and they asked of the LORD, saying: 'Shall I again draw nigh to battle ihe base fdlows that are in Gibeah, against the children of Benjamin my that we mayjput them to death, and brother?' And the LORD said: 'Go put away evil from Israel.' But the up against him.'
children of Benjamin would not heark- ^And the children of Israel came en to the voice of their brethren the near against the children of Benjamin shildren of Israel, 14And the children the second day. ^And Benjamin went 3f Benjamin gathered themselves toforth against them aut of Gibeah the gether out of their cities unto Gibeah, second day, and destroyed down to ;o go out to battle against the chilthe ground of the children of Israel dren of Israel. "And the children of again eighteen thousand men; all these Benjamin numbered on that day out drew the sword. 26Then all the chil- Df the cities twenty and six thousand dren of Israel, and all the people, went oaen that drew sw.ord, besides the up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, nhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered and sat there before the LORD, and seven hundred chosen men. 16AU this fasted that day until even; and they people, even seven hundred chosen offered burnt-offerings and peaceoaen, were left-handed; every one could offerings before the LORD. 27And the sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not children of Israel asked of the LORD miss.
— for the ark of the covenant of God 17And the men of Israel, beside was there in those days, 28and Phin- Benjamin, Cumbered four hundred ehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of thousand men that drew sword; all Aaron, stood before it in those days — ihese were men of war. 18And the saying: 'Shall I yet again go out to children of Israel arose, and went up battle against the children of Benbo Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; jamin my brother, or shall. I cease?'
and they said: 'Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children And the LORD said: 'Go up; for to- morrow I will deliver him into thy of Benjamin?' And the LORD said: hand.' 29And Israel set liers-in-wait 'Judah first.' 19And the children of against Gibeah round about.
• Heb. Geba.
JUDGES 30And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. ^And the children of Benja- min went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the field, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the children of Benjamin said: 'They are smitten down before us, as at the first/ But the children of Israel said: 'Let us flee, and draw them away from the city unto the highways.' ^And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal- tamar; and the liers-in-wait of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. MAnd there came over against Gibeah ten thou- sand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them. 3BAnd the LORD smote Benjamin 'be- fore Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men; all these drew the sword.
36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten. And the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted unto the liers- in-wait whom they had t set against Gibeah. — 37And the liers-in-wait has- tened, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew forth, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. 38Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait, that they should make a great beac9n of smoke r,ise up out of the city.— ^And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said: 'Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.' 40But when the beacon began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven. ^And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were amazed; for they saw that evil was come upon them. ^Therefore they turned then- backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the city destroyed them in the midst of the men of Israel. ^They inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and overtook them at their resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. '"And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thou- sand men; all these were men of valour. 4BAnd they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmpn; and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and followed hard after them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men. 46So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour. 47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months. 48And the men of Israel turned back upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found; moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.
JUDGES 0 1 Now the men of Israel had sworn ^^ in Mizpah, saying: 'There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife/ 2And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till ^ even before God, and lifted up taeir voices, and wept sore. 3And they said: '0 LORD, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?' 4And.it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt-offerings and Eeace-offerings. 5And the children of srael^said: 'Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto the LORD?' For they had made a great oath con- cerning him that came not up unto the LORD to Mizpah, saying: 'He shall surely be put to death.' 6And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said: 'There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?' 8And they said: 'What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up unto the LORD to Miz- pah?' And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 9For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh- gilead there. 10And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the vahantest, and commanded them, saying: * Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. uAnd this is the thing that ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.' ^And they 'found among the inhabitants of Jabesh- gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13And the whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Ben- jamin that were in the rock of Rim- mon, and proclaimed peace unto them. 34And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; and yet so they sufficed them not. 15And the ^ people repented them for Ben- jamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16Then the elders of the congrega- tion said: 'How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the wom- en are destroyed out of Benjamin?' 17And they said: "They that are escaped must be as an inheritance for Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel. 18Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters.' For the children of Israel had sworn, saying: 'Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.' 19And they said: ' Behold, there is the feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.' 20And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying: 'Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; aand see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in tite dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man, his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ^And it shall be, when their fathers or $eir brethren come to strive with us. that JUDGES JUDGES we will say unto them: Grant them graciously unto us; because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle; neither did ye give them unto them, that ye should now be guilty/ ^And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off; and they went and returned unto then* inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them. 24And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his in- heritance. 25In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
FIRST SAMUEL 1 Now there was a certain man of x Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill- country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2And he had two wives: the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there priests unto the LORD. 4And it came to pass upon a day, when Elkanah sacrificed, that he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions; 5but unto Hannah he gave a double por- tion; for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6And her rival vexed her sore, to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb, 7And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she vexed her; therefore she wept, and would not eat. 8And Elkanah her husband said unto her: 'Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?' 9So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk — now Eli the priest sat upon his seat by the door- post of the temple of the LORD; 10and she was in bitterness of soul— and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 11 And she vowed a vow, and said: '0 LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thy handmaid, but wilt give unto Thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.7 ^And it came to pass, as she prayed long before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. ^Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard; therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14And Eli said unto her: 'How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee/ 15And Hannah an- swered and said: 'No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the LORD. 16Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman: 'for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation have I spoken hitherto ' 17Then Eli answered and said: 'Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou hast asked of Him.' 18And she said: 'Let thy servant find favour in thy sight.' So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 19And they rose up in the morn- ing early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah; and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD re- FIRST SAMUEL rnembered her. 20And it came to pass, when the time was come about, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she called his name Samuel: 'because I have asked him of the LORD/ 21And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. ^But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband: 'Until the child be weaned, when I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.' ^An Elkanah her husband said unto her 'Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish His word.' So the woman tarried and gave her son suck, until she weaned him. ^A when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh; #nd the child was young. 26And when the bullock was slam, the child was brought to Eli. 26And she said: 'Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. 27For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath granted me my petition which I asked of Him; therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he is lent to the LORD.' And he wor- shipped the LORD there. O And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in the LORD, My horn is exalted in the LORD; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in Thy salvation.
