7 And the men of Kirjath-Jearim come and bring up the ark of Jehovah, and bring it in unto the house of Abinadab, in the height, and Eleazar his son they have sanctified to keep the ark of Jehovah.

² And it cometh to pass, from the day of the dwelling of the ark in Kirjath-Jearim, that the days are multiplied -- yea, they are twenty years -- and wail do all the house of Israel after Jehovah.

³ And Samuel speaketh unto all the house of Israel, saying, `If with all your heart ye are turning back unto Jehovah -- turn aside the gods of the stranger from your midst, and Ashtaroth; and prepare your heart unto Jehovah, and serve Him only, and He doth deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.'

⁴ And the sons of Israel turn aside the Baalim and Ashtaroth, and serve Jehovah alone;

⁵ and Samuel saith, `Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I pray for you unto Jehovah.'

⁶ And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, `We have sinned against Jehovah;' and Samuel judgeth the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

⁷ And the Philistines hear that the sons of Israel have gathered themselves to Mizpeh; and the princes of the Philistines go up against Israel, and the sons of Israel hear, and are afraid of the presence of the Philistines.

⁸ And the sons of Israel say unto Samuel, `Keep not silent for us from crying unto Jehovah our God, and He doth save us out of the hand of the Philistines.'

⁹ And Samuel taketh a fat lamb, and causeth it to go up -- a burnt-offering whole to Jehovah; and Samuel crieth unto Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answereth him;

¹⁰ and Samuel is causing the burnt-offering to go up -- and the Philistines have drawn nigh to battle against Israel -- and Jehovah doth thunder with a great noise, on that day, upon the Philistines, and troubleth them, and they are smitten before Israel.

¹¹ And the men of Israel go out from Mizpeh, and pursue the Philistines, and smite them unto the place of Beth-Car.

¹² And Samuel taketh a stone, and setteth [it] between Mizpeh and Shen, and calleth its name Eben-Ezer, saying, `Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.'

¹³ And the Philistines are humbled, and have not added any more to come into the border of Israel, and the hand of Jehovah is on the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

¹⁴ And the cities which the Philistines have taken from Israel are restored to Israel -- from Ekron even unto Gath -- and their border hath Israel delivered out of the hand of the Philistines; and there is peace between Israel and the Amorite.

¹⁵ And Samuel judgeth Israel all the days of his life,

¹⁶ and he hath gone from year to year, and gone round Beth-El, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel [in] all these places;

¹⁷ and his returning [is] to Ramath, for there [is] his house, and there he hath judged Israel, and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

8 And it cometh to pass, when Samuel [is] aged, that he maketh his sons judges over Israel.

² And the name of his first-born son is Joel, and the name of his second Abiah, judges in Beer-Sheba:

³ and his sons have not walked in his ways, and turn aside after the dishonest gain, and take a bribe, and turn aside judgment.

⁴ And all the elders of Israel gather themselves together, and come in unto Samuel to Ramath,

⁵ and say unto him, `Lo, thou hast become aged, and thy sons have not walked in thy ways; now, appoint to us a king, to judge us, like all the nations.'

⁶ And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, `Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah.

⁷ And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, `Hearken to the voice of the people, to all that they say unto thee, for thee they have not rejected, but Me they have rejected, from reigning over them.

⁸ According to all the works that they have done from the day of My bringing them up out of Egypt, even unto this day, when they forsake Me, and serve other gods -- so they are doing also to thee.

⁹ And now, hearken to their voice; only, surely thou dost certainly protest to them, and hast declared to them the custom of the king who doth reign over them.'

¹⁰ And Samuel speaketh all the words of Jehovah unto the people who are asking from him a king,

¹¹ and saith, `This is the custom of the king who doth reign over you: Your sons he doth take, and hath appointed for himself among his chariots, and among his horsemen, and they have run before his chariots;

¹² also to appoint for himself heads of thousands, and heads of fifties; also to plow his plowing, and to reap his reaping; and to make instruments of his war, and instruments of his charioteer.

¹³ `And your daughters he doth take for perfumers, and for cooks, and for bakers;

¹⁴ and your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards -- the best -- he doth take, and hath given to his servants.

¹⁵ And your seed and your vineyards he doth tithe, and hath given to his eunuchs, and to his servants.

¹⁶ And your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your young men -- the best, and your asses, he doth take, and hath prepared for his own work;

¹⁷ your flock he doth tithe, and ye are to him for servants.

