Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

So Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

She vowed a vow, and said, "LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a boy, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head."

So Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you."

She said, "Let your handmaid find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way, and ate; and her facial expression wasn't sad any more.

But Hannah did not go up; for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and stay there forever. I will offer him as a Nazirite forever, all the days of his life."

And Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good in your eyes. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the LORD establish his word." So the woman waited and nursed her son, until she weaned him.

She said, "Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD.

Hannah 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.

He 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.

Yes, before they burnt 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."

If 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."

Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "The LORD give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of the LORD." They went to their own home.

He said to them, "Why do you do such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

A man of God came to Eli, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, I plainly revealed myself to the house of your father, when they were slaves in Egypt to the house of Pharaoh.

"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, 'Be it far from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am."

He ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." He said, "I did not call; lie down again." He went and lay down.

The LORD called yet again, "Samuel." Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."

The 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.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down: and 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.

The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, "Samuel. Samuel." Then Samuel said, "Speak; for your servant hears."

The LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am."

He said, "What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please do not 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."

Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, "It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him."

When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD struck us today before the Philistines? Let us get the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies."

When 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 ark of the LORD had come into the camp.

The 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.

When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

When 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.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.

The 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?"

It happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that 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.

About the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, "Do not be afraid; for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer, neither did she regard it.

She said, "The glory has departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken."

The Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

When the Ashdodites arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. They took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, 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."

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, 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." So they brought the ark of the God of Israel.

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly confusion throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return him a trespass offering: then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you."

Then they said, "What shall be the trespass offering 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.

and take the ark of the LORD, and lay it on the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by its side; and send it away, that it may go.

and 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, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD. That stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

The men of Beth Shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?"

Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to the LORD."

They 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.

The children of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines."

Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "The LORD helped us until now."

and they said to him, "Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." Samuel prayed to the LORD.

The 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, that I should not be king over them.

He said, "This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them to him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;

He will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No; but we will have a king over us,

The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and make them a king." Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city."

The donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, "Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys."

When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, and let us return, lest my father stop caring about the donkeys, and be anxious for us."

He said to him, "See now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says surely comes to pass. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey on which we have set out."

Then Saul said to his servant, "But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone in our vessels, and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?"

The 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."

Then Saul said to his servant, "Well said. Come, let us go." So they went to the city where the man of God was.

As 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?"

They answered them, and said, "He is. Behold, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place.

When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, "Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall have authority over my people."

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, "Please tell me where the seer's house is."

Samuel answered Saul, and said, "I am seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is in your heart.

As for your donkeys who were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them; for they have been found. And for whom does all Israel desire? Is it not for you, and for all your father's house?"

Samuel 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.

And Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I told you to set aside."

The cook took up the thigh, and that which was on it, and set it before Saul. And he said, "Behold, that which has been reserved. Set it before yourself and eat; because for the appointed time has it been kept for you, for I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

As they were going down at the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead," (and he passed on), "but remain here awhile, that I may make known to you the word of God."

Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, ?Has not the LORD anointed you to be ruler over his people Israel? And you shall rule over the people of the LORD, and you shall save them out of the hand of their enemies all around. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance.

It happened, when all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, "What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Saul'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."

Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."

Saul 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 did not tell him.

and he said to the children of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I brought up Israel 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:'

but you have this day rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, 'No. Set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands."

Samuel said to all the people, "You see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" All the people shouted, and said, "Let the king live."

But certain worthless fellows said, "How shall this man save us?" They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was severely oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He put out the right eye of all of them, and he would not allow anyone to rescue Israel. Not one was left of the children of Israel beyond the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, did not put out, except for seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and went to Jabesh Gilead.

After about a month, 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."

Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make it with you, that all your right eyes be put out; and I will lay it for a reproach on all Israel."

The 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."

Behold, 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.

They said to the messengers who came, "Thus you shall tell the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.'" The messengers came and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.

Therefore the men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you shall do with us all that seems good to you."

The people said to Samuel, "Who is he who said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring those men, that we may put them to death."

Saul said, "There shall not a man be put to death this day; for today the LORD has worked deliverance in Israel."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there."

Samuel 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.

They said, "You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything of any man's hand."

He said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." They said, "He is witness."

Samuel 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.

They 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.'

The LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.

"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.

Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have asked for: and behold, the LORD has set a king over you.

Isn't it wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking for a king."