He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.

Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors ¹  up from the land of Egypt.

So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel.

All Israel heard this message, ¹  “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive ²  to the Philistines!” So the people were summoned to join ³  Saul at Gilgal.

Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River ¹  to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified.

He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. ¹  But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. ² 

Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal ¹  to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ²  Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men.

Then fear overwhelmed ¹  those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. ² 

Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found ¹  the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. ² 

Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies’ provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”

Now it was reported to Saul, “Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood.” He said, “All of you have broken the covenant! ¹  Roll a large stone over here to me.”

Then Saul said, “All you leaders of the army come here. Find out ¹  how this sin occurred today.

For as surely as the Lord, the deliverer of Israel, lives, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan, he will certainly die!” But no one from the army said anything. ¹ 

So Saul assembled ¹  the army ²  and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

Saul said, “They were brought ¹  from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ¹  and what you said as well. ²  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ³ 

Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, ¹  but they ²  gave him the same answer as before.

So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. ¹ 

They cut off Saul’s ¹  head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines.

Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, it would have been morning before the people would have abandoned pursuit ¹  of their brothers!”