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Samuel revealed the word of the Lord[a] to all Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines

Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines.[b] They camped at Ebenezer,[c] and the Philistines camped at Aphek. The Philistines arranged their forces to fight[d] Israel. As the battle spread out,[e] Israel was defeated by[f] the Philistines, who[g] killed about 4,000 men in the battle line in the field.

When the army[h] came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by[i] the Philistines? Let’s take with us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. When it is with us, it will save us[j] from the hand of our enemies.”

So the army[k] sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly[l] that the ground shook.

When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp. The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp.[m] They said, “Woe to us! We’ve never seen anything like this! Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert! Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, or else you will wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home.[n] The slaughter was very great; 30,000 foot soldiers from Israel fell in battle. 11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.

Eli Dies

12 On that day[o] a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and dirt was on his head. 13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair on the lookout[p] by the side of[q] the road, for he was very worried[r] about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report,[s] the whole city cried out.

14 When Eli heard the outcry,[t] he said, “What’s this commotion?”[u] The man quickly came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;[v] he was unable to see.

16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli[w] asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from[x] the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli[y] fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he[z] was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. 20 As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, “Don’t be afraid! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not reply or pay any attention.[aa]

21 She named the boy Ichabod,[ab] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured.”

God Sends Trouble for the Philistines Who Have the Ark

Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon. When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day,[ac] Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place. But when they got up early the following day, Dagon was again lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off and were lying at the threshold. Only Dagon’s body was left intact.[ad] (For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple steps on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.)

The Lord attacked[ae] the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of[af] both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores.[ag] When the people[ah] of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, for he has attacked[ai] both us and our god Dagon!”

So they assembled[aj] all the leaders of the Philistines and asked, “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They replied, “The ark of the God of Israel should be moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

But after it had been moved the Lord attacked[ak] that city as well, causing a great deal of panic. He struck all the people of that city[al] with sores.[am] 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

But when the ark of God arrived at Ekron, the residents of Ekron cried out saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel here[an] to kill our[ao] people!” 11 So they assembled[ap] all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us[aq] and our[ar] people!” The terror[as] of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there.[at] 12 The people[au] who did not die were struck with sores; the city’s cry for help went all the way up to heaven.

The Philistines Return the Ark

When the ark of the Lord had been in the land[av] of the Philistines for seven months,[aw] the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place.”

They replied, “If you are going to send the ark of[ax] the God of Israel back, don’t send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand has not been removed from you.” They inquired, “What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?”

They replied, “The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders. You should make images of the sores and images of the mice[ay] that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land.[az] Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did?[ba] When God[bb] treated them harshly, didn’t the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way?[bc] So now go and make a new cart. Get two cows that have calves and that have never had a yoke placed on them. Harness the cows to the cart, and take their calves from them back to their stalls. Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way. But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident.”

10 So the men did as instructed.[bd] They took two cows that had calves and harnessed the cows to a cart; they also removed their calves to their stalls. 11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores. 12 Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along that route, bellowing[be] more and more;[bf] they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight. 14 The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16 The five leaders of the Philistines watched what was happening and then returned to Ekron on the same day.

17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord—one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel.[bg] They positioned the ark of the Lord on a rock until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

19 But the Lord[bh] struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of[bi] the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow. 20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark[bj] go up from here?”

21 So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you.”

Then the people[bk] 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

It was quite a long time—some twenty years in all—that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people[bl] of Israel longed for[bm] the Lord. 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.[bn] Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you[bo] from the hand of the Philistines.” So the Israelites[bp] removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

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

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. The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep[bs] crying out to the Lord our[bt] God so that he may save us[bu] from the hand of the Philistines!” So Samuel took a nursing lamb[bv] 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.[bw] But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by[bx] 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.[by] He named it Ebenezer,[bz] 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[ca] of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 So Samuel led[cb] 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[cc] Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

Israel Seeks a King

In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba. But his sons did not follow[cd] his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.[ce]

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead[cf] us, just like all the other nations have.”

But this request displeased Samuel, for[cg] they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you.[ch] For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. Just as they have done[ci] from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected me and have served other gods. This is what they are also doing to you. So now do as they say.[cj] But you must warn[ck] them and make them aware of the policies of the king who will rule over them.”[cl]

10 So Samuel spoke all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot. 12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties,[cm] as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment. 13 He will take your daughters to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his own servants. 15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators[cn] and his servants. 16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.”[co]

19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning.[cp] Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us! 20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us[cq] and fight our battles.”

