Feb 28 - 1 Samuel 4-8
1 Samuel
1And it happened that, in those days, the Philistines assembled to fight. And Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and he made camp beside the Stone of Assistance. But the Philistines went to Aphek2and they positioned their troops against Israel. Then, when the conflict began, Israel turned his back to the Philistines. And they were cut down in that conflict, in various places in the fields, about four thousand men3And the people returned to the camp. And those greater by birth of Israel said: "Why has the Lord struck us today before the Philistines? Let us bring to ourselves the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. And let it enter into our midst, so that it may save us from the hand of our enemies.4Therefore, the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, sitting upon the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God5And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord had arrived in the camp, all of Israel shouted with a great clamor, and the land resounded6And the Philistines heard the voice of the clamor, and they said, "What is this voice of a great clamor in the camp of the Hebrews?" And they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived in the camp7And the Philistines were afraid, saying, "God has entered into the camp." And they groaned, saying8"Woe to us! For there was no such great exultation yesterday, or the day before. Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these sublime gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with all the plagues, in the desert.9"Be strengthened, and be manly, O Philistines! Otherwise, you may serve the Hebrews, as they also have served you. Be strengthened and wage war!10Therefore, the Philistines fought, and Israel was cut down, and each one fled to his own tent. And an exceedingly great slaughter occurred. And thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell11And the ark of God was captured. Also, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died12Now a man of Benjamin, rushing from the troops, arrived at Shiloh on the same day, with his clothing torn, and with his head sprinkled with dust13And when he had arrived, Eli was sitting on a seat opposite the way, gazing out. For his heart was fearful on behalf of the ark of God. Then, after this man entered the city, he announced it to the city. And the entire city wailed14And Eli heard the sound of the outcry, and he said, "What is this sound, this tumult?" And the man hurried, and he went and announced it to Eli15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had dimmed, so that he was not able to see16And he said to Eli: "I am the one who came from the battle. And it is I who fled from the troops today." And he said to him, "What has happened, my son?17And responding, the man reported and said: "Israel has fled before the Philistines. And a great ruin has happened to the people. Moreover, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also have died. And the ark of God has been captured.18And when he had named the ark of God, he fell from the seat backwards, toward the door, and, having broken his neck, he died. For he was an old man of great age. And he judged Israel for forty years19Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, and her delivery was near. And upon hearing the news that the ark of God had been captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she bent down and went into labor. For her pains rushed upon her suddenly20Then, when she was near death, those who were standing around her said to her, "You should not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond to them, and she did not notice them.21And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory of Israel has been taken away," because the ark of God was captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband22And she said, "The glory has been taken away from Israel," because the ark of God had been captured
1Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and they transported it from the Stone of Assistance into Ashdod2And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it into the temple of Dagon. And they stationed it beside Dagon3And when the Ashdodites had risen up at first light on the next day, behold, Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and they set him again in his place4And again, on the next day, rising up in the morning, they found Dagon lying on his face upon the ground, before the ark of the Lord. But the head of Dagon, and both palms of his hands had been cut off upon the threshold5Moreover, only the trunk of Dagon remained in its place. For this reason, the priests of Dagon, and all who enter his temple, do not tread upon the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, even to this day6Now the hand of the Lord weighed heavily upon the Ashdodites, and he destroyed them. And he struck Ashdod and its borders at the inner part of the buttocks. And in the villages and fields, in the midst of that region, mice rose up and burst forth. And this caused a great tumult unto death in the city7Then the men of Ashdod, seeing this kind of plague, said: "The ark of the God of Israel shall not remain with us. For his hand is harsh, over us and over Dagon, our god.8And sending, they gathered together all the princes of the Philistines to them, and they said, "What shall we do about the ark of the God of Israel?" And the Gathites responded, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be led around." And they led the ark of the God of Israel around9And as they were carrying it around, the hand of the Lord fell upon every single city with an exceedingly great slaughter. And he struck down the men of each and every city, from the small even to the great. And cysts were festering at their buttocks. And the Gathites took counsel, and they made for themselves seat covers from pelts10Therefore, they sent the ark of God into Ekron. And when the ark of God had arrived at Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, so that it may kill us and our people!11And so they sent and gathered together all the princes of the Philistines, and they said: "Release the ark of the God of Israel, and return it to its own place. And let it not kill us, with our people.12For the fear of death fell upon every single city, and the hand of God was very heavy. Also, the men who did not die were being afflicted in the inner part of the buttocks. And the wailing of each city was ascending to heaven
1Now the ark of the Lord was in the region of the Philistines for seven months2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: "What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Reveal to us in what manner we should send it back to its place." And they said3"If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, do not choose to release it empty. Instead, repay to him what you owe because of sin. And then you will be cured. And you will know why his hand did not withdraw from you.4And they said, "What is it that we ought to repay to him because of transgression?" And they responded5"In accord with the number of the provinces of the Philistines, you shall fashion five gold cysts and five gold mice. For the same plague has been upon all of you and your princes. And you shall fashion a likeness of your cysts and a likeness of the mice, which have destroyed the land. And so shall you give glory to the God of Israel, so that perhaps he may lift off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land6Why have you hardened your hearts, just as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he was struck, did he not then release them, and they went away7Now therefore, fashion and take a new cart, with two cows that have given birth, but on which no yoke has been imposed. And yoke them to the cart, but retain their calves at home8And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and you shall place it upon the cart, with the articles of gold that you have paid to him on behalf of transgression. You shall place these in a little box at its side. And release it, so that it may go9And you shall watch. And if, indeed, it ascends by the way of his own parts, toward Beth-shemesh, then he has done this great evil to us. But if not, then we shall know that it is by no means his hand that has touched us, but instead it happened by chance.10Therefore, they did it in this way. And taking two cows that were feeding calves, they yoked them to the cart, and they enclosed their calves at home11And they placed the ark of God upon the cart, with the little box that held the gold mice and the likenesses of the cysts12But the cows went directly along the way that leads to Beth-shemesh. And they advanced only in one direction, lowing as they went. And they did not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left. Moreover, the princes of the Philistines followed them, as far as the borders of Beth-shemesh13Now the Beth-shemeshites were harvesting wheat in the valley. And lifting up their eyes, they saw the ark, and they were glad when they had seen it14And the cart went into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemeshite, and it stood still there. Now in that place was a great stone, and so they cut up the wood of the cart, and they placed the cows upon it as a holocaust to the Lord15But the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that was at its side, in which were the articles of gold, and they placed them upon the great stone. Then the men of Beth-shemesh offered holocausts and immolated victims, on that day, to the Lord16And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they returned to Ekron on the same day17Now these are the gold cysts, which the Philistines repaid to the Lord for transgression: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one18And there were gold mice, according to the number of the cities of the Philistines, of the five provinces, from the fortified city to the village that was without a wall, and even to the great stone upon which they placed the ark of the Lord, which was, at last in that day, in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemeshite19Then he struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had seen the ark of the Lord. And he struck down some of the people: seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter20And the men of Beth-shemesh said: "Who will be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God? And who will ascend to him from us?21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying: "The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Descend and lead it back to you.
