Help QuickNav Adv. Options
NLT

NLT

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
Copy Options
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

1 Samuel 13 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
Continued War with Philistia

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:1 - Saul was thirty[fn] years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years.[fn]

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:2 - Saul selected 3,000 special troops from the army of Israel and sent the rest of the men home. He took 2,000 of the chosen men with him to Micmash and the hill country of Bethel. The other 1,000 went with Saul’s son Jonathan to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:3 - Soon after this, Jonathan attacked and defeated the garrison of Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly among the Philistines. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Hebrews, hear this! Rise up in revolt!”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:4 - All Israel heard the news that Saul had destroyed the Philistine garrison at Geba and that the Philistines now hated the Israelites more than ever. So the entire Israelite army was summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
Saul’s Disobedience and Samuel’s Rebuke

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:5 - The Philistines mustered a mighty army of 3,000[fn] chariots, 6,000 charioteers, and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore! They camped at Micmash east of Beth-aven.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:6 - The men of Israel saw what a tight spot they were in; and because they were hard pressed by the enemy, they tried to hide in caves, thickets, rocks, holes, and cisterns.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:7 - Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:8 - Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:9 - So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:10 - Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him,

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:11 - but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:12 - So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the LORD’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:13 - “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. Had you kept it, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:14 - But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”
Israel’s Military Disadvantage

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:15 - Samuel then left Gilgal and went on his way, but the rest of the troops went with Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.[fn] When Saul counted the men who were still with him, he found only 600 were left!

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:16 - Saul and Jonathan and the troops with them were staying at Geba in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines set up their camp at Micmash.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:17 - Three raiding parties soon left the camp of the Philistines. One went north toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:18 - another went west to Beth-horon, and the third moved toward the border above the valley of Zeboim near the wilderness.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:19 - There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn’t allow them for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:20 - So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, picks, axes, or sickles,[fn] they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:21 - (The charges were as follows: a quarter of an ounce of silver[fn] for sharpening a plowshare or a pick, and an eighth of an ounce[fn] for sharpening an ax, a sickle, or an ox goad.)

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:22 - So on the day of the battle none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 13:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 13:23 - The pass at Micmash had meanwhile been secured by a contingent of the Philistine army.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
As in a few Greek manuscripts; the number is missing in the Hebrew.
Hebrew reigned . . . and two; the number is incomplete in the Hebrew. Compare Acts 13:21.
As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads 30,000.
As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Samuel then left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
As in Greek version; Hebrew reads or plowshares.
Hebrew 1 pim [8 grams].
Hebrew 1/3 of a shekel [4 grams].
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NLT
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NLT
Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

1 Samuel Chapter 13 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras