Beginning

4 and the word of Samuel came to all Israel. And it was done in those days (the) Philistines came together into battle; for Israel went out against the Philistines into battle, and setted tents beside the stone of help (and pitched their tents at Ebenezer). And the Philistines came into Aphek,

² and made ready (the) battle array against Israel. And when the battle was begun, Israel turned the(ir) backs to [the] Philistines; and as four thousand of men were slain in that battle everywhere by fields; and the people of Israel turned again to their tents. (and prepared the battle array against Israel. And when the battle was begun, Israel turned their backs to the Philistines; and about four thousand men were killed that day in that battle, in every part of the field; and then the people of Israel returned to their tents.)

³ And the greater men in birth of Israel said, Why hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Bring we to us from Shiloh the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, and come it into the midst of us, that it save us from the hand of our enemies. (And the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Israel, said, Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, and have it come here into our midst, so that it can save us from the hand of our enemies.)

⁴ Therefore the people sent into Shiloh, and they took from thence the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord of hosts, that sat on cherubim. And Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were with the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord. (And so the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts, who sitteth above, or upon, the cherubim. And Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, came with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.)

⁵ And when the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord had come into the tents (And when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the camp), all Israel cried [out] with [a] great cry, and the earth sounded.

⁶ And the Philistines heard the voice of their cry, and they said, And what is this voice of great cry in the tents of Hebrews? And they knew, that the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord had come into the tents of Israel. (And the Philistines heard the sound of their cry, and they said, And what is this sound of a great cry from the Hebrews’ tents? And then they knew, that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come to Israel’s camp.)

⁷ And the Philistines dreaded, and said, God is come into their tents; and they wailed, and said, Woe to us! for so great out-joying was not there yesterday, and the third day passed; (And the Philistines were afraid, and said, God hath come to their tents; and they wailed, and said, Woe to us! for there was not so great rejoicing there yesterday, or the third day ago;)

⁸ woe to us! who shall keep us from the hand of these high gods? these be the gods, that smited Egypt with all vengeance in desert. (woe to us! who shall save us from the power of these high gods? these be the gods, who struck down the Egyptians with all that slaughter in the wilderness.)

⁹ Philistines, be ye comforted, and be ye men, serve ye not to the Hebrews, as they have served to you; be ye comforted, and fight ye against Israel. (Philistines, take ye courage, and be ye men, otherwise ye shall serve as slaves to the Hebrews, like they have served you; yea, be ye of good courage, and fight ye against Israel.)

¹⁰ Then the Philistines fought, and Israel was overcome, and each man fled into his tabernacle; and a full great vengeance was made, and thirty thousand of (the) footmen of Israel felled down. (Then the Philistines fought, and Israel was overcome, and each man fled into his tent; and there was a great slaughter, and thirty thousand of the footmen of Israel fell down.)

¹¹ And the ark of God was taken; and, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were dead. (And the Ark of God was taken; and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.)

¹² And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle array, and came into Shiloh in that day, with his cloth rent, and with his head besprinkled with dust; (And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle array, and came into Shiloh that day, with his cloak torn, and with his head covered with dirt;)

¹³ and when he was come, Eli sat upon a seat, and beheld against the way; for his heart was dreading for the ark of the Lord (and when he arrived, Eli sat on a seat, looking toward the road; for his heart was fearing for the Ark of the Lord). And after that that man had entered, he told (what had happened) to the men of the city, and (then) all the city yelled.

¹⁴ And Eli heard the sound of the cry, and he said, What is the sound of this noise? (And Eli heard all the yelling, and he said, What is the meaning of this noise?) And the man hasted, and came, and told to Eli.

¹⁵ And Eli was of fourscore years and eighteen, and his eyes (had) dimmed/his eyes (had) darkened, and he might not see.

¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, I am he that came from the battle, and I am he that fled today from the battle array. To whom Eli said, My son, what is there done? (My son, what is done there?)

¹⁷ And he that told answered, and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and a great falling is made in the people of Israel; furthermore and thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, be dead, and the ark of God is taken. (And he who had given the report answered him, and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and a great number of the people of Israel have fallen; and furthermore thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed, and the Ark of God was taken.)

¹⁸ And when he named the ark of God, Eli felled (off) from the seat backward beside the door, and was dead (and he died); for his neck was broken. For he was an eld man, and of great age; and he deemed Israel forty years.