1Then the men of Kiriath-jearim arrived, and they led away the ark of the Lord. And they brought it into the house of Abinadab, in Gibeah. Then they sanctified Eleazar, his son, so that he might care for the ark of the Lord2And it happened that, from that day, the ark of the Lord remained in Kiriath-jearim. And the days were multiplied (for it was now the twentieth year) and all the house of Israel rested, following the Lord3Then Samuel spoke to the entire house of Israel, saying: "If you would return to the Lord with your whole heart, take away strange gods from among you, the Baals and Ashtaroth, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve him alone. And he will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.4Therefore, the sons of Israel took away the Baals and Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord alone5And Samuel said, "Gather all of Israel at Mizpah, so that I may pray for you to the Lord.6And they convened at Mizpah. And they drew water, and they poured it out in the sight of the Lord. And on that day they fasted, and in that place they said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah7And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. And the princes of the Philistines ascended against Israel. And when the sons of Israel had heard this, they were afraid before the face of the Philistines8And they said to Samuel, "May you not cease to cry out to the Lord our God on our behalf, so that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.9Then Samuel took one suckling lamb, and he offered it whole, as a holocaust to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord heeded him10Then it happened that, while Samuel was offering the holocaust, the Philistines began the battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great crash, on that day, over the Philistines, and he terrified them, and they were cut down before the face of Israel11And the men of Israel, departing from Mizpah, pursued the Philistines, and they struck them down as far as the place which was below Bethcar12Then Samuel took a single stone, and he placed it between Mizpah and Shen. And he called the name of this place: The Stone of Assistance. And he said, "For in this place the Lord gave assistance to us.13And the Philistines were humbled, and they no longer drew near, so that they might enter into the borders of Israel. And so, the hand of the Lord was over the Philistines during all the days of Samuel14And the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron as far as Gath, with their borders. And he freed Israel from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites15And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life16And he went each year, traveling around to Bethel, and to Gilgal, and to Mizpah, and he judged Israel in the above-stated places17And he returned to Ramah. For his house was there, and he judged Israel there. And then he built an altar to the Lord there
1And it happened that, when Samuel had become old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel2Now the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of the second was Abijah: judges at Beersheba3But his sons did not walk in his ways. Instead, they turned aside, pursuing avarice. And they accepted bribes, and they perverted judgment4Therefore, all those greater by birth of Israel, having gathered together, went to Samuel at Ramah5And they said to him: "Behold, you are elderly, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Appoint for us a king, so that he may judge us, just as all the nations have.6And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, for they had said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord7Then the Lord said to Samuel: "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they are saying to you. For they have not rejected you, but me, lest I reign over them8In accord with all their works, which they have done from the day when I led them away from Egypt, even to this day: just as they have forsaken me, and served foreign gods, so now they also do to you9Now therefore, hear their voice. Yet truly, testify to them and foretell to them the rights of the king who will reign over them.10And so, Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people, who had petitioned a king from him11And he said: "This will be the right of the king who will have authority over you: He will take your sons, and place them in his chariots. And he will make them his horsemen and his runners before his four-horse chariots12And he will appoint them to be his tribunes and centurions, and the plowmen of his fields, and the harvesters of the grain, and the makers of his weapons and chariots13Likewise, your daughters he will take for himself as makers of ointments, and as cooks and bakers14Also, he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your best olive groves, and he will give them to his servants15Moreover, he will take one tenth of your grain and of the results of your vineyards, so that he may give these to his eunuchs and servants16Then, too, he will take your servants, and handmaids, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and he will set them to his work17Also, he will take a tenth of your flocks. And you will be his servants18And you will cry out, in that day, from the face of the king, whom you have chosen for yourselves. And the Lord will not heed you, in that day. For you requested a king for yourselves.19But the people were not willing to listen to the voice of Samuel. Instead, they said: "By no means! For there shall be a king over us20and we shall be just like all the Gentiles. And our king will judge us, and he will go out before us, and he will fight our wars for us.21And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them to the ears of the Lord22Then the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and appoint a king over them." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Let each one go to his own city.