⁵Then Samuel sent for all the Israelites to meet at Mizpah, saying, “I will pray to the Lord for you there.” ⁶So they all gathered at Mizpah. They drew some water and poured it out as an offering to the Lord and fasted that whole day. They said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” (It was at Mizpah that Samuel settled disputes among the Israelites.)

⁷When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the five Philistine kings started out with their men to attack them. The Israelites heard about it and were afraid, ⁸and said to Samuel, “Keep praying to the Lord our God to save us from the Philistines.” ⁹Samuel killed a young lamb and burnt it whole as a sacrifice to the Lord. Then he prayed to the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered his prayer. ¹⁰While Samuel was offering the sacrifice, the Philistines moved forward to attack; but just then the Lord thundered from heaven against them. They became completely confused and fled in panic. ¹¹The Israelites marched out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines almost as far as Bethcar, killing them along the way.

¹²Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and said, “The Lord has helped us all the way”—and he named it “Stone of Help”. ¹³So the Philistines were defeated, and the Lord prevented them from invading Israel’s territory as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴All the cities which the Philistines had captured between Ekron and Gath were returned to Israel, and so Israel got back all its territory. And there was peace also between the Israelites and the Canaanites.

¹⁵Samuel ruled Israel as long as he lived. ¹⁶Every year he would go round to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and in these places he would settle disputes.

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