¹⁹ And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, and nigh the child bearing; and when the message was heard/and when she (had) heard by the messenger, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law was dead, and (also) her husband, she bowed herself down, and childed; for sudden sorrows felled into her (for suddenly her pains came upon her).

²⁰ And in that moment of her death, (the) women that stood about her said to her, Dread thou not, for thou hast childed a son. And she answered not to them, neither she took heed. (And at the moment of her death, the women who stood about her said to her, Fear thou not, for thou hast borne a son. But she did not answer them, nor take any heed.)

²¹ And she called the child Ichabod, that is, without glory, and said, The glory of the Lord is translated from Israel, for the ark of God is taken; and for her father-in-law and for her husband (And she called the child Ichabod, that is, Without glory, and said, Now the glory of the Lord hath been taken away from Israel; for the Ark of God was taken, and her father-in-law, and her husband, were dead;)

²² she said, The glory of God is translated from Israel/is taken from Israel, for the ark of God is taken. (and she said again, The glory of God hath been taken away from Israel, for the Ark of God hath been taken from us.)

5 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and bare it away from the stone of help into Ashdod. (And the Philistines took the Ark of God, and carried it away from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.)

² And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and setted it beside Dagon.

³ And when men of Ashdod had risen early in the tother day, lo! Dagon lay low in the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and restored him in his place. (And when the men of Ashdod had risen early the next day, lo! Dagon lay low on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and restored him to his place.)

⁴ And again they rose early in the tother day, and they found Dagon lying on his face upon the earth before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon, and the two palms of his hands, were broken off, (and were lying) upon the threshold; and the stock alone of Dagon (was) left in his place. (And they rose up early the next day, and they found Dagon lying on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon, and the two palms of his hands, were broken off, and were lying on the threshold; and only Dagon’s body was left in its place.)

⁵ For this cause the priests of Dagon, and all that enter into his temple, tread not upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

⁶ Forsooth the hand of the Lord was made grievous upon [the] men of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and he smote Ashdod and the coasts thereof in the privier part of [the] buttocks/in the more privy part of their tail ends.

⁷ And men of Ashdod saw such a vengeance, and they said, The ark of God of Israel dwell not with us; for his hand is hard on us, and on Dagon our god. (And when the men of Ashdod saw such vengeance taken upon themselves, they said, The Ark of the God of Israel must not remain among us; for his hand is hard upon us, and upon our god Dagon.)

⁸ And they sent, and gathered all the wise men, either princes, of Philistines to them, and said, What shall we do of the ark of God of Israel? And the men of Gath answered, The ark of God of Israel be led about; and they led about the ark of God of Israel. (And they sent for, and gathered together, all the princes of the Philistines, and said to them, What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel? And the men answered, The Ark of the God of Israel should be taken to Gath; and so they took the Ark of the God of Israel there.)

⁹ And while they led it about, the hand of the Lord was made upon all the cities about, of full great slaughter; and he smote men of each city, from a little man till to the more, and the lower entrails of them waxed rotten, and came forth; and men of Gath took counsel, and they made to themselves seats of skins, either cushions. (And after they took it there, the hand of the Lord was made upon all the city with a full great slaughter; and he struck the men of the city, from a small, or a low, man unto a great man, and their lower entrails grew rotten, and came forth; and the men of Gath took counsel together, and then they made leather cushions for themselves.)

¹⁰ Therefore they sent the ark of the Lord into Ekron. And when the ark of the Lord had come into Ekron, men of Ekron cried [out], and said, They have brought to us the ark of God of Israel, that he slay us and our people. (And so they sent the Ark of the Lord to Ekron. And when the Ark of the Lord had come to Ekron, the men of Ekron cried out, and said, They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us, so that now he will kill us and our people!)

¹¹ Then they sent, and gathered together all the wise men, either princes, of Philistines; which said, Deliver ye the ark of God of Israel, and turn it again into his place, and slay not us with our people. For dread of death was made in all [the] cities, and the hand of the Lord was full grievous. (And they sent for, and gathered together, all the princes of the Philistines; and they said, Send the Ark of the God of Israel away, and let it return to its own place, so that it shall not kill us and our people. For the fear of death was made in all the city, and the hand of the Lord was very grievous there.)

¹² And the men, that were not dead (who did not die), were smitten in the privy parts of their buttocks, and the yelling of each city went up into heaven.

