Daily Text and Bible Reading: Saturday, April 5 [Press play below]

28.1 In those days the Philistines assembled their armies for war against Israel. So Achish said to David: “You know, of course, that you and your men will go out into battle with me.”
28.2 At that David said to Achish: “You surely know what your servant will do.” Achish said to David: “That is why I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”
28.3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned him and had buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the spirit mediums and the fortune-tellers from the land.
28.4 The Philistines assembled and went and set up camp in Shunem. So Saul assembled all Israel, and they set up camp in Gilboa.
28.5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
28.6 Although Saul would inquire of Jehovah, Jehovah never answered him, either in dreams or by the Urim or through the prophets.
28.7 Finally Saul said to his servants: “Find me a woman who is a spirit medium, and I will go and consult her.” His servants replied: “Look! There is a woman who is a spirit medium in En-dor.”
28.8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went to the woman by night with two of his men. He said: “Use divination, please, by acting as a spirit medium, and bring up for me the one whom I designate to you.”
28.9 However, the woman said to him: “You must know what Saul did, how he removed the spirit mediums and the fortune-tellers from the land. Why, then, are you trying to trap me to have me put to death?”
28.10 Saul then swore to her by Jehovah, saying: “As surely as Jehovah is alive, you will not incur any guilt in this matter!”
28.11 At this the woman said: “Whom should I bring up for you?” He replied: “Bring up Samuel for me.”
28.12 When the woman saw “Samuel,” she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul: “Why did you trick me? You are Saul!”
28.13 The king said to her: “Do not be afraid, but what do you see?” The woman replied to Saul: “I see one like a god coming up out of the earth.”
28.14 At once he asked her: “What does he look like?” to which she said: “It is an old man coming up, and he is clothed in a sleeveless coat.” At that Saul realized that it was “Samuel,” and he bowed low with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
28.15 Then “Samuel” said to Saul: “Why have you disturbed me by having me brought up?” Saul replied: “I am in great trouble. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through the prophets or in dreams; so that is why I am calling on you to let me know what I should do.”
28.16 And “Samuel” said: “Why do you inquire of me now that Jehovah has departed from you and has become your adversary?
28.17 Jehovah will do for himself what he foretold through me: Jehovah will rip the kingdom out of your hands and give it to one of your fellow men, David.
28.18 Because you did not obey the voice of Jehovah and you did not execute his burning anger against the Amalekites, that is why Jehovah is doing this to you this day.
28.19 Jehovah will also give both Israel and you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Jehovah will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
28.20 At once Saul fell full length on the ground and became very much afraid because of “Samuel’s” words. And there was no strength left in him, because he had not eaten food all day and all night.
28.21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he had been greatly disturbed, she said to him: “Here your servant has obeyed what you said, and I risked my life and did what you told me to do.
28.22 Now, please, listen to what your servant has to say. Let me set before you a piece of bread; then eat so that you will have some strength to go on your way.”
28.23 But he refused and said: “I am not going to eat.” However, his servants and also the woman kept urging him. Finally he listened to them and got up from the ground and sat on the bed.
28.24 The woman had a fattened calf in the house, so she quickly slaughtered it and took flour and kneaded dough and baked it into unleavened bread.
28.25 She served them to Saul and his servants, and they ate. After that they rose up and left during the night.