¹⁸ And ye have cried out in that day because of the king whom ye have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah doth not answer you in that day.'

¹⁹ And the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel, and say, `Nay, but a king is over us,

²⁰ and we have been, even we, like all the nations; and our king hath judged us, and gone out before us, and fought our battles.'

²¹ And Samuel heareth all the words of the people, and speaketh them in the ears of Jehovah;

²² and Jehovah saith unto Samuel, `Hearken to their voice, and thou hast caused to reign over them a king.' And Samuel saith unto the men of Israel, `Go ye each to his city.'

9 And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name [is] Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, mighty of valour,

² and he hath a son, and his name [is] Saul, a choice youth and goodly, and there is not a man among the sons of Israel goodlier than he -- from his shoulder and upward, higher than any of the people.

³ And the asses of Kish, father of Saul, are lost, and Kish saith unto Saul his son, `Take, I pray thee, with thee, one of the young men, and rise, go, seek the asses.'

⁴ And he passeth over through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passeth over through the land of Shalisha, and they have not found; and they pass over through the land of Shaalim, and they are not; and he passeth over through the land of Benjamin, and they have not found.

⁵ They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who [is] with him, `Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.'

⁶ And he saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, a man of God [is] in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.'

⁷ And Saul saith to his young man, `And lo, we go, and what do we bring in to the man? for the bread hath gone from our vessels, and a present there is not to bring in to the man of God -- what [is] with us?'

⁸ And the young man addeth to answer Saul, and saith, `Lo, there is found with me a fourth of a shekel of silver: and I have given to the man of God, and he hath declared to us our way.'

⁹ Formerly in Israel, thus said the man in his going to seek God, `Come and we go unto the seer,' for the `prophet' of to-day is called formerly `the seer.'

¹⁰ And Saul saith to his young man, `Thy word [is] good; come, we go;' and they go unto the city where the man of God [is].

¹¹ They are going up in the ascent of the city, and have found young women going out to draw water, and say to them, `Is the seer in this [place]?'

¹² And they answer them and say, `He is; lo, before thee! haste, now, for to-day he hath come in to the city, for the people hath a stated sacrifice in a high place.

¹³ At your going in to the city so ye do find him, before he doth go up in to the high place to eat; for the people do not eat till his coming, for he doth bless the sacrifice; afterwards they eat, who are called, and now, go up, for at this time ye find him.'

¹⁴ And they go up in to the city; they are coming in to the midst of the city, and lo, Samuel is coming out to meet them, to go up to the high place;

¹⁵ and Jehovah had uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before the coming of Saul, saying,

¹⁶ `At this time tomorrow, I send unto thee a man out of the land of Benjamin -- and thou hast anointed him for leader over My people Israel, and he hath saved My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen My people, for its cry hath come in unto Me.'

¹⁷ When Samuel hath seen Saul, then hath Jehovah answered him, `Lo, the man of whom I have spoken unto thee; this [one] doth restrain My people.'

¹⁸ And Saul draweth nigh to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and saith, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, where [is] this -- the seer's house?'

¹⁹ And Samuel answereth Saul and saith, `I [am] the seer; go up before me into the high place, and ye have eaten with me to-day, and I have sent thee away in the morning, and all that [is] in thy heart I declare to thee.

²⁰ As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom [is] all the desire of Israel?' is it not to thee and to all thy father's house?'

²¹ And Saul answereth and saith, `Am not I a Benjamite -- of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken unto me according to this word?'

²² And Samuel taketh Saul, and his young man, and bringeth them in to the chamber, and giveth to them a place at the head of those called; and they [are] about thirty men.

²³ And Samuel saith to the cook, `Give the portion which I gave to thee, of which I said unto thee, `Set it by thee?'

²⁴ (and the cook lifteth up the leg, and that which [is] on it, and setteth before Saul), and he saith, `Lo, that which is left; set [it] before thee -- eat, for to this appointed season it is kept for thee, saying, The people I have called;' and Saul eateth with Samuel on that day.

²⁵ And they come down from the high place to the city, and he speaketh with Saul on the roof.

²⁶ And they rise early, and it cometh to pass, at the ascending of the dawn, that Samuel calleth unto Saul, on the roof, saying, `Rise, and I send thee away;' and Saul riseth, and they go out, both of them -- he and Samuel, without.

²⁷ They are going down in the extremity of the city, and Samuel hath said unto Saul, `Say to the young man that he pass on before us (and he passeth on), and thou, stand at this time, and I cause thee to hear the word of God.'