12. Then I thought, ‘The Philistines will come against me at Gilgal, and I haven’t asked for the Lord’s approval.’ So I forced myself to offer the whole burnt offering.”
13. Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed the command of the Lord your God. If you had obeyed him, the Lord would have made your kingdom continue in Israel always,
14. but now your kingdom will not continue. The Lord has looked for the kind of man he wants. He has appointed him to rule his people, because you haven’t obeyed his command.”
15. Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted the men who were still with him, and there were about six hundred.
16. Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers with him stayed in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines made their camp at Micmash.
17. Three groups went out from the Philistine camp to make raids. One group went on the Ophrah road in the land of Shual.
18. The second group went on the Beth Horon road. The third group went on the border road that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.
19. The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might make swords and spears.”
20. So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to have their plows, hoes, axes, and sickles sharpened.
21. The Philistine blacksmiths charged about one-fourth of an ounce of silver for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged one-eighth of an ounce of silver for sharpening picks, axes, and the sticks used to guide oxen.
22. So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
23. A group from the Philistine army had gone out to the pass at Micmash.