6 Therefore the ark of the Lord was in the country of [the] Philistines (for) seven months;

² and after these things the Philistines called together [the] priests and false diviners, and said, What shall we do of the ark of God? Show ye to us, how we shall send it into his place. (and after these things the Philistines called together the priests and the false diviners, and asked, What shall we do with the Ark of God? Tell us how we should send it back to its own place?)

³ Which said, If ye send again the ark of God of Israel, do not ye deliver it void, but yield ye to him that thing, that ye owe for [the] sin; and then ye shall be healed, and ye shall know, why his hand goeth not away from you. (Who said, If ye return the Ark of the God of Israel, do not ye send it back without a gift, but send ye it back with what ye owe for your sin; and then ye shall be healed, and ye shall know why his hand goeth not away from you now.)

⁴ And they said, What is it, that we ought to yield to him for (the) trespass? And they answered to them, By the number of the provinces of (the) Philistines, ye shall make five golden arses, and five golden mice; for one vengeance was to all (of) you, and to your wise men, either princes.

⁵ And ye shall make the likeness of your arses, and the likeness of [the] mice that destroyed your land; and ye shall give glory to [the] God of Israel, if in hap he withdraw his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.

⁶ Why make ye heavy your hearts, as Egypt and Pharaoh grieved their heart(s)? Whether not after that he was smitten, then he delivered God’s people, and they went forth? (Why be ye stubborn, or stiff-necked, like Egypt and Pharaoh were stubborn, or stiff-necked? For after God had struck them, did they not let God’s people go, and they went away?)

⁷ Now therefore take ye, and make a new wain, and join ye therein two kine having calves, on which kine no yoke was put; and close ye their calves at home. (And so now take ye, and make ready a new wagon, and join ye it up to two cows who have calves, on which cows no yoke was ever put; and enclose ye their calves at home.)

⁸ And ye shall take the ark of the Lord, and ye shall set (it) in the wain; and ye shall put in a little coffer at the side of the ark the golden vessels, which ye have paid to the Lord for your trespass; and deliver ye the ark, that it go forth. (And ye shall take the Ark of the Lord, and ye shall put it on the wagon; and ye shall put the gold vessels, that ye send to the Lord for your trespass, in a small box at the side of the Ark; and then let the Ark go forth as it will.)

⁹ And ye shall behold it, and soothly if it goeth up against Bethshemesh by the way of his coasts, the Lord hath then done to you this great evil; but if it go not thither, we shall know that the hand of the Lord touched not us, but this thing hath fallen to us by hap. (And ye shall watch it, and truly if it goeth up toward Bethshemesh by the way of its coasts, then the Lord hath done this great evil to you; but if it go not there, then we shall know that the hand of the Lord did not touch us, and that this thing hath befallen to us all by happenstance, or chance.)

¹⁰ Then they did in this manner; and they took two kine that gave milk to their calves, and they joined them to the wain; and they (en)closed their calves at home.

¹¹ And they put the ark of God upon the wain, and the little coffer, (or the small box,) that had the gold mice, and the likeness of (their) arses.

¹² And the kine went straightly by the way that leadeth to Bethshemesh; and those kine went in one way going and lowing, and they bowed not neither to the right side nor to the left side; but also the wise men of Philistines followed unto the coasts of Bethshemesh (and the princes of the Philistines followed them to the border of Bethshemesh).

¹³ Forsooth (the) men of Bethshemesh reaped wheat in the valley, and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and they were joyful, when they had seen it.

¹⁴ And the wain came into the field of Joshua of Bethshemesh, and stood there. And a great stone was there; and they cutted the wood of the wain, and putted the kine on that wood, (as) a burnt sacrifice to the Lord.

¹⁵ And the deacons took down the ark of God, and the little coffer that was beside it, wherein the golden vessels were; and they putted those upon the great stone. And the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt sacrifices, and offered slain sacrifices in that day to the Lord. (And the Levites took down the Ark of God, and the small box that was beside it, which held the gold vessels; and they put them on the great stone. And the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, to the Lord that day.)

¹⁶ And [the] five princes of Philistines saw, and turned again into Ekron in that day. (And the five princes of the Philistines saw it, and then returned to Ekron that day.)

