8. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and his troops began to desert.
9. So Saul ordered, "Bring me the entirely burned offering and the well-being sacrifices." Then he offered the entirely burned offering.
10. The very moment Saul finished offering up the entirely burned offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him.
11. But Samuel said, "What have you done?""I saw that my troops were deserting," Saul replied. "You hadn’t arrived by the appointed time, and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash.
12. I thought, The Philistines are about to march against me at Gilgal and I haven’t yet sought the Lord’s favor. So I took control of myself and offered the entirely burned offering."
13. "How stupid of you to have broken the commands the Lord your God gave you!" Samuel told Saul. "The Lord would have established your rule over Israel forever,
14. but now your rule won’t last. The Lord will search for a man following the Lord’s own heart, and the Lord will commission him as leader over God’s people, because you didn’t keep the Lord’s command."
15. Samuel got up and went on his way from Gilgal, but the rest of the people followed Saul to join the army, and they went from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted about six hundred men still with him.
16. Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were with him were staying at Geba in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash.
17. Three raiding parties left the Philistine camp. One took the road to Ophrah toward the territory of Shual.
18. Another took the road to Beth-horon, and the last took the border road that overlooks the Zeboim Valley toward the desert.
19. No metalworker was to be found anywhere in Israelite territory because the Philistines had said, "The Hebrews must not make swords and spears."
20. So every Israelite had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.
21. The cost was two-thirds of a shekel for plowshares and mattocks, but one-third of a shekel for sharpening axes and for setting goads.
22. So on the day of the battle, no swords or spears were to be found in the possession of any of the troops with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
23. Now a group of Philistine soldiers had marched out to the pass at Michmash.