1 Samuel 7-8

Contemporary English Version

7 ^(A) The people of Kiriath-Jearim got the chest and took it to Abinadab's house, which was on a hill in their town. They chose his son Eleazar to take care of it, ² and it stayed there for 20 years.

During this time everyone in Israel was very sad and begged the Lord for help.^[a]

The People of Israel Turn Back to the Lord

³ One day, Samuel told all the people of Israel, “If you really want to turn back to the Lord, then prove it. Get rid of your foreign idols, including the ones of the goddess Astarte. Turn to the Lord with all your heart and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

⁴ The people got rid of their idols of Baal and Astarte and began worshiping only the Lord.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Tell everyone in Israel to meet together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

⁶ The Israelites met together at Mizpah with Samuel as their leader. They drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the Lord. On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the Lord.

The Philistines Attack Israel

⁷ When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel.

The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming. ⁸ “Don't stop praying!” they told Samuel. “Ask the Lord our God to rescue us.”

^9-10 (B) Samuel begged the Lord to rescue Israel, then he sacrificed a young lamb to the Lord. Samuel had not even finished offering the sacrifice when the Philistines started to attack. But the Lord answered his prayer and made thunder crash all around them. The Philistines panicked and ran away. ¹¹ The men of Israel left Mizpah and went after them as far as the hillside below Beth-Car, killing every enemy soldier they caught.

^12-13 The Philistines were so badly beaten that it was quite a while before they attacked Israel again. After the battle, Samuel set up a monument between Mizpah and the rocky cliffs. He named it “Help Monument”^[b] to remind Israel how much the Lord had helped them.

For as long as Samuel lived, the Lord helped Israel fight the Philistines. ¹⁴ The Israelites were even able to recapture their towns and territory between Ekron and Gath.

Israel was also at peace with the Amorites.^[c]

Samuel Is a Leader in Israel

¹⁵ Samuel was a leader^[d] in Israel all his life. ¹⁶ Every year he would go around to the towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah where he served as judge for the people. ¹⁷ Then he would go back to his home in Ramah and do the same thing there. He also had an altar built for the Lord at Ramah.

The People of Israel Want a King

8 ^1-2 Samuel had two sons. The older one was Joel, and the younger one was Abijah. When Samuel was getting old, he let them be leaders at Beersheba. ³ But they were not like their father. They were dishonest and accepted bribes to give unfair decisions.

⁴ One day the nation's leaders came to Samuel at Ramah ^5 (C) and said, “You are an old man. You set a good example for your sons, but they haven't followed it. Now we want a king to be our leader, just like all the other nations. Choose one for us!”

⁶ Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king, so he prayed about it. ⁷ The Lord answered:

Samuel, do everything they want you to do. I am really the one they have rejected as their king. ⁸ Ever since the day I rescued my people from Egypt, they have turned from me to worship idols. Now they are turning away from you. ⁹ Do everything they ask, but warn them and tell them how a king will treat them.

¹⁰ Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the Lord had said:

¹¹ If you have a king, this is how he will treat you. He will force your sons to join his army. Some of them will ride in his chariots, some will serve in the cavalry, and others will run ahead of his own chariot.^{[e] 12} Some of them will be officers in charge of 1,000 soldiers, and others will be in charge of 50. Still others will have to farm the king's land and harvest his crops, or make weapons and parts for his chariots. ¹³ Your daughters will have to make perfume or do his cooking and baking.

¹⁴ The king will take your best fields, as well as your vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his own officials. ¹⁵ He will also take a tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and officials.

¹⁶ The king will take your slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and make them do his work. ¹⁷ He will also take a tenth of your sheep and goats. You will become the king's slaves, ¹⁸ and you will finally cry out for the Lord to save you from the king you wanted. But the Lord won't answer your prayers.

^19-20 The people would not listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us in battle.”

²¹ Samuel listened to them and then told the Lord exactly what they had said. ²² “Do what they want,” the Lord answered. “Give them a king.”

Samuel told the people to go back to their homes.