21 So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the Lord.[cr] 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do as they say[cs] and install a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to his own city.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 4:1 tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel.
  2. 1 Samuel 4:1 tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.”
  3. 1 Samuel 4:1 tn Heb “the stone, the help.” The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1.
  4. 1 Samuel 4:2 tn Heb “to meet.”
  5. 1 Samuel 4:2 tn The MT has וַתִּטֹּשׁ (vattittosh), from the root נָטַשׁ (natash). This verb normally means “to leave,” “to forsake,” or “to permit,” but such an idea does not fit this context very well. Many scholars have suspected that the text originally read either וַתֵּט (vattet, “and it spread out”), from the root נָטָה (natah), or וַתִּקֶשׁ (vattiqesh, “and it grew fierce”), from the root קָשַׂה (qasah). The former suggestion is apparently supported by the LXX ἔκλινεν (eklinen, “it inclined”) and is adopted in the translation.
  6. 1 Samuel 4:2 tn Heb “before.”
  7. 1 Samuel 4:2 tn Heb “the Philistines, and they killed.” The pronoun “they” has been translated as a relative pronoun (“who”) to make it clear to the English reader that the Philistines were the ones who did the killing.
  8. 1 Samuel 4:3 tn Or “people.”
  9. 1 Samuel 4:3 tn Heb “before.”
  10. 1 Samuel 4:3 tn Heb “and it will come in our midst and it will save.” After the cohortative (see “let’s take”), the prefixed verbal forms with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose or result. The translation understands the ark to be the subject of the third masculine singular verbs, although it is possible to understand the Lord as the subject. In the latter case, one should translate, “when he is with us, he will save us.”
  11. 1 Samuel 4:4 tn Or “people.”
  12. 1 Samuel 4:5 tn Heb “shouted [with] a great shout.”
  13. 1 Samuel 4:7 tn The Hebrew text has a direct quote, “because they said, ‘Gods have come to the camp.’” Even though the verb translated “have come” is singular, the following subject should be taken as plural (“gods”), as v. 8 indicates. Some emend the verb to a plural form.
  14. 1 Samuel 4:10 tn Heb “and they fled, each to his tents.”
  15. 1 Samuel 4:12 tn Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.f.
  16. 1 Samuel 4:13 tn The Qal of this verb, צָפָה (tsafah), means “to look.” (The more common word for “to see” is רָאָה, raʾah). Here the ptc. is Piel, which means “to be on the lookout for, look” (HALOT 1045 s.v. I צָפָה). Since we are told later that Eli could not see (which may mean that his eyesight was poor), the important part of using this verb is that Eli positioned himself to get the news as soon as it arrived.
  17. 1 Samuel 4:13 tc Read with many medieval Hebrew mss, the Qere, and much versional evidence יַד (yad, “hand”) rather than MT יַךְ (yakh).
  18. 1 Samuel 4:13 tn Heb “his heart was trembling.”
  19. 1 Samuel 4:13 tn Heb “and the man came to report in the city.”
  20. 1 Samuel 4:14 tn Heb “the sound of the cry.”
  21. 1 Samuel 4:14 tn Heb “the sound of this commotion.”
  22. 1 Samuel 4:15 tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision.
  23. 1 Samuel 4:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  24. 1 Samuel 4:17 tn Heb “before.”
  25. 1 Samuel 4:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. 1 Samuel 4:18 tn Heb “the man.”
  27. 1 Samuel 4:20 tn Heb “and she did not set her heart.”
  28. 1 Samuel 4:21 sn The name Ichabod (אִי־כָבוֹד) may mean, “Where is the glory?”
  29. 1 Samuel 5:3 tc The LXX adds “they entered the temple of Dagon and saw.”
  30. 1 Samuel 5:4 tc Heb “only Dagon was left.” We should probably read the word גֵּו (gev, “back”) before Dagon, understanding it to have the sense of the similar word גְּוִיָּה (geviyyah, “body”). This variant is supported by the following evidence: The LXX has ἡ ῥάχις (hē hrachis, “the back” or “trunk”); the Syriac Peshitta has wegusmeh (“and the body of”); the Targum has gupyeh (“the body of”); the Vulgate has truncus (“the trunk of,” cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT). On the strength of this evidence the present translation employs the phrase “Dagon’s body.”
  31. 1 Samuel 5:6 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was heavy upon.”
  32. 1 Samuel 5:6 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  33. 1 Samuel 5:6 tc The LXX and Vulgate add the following: “And mice multiplied in their land, and the terror of death was throughout the entire city.”tn Or “tumors” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “growths on their skin”; KJV “emerods”; NAB “hemorrhoids.”
  34. 1 Samuel 5:7 tn Heb “men.”
  35. 1 Samuel 5:7 tn Heb “for his hand is severe upon.”
  36. 1 Samuel 5:8 tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”
  37. 1 Samuel 5:9 tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was against the city.”
  38. 1 Samuel 5:9 tn Heb “and he struck the men of the city from small and to great.”
  39. 1 Samuel 5:9 tn See the note on this term in v. 6. Cf. KJV “and they had emerods in their secret parts.”
  40. 1 Samuel 5:10 tn Heb “to me.”
  41. 1 Samuel 5:10 tn Heb “my.”
  42. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”
  43. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “me.”
