which had two wives, the one called Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

And the said man went out of his city every feastful day, to pray and to offer unto the LORD of Hosts: where the two sons of Eli - Hophni and Phinehas - were the LORD's priests.

And it fell on a day, as Elkanah had offered, that he gave to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters portions.

And so did she year by year, as oft as she went up to the house of the LORD. And so chafed her: wherefore Hannah wept and ate not.

Then said Elkanah her husband to her, "Hannah why weepest thou? And why eatest thou not? And why is thine heart so troubled? Am not I better to thee, than ten sons?"

Count not thine handmaid to be like a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my meditation and grief have I spoken hitherto."

And they rose up early and bowed themselves before the LORD, and then returned and went to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah lay by his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

And Elkanah and all his house went up to offer unto the LORD, both the offerings due for the feast and also his vows.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seemeth thee best: tarry until thou hast weaned him, only the LORD make good his saying." And so the woman abode and gave her son suck, until she weaned him.

And they slew the bullocks and brought in the lad to Eli,

They that were full, have hired out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry cease so to be: insomuch that the barren hath borne seven, and she that had many children is waxed feeble.

The LORD killeth and maketh alive; bringeth down to hell and fetcheth up again.

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill: to set them among princes, and to inherit them with the seat of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the round world upon them.

The LORD's adversaries shall be made to fear him: and out of heaven he shall thunder upon them. The LORD shall judge the ends of the world, and shall give might unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."

And Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house, and the lad did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

and thrust it into the pan, kettle, cauldron or pot. And all that the flesh hook brought up the priest took away. And so they did unto all Israel that came thither to Shiloh.

Yea, and thereto before they had offered the fat, the priest's lad came and said to the man that offered, "Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw."

And if any man said unto him, "Let the fat be offered according to the day, and then take as much as thine heart desireth." The lad would answer him, "Thou shalt give it me now, or else I will take it with violence."

Moreover, his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from feast to feast when she came up with her husband to offer the offering of the said feast.

And the LORD visited Hannah for that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters. But the boy Samuel grew, dwelling still with the LORD.

and said unto them, "Why do ye such things? For I hear your wicked deeds of all these people.

Oh, nay my sons: For it is no good report that I hear how that ye make the LORD's people to trespass.

If one man sin against another, the judge can redress it. But if a man sin against the LORD, who can redress it?" Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, for the LORD's will was to slay them.

And I chose thy father out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest for to offer upon mine altar and to burn cense, and to wear an ephod before me. And I gave unto the house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel.

Yet will I will not root out every man of thee from mine altar, but that thine eyes may be consumed, and thy soul may be sorry. And a great multitude of thine house shall die young.

And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: Even in one day they shall die, both of them.

And I will stir me up a faithful priest that shall do as it is in mine heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house. And he shall walk before mine anointed forever.

And they that are left in thine house, shall come and crouch to him for a little piece of silver and a cake of bread, and shall say: put me, I pray thee, in one office or other among the priests, that I may eat a morsel of bread.'"

And it chanced at that time, that Eli lay in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim that he could not see.

And before the lamp of God went out Samuel laid him down to sleep, in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

And he ran unto Eli and said, "Here am I for thou calledest me." And he said, "I called thee not: go again and sleep." And he went and laid him down to sleep.

And the LORD called once again, "Samuel." And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "I am here, thou didst call me." And he answered, "I called thee not my son. Go again and take thy rest."

And the LORD went and called Samuel the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "I am here, for thou hast called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the lad.

And the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, that the ears of as many as heareth it, shall tingle.

In that day I will perform to Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin it and end it.

And Samuel lay till morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. But Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.

And he said, "What is that he said unto thee? See ye hide it not from me. The LORD do so and so to thee, if thou hide anything from me, of all that he said unto thee."

And Samuel told him every whit and hid it not from him. And he answered, "It is the LORD, let him do what seemeth him best."

And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba wist that Samuel was truly made the LORD's prophet.

And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD opened himself to Samuel in Shiloh, through the word of the LORD.

And Samuel spake unto all Israel. And Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside the help stone. And the Philistines pitched in Aphek,

and put themselves in array against Israel. And in the end of the battle Israel was put to the worse before the Philistines. And the Philistines slew in array along by the fields, about a four thousand men.

And when the people were come into their tents, the elders of Israel said, "Wherefore hath the LORD beaten us this day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD, out of Shiloh unto us, and let it come among us and save us out of the hands of our enemies."

And the people sent to Shiloh, and fetched from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts which dwelleth between the Cherubims. And there were the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas with the ark of the covenant of God.

Be strong and quit yourselves like men, ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men therefore and fight."

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was put to the worse and fled, every man into his tent. And there was a mighty great slaughter, so that there were overthrown of Israel, thirty thousand footmen.

And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were dead.

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the array and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent and earth upon his head.

And the man said unto Eli, "I am he that came out of the array and fled out of the host this day." And he said, "How is it fortuned, my son?"

And the messenger answered and said, "Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there is a great slaughter chanced among the people, and thy two sons Hophni and Phinehas are dead, and thereto the ark of God is taken."

And when they were up early in the next morning behold, Dagon lay groveling upon the ground before the ark of the LORD, and his head and his two hands cut off upon the threshold, that the body only was left on him.

Wherefore neither the priests of Dagon, neither any man that cometh into Dagon's house might tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, unto this day.

And so they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" Then said they of Gath, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about." And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about.

