David replied to Achish, "Good, you will find out what your servant can do." So Achish said to David, "Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard."

The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel, and they camped at Gilboa.

He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.

Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes and set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, "Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I tell you."

Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: "As surely as the LORD lives, nothing bad will happen to you because of this."

When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, and then she asked Saul, "Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!"

Then Saul asked her, "What does he look like?" "An old man is coming up," she replied. "He's wearing a robe." Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed his face to the ground and paid homage.

Samuel answered, "Since the LORD has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me?

You did not obey the LORD and did not carry out His wrath against Amalek; therefore the LORD has done this to you today.

Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was terrified by Samuel's words and was also weak because he hadn't had any food all day and all night.

Now please listen to your servant. Let me set some food in front of you. Eat and it will give you strength so you can go on your way."

The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.

As the Philistine leaders were passing [in review with their units of] hundreds and thousands, David and his men were passing [in review] behind them with Achish.

The Philistine commanders, however, were enraged with Achish and told him, "Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the battle. What better way could he regain his master's favor than with the heads of our men?

So Achish summoned David and told him, "As the LORD lives, you are an honorable man. I think it is good to have you working with me in the camp, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until today. But the leaders don't think you are reliable.

"But what have I done?" David replied to Achish. "From the first day I was with you until today, what have you found against your servant to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

So get up early in the morning, you and your masters' servants who came with you. When you've all gotten up early, go as soon as it's light."

They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.

David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep.

David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over [the loss of] their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

and David asked the LORD: "Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?" The LORD replied to him, "Pursue [them], for you will certainly overtake [them] and rescue [the people]."

They stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor. David and 400 of the men continued in pursuit.

Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate he revived, for he hadn't eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.

We raided the south country of the Cherethites, [the territory] of Judah, and the south country of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag."

So he led him, and there were the Amalekites, spread out over the entire area, eating, drinking, and celebrating because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.

David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken; he also rescued his two wives.

He took all the sheep and cattle, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, "This is David's plunder!"

but all the worthless men among those who had gone with David retorted, "Because they didn't go with us, we will not give any of the plunder we recovered to them except for each man's wife and children. They may take them and go."

Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally."

When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, "Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD's enemies."

to those in Aroer, in Siphmoth, and in Eshtemoa;

to those in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, and in Athach;

The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me." But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.

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

The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa.

Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

all their brave men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.