Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close TLB

1 Samuel 7
Living Bible

7 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark to the hillside home of Abinadab and installed his son Eleazar to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained there for twenty years, and during that time all Israel was in sorrow because the Lord had seemingly abandoned them.

3 At that time Samuel said to them, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth idols. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

4 So they destroyed their idols of Baal and Ashtaroth and worshiped only the Lord.

5 Then Samuel told them, “Come to Mizpah, all of you, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

6 So they gathered there and, in a great ceremony, drew water from the well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day as a sign of sorrow for their sins. So it was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.

7 When the Philistine leaders heard about the great crowds at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelis were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.

8 “Plead with God to save us!” they begged Samuel.

9 So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering and pleaded with him to help Israel. And the Lord responded. 10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle, but the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them 11 and chased them from Mizpah to Beth-car, killing them all along the way. 12 Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer (meaning, “the Stone of Help”), for he said, “The Lord has certainly helped us!” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again at that time because the Lord was against them throughout the remainder of Samuel’s lifetime. 14 The Israeli cities between Ekron and Gath, which had been conquered by the Philistines, were now returned to Israel, for the Israeli army rescued them from their Philistine captors. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.

15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the remainder of his life. 16 He rode circuit annually, setting up his court first at Bethel, then Gilgal, and then Mizpah, and cases of dispute were brought to him in each of those three cities from all the surrounding territory. 17 Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there, and he would hear cases there too. And he built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.

Close NET

1 Samuel 7
New English Translation

7 Then the people[a] of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

Further Conflict with the Philistines

2 It was quite a long time—some twenty years in all—that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people[b] of Israel longed for[c] the Lord. 3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth.[d] Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you[e] from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites[f] removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” 6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed[g] there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led[h] the people of Israel at Mizpah.

7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep[i] crying out to the Lord our[j] God so that he may save us[k] from the hand of the Philistines!” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb[l] and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.

10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel.[m] But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by[n] Israel. 11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen.[o] He named it Ebenezer,[p] saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control[q] of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 So Samuel led[r] Israel all the days of his life. 16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged[s] Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 7:1 tn Heb “men.”
  2. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
  3. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”
  4. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.
  5. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  6. 1 Samuel 7:4 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
  7. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “said.”
  8. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”
  9. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn Heb “don’t stop.”
  10. 1 Samuel 7:8 tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”
  11. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  12. 1 Samuel 7:9 tn Heb “a lamb of milk”; NAB “an unweaned lamb”; NIV “a suckling lamb”; NCV “a baby lamb.”
  13. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
  14. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “before.”
  15. 1 Samuel 7:12 tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”
  16. 1 Samuel 7:12 sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.
  17. 1 Samuel 7:14 tn Heb “hand.”
  18. 1 Samuel 7:15 tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).
  19. 1 Samuel 7:17 tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).
Next
1 Samuel 6
1 Samuel 8
Next
dropdown
Living Bible (TLB)

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.