The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash ¹  to Gibeah. They ²  attacked ³  and put the sword to the entire city.

The Philistines arranged their forces to fight ¹  Israel. As the battle spread out, ²  Israel was defeated by ³  the Philistines, who ⁴  killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.

Too bad for us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert!

The Lord attacked ¹  the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of ²  both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores. ³ 

Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost ¹  that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted ²  all the land saying, “Let the Hebrews pay attention!”

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.

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

Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. ¹  For he has defied the armies of the living God!”

¹ David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. ² 

So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand.

Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ¹  and they ran away from him.

Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan ¹  in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced ²  that his father had decided to kill David.

As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep – all with the sword.

Afterward David’s conscience bothered him ¹  because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe.

When David would attack a district, ¹  he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish.

Isn’t this David, of whom they sang as they danced, ¹  ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands’?”

The Philistines stayed right on the heels ¹  of Saul and his sons. They ²  struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua.

After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. ¹  How then could I show ²  my face in the presence of Joab your brother?”