In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre.

There was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw anyone who was a warrior or a brave individual, he would conscript him.

Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon ¹  Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. ² 

Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. ¹  She followed David’s messengers and became his wife.

Now the battle was very severe that day; Abner and the men of Israel were overcome by David’s soldiers. ¹ 

However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.

David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected ¹  David wherever he campaigned. ² 

The army of Israel was defeated there by David’s men. ¹  The slaughter there was great that day – 20,000 soldiers were killed.

The battle there was spread out over the whole area, and the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day.

So the victory of that day was turned to mourning as far as all the people were concerned. For the people heard on that day, “The king is grieved over his son.”

Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers ¹  and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted.

Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha.

Next in command ¹  was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, ²  where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines.

As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. ¹  His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it. ² 

¹ Certainly you must have heard! ²  Long ago I worked it out, In ancient times I planned ³  it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. ⁴ 

There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, ¹  whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom. ² 

In a battle in Gath ¹  there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot – twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha.

There was a great celebration in Jerusalem, unlike anything that had occurred in Jerusalem since the time of King Solomon son of David of Israel. ¹ 

Now go, write it ¹  down on a tablet in their presence, ²  inscribe it on a scroll, so that it might be preserved for a future time as an enduring witness. ³ 

¹ Certainly you must have heard! ²  Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned ³  it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. ⁴