Historical
The Philistines Take the Ark
4 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside (A)Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped in (B)Aphek. 2 And the Philistines arranged themselves to meet Israel. Then the battle spread, and Israel was [a]defeated before the Philistines who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield. 3 Then the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, “(C)Why has Yahweh [b]defeated us today before the Philistines? (D)Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that [c]it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts (E)who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And it happened that as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, (F)all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth was thrown into confusion. 6 Then the Philistines heard the noise of the shout and said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “(G)Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 (H)Be strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, (I)as they have been slaves to you; therefore, become men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought, and (J)Israel was [d]defeated, and (K)every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and (L)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Death of Eli
12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with (M)his robes torn and [e]dust on his head. 13 And he came, and behold, (N)Eli was sitting on his seat [f]by the road eagerly watching because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 Then Eli heard the noise of the outcry, and he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” So the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and (O)his eyes had set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “(P)How did things go, my son?” 17 Then the one who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” 18 And it happened that when he mentioned the ark of God, [g](Q)Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for the man was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child and about to give birth. And she heard the report that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, so she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “(R)Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she called the boy [h]Ichabod, saying, “(S)The glory has departed from Israel,” because (T)the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”
Yahweh’s Hand Against the Philistines
5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and (U)brought it from Ebenezer to (V)Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to (W)the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3 Then the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, and behold, (X)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. So they took Dagon and (Y)set him in his place again. 4 But they arose early the next morning, and behold, (Z)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; [i]only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house (AA)tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 Now (AB)the hand of Yahweh was glorious against the Ashdodites, and (AC)He made them desolate and struck them with (AD)tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. 7 Thus the men of Ashdod saw that it was so and said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” 8 So they sent and (AE)gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. 9 Now it happened after they had brought it around, that (AF)the hand of Yahweh was against the city with very great confusion; and He struck the men of the city, both young and old, so that (AG)tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to [j]us, to put [k]us and [l]our people to death.” 11 They (AH)sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not put [m]us and [n]our people to death.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; (AI)the hand of God was very glorious there. 12 Now the men who did not die were struck with tumors and (AJ)the cry of the city went up to heaven.
The Ark Returned to Israel
6 Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the [o]fields of the Philistines seven months. 2 And (AK)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Make us know [p]how we shall send it to its place.” 3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, (AL)do not send it empty; but you shall surely (AM)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not turned away from you.” 4 Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden (AN)tumors and five golden mice (AO)according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of [q]you and on your lords. 5 So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that bring the land to ruin, and (AP)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps (AQ)He will ease His hand from you, (AR)your gods, and your land. 6 Why then do you [r]harden your hearts (AS)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh [s]hardened their hearts? When He had abused them, (AT)did they not allow [t]the people to go, and they went? 7 So now, take and (AU)make a new cart and two milch cows on which there (AV)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. 8 And take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the cart; and put (AW)the articles of gold which you return to Him as (AX)a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. 9 See, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to (AY)Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then (AZ)we will know that it was not His hand that smote us; it happened to us by chance.”
10 Then the men did so and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. 11 And they put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, as well as the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. 12 And the cows took the straight way in the [u]direction of (BA)Beth-shemesh; they went along (BB)the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
13 Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there, and a large stone was there; and they split the wood of the cart and (BC)offered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 15 (BD)And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Yahweh. 16 So the (BE)five lords of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron that day.
17 (BF)Now these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, (BG)both of fortified cities and of country villages. (BH)The large [v]stone on which they set the ark of Yahweh is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
19 (BI)Then He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “(BJ)Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?” 21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of (BK)Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh; come down and take it up to you.”
7 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and brought the ark of Yahweh up and (BL)brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill and set apart Eleazar his son as holy in order to keep the ark of Yahweh. 2 Now it happened from the day when the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.
Samuel Judges Israel
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “(BM)If you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then (BN)remove the foreign gods and the (BO)Ashtaroth from among you and (BP)set your hearts toward Yahweh and (BQ)serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to (BR)Mizpah, and (BS)I will pray to Yahweh for you.” 6 And they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and (BT)poured it out before Yahweh and (BU)fasted on that day and said there, “(BV)We have sinned against Yahweh.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Then the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah. And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. Then the sons of Israel heard it and (BW)were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “(BX)Do not cease to cry out to Yahweh our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 And Samuel took (BY)a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh; and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and (BZ)Yahweh answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But (CA)Yahweh thundered with a great [w]thunder on that day against the Philistines and (CB)confused them, so that they were [x]defeated before Israel. 11 So the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel (CC)took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it [y]Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.” 13 (CD)So the Philistines were subdued, and (CE)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and (CF)the Amorites.
15 Thus Samuel (CG)judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he used to go annually on circuit to (CH)Bethel and (CI)Gilgal and (CJ)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 But his return would be to (CK)Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he (CL)built there an altar to Yahweh.
Israel Tells Samuel to Appoint a King
8 And it happened when Samuel was old that (CM)he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in (CN)Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after greedy gain and (CO)took bribes and caused justice to turn aside.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at (CP)Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now (CQ)appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing was (CR)evil in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And (CS)Samuel prayed to Yahweh. 7 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for (CT)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 So now, listen to their voice; (CU)however, you shall solemnly [z]testify to them and tell them of (CV)the [aa]custom of the king who will reign over them.”
The People Refuse Samuel’s Words
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to (CW)the people who had asked of him a king. 11 And he said, “(CX)This will be the [ab]custom of the king who will reign over you: (CY)he will take your sons and appoint them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and (CZ)they will run before his chariots. 12 (DA)And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to [ac]do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 (DB)He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his [ad]servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will also take your male slaves and your female slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and [ae]use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 Then (DC)you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but (DD)Yahweh will not answer you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless, the people (DE)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 (DF)that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 So Samuel heard all the words of the people, and (DG)he repeated them in the hearing of Yahweh. 22 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “(DH)Listen to their voice and [af]appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
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