War with the Philistines

¹Saul was thirty years oldwhen he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.

²He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.

³Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

⁴And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousandchariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

⁶Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

⁷Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, remained at Gilgal, and all his troops were quaking in fear.

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

⁸And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul.

⁹So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.

¹⁰Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

¹¹“What have you done?” Samuel asked.And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,

¹²I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

¹³“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

¹⁴But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”

¹⁵Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin.And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.

Israel without Weapons

¹⁶Now Saul and Jonathan his son and the troops with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash.

¹⁷And raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three divisions. One headed toward Ophrah in the land of Shual,

¹⁸another toward Beth-horon, and the third down the border road overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the wilderness.

¹⁹And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”

²⁰Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.

²¹The charge was a pimfor sharpening a plowshare or mattock, a third of a shekel for sharpening a pitchfork or an axe, and a third of a shekel for repointing an oxgoad.

²²So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

²³And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.

Mordecai Is Honored

¹That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles,to be brought in and read to him.

²And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthanaand Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.

³The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?”“Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.

⁴“Who is in the court?” the king asked.Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

⁵So the king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”“Bring him in,” ordered the king.

⁶Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?”Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?”

⁷And Haman told the king, “For the man whom the king is delighted to honor,

⁸have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.

⁹Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them array the man the king wants to honor and parade him on the horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!’”

¹⁰“Hurry,” said the king to Haman, “and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested.”

¹¹So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!”

¹²Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.

¹³Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.”

¹⁴While they were still speaking with Haman, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Esther Approaches the King

¹On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace across from the king’s quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom, facing the entrance.

²As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

³“What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.”

⁴“If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king.”

⁵“Hurry,” commanded the king, “and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested.”So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

⁶And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”

⁷Esther replied, “This is my petition and my request:

⁸If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

Haman’s Plot against Mordecai

⁹That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king’s gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

¹⁰Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,

¹¹Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.

¹²“What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.

¹³Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

¹⁴His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high,and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.”The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.

My Heart Is Stirred by a Noble Theme

¹My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verses to the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

²You are the most handsome of men;grace has anointed your lips;therefore God has blessed you forever.

³Strap your sword at your side, O mighty warrior;appear in your majesty and splendor.

⁴In your splendor ride forth in victoryon behalf of truth and humility and justice;may your right hand show your awesome deeds.

⁵Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes;the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.

⁷You have loved righteousnessand hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed youabove your companions with the oil of joy.

⁸All your garments are fragrantwith myrrh and aloes and cassia;from palaces of ivory the harps make you glad.

⁹The daughters of kings are among your honored women;the queen stands at your right hand,adorned with the gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear:Forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹and the king will desire your beauty;bow to him, for he is your lord.

¹²The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;men of wealth will seek your favor.

¹³All glorious is the princess in her chamber;her gown is embroidered with gold.

¹⁴In colorful garments she is led to the king;her virgin companions are brought before you.

¹⁵They are led in with joy and gladness;they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶Your sons will succeed your fathers;you will make them princes throughout the land.

¹⁷I will commemorate your name through all generations;therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever.