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¹ Saul now had ben king one yere (& he raigned two yeres ouer Israel.)² And Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul in Michmas and in mount Bethel, and a thousand with Ionathan in Gibea Beniamin: and the rest of the people he sent euery man to his tent.³ And Ionathan smote the garison of the Philistines that was in the hill, and it came to the Philistines eares: And Saul blewe ye trumpet throughout al the land, saying: Let the Hebrues heare.⁴ And all Israel hearde say howe that Saul had destroyed a garison of ye Philistines: wherfore Israel was had in abomination with ye Pilistines. And the people gathered together after Saul to Gilgal.⁵ The Philistines also gathered them selues together to fyght with Israel, thirtie thousand charettes, & sixe thousand horsemen, with other people lyke the sand by the seas side in multitude, & came vp, and pitched in Michmas, eastwarde from Bethauen.⁶ And when the men of Israel sawe it, they were in a strayte (and the people were in a distresse) & the people hyd the selues in caues, and in holdes, and in rockes, and iin hye places, and in pittes.⁷ And some of the Hebrues went ouer Iordane to go vnto the land of Gad and Gilead: And Saul was yet in Gilgal, and all the people being afrayde, folowed him.

⁸ And he taried seuen dayes, euen vnto the time that Samuel had appoynted: But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were therfore skattered from him.⁹ And Saul sayde: Bring a burnt sacrifice to me, and peace offeringes. And he offered a burnt sacrifice.¹⁰ And assoone as he had made an ende of offering the burnt sacrifice, beholde Samuel came, and Saul went against him, to salute him.¹¹ And Samuel sayde: What hast thou done? Saul sayde: Because I sawe that the people skattered from me, and that thou camest not within the dayes appointed, and that the Philistines gathered them selues together to Michmas:¹² Therfore sayde I, The Philistines shal come downe nowe vpon me to Gilgal, and I haue not made supplication vnto the Lord: I was bolde therfore, & offred a burnt offring.¹³ And Samuel sayd to Saul: Thou art become a foole, thou hast not kept the commaundemet of the Lord thy God which he commauded thee: For at this time woulde the Lorde haue stablished thy kingdome vpon Israel for euer.¹⁴ But nowe, thy kingdome shal not continue: The Lorde hath sought him a man after his owne heart, and the Lord hath commaunded him to be captayne ouer his people, because thou hast not kept that whiche the Lorde commaunded thee.

¹⁵ And Samuel arose, & gate him vp from Gilgal in Gibea of Beniamin, and Saul numbred the people that were found with him, and they were about a sixe hundred men.¹⁶ And Saul and Ionathan his sonne, & the people that were found with them, had their abiding in Gibea of Beniamin: but ye Philistines pitched in Michmas.¹⁷ And there came out of the hoast of the Philistines three copanies to destroye: one companie turned vnto the way that leadeth to Ophra vnto ye lande of Sual:¹⁸ And another companie turned the way to Bethoron: And the thirde companie turned to the way of the coast that is seene aboue ye valley of Zeboim toward the wildernesse.¹⁹ There was no smith founde throughout all the lande of Israel: For the Philistines sayde, Lest the Hebrues make them swordes or speares.²⁰ But all the Israelites went downe to the Philistines, to mende euery man his share, his mattocke, his axe, & weeding hooke.²¹ Yet they had a file for the shares, for the mattockes, for the pickforkes, and for the axes, and for to sharpen to goades.²² And so in time of battel there was neither sword nor speare found in the handes of any of the people that were with Saul and Ionathan: But with Saul & Ionathan his sonne was there found.²³ And the garison of the Philistines came out, to go ouer vnto Michmas.