KAnd there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. ^And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon his seat by the wayside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out* 14And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said* 'What meaneth the noise of this tumult?' And the man made haste, and came and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see. 16And the man said unto Eli: 'I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army/ And he said: 'How went the matter, my son?' l7And he that brought FIRST SAMUEL the tidings answered and said: 'Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.' 18And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19And his daughter-in-law, Phine- has' wife, was with child, near to be delivered; and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed her- self and brought forth; for her pains came suddenly upon her. 20And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her: 'Fear not; for thou hast brought forth a son.' But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21And she named the child alchabod, saying: 'The glory is departed from Israel'; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22And she said: 'The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken ' K Now the Philistines had taken the ar.k of God, and they brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. 2And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the | » That is, There is no glory.
ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.
6But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: 'The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.' 8They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Phi- listines unto them, and said: 'What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?' And they answered: 'Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath.' And they earned the ark of the God of Israel about thither. 9And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great discomfiture; and He smote the men of the city, both small and great, and emerods broke out upon them. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying: 'They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.' uThey sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said: 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people'; for there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
FIRST SAMUEL 12And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven. £ And the ark of the LORD was in u the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: 'What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? declare unto us wherewith we shall send it to its place/ 3And they said: flf ye send away ^ the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return Him a guilt-offering; then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand is not re- moved from you/ 4Then said they: ' What shall be the guilt-offering which we shall return to Him?' And they sard: 'Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the num- ber of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords, therefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel; peradventure He will lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when He had wrought among them, did they not let the people go, and they de- parted? 7Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two •milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. 8And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye re- turn Him for a guilt-offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9And see, if it goeth up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then He hath done us this great evil- but if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us/ 10And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. "And they put the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. ^And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth- shemesh; they went along the high- way, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Phi- listines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh. "And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. "And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth- shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone; and they cleaved the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt-offering unto the LORD. 15And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth- shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 16And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a guilt-offering unto the LORD: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ash- kelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of FIRST SAMUEL country villages, even unto Abel by the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD, which stone re- maineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. 18And He smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had gazed upon the ark of the LORD, even He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thou- sand men; and the people amourned, because the LORD had smitten the people with a great slaughter. 20And the men of Beth-shemesh said: 'Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? and to whom shall it go up from us?' ^And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Eariath-jearim, saying: 'The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.' n And the men of Kiriath-jeanm 1 came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
2And it came to pass, from the day that the ark abode in Kiriath- jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years; and all the house 'of Israel yearned after the LORD. 3And Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel, saying: 'If ye do return unto the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts unto the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.' ^hen the children of Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.
5And Samuel said: 'Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.' 6And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, * From the Hebrew root abeL and fasted on that day, and said there: 'We have sinned against the LORD/ And Samuel judged the chil- dren of Israel in Mizpah.
7And when tne Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8And the children of Israel said to Samuel: 'Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that He save us out of the hand of the Philistines.' 9And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering unto the LORD; and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD an- swered him. 10And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten down before Israel. nAnd the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came un- der Beth-car. 12Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it bEben- ezer, saying: ' Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.' 13So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more with- in the border of Israel; and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the border thereof did Israel^ deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16And he went from year to year in circuit b That is, The stone of help.
FIRST SAMUEL to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places. 17And his return was to Ramah, for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar unto the LORD. Q And it came to pass, when Samuel *•* was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.
^Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah. 5And they said unto him: 'Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the nations/ 6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said: 'Give us a king to judge us.' And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. 7And the LORD said unto Samuel: 'Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be king over them. 8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee/. 9Now therefore hearken unto their voice; howbeit thou shalt earnestly forewarn them, and shalt declare unto them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.'
