1 Samuel 6–8

The Ark Returned to Israel

6When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, ²the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners^g and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.”

³They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift;^h by all means send a guilt offeringⁱ to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand^j has not been lifted from you.”

⁴The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?”

They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number^k of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague^l has struck both you and your rulers. ⁵Make models of the tumors^m and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give gloryⁿ to Israel’s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. ⁶Why do you harden^o your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel’s god dealt harshly with them,^p did they^q not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

⁷“Now then, get a new cart^r ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked.^s Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. ⁸Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, ⁹but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh,^t then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. ¹¹They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. ¹²Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat^u in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. ¹⁴The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering^v to the Lord. ¹⁵The Levites^w took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock.^x On that day the people of Beth Shemesh^y offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁶The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.

¹⁷These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord—one each^z for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. ¹⁸And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers—the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹But God struck down^a some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy^a of them to death because they looked^b into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. ²⁰And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand^c in the presence of the Lord, this holy^d God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”

²¹Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim,^e saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.”

7So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark^f of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s^g house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. ²The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim^h a long time—twenty years in all.

Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah

Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord.^{i 3}So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning^j to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid^k yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths^l and commit^m yourselves to the Lord and serve him only,ⁿ and he will deliver^o you out of the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

⁵Then Samuel^p said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah,^q and I will intercede^r with the Lord for you.” ⁶When they had assembled at Mizpah,^s they drew water and poured^t it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now Samuel was serving as leader^au of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid^v because of the Philistines. ⁸They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying^w out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹Then Samuel^x took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.^y

¹⁰While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered^z with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic^a that they were routed before the Israelites. ¹¹The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.

¹²Then Samuel took a stone^b and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,^bc saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

¹³So the Philistines were subdued^d and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. ¹⁴The towns from Ekron^e to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.^f

¹⁵Samuel^g continued as Israel’s leader^h allⁱ the days of his life. ¹⁶From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel^j to Gilgal^k to Mizpah, judging^l Israel in all those places. ¹⁷But he always went back to Ramah,^m where his home was, and there he also held courtⁿ for Israel. And he built an altar^o there to the Lord.

Israel Asks for a King

8When Samuel grew old, he appointed^p his sons as Israel’s leaders.^{a 2}The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah,^q and they served at Beersheba.^{r 3}But his sons^s did not follow his ways. They turned aside^t after dishonest gain and accepted bribes^u and perverted^v justice.

⁴So all the elders^w of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.^{x 5}They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king^y to lead^bz us, such as all the other nations^a have.”

⁶But when they said, “Give us a king^b to lead us,” this displeased^c Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷And the Lord told him: “Listen^d to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,^e but they have rejected me as their king.^{f 8}As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking^g me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know^h what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

¹⁰Samuel toldⁱ all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take^j your sons and make them serve^k with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.^{l 12}Some he will assign to be commanders^m of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴He will take the best of yourⁿ fields and vineyards^o and olive groves and give them to his attendants.^{p 15}He will take a tenth^q of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^c and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer^r you in that day.^s”

¹⁹But the people refused^t to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want^u a king^v over us. ²⁰Then we will be like all the other nations,^w with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated^x it before the Lord. ²²The Lord answered, “Listen^y to them and give them a king.”

Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”