Israel Saved from the Philistines

7 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord and ^(A)brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they ^[a]consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the ark of the Lord. ² From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the ^[b]time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel ^[c]mourned after the Lord.

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^(B)If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^(C)remove the foreign gods and the ^(D)Ashtaroth from among you, and ^(E)direct your hearts to the Lord and ^(F)serve Him alone; and He will save you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to ^(G)Mizpah and ^(H)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and ^(I)poured it out before the Lord, and ^(J)fasted on that day and said there, “^(K)We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, ^(L)they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^(M)Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!” ⁹ Samuel took ^(N)a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and ^(O)the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But ^(P)the Lord thundered with a great ^[d]thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^(Q)confused them, so that they were struck down before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as below Beth-car.

¹² Then Samuel ^(R)took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ^[e]Ebenezer, saying, “^[f]So far the Lord has helped us.” ^13 (S)So the Philistines were subdued, and ^(T)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel ^[g]recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^(U)the Amorites.

Samuel’s Ministry

¹⁵ Now Samuel ^(V)judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ And he used to go annually on a circuit to ^(W)Bethel, ^(X)Gilgal, and ^(Y)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would make his return to ^(Z)Ramah, because his house was there, and there he also judged Israel; and there he ^(AA)built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

8 Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that ^(AB)he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in ^(AC)Beersheba. ³ His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they ^(AD)took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^(AE)Ramah; ⁵ and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^(AF)appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶ But the matter was ^[h](AG)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And ^(AH)Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because ^(AI)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 abandoned Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well. ⁹ Now then, listen to their voice; ^(AJ)however, you shall warn them strongly and tell them of ^(AK)the ^[i]practice of the king who will reign over them.”

Warning concerning a King

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to ^(AL)the people who had asked him for a king. ¹¹ And he said, “^(AM)This will be the ^[j]practice of the king who will reign over you: ^(AN)he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and ^(AO)they will run before his chariots. ^12 (AP)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to ^[k]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ^14 (AQ)He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and ^[l]use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ Then ^(AR)you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but ^(AS)the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

¹⁹ Yet the people ^(AT)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ^20 (AU)so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, ^(AV)he ^[m]repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. ²² And the Lord said to Samuel, “^(AW)Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, every man to his city.”