29.1 The Philistines assembled all their armies at Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring in Jezreel.
29.2 And the lords of the Philistines were passing by with their hundreds and their thousands, and David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.
29.3 But the princes of the Philistines said: “Why are these Hebrews here?” Achish replied to the princes of the Philistines: “This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for a year or more. I have not found any fault in him from the day he deserted to me until today.”
29.4 But the princes of the Philistines became indignant at him, and they said to him: “Make the man go back. Let him return to the place where you assigned him. Do not let him go down with us into the battle, so that he will not turn against us during the battle. For what better way to put himself in favor with his lord than with the heads of our men?
29.5 Is this not the David about whom they sang when they danced, saying: ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, And David his tens of thousands’?”
29.6 So Achish summoned David and said to him: “As surely as Jehovah is living, you are upright, and I am pleased to have you go on the campaign with my army, for I have not found any fault with you from the day you came to me until today. But the lords do not trust you.
29.7 So return in peace, and do not do anything to displease the lords of the Philistines.”
29.8 However, David said to Achish: “Why, what have I done? What fault have you found in your servant from the day that I came to you until today? Why should I not come with you and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
29.9 Achish answered David: “From my standpoint, you have been as good as an angel of God. But the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘Do not let him go up with us into the battle.’
29.10 Now get up early in the morning with the servants of your lord who came with you; rise up and leave early in the morning as soon as it is light.”
29.11 So David and his men rose up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

30.1 When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the south and on Ziklag, and they had attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire.
30.2 They had taken captive the women and all who were in it, from the smallest to the greatest. They had not killed anyone, but they had carried them off and gone on their way.
30.3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been carried off captive.
30.4 So David and the men with him began weeping loudly until they had no strength left to weep.
30.5 David’s two wives had also been carried off captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
30.6 David was very distressed, because the men were talking of stoning him, for all the men had become very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself by Jehovah his God.
30.7 David then said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech: “Please bring the ephod here.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
30.8 David inquired of Jehovah: “Should I chase after this marauder band? Will I overtake them?” At this He said to him: “Go in pursuit, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will make the rescue.”
30.9 David immediately set out with the 600 men who were with him, and they went on as far as the Wadi Besor, where some of the men stayed behind.
30.10 David kept up the chase with 400 men, but the 200 men who were too tired to cross the Wadi Besor stayed behind.
30.11 They found an Egyptian man in the field and took him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink,
30.12 as well as a slice of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. After he ate, he regained his strength, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
30.13 David now asked him: “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” to which he said: “I am an Egyptian attendant, a slave of an Amalekite man, but my master left me because I got sick three days ago.
30.14 We made a raid on the south of the Cherethites and on the territory of Judah and on the south of Caleb, and Ziklag we burned with fire.”
30.15 At this David said to him: “Will you lead me down to this marauder band?” He replied: “If you swear to me by God that you will not put me to death and that you will not hand me over to my master, I will lead you down to this marauder band.”
30.16 So he led him down to where they were spread out all over the land, eating and drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
30.17 Then David struck them down from the morning darkness until the following evening; not a man escaped except 400 men who fled on camels.
30.18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.
30.19 Nothing of theirs was missing, from the smallest to the greatest. They recovered their sons and daughters and the spoil; David recovered everything that they had taken.
30.20 So David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before their own livestock. They said: “This is David’s spoil.”
30.21 Then David came to the 200 men who had been too tired to go along with David and who had stayed behind by the Wadi Besor, and they came out to meet David and the people with him. When David came near to the men, he asked them how they were.
30.22 However, every bad and worthless man among those who had gone with David said: “Since they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we recovered except that each one may take his wife and his sons and go away.”
30.23 But David said: “You must not do this, my brothers, with what Jehovah has given us. He protected us and gave into our hand the marauder band that came against us.
30.24 Who would agree with you on this? The share of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the share of the one who sat by the baggage. All will have a share together.”
30.25 And from that day forward, he kept it set as a regulation and a rule for Israel down to this day.
30.26 When David returned to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying: “Here is a gift for you from the spoil of Jehovah’s enemies.”
30.27 He sent it to those who were in Bethel, to those in Ramoth of the Negeb, to those in Jattir,
30.28 to those in Aroer, to those in Siphmoth, to those in Eshtemoa,
30.29 to those in Racal, to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those in the cities of the Kenites,
30.30 to those in Hormah, to those in Borashan, to those in Athach,
30.31 to those in Hebron, and to all the places that David and his men had frequented.