Then they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel unto us: to slay us and our people."

insomuch that they which died not, were smitten with the hemorrhoids: so that the cry of the city went up to heaven.

the Philistines called for the priests and the soothsayers saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us wherewith we shall send it home again."

They answered, "If you send the ark of the God of Israel home again, send it not empty: But reward it with a trespass offering; and then ye shall be whole, and it shall be known to you, why his hand departeth not from you."

Then said they, "What shall be the trespass offering which we shall reward him with?" And they answered, "Five golden arses with hemorrhoids and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For it was one manner of plague that was on you all, and on your lords too.

Wherefore ye shall make images like to your arses with hemorrhoids and images like to your mice that destroyed your land, and shall give glory unto the God of Israel: that he may take his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

Wherefore should ye harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? Which for all that, when he had played his pageants with them, were fain to let the people go and depart.

Now therefore make a new cart and take two milk kine, on whose neck never came yoke. And tie the kine in the cart, and bring the calves home from them.

And mark if he go up by the way that leadeth unto his own coast, to Bethshemesh, then it is he that did us this great evil. But and if he do not, then it is not his hand that smote us, but it was a chance that happened us."

And the men did even so: they took two kine that gave milk and tied them in the cart, and kept the calves at home,

And the kine took the straight way to Bethshemesh, both one way, and as they went, lowed, turning neither to the righthand nor to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them until they came to the borders of Bethshemesh.

And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the forcer that was thereby, wherein the Jewels of gold were and put them on the great stone. And the men of Bethshemesh sacrificed burnt sacrifice and offered offerings that same day unto the LORD.

And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

These are the golden arses with hemorrhoids which the Philistines gave to amends for a trespass offering to the LORD: for Ashdod one; for Gaza one; for Ashkelon one; for Gath one; and for Ekron one.

And the golden mice were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines through the five lordships: both of walled towns and of towns unwalled, even unto the great stone whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite.

And the men of Bethshemesh said, "Who is able to stand before the LORD, so holy a God, and to whom shall he go from us?"

And they sent messengers to the inhabiters of Kiriathjearim saying, "The Philistines have brought home again the Ark of the LORD: come down and fetch it up to you."

And the men of Kiriathjearim came and set up the ark of the LORD, and brought it unto the house of Abinadab in Gibeah and sanctified Eleazar his son to wait upon the ark of the LORD.

Then said Samuel, "Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, that I may pray for you unto the LORD."

And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD and fasted the same day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the causes of the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard that, they were afraid of the Philistines,

and said to Samuel, "Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he may save us out of the hands of the Philistines."

And as Samuel offered the burnt offering, the Philistines came to fight against Israel. But the LORD thundered a great thunder the same day upon the Philistines, and turmoiled them, that they were beaten before Israel.

Thereto, the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel came again to Israel, even from Ekron to Gath, with the coasts of the same, which Israel plucked out of the hands of the Philistines. For there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

and went about year by year, to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places, and came again to Ramah:

Then all the elders of Israel gathered them together and came to Samuel unto Ramah,

and said unto him, "Behold, thou art old and thy sons follow not thy ways. Now, therefore, make us a king to judge us, as all other nations have."

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

And as they have ever done - since I brought them out of Egypt unto this day, and have forsaken me and served other gods - even so do they unto thee.

and he said, "This shall be the duty of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons and put them to his chariots and make his horsemen of them and they must run before his chariot,

and will make him captains of them over thousands and over fifties, and set them to ear his ground, and to gather in his harvest, and to make instruments of war and apparel for his chariots.

And he shall take the best of your fields, and of your vineyards and of your olive trees, and give them to his servants.

And he shall take the tenth of your seed and of your vines, and give it to his lords, and to his servants.

And he shall take the best of your menservants and maidservants and young men, and of your asses, and do his work with them.

And when ye cry out at that time upon your king which ye shall have chosen you, the LORD will not hear you at that day."

And the LORD said to Samuel, "Hearken unto their voice and make them a king." Then said Samuel unto the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

And it chanced that the asses of this Kish, Saul's father were lost. Then said Kish to Saul his son, "Take one of the lads with thee and up and go seek the asses."

Then when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the young man that was with him, "Come, let us return, lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us." And he answered him,

"Behold, there is in this city a worshipful man of God, and all that he sayeth cometh to pass. Now then let us go thither: peradventure he shall show us what way we may go."

Then said Saul to his lad, "If we go, what shall we bring the man? For our bread is all spent out of our hampers and there is none other present to bring the man of God. What have we?"

And the young man answered Saul again, and said, "I have found about me the fourth part of a sicle: that will we give the man of God to tell us our way."

Before time in Israel, when a man went to seek an answer of God, thus wise he spake: "Come, and let us go to the Seer." For he that is now called a prophet, was in the old time called a Seer.

Then said Saul to his young man, "Well said of thee, 'Come let us go.'" And so they went unto the city where the man of God was.

And as they were going up into the city, they met with damsels that came out to draw water, and said unto them, "Is there here a Seer?"

And the maidens answered them, "Yea, behold, he goeth before you. Make haste now, for he came this day to the city, for the people must offer this day in the hill.

When ye be come into the city, so shall you find him, yer he go up to the hill to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he must bless the offering. And then eat they that be bidden to the feast. Now therefore get you up for even now shall ye find him."

And they went up into the city. And when they were come into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the hill.