1 Samuel 13

1 Saul [the desired one, son of Kish the Benjamite] was thirty [or forty, in his mature years] years old when he became king [to reign, to rule as a monarch], and he reigned [exercised royal authority, advised and counseled] over Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] forty-two [or one, in the early years of his reign] years. word study 2 He chose [selected, picked out] for himself three thousand men of Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people]: Two thousand were with Saul [Shaul, the desired one] at Michmash [a hidden place] and in the hill country [mountainous region] of Bethel [house of God], and a thousand were with Jonathan [Jehovah has given, a gift from God] in Gibeah [a hill, a high place] of Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel]. And the rest [remainder, what is left] of the troops he sent away [dismissed, let go], each to his own home [tent, dwelling place]. word study 3 Then Jonathan [the gift of Jehovah, a friend of David] attacked [struck, smote] the Philistine [an immigrant from other places, a non-Hebrew] outpost [garrison, military post] at Geba [a city in the tribe of Benjamin], and the Philistines [non-Hebrew inhabitants of Philistia] heard [listened, gave attention] about it. So Saul [the desired one, a Benjamite king] blew [sounded, struck] the ram’s horn [a trumpet made from a ram’s horn] throughout [all over, in every part of] the land [earth, territory, region], saying [commanding, proclaiming], “Let the Hebrews [descendants of Eber, Israelites] hear [listen, obey]!” word study 4 And all [every single one, the entire nation] Israel heard the news: “Saul [Shaul, meaning desired] has attacked [struck, smitten] an outpost [garrison, military post] of the Philistines [immigrants from other places], and now Israel [the descendants of Jacob] has become [is regarded as] a stench [morally offensive, smelling bad] to the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia]!” Then the people [nation, community] were summoned [gathered, called together] to join [follow, assemble after] Saul [the Benjamite king] at Gilgal [the region conquered by Joshua, meaning a wheel, rolling]. word study 5 Now the Philistines [a non-Semitic, immigrant people] assembled [gathered together] to fight [to engage in battle, to make war] against Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, God’s chosen people] with three thousand [a large number, thirty thousand in some accounts] chariots [vehicles, teams of horses], six thousand horsemen [cavalry soldiers, riders], and troops [people, a multitude] as numerous [abundant, countless] as the sand [small, round particles] on the seashore [the beach, the edge of the sea]. They went up [ascended, rose] and camped [pitched their tents, set up their encampment] at Michmash [a hidden city, a place of concealment], east [in front, toward the rising sun] of Beth-aven [the house of vanity, a place of idolatry]. word study 6 Seeing that they were in danger [in a strait, troubled] because their troops [army, people] were hard-pressed [distressed, oppressed], the men [individuals, people] of Israel [Jacob’s descendants] hid [secreted, withdrew] in caves [dens, holes] and thickets [crevices, wilderness areas], among the rocks [craggy cliffs, strongholds], and in cellars [underground rooms, storage places] and cisterns [pits, water holders]. word study 7 Some Hebrews [descendants of Eber] even crossed [passed over, transitioned] the Jordan [a key location, the river] into the land [earth, territory] of Gad [the seventh son of Jacob] and Gilead [a mountainous region, rocky region]. Saul [Shaul, meaning desired], however, remained [was yet, still] at Gilgal [a region conquered by Joshua], and all [everything, the whole] his troops [people, nation] were quaking [trembling, shaking] in fear [anxiety, dread]. word study 8 And Saul waited [tarried, remained patiently] seven days for the time appointed [appointed meeting, set season] by Samuel [Shemuel, a judge and prophet], but Samuel did not come [arrive, appear] to Gilgal [a region in Palestine, a wheel or rolling], and the troops [people, army] began to desert [scatter, disperse] Saul. word study 9 So he [Saul, the king of Israel] said, “Bring me the burnt offering [a voluntary sacrifice, a step or stairs to the altar] and the peace offerings [a voluntary sacrifice to show thanks, an expression of gratitude].” And he offered up the burnt offering [to ascend, to go up to God]. word study 10 Just as he finished offering the burnt offering [a sacrifice to atone for sin], Samuel [Shemuel, a prophet of Israel] arrived, and Saul [Shaul, the desired one] went out to greet [meet, encounter] him [to bless, honor, or salute]. word study 11 “What [in the world, why] have you done?” Samuel [Shemuel, the prophet] asked. And Saul [Shaul, the king] replied, “When I saw [perceived, realized] that the troops [people, army] were deserting [scattering, leaving] me, and that you did not come [appear, arrive] at the appointed [fixed, designated] time [season, moment] and the Philistines [enemies, foes] were gathering [assembling, uniting] at Michmash [the hidden place, a city in Israel], word study 12 I thought [to myself, in my heart], ‘Now [at this time, currently] the Philistines [a non-Israelite people, immigrants from other places] will descend [go down, come down upon] upon me at Gilgal [a region in Palestine, a wheel, rolling], and I have not [yet, up to this point] sought [entreated, begged, made supplication for] the favor [help, blessing, appeasement] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God].’ So I felt compelled [forced myself, out of necessity] to offer [cause to ascend, present] the burnt offering [a step, stairs, to the altar for a burnt offering].” word study 13 “You have acted [done, been] foolishly [in a foolish manner, without wisdom],” Samuel [Shemuel, a prophet and judge] declared. “You have not kept [obeyed, protected] the command [divine instruction] that the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] your God [Elohim, the one true God] gave you; if you had [been obedient, followed], the LORD [Yehovah] would have established [set up, confirmed] your kingdom [dominion, reign] over Israel [the people of God, the chosen nation] for all time [forever, perpetually]. word study 14 But now [at this time, in this moment] your kingdom [royal authority, dominion] will not endure [stand, continue]; the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] has sought [searched for, looked for] a man [a person, an individual] after His own heart [with a heart like His, having God’s nature] and appointed [commanded, ordained] him ruler [leader, commander] over His people [His nation, those belonging to Him], because you have not kept [obeyed, guarded] the command [instruction, decree] of the LORD [Yehovah, the one who gives commands].” word study 15 Then Samuel [Shemuel, a judge and prophet] set out from Gilgal [a region in Palestine, meaning ‘a wheel, rolling’] and went up [to ascend, rise] to Gibeah [a city in Benjamin, the birthplace of King Saul] in Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel]. And Saul [Shaul, meaning desired] numbered [to reckon, visit, or oversee] the troops [people, or men of war] who were with him [together, in his presence], about six [the number of imperfection or incompleteness] hundred men [individuals, or persons]. word study 16 Now Saul [the desired one, Shaul] and Jonathan [Jehovah has given, a gift from God] his son [a descendant, a child] and the troops [people, a nation] with them [together, in accompaniment] were staying [dwelling, abiding] in Geba [a city, a place of settlement] of Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel], while the Philistines [a non-Israelite people, immigrants from other regions] camped [pitched their tents, set up their military base] at Michmash [a hidden place, a city of strategic importance]. word study 17 And raiders [spoilers, destroyers] went out of the Philistine [from the region of Philistia] camp [army] in three [a quantity of] divisions [companies, groups]. One [a single unit] headed [turned] toward [to] Ophrah [a place in the land of Israel] in the land [earth, territory] of Shual [a region in Israel], word study 18 another toward [the house of hollowness, Beth-horon] Beth-horon, and the third down the border [boundary] road overlooking [gazing down] the [deep, narrow] Valley of [speckled, Zeboim] Zeboim facing [toward, in the direction of] the [desert, wilderness, open field] wilderness. word study 19 And no [skilled, expert] blacksmith [artificer, craftsman] could be found [discovered, located] in all [the entirety of] the land [territory, region] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob], because [for the reason that] the Philistines [the inhabitants of Philistia] had said [declared, commanded], “The Hebrews [the people of Israel] must not [lest, under no circumstances] be allowed [permitted, enabled] to make [create, fashion] swords [cutting instruments, knives] or [as an alternative] spears [thrusting weapons, lances].” word study 20 Instead, all [every single one] the Israelites [descendants of Jacob] would go down [to a lower place, descend] to the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia] to sharpen [make sharper, hone] their plowshares [farming tools, shares], mattocks [picks], axes [chopping tools], and sickles [harvesting tools, hooks]. word study 21 The charge was a pim [a small unit of currency, about one eighth of an ounce] for sharpening a plowshare [a farming tool used to break up soil] or mattock [a pick-axe like tool], a third of a shekel [a standard unit of weight and currency] for sharpening a pitchfork [a tool with multiple prongs, or fork] or an axe [a tool used for chopping, or to sharpen the edge], and a third of a shekel for repointing [to sharpen or restore the point of] an oxgoad [a sharp stick used to guide animals, or cattle prod]. word study 22 So on the day [of great conflict, battle] of battle [war, fight] not a sword [cutting instrument, weapon] or spear [thrusting lance] could be found [discovered, attained] in the hands [power, direction] of the troops [people, nation] with Saul [desired, asked for] and Jonathan [Jehovah has given]; only Saul and his son [descendant, offspring] Jonathan had [possessed, held] weapons [instruments of war, arms]. word study 23 And a [military outpost] garrison of the Philistines [immigrants from other places, people of Philistia] had gone out [come forth, emerged] to the [narrow, crossing] pass [ford, mountain passage] at Michmash [a hidden city, Mikmash]. word study