  44. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “my.”
  45. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Or “panic.”
  46. 1 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “the hand of God was very heavy there.”
  47. 1 Samuel 5:12 tn Heb “men.”
  48. 1 Samuel 6:1 tn Heb “field.”
  49. 1 Samuel 6:1 tc The LXX adds “and their land swarmed with mice.”
  50. 1 Samuel 6:3 tc The LXX and a Qumran ms add “the covenant of the Lord.”
  51. 1 Samuel 6:5 tn Heb “your mice.” A Qumran ms has simply “the mice.”
  52. 1 Samuel 6:5 tn Heb “Perhaps he will lighten his hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.”
  53. 1 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart.”
  54. 1 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  55. 1 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “and they sent them away and they went.”
  56. 1 Samuel 6:10 tn Heb “and the men did so.”
  57. 1 Samuel 6:12 tn Most translations have “low” (ASV, ESV, KJV, NASB, NIV, NLV, Amplified, etc.), or “moo” (CEV, CEB). The verb גָּעָה (gaʿah) is rare (only here and Job 6:5) but cognate languages suggest a loud sound (e.g. Syriac “to scream” Ugaritic “to roar,” see HALOT 199). sn The behavior of the cows demonstrates God’s sovereignty. If the cows are “mooing” contentedly, it suggests that God essentially took over their wills or brains, and they walked along, forgetting their calves entirely, and focused on their new and unaccustomed task as if long trained for it. If they are “bellowing,” the picture suggests that they know they are leaving their calves and are protesting in discontent. But they are divinely driven (by unseen angelic cattle prods?) against their wills.
  58. 1 Samuel 6:12 tn The Hebrew has two infinitive absolutes ‏הָלֹךְ וְגָעוֹ (halok vegaʿo) walking and bellowing. In such a pairing, the infinitive ‏הָלֹךְ (halok) often indicates going on more and more (increasing) in the activity mentioned by the other infinitive. Cf. Gen 26:13; 1 Sam 14:19).
  59. 1 Samuel 6:18 tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.”
  60. 1 Samuel 6:19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  61. 1 Samuel 6:19 tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here.
  62. 1 Samuel 6:20 tn Heb “he” or “it”; the referent here (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. also NIV, CEV, NLT). Others, however, take the referent to be the Lord himself.
  63. 1 Samuel 7:1 tn Heb “men.”
  64. 1 Samuel 7:2 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
  65. 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.”
  66. 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.
  67. 1 Samuel 7:3 tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  68. 1 Samuel 7:4 tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”
  69. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “said.”
  70. 1 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”
  71. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn Heb “don’t stop.”
  72. 1 Samuel 7:8 tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”
  73. 1 Samuel 7:8 tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
  74. 1 Samuel 7:9 tn Heb “a lamb of milk”; NAB “an unweaned lamb”; NIV “a suckling lamb”; NCV “a baby lamb.”
  75. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
  76. 1 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “before.”
  77. 1 Samuel 7:12 tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”
  78. 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.
  79. 1 Samuel 7:14 tn Heb “hand.”
  80. 1 Samuel 7:15 tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).
  81. 1 Samuel 7:17 tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).
  82. 1 Samuel 8:3 tn Heb “walk in” (also in v. 5).
  83. 1 Samuel 8:3 tn Heb “and they turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.”
  84. 1 Samuel 8:5 tn Heb “judge” (also in v. 6).
  85. 1 Samuel 8:6 tn Heb “when.”
  86. 1 Samuel 8:7 tn Heb “Listen to the voice of the people, to all which they say to you.”
  87. 1 Samuel 8:8 tn Heb “according to all the deeds which they have done.”
  88. 1 Samuel 8:9 tn Heb “and now, listen to their voice.”
  89. 1 Samuel 8:9 tn The infinitive absolute appears before a verb of the same root to emphasize the modality of the verb. Here the imperfect verb expresses obligative modality, prescribing what he should do. So the nuance of the preceding infinitive absolute is “you must,” or “you certainly must.”
  90. 1 Samuel 8:9 tn Heb “and tell them the manner of the king who will rule over them.”
  91. 1 Samuel 8:12 tc The numbers of v. 12 are confused in the Greek and Syriac versions. For “fifties” the LXX has “hundreds.” The Syriac Peshitta has “heads of thousands and heads of hundreds and heads of fifties and heads of tens,” perhaps reflecting influence from Deut 1:15.
  92. 1 Samuel 8:15 tn Or “eunuchs” (so NAB); NIV “officials”; KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT “officers.”
  93. 1 Samuel 8:18 tc The LXX adds “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.”
  94. 1 Samuel 8:19 tn Heb “and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”
  95. 1 Samuel 8:20 tn Heb “and go out before us.”
  96. 1 Samuel 8:21 tn Heb “and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he spoke them into the ears of the Lord.”
  97. 1 Samuel 8:22 tn Heb “listen to their voice.”