1 Samuel 19 records Saul's repeated attempts to kill David and the surprising ways David is spared. Jonathan intercedes, Michal helps him escape through a window, and Saul's own messengers are overtaken by God's Spirit at Ramah.

After David returns from killing Goliath, Jonathan makes a covenant with him, but Saul becomes jealous when women credit David with ten thousands. Saul tries to kill David and uses his daughters as traps, yet David prospers because Yahweh is with him.

1 Samuel 17 recounts the Philistine champion Goliath defying Israel for forty days and the young shepherd David answering the challenge in the name of Yahweh. David kills Goliath with a sling and a stone, Israel routs the Philistines, and the chapter closes with Saul inquiring whose son David is.

God sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse's sons as the next king, and David, the overlooked youngest, is chosen and receives the Spirit. Meanwhile, Saul is troubled by an evil spirit, and David is brought to court to play the harp and bring relief.

God commands Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, but Saul spares King Agag and the best animals. When confronted by Samuel, Saul blames the people, and God rejects him as king because he disobeyed.

1 Samuel 14 recounts Jonathan's daring attack on the Philistines, Saul's foolish oath that endangers Jonathan, and God's deliverance of Israel. It contrasts Jonathan's faith with Saul's impulsive leadership.

1 Samuel 13 recounts Saul's unlawful sacrifice at Gilgal and Samuel's pronouncement that his kingdom will not continue. It also describes Israel's desperate military situation under Philistine oppression.

In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel gives a farewell address, proving his integrity and recounting God's faithful deliverance. He warns Israel that their demand for a king was evil, yet calls them to serve Yahweh and promises to pray for them.

1 Samuel 11 recounts how Nahash the Ammonite threatened Jabesh Gilead with a humiliating treaty, and Saul, empowered by God's Spirit, rallied Israel to rescue them. The victory leads to Saul's public affirmation as king at Gilgal.

1 Samuel 10 recounts Samuel anointing Saul as prince over Israel, giving him three confirming signs, including prophesying with a band of prophets. Later, Samuel gathers Israel at Mizpah, where Saul is chosen by lot and publicly acclaimed as king, though some worthless fellows reject him.

Saul, a tall Benjamite, is sent by his father to find lost donkeys and instead encounters the prophet Samuel. Samuel anoints Saul as prince over Israel, revealing God's hidden guidance in ordinary circumstances.

Israel's elders ask Samuel to appoint a king to judge them like other nations. God tells Samuel to warn the people of the king's ways, but they refuse to listen and demand a king anyway.

The chapter recounts Israel's twenty-year lament over the ark, Samuel's call to repentance, and the removal of foreign gods. When the Philistines attack, God thunders and routs them, leading to Israel's victory and a memorial stone called Ebenezer.

After seven months of plagues, the Philistines send the ark back to Israel with a trespass offering of golden tumors and mice. The cows pull the cart straight to Beth Shemesh, where some men are struck down for looking into the ark, and the ark is then sent to Kiriath Jearim.

1 Samuel 5 recounts how the Philistines brought the captured ark of God to Ashdod and set it in Dagon's temple, only for Dagon to fall and be mutilated before it. God's hand then struck Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron with tumors and panic, so the Philistines decided to send the ark back to its own place.

Israel goes to battle against the Philistines and is defeated. The elders bring the ark from Shiloh, but Israel is routed again, the ark is captured, Hophni and Phinehas are killed, Eli dies, and Phinehas's wife names her son Ichabod.

In 1 Samuel 3, God calls the boy Samuel at night in the temple, and after Eli's guidance, Samuel responds. God reveals judgment on Eli's house, and Samuel grows as a recognized prophet.

1 Samuel 2 records Hannah's prayer exalting Yahweh, Samuel's childhood service, and the corruption of Eli's sons. It ends with a prophecy of judgment on Eli's house and the promise of a faithful priest.

This chapter tells how Hannah, one of Elkanah's two wives, suffered childlessness and provocation, then prayed a vow at Shiloh and received a son, Samuel. She dedicates the boy to Yahweh, and the chapter closes with worship at the house of God.

Ruth 4 tells how Boaz publicly redeems the land and marries Ruth after the nearer kinsman declines, and how Ruth bears Obed, the grandfather of David. The chapter closes with a genealogy from Perez to David, showing God's hand in preserving the family line.