2There is none holy as the LORD;, For there is none beside Thee; Neither is there any rock like our God.
3Multiply not exceeding proud talk; Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowl- edge, And by Him actions are weighed.
4The bows of the mighty men are broken, And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; And they that were hungry have While the barren hath borne seven, She that had many children hath languished.
6The LORD killeth, and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
7The LORD maketh poor, and mak- eth rich; He bringeth low, He also lifteth up. 8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dung-hill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He hath set the world upon them.
*He will keep the feet of His holy ones, But the ^ wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For not by strength shall man prevail. 10They that strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces; Against them will He thunder in heaven; FIRST SAMUEL The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength unto His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.
uAnd Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.
^Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not the LORD. 13And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man of- fered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand; 14and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did unto all the Israelites that came thither in Shiloh. 15Yea, before the fat was made to smoke, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacri- ficed: 'Give flesh to roast for the Eriest; for he will not have sodden esh of thee, but raw/ 16And if the man said unto him: 'Let the fat be made to smoke first of all, and then take as much as thy soul desireth'; then he would say: 'Nay, but thou shalt give it me now; and if not, I will take it by force/ 17And the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD; for the men dealt contemp- tuously with the offering of the LORD.
18But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. "Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say: 'The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which was lent to the LORD.' And they would go unto their own home. 21So the LORD remembered Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
^Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting. ^And he said unto them: 'Why do ye such things? for I hear evil reports con- cerning you from all this people. ^Nay, my sons; for it is no good report which I hear the LORD'S people do spread abroad. 25If one man sin against another; God shall judge him; but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him?' But they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. ^And the child Samuel grew on, and increased in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.
27And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him: 'Thus s&ith the LORD: Did I reveal Myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? 28And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up unto Mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29Wherefore kick ye at My sacrifice and at Mine offering, which I have commanded in My habitation; and honourest thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the chief est of all the offerings of Israel My people? ^Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, saith: I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever; but now the LORD saith: Beit far from Me; FIRST SAMUEL FIRST SAMUEL for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 31Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. ^And thou shalt behold a rival in My habitation, in all the good which shall be done to Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. ^Yet will I not cut off every man of thine from Mine altar, to make thine eyes to fail, and thy heart to languish; and all the in- crease of thy house shall die young men. ^And this shall be the sign unto thee, that which shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phine- has: in one day they shall die both of them. 35And I wfll raise Me up a faithful priest, that shall do accord- ing to that which is in My heart and in My mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine anointed for ever. 36And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, ^and shall say: Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a mor- sel of bread/ O And the child Samuel ministered ^ unto the LOBD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down hi his place-^now his eyes had begun to wax dim, that he could not see — 3and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down to sleep in the temple of the LORD, where the vark of God was, Hhat the LORD called Samuel; and he said: 'Here am I.7 6And he ran unto Eli, and said: 'Here am I; for thou didst call me/ And he said: 'I called not; lie down again/ And he went and lay down. 6And the LORD called yet again Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said: 'Here am I; for thou didst call me/ And he answered: 'I called not, my son; He down again/ 7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said: 'Here am I; for thou didst call me/ And Eh perceived that the LORD was calling the child, there- fore Eli said unto Samuel: 'Go, lie down; and it shall be, if thou be called, that thou shalt say; Speak, LORD; for Thy servant heareth/ So Sam- uel went and lay down in his place. 10And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times: 'Samuel, Samuel/ Then Samuel said: 'Speak; for Thy servant heareth/ uAnd tke LORD said to Samuel: 'Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. ^In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken con- cerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end. 13For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity, in that he knew that his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he rebuked them not. 14And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering for ever/ 15And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to tell Eli the vision. 16Then Eli called Samuel, and said: 'Sam- uel, my son/ And he said: 'Here am I/ 7And he said: ' What is the thing that He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, FIRST SAMUEL hide it not from me; God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that He spoke unto thee/ 18And Samuel told hJTn all the words, and hid noth- ing from him. And he said: 'It is the LOED; let Him do what seemeth Him good/ 19And Samuel grew, and the LOED was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 21And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh; for the^ LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the A LORD. *And the word of Samuel *• came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched be- side Eben-ezer; and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 2And the Philis- tines put themselves in array against Israel; and when the battle was spread, Israel was smitten before the Philis- tines; and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 3And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said: 'Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that He may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies.' 4So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who sitteth upon the cherubim; and the two sons of EH, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the cov- enant of God. 5And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang. 6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said: 'What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?' And they knew that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. 7And the Philistines were afraid, for they said: 'God is come into the camp/ And they said: 'Woe unto us! for there was not such a thing yesterday and the day before. 8Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues and in the wil- derness. 9Be strong, and quit your- selves Eke men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you; quit your- selves like men, and fight/ 10And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent; and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. uAnd the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.