1 Samuel 13 - 14, Hebrews 7, Proverbs 15

Saul Strikes Down the Philistines

13¹Saul was ²thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned ³forty-two years over Israel.

²And Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in ^aMichmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at ^bGibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent. ³And Jonathan struck ^athe garrison of the Philistines that was in ^bGeba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul ^cblew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴Then all Israel heard ¹the news that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel ^ahad become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned ²to Saul at Gilgal.

⁵Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and ^apeople like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of ^bBeth-aven. ⁶Now the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were hard-pressed). Then ^athe people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in cliffs, in cellars, and in pits. ⁷Also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of ^aGad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul Doesn’t Keep Yahweh’s Commandment

⁸So ^ahe waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. ⁹So Saul said, “Bring near to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And ^ahe offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰And as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and ^aSaul went out to meet him and to ¹greet him. ¹¹But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that ^athe Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹²therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Yahweh.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³And Samuel said to Saul, “^aYou have acted foolishly; ^byou have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, for now Yahweh would have established your kingdom ¹over Israel ^cforever. ¹⁴“But ^anow your kingdom shall not endure. ^bYahweh has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as ruler over His people because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you.”

¹⁵Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to ^aGibeah of Benjamin. And Saul ¹numbered the people who were present with him, ^babout six hundred men. ¹⁶Now Saul and his son Jonathan and the people who were present with them were staying in ^aGeba of Benjamin, and the Philistines camped at Michmash. ¹⁷And ^athe ¹raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three ²companies: one ³company turned ⁴toward ^bOphrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸and another ¹company turned to the way of ^aBeth-horon, and another ²company turned to the way of the border which overlooks the valley of ^bZeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹Now ^ano blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make ¹^,^bswords or spears.” ²⁰So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his ¹goad. ²¹And the charge was ¹two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the goad. ²²So it happened on the day of battle that ^aneither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. ²³And ^athe garrison of the Philistines went out to ^bthe pass of Michmash.

Jonathan Slaughters the Philistines

14Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ²And Saul was staying in the outskirts of ^aGibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in ^bMigron. And the people who were with him were ^cabout six hundred men, ³and Ahijah, the ^ason of Ahitub, ^bIchabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Yahweh at ^cShiloh, ^dwas ¹wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴^aNow between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba.

⁶Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of ^athese uncircumcised; perhaps Yahweh will work for us, for ^bYahweh is not restrained to save by many or by few.” ⁷And his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your heart.” ⁸Then Jonathan said, “^aBehold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. ⁹“If they ¹say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. ¹⁰“But if they ¹say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for Yahweh has given them into our hands; and ^athis shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹So both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, “Behold, ^aHebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹²So the men of the garrison ¹hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us, and ^awe will make you know something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for ^bYahweh has given them into the hands of Israel.” ¹³Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. ¹⁴And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an ¹acre of land. ¹⁵And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and ^athe raiders trembled, and ^bthe earth quaked so ^cthat it became a ¹great trembling.

¹⁶Then Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there. ¹⁷So Saul said to the people who were with him, “¹Number now and see who has gone from us.” And when they had ²numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. ¹⁸Then Saul said to Ahijah, “^aBring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. ¹⁹^aAnd it happened that while Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, ^aevery man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even ^athey also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²Now all the ^amen of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, and they pursued them closely in the battle. ²³So ^aYahweh saved Israel that day, and the battle ¹spread beyond ^bBeth-aven.

Saul’s Oath Makes the People Weary

²⁴Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day. And Saul had ^aput the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food ¹before evening and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵Now all the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶So the people entered the forest, and behold, ^athere was a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the sworn oath. ²⁷But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under a sworn oath; therefore, ^ahe put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and ^bhis eyes brightened. ²⁸Then one of the people answered and said, “Your father strictly put the people under a sworn oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’” And the people were weary. ²⁹Then Jonathan said, “^aMy father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰“How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹Then they struck among the Philistines that day from ^aMichmash to ^bAijalon. And the people were very weary. ³²^aSo the people ¹rushed greedily upon the spoil, and they took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them ^bwith the blood. ³³Then they told Saul, saying, “Behold, the people are ^asinning against Yahweh by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have acted treacherously; roll a great stone to me today.” ³⁴And Saul said, “Scatter yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against Yahweh by eating with the blood.’” So all the people that night brought each one his ox ¹with him and slaughtered it there. ³⁵And ^aSaul built an altar to Yahweh; it was the first altar that he built to Yahweh.

³⁶Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good in your eyes.” So ^athe priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷And Saul ^aasked of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But ^bHe did not answer him on that day. ³⁸And Saul said, “^aDraw near here, all you ¹chiefs of the people, and know and see how this sin has happened today. ³⁹“For ^aas Yahweh lives, who saves Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not one of all the people answered him. ⁴⁰Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good in your eyes.” ⁴¹Therefore, Saul said to Yahweh, the God of Israel, “^aGive a perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴²And Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³Then Saul said to Jonathan, “^aTell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him and said, “^bI indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I must die!” ⁴⁴And Saul said, “^aMay God do ¹this to me and more also, for ^byou shall surely die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, who has ¹brought about this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, ^anot one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for ^bhe has worked with God this day.” So the people ²redeemed Jonathan, and he did not die. ⁴⁶Then Saul went up from ¹pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul Fights Against His Enemies

⁴⁷Now Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, and he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^athe sons of Ammon, Edom, ^bthe kings of Zobah, and ^cthe Philistines; and wherever he turned, he ¹inflicted punishment. ⁴⁸And he acted valiantly and ^astruck down the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of ¹those who plundered them.