¹⁷ Soothly these be the golden arses, which the Philistines yielded to the Lord for their trespass; Ashdod yielded one; Gaza one; Askelon one; Gath one; Ekron one;

¹⁸ and the Philistines yielded golden mice by the number of cities of Philistines of [the] five provinces, from a walled city unto an unwalled town, and unto the great stone that was called Abel, on which they putted the ark of the Lord, the which stone was there unto that day in the field of Joshua of Bethshemesh. (and they also gave gold mice by the number of the Philistines’ cities governed by the five princes, from a walled city unto an unwalled town. And the great stone that was called Eben, on which they put the Ark of the Lord, is there unto this day, in the field of Joshua of Bethshemesh.)

¹⁹ Forsooth the Lord smote of the men of Bethshemesh, for they had seen the ark of the Lord, and he smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the poor-all^[a]. And the people mourned, for the Lord had smitten the people with [a] great vengeance. (But the Lord struck down the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked inside the Ark of the Lord, and so he struck down seventy men of the people there. And the people mourned, for the Lord had struck down the people with such a great slaughter.)

²⁰ And men of Bethshemesh said, Who shall now stand in the sight of the Lord God of this holy thing, and to whom shall it go up from us? (And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who can now stand before the Lord, yea, this holy God, and to whom shall we send this Ark away from us?/and to whom shall he go away from us?)

²¹ And they sent messengers to the dwellers of Kiriathjearim, and said, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down, and lead it again to you. (And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriathjearim, who said, The Philistines have returned the Ark of the Lord; come ye down, and take it away with you.)

7 Therefore men of Kiriathjearim came, and led again the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in Gibeah. And they hallowed Eleazar his son, that he should keep the ark of the Lord. (And so some men of Kiriathjearim came, and took the Ark of the Lord, and they brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar, so that he could be in charge of the Ark of the Lord.)

² And it was done, from which day the ark of the Lord dwelled in Kiriathjearim, (that the) days were multiplied; for the twentieth year was now, after that Samuel began to teach the people; and all Israel rested after the Lord (and all Israel cried out to the Lord for help).

³ And Samuel spake to all the house of Israel, and said, If in all your heart ye turn again to the Lord, do ye away alien gods (do ye away foreign, or other, gods), (the) Baalim, and (the) Ashtaroth, from the midst of you; and make ye ready your hearts to the Lord, and serve ye him alone; and (then) he shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.

⁴ Therefore the sons of Israel did away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone. (And so the Israelites did away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.)

⁵ And Samuel said, Gather ye all Israel into Mizpah, that I pray the Lord for you (and I shall pray to the Lord for you).

⁶ And they came together into Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out in the Lord’s sight; and they fasted in that day, and said, Lord, we have sinned to thee (and said, Lord, we have sinned against thee). And Samuel deemed the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

⁷ And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel were gathered together in Mizpeh; and the princes of Philistines went up to Israel. And when the sons of Israel had heard this, they dreaded of the face of (the) Philistines. (And the Philistines heard that the Israelites were gathered together in Mizpeh; and the princes of the Philistines came up against Israel. And when the Israelites had heard this, they feared to face the Philistines.)

⁸ And they said to Samuel/And Israel cried to Samuel, Cease thou not to cry for us to our Lord God, that he save us from the hand of Philistines. (And the Israelites cried to Samuel, Cease thou not to cry out to the Lord our God for us, so that he will save us from the hands of the Philistines.)

⁹ And Samuel took one sucking lamb, and offered it whole into burnt sacrifice to the Lord (And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it whole for a burnt sacrifice to the Lord). And Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.

¹⁰ And it was done, when Samuel offered the burnt sacrifice, that the Philistines began (to do) battle against Israel. And the Lord thundered with great thunder in that day upon the Philistines, and made them afeared; and they were slain of the sons of Israel (and they fled in panic before the Israelites).

¹¹ And the sons of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them unto the place that was under Bethcar.

¹² And Samuel took one stone, and put it betwixt Mizpeh, and Shen; and he called the name of that place The stone of help (and he called the name of that place Ebenezer). And he said, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us.

¹³ And the Philistines were made low, and they added no more to come into the terms of Israel (And so the Philistines were humbled, and they did not come any more into the land of Israel). And so the hand of the Lord was made [up]on (the) Philistines in all the days of Samuel.

¹⁴ And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel, were yielded again to Israel, from Ekron unto Gath, and the coasts of Gath; and the Lord delivered Israel from the hand of (the) Philistines; and peace was betwixt Israel and Amorites (and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites).

