1 Samuel 2
1Hannah prayed, and said,
“My heart exults in the LORD!
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
2There is no one as holy as the LORD,
for there is no one besides you,
nor is there any rock like our God.
“Don’t keep talking so exceedingly proudly.
Don’t let arrogance come out of your mouth,
for the LORD is a God of knowledge.
By him actions are weighed.
“The bows of the mighty men are broken.
Those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread.
Those who were hungry are satisfied.
Yes, the barren has borne seven.
She who has many children languishes.
“The LORD kills and makes alive.
He brings down to Sheol and brings up.
7The LORD makes poor and makes rich.
He brings low, he also lifts up.
8He raises up the poor out of the dust.
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill
to make them sit with princes
and inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s.
He has set the world on them.
9He will keep the feet of his holy ones,
but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness;
for no man will prevail by strength.
10Those who strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces.
He will thunder against them in the sky.
“The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
11Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served the LORD before Eli the priest.
12Now the sons of Eli were wicked men. They didn’t know the LORD. 13The custom of the priests with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the meat was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand; 14and he stabbed it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. The priest took all that the fork brought up for himself. They did this to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. 15Yes, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.”
16If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as your soul desires;” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” 17The sin of the young men was very great before the LORD; for the men despised the LORD’s offering. 18But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod. 19Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, “May the LORD give you offspring from this woman for the petition which was asked of the LORD.” Then they went to their own home. 21The LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before the LORD.
22Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they slept with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 23He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear! You make the LORD’s people disobey. 25If one man sins against another, God will judge him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” Notwithstanding, they didn’t listen to the voice of their father, because the LORD intended to kill them.
26The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with the LORD and also with men.
27A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “The LORD says, ‘Did I reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? 28Didn’t I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? Didn’t I give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?’ 30“Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.’ But now the LORD says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed. 31Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, that there will not be an old man in your house. 32You will see the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which I will give Israel. There shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33The man of yours whom I don’t cut off from my altar will consume your eyes and grieve your heart. All the increase of your house will die in the flower of their age. 34This will be the sign to you that will come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they will both die. 35I will raise up a faithful priest for myself who will do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house. He will walk before my anointed forever. 36It will happen that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will say, “Please put me into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”
1 Samuel 3
1The child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. The LORD’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then. 2At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see), 3and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in the LORD’s temple where God’s ark was, 4The LORD called Samuel. He said, “Here I am.”
5He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call. Lie down again.” He went and lay down. 6The LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son. Lie down again.” 7Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD, neither was the LORD’s word yet revealed to him. 8The LORD called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
11The LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end. 13For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them. 14Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”
15Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the LORD’s house. Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision. 16Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”
17He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”
18Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 21The LORD appeared again in Shiloh; for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the LORD’s word.
1 Samuel 4
1The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 3When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let’s get the ark of the LORD’s covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.”
4So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Armies, who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” They understood that the LORD’s ark had come into the camp. 7The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” They said, “Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before. 8Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Be strong and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen yourselves like men, and fight!” 10The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter; for thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell. 11God’s ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
12A man of Benjamin ran out of the army and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out. 14When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?” The man hurried, and came and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see. 16The man said to Eli, “I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.” He said, “How did the matter go, my son?”
17He who brought the news answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and God’s ark has been captured.”
18When he made mention of God’s ark, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to giving birth. When she heard the news that God’s ark was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her. 20About the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer, neither did she regard it. 21She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because God’s ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, “The glory has departed from Israel; for God’s ark has been taken.”
1 Samuel 5
1Now the Philistines had taken God’s ark, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2The Philistines took God’s ark, and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the LORD’s ark. They took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4When they arose early on the following morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the LORD’s ark; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso was intact. 5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 6But the LORD’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
7When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us, for his hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” 8They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over to Gath.” They carried the ark of the God of Israel there. 9It was so, that after they had carried it there, the LORD’s hand was against the city with a very great confusion; and he struck the men of the city, both small and great, so that tumors broke out on them. 10So they sent God’s ark to Ekron. As God’s ark came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel here to us, to kill us and our people.” 11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the ark of the God of Israel away, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly panic throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12The men who didn’t die were struck with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 6
1The LORD’s ark was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the LORD’s ark? Show us how we should send it to its place.”
3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, don’t send it empty; but by all means return a trespass offering to him. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.”
4Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?” They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 6Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had worked wonderfully among them, didn’t they let the people go, and they departed?
7“Now therefore take and prepare yourselves a new cart and two milk cows on which there has come no yoke; and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them; 8and take the LORD’s ark and lay it on the cart. Put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a trespass offering, in a box by its side; and send it away, that it may go. 9Behold, if it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us.”
10The men did so, and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11They put the LORD’s ark on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12The cows took the straight way by the way to Beth Shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh. 13The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they split the wood of the cart and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to the LORD. 15The Levites took down the LORD’s ark and the box that was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the LORD. 16When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to the LORD: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone on which they set down the LORD’s ark. That stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. 19He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the LORD’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter. 20The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?”
21They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the LORD’s ark. Come down and bring it up to yourselves.”
1 Samuel 7
1The men of Kiriath Jearim came and took the LORD’s ark, and brought it into Abinadab’s house on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the LORD’s ark. 2From the day that the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim, the time was long—for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. 3Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to the LORD, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4Then the children of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. 5Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6They gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the LORD.” Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
7When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8The children of Israel said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” 9Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Samuel cried to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines came near to battle against Israel; but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines and confused them; and they were struck down before Israel. 11The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them until they came under Beth Kar.
12Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “The LORD helped us until now.” 13So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped coming within the border of Israel. The LORD’s hand was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel recovered its border out of the hand of the Philistines. There was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16He went from year to year in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places. 17His return was to Ramah, for his house was there, and he judged Israel there; and he built an altar to the LORD there.
1 Samuel 8
1When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. 3His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned away after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah. 5They said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as the king over them. 8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they also do to you. 9Now therefore, listen to their voice. However, you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the way of the king who will reign over them.”
10Samuel told all the LORD’s words to the people who asked him for a king. 11He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots. 12He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest; and to make his instruments of war and the instruments of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers, to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even your best, and give them to his servants. 15He will take one tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys, and assign them to his own work. 17He will take one tenth of your flocks; and you will be his servants. 18You will cry out in that day because of your king whom you will have chosen for yourselves; and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”
21Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and make them a king.” Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Everyone go to your own city.”
1 Samuel 9
1Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. 2He had a son whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a more handsome person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people.
3The donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, “Now take one of the servants with you, and arise, go look for the donkeys.” 4He passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they didn’t find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they weren’t there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they didn’t find them.
5When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come! Let’s return, lest my father stop caring about the donkeys and be anxious for us.”
6The servant said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says surely happens. Now let’s go there. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.”
7Then Saul said to his servant, “But behold, if we go, what should we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our sacks, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
8The servant answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9(In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come! Let’s go to the seer;” for he who is now called a prophet was before called a seer.)
10Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said. Come! Let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
12They answered them and said, “He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he has come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place. 13As soon as you have come into the city, you will immediately find him before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he comes, because he blesses the sacrifice. Afterwards those who are invited eat. Now therefore go up; for at this time you will find him.”
14They went up to the city. As they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them to go up to the high place.
15Now the LORD had revealed to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, 16“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He will save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people, because their cry has come to me.”
17When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! He will have authority over my people.”
18Then Saul approached Samuel in the gateway, and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
19Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you are to eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20As for your donkeys who were lost three days ago, don’t set your mind on them, for they have been found. For whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you and all your father’s house?”
21Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me like this?”
22Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the guest room, and made them sit in the best place among those who were invited, who were about thirty persons. 23Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’” 24The cook took up the thigh, and that which was on it, and set it before Saul. Samuel said, “Behold, that which has been reserved! Set it before yourself and eat; because it has been kept for you for the appointed time, for I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25When they had come down from the high place into the city, he talked with Saul on the housetop. 26They arose early; and about daybreak, Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” Saul arose, and they both went outside, he and Samuel, together. 27As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” He went ahead, then Samuel said, “But stand still first, that I may cause you to hear God’s message.”
1 Samuel 10
1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Hasn’t the LORD anointed you to be prince over his inheritance? 2When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found; and behold, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”’
3“Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine. 4They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hand.
5“After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6Then the LORD’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man. 7Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you.
8“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do.” 9It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day. 10When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them. 11When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
12One from the same place answered, “Who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.”
15Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”
16Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him.
17Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah; 18and he said to the children of Israel, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22Therefore they asked of the LORD further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” The LORD answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
23They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” All the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
25Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no tribute. But he held his peace.
1 Samuel 11
1Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”
2Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make it with you, that all your right eyes be gouged out. I will make this dishonor all Israel.”
3The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel; and then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” 4Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke these words in the ears of the people, then all the people lifted up their voice and wept.
5Behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, “What ails the people that they weep?” They told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6God’s Spirit came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger burned hot. 7He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, then sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever doesn’t come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” The dread of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out as one man. 8He counted them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9They said to the messengers who came, “Tell the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be rescued.’” The messengers came and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you shall do with us all that seems good to you.” 11On the next day, Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the middle of the camp in the morning watch, and struck the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who remained were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12The people said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring those men, that we may put them to death!”
13Saul said, “No man shall be put to death today; for today the LORD has rescued Israel.”
14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come! Let’s go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.” 15All the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
1 Samuel 12
1Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to this day. 3Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4They said, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand.”
5He said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” They said, “He is witness.” 6Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8“When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place. 9But they forgot the LORD their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10They cried to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11The LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.
12“When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king. 13Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. Behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14If you will fear the LORD, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the LORD your God. 15But if you will not listen to the LORD’s voice, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the LORD’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16“Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the LORD’s sight, in asking for a king.”
18So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
19All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.”
20Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn away from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21Don’t turn away to go after vain things which can’t profit or deliver, for they are vain. 22For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. 23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you. 25But if you keep doing evil, you will be consumed, both you and your king.”
1 Samuel 13
1Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.
2Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents. 3Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel was considered an abomination to the Philistines. The people were gathered together after Saul to Gilgal. 5The Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel: thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth Aven. 6When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in tombs, and in pits. 7Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8He stayed seven days, according to the time set by Samuel; but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering to me here, and the peace offerings.” He offered the burnt offering.
10It came to pass that as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you didn’t come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash, 12therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven’t entreated the favor of the LORD.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt offering.”
13Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you; for now the LORD would have established your kingdom on Israel forever. 14But now your kingdom will not continue. The LORD has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that which the LORD commanded you.”
15Samuel arose, and went from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. 16Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17The raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18another company turned the way to Beth Horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. 19Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears”; 20but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, each man to sharpen his own plowshare, mattock, ax, and sickle. 21The price was one payim each to sharpen mattocks, plowshares, pitchforks, axes, and goads. 22So it came to pass in the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.
23The garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.