1 Samuel 6–8

¹And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months, ²and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, ‘What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its place?’ ³And they say, ‘If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from you.’ ⁴And they say, ‘What is the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?’ and they say, ‘The number of the princes of the Philistines—five golden emerods, and five golden mice—for one plague is to you all, and to your princes, ⁵and ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land; ⁶and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not—when He hath rolled Himself upon them—send them away, and they go?

⁷‘And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling kine, on which a yoke hath not gone up, and ye have bound the kine in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house, ⁸and ye have taken the ark of Jehovah, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which ye have returned to Him—a guilt-offering—ye put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it hath gone; ⁹and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh—He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.’

¹⁰And the men do so, and take two suckling kine, and bind them in the cart, and their young ones they have shut up in the house; ¹¹and they place the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the coffer, and the golden mice, and the images of their emerods. ¹²And the kine go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, in one highway they have gone, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them unto the border of Beth-Shemesh. ¹³And the Beth-Shemeshites are reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and see the ark, and rejoice to see it. ¹⁴And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there is a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend—a burnt-offering to Jehovah. ¹⁵And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer which is with it, in which are the vessels of gold, and place them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-Shemesh have caused to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah; ¹⁶and the five princes of the Philistines have seen it, and turn back to Ekron, on that day. ¹⁷And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines have sent back—a guilt-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; ¹⁸and the golden mice—the number of all the cities of the Philistines—for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah—are unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.

¹⁹And He smiteth among the men of Beth-Shemesh, for they looked into the ark of Jehovah, yea, He smiteth among the people seventy men—fifty chief men; and the people mourn, because Jehovah smote among the people—a great smiting. ²⁰And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, ‘Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?’ ²¹And they send messengers unto the inhabitants of Kirjath-Jearim, saying, ‘The Philistines have sent back the ark of Jehovah; come down, take it up unto you.’

Chapter 7

¹And 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. ²And 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.

³And 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.’ ⁴And the sons of Israel turn aside the Baalim and Ashtaroth, and serve Jehovah alone; ⁵and Samuel saith, ‘Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I pray for you unto Jehovah.’ ⁶And 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.

⁷And 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. ⁸And 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.’ ⁹And 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; ¹⁰and 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. ¹¹And the men of Israel go out from Mizpeh, and pursue the Philistines, and smite them unto the place of Beth-Car. ¹²And Samuel taketh a stone, and setteth it between Mizpeh and Shen, and calleth its name Eben-Ezer, saying, ‘Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.’

¹³And 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. ¹⁴And 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. ¹⁵And Samuel judgeth Israel all the days of his life, ¹⁶and he hath gone from year to year, and gone round Beth-El, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all these places; ¹⁷and his returning is to Ramath, for there is his house, and there he hath judged Israel, and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

Chapter 8

¹And it cometh to pass, when Samuel is aged, that he maketh his sons judges over Israel. ²And the name of his first-born son is Joel, and the name of his second Abiah, judges in Beer-Sheba: ³and his sons have not walked in his ways, and turn aside after the dishonest gain, and take a bribe, and turn aside judgment.

⁴And all the elders of Israel gather themselves together, and come in unto Samuel to Ramath, ⁵and 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.’ ⁶And 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. ⁷And 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. ⁸According 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. ⁹And 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.’ ¹⁰And Samuel speaketh all the words of Jehovah unto the people who are asking from him a king, ¹¹and 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; ¹²also 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; ¹⁴and your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards—the best—he doth take, and hath given to his servants. ¹⁵And your seed and your vineyards he doth tithe, and hath given to his eunuchs, and to his servants. ¹⁶And 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; ¹⁷your flock he doth tithe, and ye are to him for servants. ¹⁸And 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.’ ¹⁹And the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel, and say, ‘Nay, but a king is over us, ²⁰and we have been, even we, like all the nations; and our king hath judged us, and gone out before us, and fought our battles.’ ²¹And Samuel heareth all the words of the people, and speaketh them in the ears of Jehovah; ²²and 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.’

Chapter 9