¹⁵ And Samuel deemed Israel all the days of his life, that is, till to the ordaining and confirming of Saul;

¹⁶ and he went by each year, and compassed Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and he deemed Israel in the foresaid places.

¹⁷ And he turned again into Ramah, for his house was there; and he deemed Israel there, and he builded there also an altar to the Lord. (And then he returned to Ramah, for his house was there; and he judged Israel there, and he also built an altar there to the Lord.)

8 And it was done, when Samuel waxed eld, he set his sons to be judges of Israel. (And it was done, when Samuel grew old, he made his sons to be judges in Israel.)

² And the name of his first begotten son was Joel, and the name of the second was Abiah, that were judges in Beersheba (and they were judges in Beersheba).

³ And his sons went not in his ways, but they bowed after avarice, and they took gifts, and perverted doom (and perverted justice, or judgement).

⁴ Therefore all the greater men in birth of Israel were gathered together, and came to Samuel into Ramah. (And so all the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Israel gathered together, and came to Samuel in Ramah.)

⁵ And they said to him, Lo! thou hast waxed eld, and thy sons go not in thy ways; ordain thou a king to us, that he deem us, as also all other nations have. (And they said to him, Lo! thou hast grown old, and thy sons do not go in thy ways; ordain thou a king for us, so that he can judge, or can rule, us, like all the other nations have.)

⁶ And the word displeased in the eyes of Samuel, for they had said, Give thou to us a king, that he deem us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. (And this request displeased Samuel, for they had said, Give thou a king to us, so that he can judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord.)

⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear thou the voice of the people in all things that they speak to thee; for they have not cast away thee (for they have not thrown thee away), but me, (so) that I reign not upon them.

⁸ By all the works that they have done, from the day in which I led them out of Egypt unto this day, as they have forsaken me, and they have served alien gods, so they do also to thee (and they have served foreign, or other, gods, and now they also do to thee).

⁹ Now therefore hear thou their voice; nevertheless witness thou to them; and before-say thou to them the right of the king, that shall reign upon them (and tell thou them, the rights of the king who shall reign over them).

¹⁰ Then Samuel said all the words of the Lord to the people, that had asked of him a king (who had asked him for a king);

¹¹ and he said, This shall be the right of the king, that shall command to you; he shall take your sons, and he shall set them in his chariots; and he shall make them to himself riders, and before-goers of his carts (and he shall make them to be his horsemen, or his riders, and to run before his chariots);

¹² and he shall ordain to him tribunes, that is, sovereigns of a thousand, and centurions, that is, sovereigns of an hundred, and earers/tillers of his fields, and reapers of his corns, and smiths of his armours, and (smiths) of his chariots. (and he shall ordain his tribunes, that is, the rulers of a thousand, and his centurions, that is, the rulers of a hundred, and the tillers of his fields, and the reapers of his harvest, and the smiths of his arms, or of his weapons, and the smiths of his chariots.)

¹³ Also he shall make your daughters (to be) makers of his ointments, and his fire-makers (and his cooks), and (his) bakers/his makers of bread.

¹⁴ And he shall take your fields, and your vineries (and your vineyards), and the best places of olives, and he shall give those to his servants.

¹⁵ But also he shall take the tenth part of your corns, and (of) the rents of your vineries, that he give those to his chamberlains, and [to his] servants.

¹⁶ And he shall take away your servants, and your handmaids, and your best young men, and your asses, and he shall set these in his work. (And he shall take away your servants, and your servantesses, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and he shall make them do his bidding/and he shall make them work for him.)

¹⁷ Also he shall take the tenth part of your flocks; and ye shall be his servants.

¹⁸ And ye shall cry in that day from the face of your king, whom ye have chosen to you; and the Lord shall not hear you in that day; for ye [have] asked (for) a king to you. (And ye shall cry out on that day because of your king, whom ye have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord shall not hear you on that day; for ye have asked for a king for yourselves.)

¹⁹ Soothly the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, but they said, Nay, for a king shall be on us; (But the people would not listen to Samuel, and they said, No! let a king rule over us;)

²⁰ and (then) we also shall be as all folks (and then we shall be like all the other nations), and our king shall deem us, and he shall go out before us, and he shall fight our battles for us.

²¹ And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spake them in the ears of the Lord.

²² And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear thou their voices, and ordain thou a king upon them. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Each man go into his city (Now everyone go home).