⁴⁹Now ^athe sons of Saul were Jonathan and Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn ^bMerab and the name of the younger ^cMichal. ⁵⁰And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And ^athe name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ⁵¹^aAnd Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

⁵²Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul; and Saul would see any mighty man or any man of valor and would ^agather him to ¹his staff.

The Priesthoods of Melchizedek and Christ

7For this ^aMelchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the ^bMost High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ²^ato whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. ³Without father, without mother, ^awithout genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like ^bthe Son of God, he remains a priest continually.

⁴Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the ^apatriarch, ^bgave a tenth of the spoils. ⁵And those indeed of ^athe sons of Levi, who receive the priest’s office, have a commandment ¹in the Law to collect ²a tenth from the people, that is, from their brothers, although these ³are descended from Abraham. ⁶But the one ^awhose genealogy is not traced from them had ^bcollected ¹a tenth from Abraham and ²^,^cblessed the one who ^dhad the promises. ⁷But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, ^aof whom it is witnessed that he lives on. ⁹And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

¹¹^aNow if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it ^bthe people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise ^caccording to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. ¹³For ^athe one concerning whom ^bthese things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord ¹was ^adescended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. ¹⁵And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶who has become such not according to a law of ¹^,^aphysical requirement, but according to the power of ^ban indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is witnessed about Him, “^aYou are a priest foreverAccording to the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment ^abecause of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for ^athe Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better ^bhope, through which we ^cdraw near to God. ²⁰And inasmuch as it was not without an oath ²¹(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “^aThe ¹Lord has swornAnd ^bwill not change His mind,‘You are a priest ^cforever’”);

²²so much more Jesus also has become the ^aguarantee of ^ba better covenant.

²³And ¹the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, ²⁴but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues ^aforever, holds His priesthood permanently. ²⁵Therefore He is able also to ^asave ¹forever those who ^bdraw near to God through Him, since He always lives to ^cmake intercession for them.

²⁶For it was fitting for us to have such a ^ahigh priest, ^bholy, ^cinnocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and ^dexalted above the heavens; ²⁷who does not need daily, like those high priests, to ^aoffer up sacrifices, ^bfirst for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did ^conce for all when He ^doffered up Himself. ²⁸For the Law appoints men as high priests ^awho are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints ^ba Son, who has been ^cmade perfect forever.

15A ^agentle answer turns away wrath,But a ¹^,^bharsh word stirs up anger.²The ^atongue of the wise makes knowledge look good,But the ^bmouth of ¹fools pours forth ²folly.³The ^aeyes of Yahweh are in every place,Watching the evil and the good.⁴A tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,But perversion in it breaks the spirit.⁵An ignorant fool spurns his father’s discipline,But he who keeps reproof is prudent.⁶The house of the ^arighteous has much treasure,But in the income of the wicked there is trouble.⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge,But the hearts of fools are not so.⁸The ^asacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh,But ^bthe prayer of the upright is His delight.⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh,But He loves one who ^apursues righteousness.¹⁰Grievous discipline is for him who forsakes the way;He who hates reproof will die.¹¹^aSheol and Abaddon lie open before Yahweh,How much more the ^bhearts of the sons of men!¹²A ^ascoffer does not love one who reproves him,He will not go to the wise.¹³A ^aglad heart makes a face look good,But ¹when the heart is ^bpained, the ^cspirit is broken.¹⁴The ^aheart of the one who has understanding seeks knowledge,But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil,But a good heart has a continual feast.¹⁶^aBetter is a little with the ¹fear of YahwehThan great treasure and turmoil with it.¹⁷^aBetter is a ¹dish of ²vegetables where there is loveThan a ^bfattened ox and hatred in it.¹⁸A ^ahot-tempered man stirs up strife,But the ^bslow to anger ^cquiets a dispute.¹⁹The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns,But the path of the upright is a highway.²⁰A ^awise son makes a father glad,But a foolish man ^bdespises his mother.²¹Folly is gladness to him who lacks a heart of wisdom,But a man of discernment ^awalks straight.²²Without consultation, ¹plans are frustrated,But with many counselors they ²succeed.²³A ^aman has gladness in an ¹apt answer,And how good is a timely ^bword!²⁴The ^apath of life leads upward for the one who has insightThat he may turn away from Sheol below.²⁵Yahweh will ^atear down the house of the proud,But He will ^bcause the boundary of the ^cwidow to stand.²⁶Evil thoughts are an abomination to Yahweh,But pleasant words are pure.²⁷He who is ^agreedy for gain troubles his own house,But he who ^bhates gifts of bribery will live.²⁸The heart of the righteous ^aponders how to answer,But the ^bmouth of the wicked pours forth evil things.²⁹Yahweh is ^afar from the wicked,But He ^bhears the prayer of the righteous.³⁰¹Bright eyes gladden the heart;A good report puts fat on the bones.³¹He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproofWill lodge among the wise.³²He who ^aneglects discipline ^bdespises his soul,But he who ^clistens to reproof acquires a heart of wisdom.³³The ¹fear of Yahweh is the discipline ²leading to wisdom,And before glory comes humility.