Or who among you ¹  has become engaged to a woman but has not married her? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else marry her.”

Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days!

Achish replied to David, “I am convinced that you are as reliable ¹  as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us in the battle.’

They received divine help in fighting them, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them. They cried out to God during the battle; he responded to their prayers because they trusted in him. ¹ 

So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. ¹  Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease ²  and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle, they are coming against you, fair Babylon! ¹ 

The roar of battle will rise against your people; all your fortresses will be devastated, just as Shalman devastated ¹  Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said ¹  to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become ²  our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? ³ 

The Israelite army ¹  took heart ²  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. ¹  But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. ² 

On that day ¹  a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head.

When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, then attack. ¹  For at that moment the Lord is going before you to strike down the army ²  of the Philistines.”

By David. The Lord, my protector, ²  deserves praise ³  – the one who trains my hands for battle, ⁴  and my fingers for war,

“Babylon, ¹  you are my war club, ²  my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. ³  I used you to destroy kingdoms.

Moses said to them: “If the Gadites and the Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, each one equipped for battle in the Lord’s presence, and you conquer the land, ¹  then you must allot them the territory of Gilead as their possession.

“Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them,

David inquired, “How were things going? ¹  Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them ²  fell dead. ³  Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”

Next in command ¹  was Eleazar son of Dodo, ²  the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated, ³ 

The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day.

They hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his army, who came and camped in front of Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from their cities and marched out to do battle.