1 Samuel 7:5–14

⁵Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah,^q and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.”^{r 6}When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence.^s They fasted that day,^t and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.”^u And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

⁷When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. ⁸The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, so that he will save us from the Philistines.”

⁹Then Samuel took a young lamb^v and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.^{w 10}Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines approached to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly^x against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel.^{y 11}Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

¹²Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright^z between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,^B explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” ¹³So the Philistines were subdued^aa and^C did not invade Israel’s territory again.^ab The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life. ¹⁴The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.