10And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. uAnd he said: 'This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and cap- tains of fifties; and to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the in- struments of his chariots. wAnd he will take your daughters to be per- fumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive- yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants, 15And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your flocks; and ye shall be his servants. 18And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not answer you in that day.7 19But the people refused to hearken unto the voice of Samuel; and they said: 'Nay; but there shall be a king over us; 20that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.' 21And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them in the ears of the LORD. ^And the LORD said to Samuel: 'Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.' And Samuel said unto the men of Israel: 'Go ye every man unto his city/ Q Now there was a man of Ben- ^ jamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valour. 2And he had a son, whose name was Saul, young and goodly, FIRST SAMUEL and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. 3Now the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son: 'Take now one of the serv- ants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.7 4And he passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shafishah, but they found them not; then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not; and he passed through the land of the Ben- jamites, but they found them not. 5When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him: 'Come and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and become anxious con- cerning us/ 6And he said unto him: 'Behold now, there •is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honour; all that he saith com- eth surely to pass; now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.7 7Then said Saul to his servant: 'But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a pres- ent to bring to the man of God; what have we?; 8And the^ servant answered Saul again, and said: 'Be- hold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver, that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.7 — ^eforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said: 'Come and let us go to the seer'; for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer. — 10Then said Saul to his serv- ant: 'Well said; come, let us go ' So they went unto the city where the man of God was. llAs they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them: 'Is the seer here?' 12And they answered them, and said: 'He is; behold, he is before thee; make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place". 13As soon as ye are come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall find him/ 14And they went up to the city; and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.
15Now the LORD had revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul came, say- ing: 16< To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be prince over My people Israel, and he shall save My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, be- cause their cry is come unto Me/ 17And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD spoke unto him: 'Behold the man of whom I said unto thee: This same shall have authority over My people/ 18Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said: 'Tell me, I ^pray thee, where the seer's bouse is/ 19And Samuel answered Saul, and said: 'I am the seer; go up before me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me to-day; and in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart. 20And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of FIRST SAMUEL Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?' 21And Saul answered and said: 'Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speak- est thou to me after this manner?'
22And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the chamber, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, who were about thirty per- sons. ^And Samuel said unto the cook: 'Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee: Set it by thee/ ^And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And [Samuel] said: 'Behold that which hath been reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept for thee, for I said: I have invited the people.' So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. 25And when they were come down from the high place into the city, he spoke with Saul upon the housetop. 26And they arose early; and it came to pass about the break of day, that Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying: 'Up, that I may send thee away.' And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27As i they were going down at the end of the! city, Samuel said to Saul: 'Bid the, servant pass on before us — and he i passed on- — but stand thou still at this time, that I may cause thee to! hear the word of God.' •J A Then Samuel took the vial of •*- ^ oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: 'Is it not that the LORD hath anointed thee to be prince over His inheritance? 2When thou art departed from me today, then thou shalt find two men by the tomb of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee: The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious concerning you, saying: What shall I do for my son? 3Then shalt thou go on f orward from thence, and thou shalt come to the terebinth of Tabor, and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine. 4And they will salute thee, and give thee two cakes of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hand. sAfter that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high pkce with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying. 6And the spirit of the LORD wiU come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou dp as thy hand shall find; for God is with thee. 8And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacri- fice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come unto thee, and teH thee what thou shalt do.'
9And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave h"-n another heart; and all those signs came to pass thai day. 10And when they came thither to FIRST SAMUEL the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. uAnd it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another: 'What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Sau] also among the prophets?5 ^And one of the same place answered and said: 'And who is their father?' Therefore it became a proverb: 'Is Saul also among the prophets?' 13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.
14And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant: 'Whither went ye?' And he said: 'To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.' 15And Saul's uncle said: 'Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.; 16And Saul said unto his uncle: 'He told us plainly that the asses were found.' But concerning the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, ,he told him not.
17And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpah. 18And*he said unto the children of Israel: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19But ye have this day rejected your God, who Him- self saveth you out of ah1 your calam- ities and your distresses; and ye have said unto Him: Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present your- selves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands/ 20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. aAnd he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families, and the family of the M^trites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they sought him, he could not be found. ^Therefore they asked of the LORD further: 'Is there yet a man come hither?' And the LORD answered: 'Behold, he hath hid him- self among the baggage.' ^And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. MAnd Samuel said to all the people: 'See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?' And all the people shouted, and said: 'Long live the king.'
26Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the men of valour, whose hearts God had touched. 27But certain base fellows said: 'How shall this man save us?' And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he was as one that held his peace.