^7:3Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth.⁴ Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you⁵ from the hand of the Philistines.” ^7:4So the Israelites⁶ removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

^7:5Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” ^7:6After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed⁷ there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led⁸ the people of Israel at Mizpah.

^7:7When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. ^7:8The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep⁹ crying out to the Lord our¹⁰ God so that he may save us¹¹ from the hand of the Philistines!” ^7:9So Samuel took a nursing lamb¹² and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.

^7:10As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel.¹³ But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by¹⁴ Israel. ^7:11Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

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Footnotes

4 Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity. The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.
5 Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
6 Heb “the sons of Israel.”
7 Heb “said.”
8 Heb “judged”; “began to judge”; “settled disputes among.”
9 Heb “don’t stop.”
10 The reads “your God” rather than the ’s “our God.”
11 After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
12 Heb “a lamb of milk”; “an unweaned lamb”; “a suckling lamb”; “a baby lamb.”
13 Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
14 Heb “before.”