1 Samuel 7:3-14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
3 Samuel told them, “If you(A) are returning to the Lord(B) with all your heart,(C) get rid of the foreign gods(D) and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to[a] the Lord, and worship only Him.(E) Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths(F) and only worshiped the Lord.
5 Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah,(G) and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.”(H) 6 When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence.(I) They fasted that day,(J) and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.”(K) And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, so that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
9 Then Samuel took a young lamb(L) and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.(M) 10 Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly(N) against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.(O) 11 Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.
12 Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright(P) between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,[b] explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued(Q) and[c] did not invade Israel’s territory again.(R) The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life. 14 The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
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- 1 Samuel 7:3 Lit you and set your hearts on
- 1 Samuel 7:12 = Stone of Help
- 1 Samuel 7:13 LXX reads The Lord humbled the Philistines and they
1 Samuel 7:3-14
Lexham English Bible
3 And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If with all your heart you are turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths[a] from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites[b] removed the Baals[c] and the Ashtoreths, and they served Yahweh alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.” 6 So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh!” So Samuel judged the Israelites[d] at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the Israelites[e] had gathered at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites[f] heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.[g] 8 Then the Israelites[h] said to Samuel, “You must not cease[i] from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a single nursing lamb[j] and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh. Then Samuel cried out to Yahweh on behalf of Israel, and Yahweh answered him. 10 While[k] Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near for the battle against Israel. But Yahweh thundered against the Philistines with a great noise on that day and threw them into confusion so that they were defeated before Israel. 11 Then the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and they struck them down as far as below Beth Car.
12 So Samuel took a single stone and put it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer and said, “Up to here Yahweh has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come into the territory of Israel again, and the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The towns[l] which the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territories from the hand of the Philistines. Then there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
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- 1 Samuel 7:3 Hebrew plural “Ashtaroth” (Ashtoreth was the female consort of Ba’al)
- 1 Samuel 7:4 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Samuel 7:4 Hebrew plural “Be’alim” (Ba’al was a major Canaanite deity)
- 1 Samuel 7:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Samuel 7:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Samuel 7:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Samuel 7:7 Literally “and they were afraid from (= because of) the presence of the Philistines”
- 1 Samuel 7:8 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Samuel 7:8 Literally “You must not be silent from us”
- 1 Samuel 7:9 Literally “lamb of milk”
- 1 Samuel 7:10 Literally “And it happened”
- 1 Samuel 7:14 Or “cities”
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