brought up the whole burnt offering. [f] 10 And just as he finished bringing up the whole burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and to bless him.

11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “I saw that the people were scattering away from me, and that you did not come at the witness of the days, as you had appointed, and that the Philistines had gathered at Michmash; 12 so I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the face of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and I brought up the whole burnt offering.”

13 And Samuel said to Saul, “What you have done is empty, because you did not keep my command, which the Lord commanded you. For now the Lord would have made your kingdom stand over Israel forever; [g] 14 but now your kingdom will not stand. The Lord will seek out for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord will appoint him ruler over his people, because you did not keep all that the Lord commanded you.”

15 And Samuel rose and went from Gilgal on his way. And the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the fighting men; and when they came from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin, Saul counted the people who were found with him, about six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were found with them stayed in Gibeah of Benjamin, and they wept; and the Philistines had camped at Michmash. [h] 17 And a raiding party went out from the field of the Philistines in three companies: one company facing the road to Gophera, toward the land of Sogal, [i] 18 and one company facing the road to Beth-horon, and one company facing the road to Gibeah that looks down over Gai of Sabim.

19 And no worker in iron was to be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “The Hebrews must not make themselves a sword or a spear.” 20 And all Israel went down to the land of the Philistines, each man to forge his reaping hook and his tool, and each his axe and his sickle. 21 And the vintage was ready for the reaping. The charge for the tools was about an ounce and a quarter of silver for the ploughshare, and the standing charge was the same for the axe and the sickle. [j]

22 So it happened that in the days of the war of Michmash no sword or spear was found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and with Jonathan; but with Saul and with Jonathan his son one was found. 23 And a party went out from the garrison of the Philistines, to the place across from Michmash. [k]