And it hath been, when she multiplied praying before Jehovah, that Eli is watching her mouth,

Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.

Do not regard your maidservant as a wicked and worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and [bitter] provocation.”

And she saith, 'Let thy handmaid find grace in thine eyes;' and the woman goeth on her way, and eateth, and her countenance hath not been sad for it any more.

But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go till the child has been taken from the breast, and then I will take him with me and put him before the Lord, where he may be for ever.

Once the bull had been slaughtered, they brought the boy to Eli.

And Hannah prayeth, and saith: 'My heart hath exulted in Jehovah, My horn hath been high in Jehovah, My mouth hath been large over mine enemies, For I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.

Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.

And Elkanah goeth to Ramath, unto his house, and the youth hath been serving Jehovah, in the presence of Eli the priest;

And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

And Eli used to bless Elkanah and his wife, and to say - Yahweh give thee seed of this woman, instead of the loan that hath been lent unto Yahweh. So they went their way to his own place.

Wherefore have ye been kicking at my sacrifices, and my presents, which I commanded, to serve for a home, - and shouldest have honoured thy sons more than me: fattening yourselves, with the first of every present of Israel, before me?

And a man I will not cut off to thee from mine altar to finish thine eyes and to cause thy soul to pine away: and all the increase of thy house, the men, shall die.

and it hath been, every one who is left in thy house doth come in to bow himself to him, for a wage of silver, and a cake of bread, and hath said, Admit me, I pray thee, unto one of the priest's offices, to eat a morsel of bread.'

And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days -- there is no vision broken forth.

The lamp of God had not yet been extinguished, and Samuel was lying down in the tent of the LORD where the Ark of God was.

Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither had the word of Jehovah yet been revealed to him.

And Eli saith to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place.

And you are to say to him that I will send punishment on his family for ever, for the sin which he had knowledge of; because his sons have been cursing God and he had no control over them.

And Samuel groweth up, and Jehovah hath been with him, and hath not let fall any of his words to the earth;

And it was clear to all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba that Samuel had been made a prophet of the Lord.

And Jehovah addeth to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah hath been revealed unto Samuel, in Shiloh, by the word of Jehovah.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.

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

and the ark of God hath been taken, and the two sons of Eli have died, Hophni and Phinehas.

and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare it in the city, and all the city crieth out.

And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.

And the man saith unto Eli, 'I am he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;' and he saith, 'What hath been the matter, my son?'

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

And at these words about the ark of God, Eli, falling back off his seat by the side of the doorway into the town, came down on the earth so that his neck was broken and death overtook him, for he was an old man and of great weight. He had been judging Israel for forty years.

And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child and near the time when she would give birth; and when she had the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, her pains came on her suddenly and she gave birth.

And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has left Israel,” because the ark of God had been taken and because of [the deaths of] her father-in-law and her husband.

And she saith, 'Honour hath removed from Israel, for the ark of God hath been taken.'

And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;

And the men of Ashdod see that it is so, and have said, 'The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'

But after it had been moved the Lord attacked that city as well, causing a great deal of panic. He struck all the people of that city with sores.

And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines, and say, 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and it turneth back to its place, and it doth not put us to death -- and our people;' for there hath been a deadly destruction throughout all the city, very heavy hath the hand of God been there,

and the men who have not died have been smitten with emerods, and the cry of the city goeth up into the heavens.

Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the territory of [the] Philistines [for] seven months,

And they say, 'If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from you.'

“Now then, prepare one new cart and two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up.

and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh -- He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.'

The men did this: They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and confined their calves in the pen.

Time went by until 20 years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel began to seek the Lord.

Then Samuel took a stone and put it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, naming it Eben-ezer, and saying, Up to now the Lord has been our help.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.

and we have been, even we, like all the nations; and our king hath judged us, and gone out before us, and fought our battles.'

They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who is with him, 'Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.'

As ye enter the city, so, shall ye surely find him, ere yet he shall go up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he hath come, for, he, doth bless the sacrifice, after that, will they eat who have been bidden. Now, therefore, go up, for, about this very time, shall ye surely find him.

As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom is all the desire of Israel?' is it not to thee and to all thy father's house?'

Samuel took Saul and his attendant, brought them to the banquet hall, and gave them a place at the head of the 30 or so men who had been invited.

And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.

In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

After that, shalt thou come unto the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines, - and it shall be, as thou comest in thither into the city, thou shalt light upon a band of prophets, coming down from the high place, and, before them, a harp, and a timbrel, and a flute, and a lyre, they having been moved to prophesy.

and prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man;

and it hath been, when these signs come to thee -- do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God is with thee.

And it hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on that day,

And a man thence answereth and saith, 'And who is their father?' therefore it hath been for a simile, 'Is Saul also among the prophets?'

And Saul's father's brother said to him and his servant, Where have you been? And he said, Searching for the asses: and when we saw no sign of them, we came to Samuel.

Then Saul said to his uncle, "He told us for certain that the female donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingship [of] which Samuel had spoken.

But today you are turned away from your God, who himself has been your saviour from all your troubles and sorrows; and you have said to him, Put a king over us. So now, take your places before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.

and he bringeth near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he hath not been found.

And they ask again at Jehovah, 'Hath the man yet come hither?' and Jehovah saith, 'Lo, he hath been hidden near the vessels.'

And Saul went to Gibeah, to his house; and with him went the men of war whose hearts had been touched by God.

Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.

And took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall his oxen be served." Then the fear of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as it had been but one man.

And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Saul putteth the people in three detachments, and they come into the midst of the camp in the morning-watch, and smite Ammon till the heat of the day; and it cometh to pass that those left are scattered, and there have not been left of them two together.

And now, see, the king is before you: and I am old and grey-headed, and my sons are with you: I have been living before your eyes from my early days till now.

Here I am: give witness against me before the Lord and before the man on whom he has put the holy oil: whose ox or ass have I taken? to whom have I been untrue? who has been crushed down by me? from whose hand have I taken a price for the blinding of my eyes? I will give it all back to you.

And they said, You have never been untrue to us or cruel to us; you have taken nothing from any man.

Then crying out to the Lord, they said, We have done evil, because we have been turned away from the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes: but now, make us safe from those who are against us and we will be your servants.

And ye see that Nahash king of the Bene-Ammon hath come against you, and ye say to me, Nay, but a king doth reign over us; and Jehovah your God is your king!

If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been -- both ye and the king who hath reigned over you -- after Jehovah your God.

And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah -- then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and against your fathers.

for Jehovah doth not leave His people, on account of His great name; for Jehovah hath been pleased to make you to Him for a people.

and Saul chooseth for himself three thousand men out of Israel; and two thousand are with Saul in Michmash, and in the hill-country of Beth-El; and a thousand have been with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; and the remnant of the people he hath sent each to his tents.

And all Israel have heard, saying, 'Saul hath smitten the garrison of the Philistines,' and also, 'Israel hath been abhorred by the Philistines;' and the people are called after Saul to Gilgal.

And the Philistines have been gathered to fight with Israel; thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and a people as the sand which is on the sea-shore for multitude; and they come up and encamp in Michmash, east of Beth-Aven.

And the men of Israel have seen that they are distressed, that the people hath been oppressed, and the people hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.

And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were going away from me, and you had not come at the time which had been fixed, and the Philistines had come together at Michmash;

And Samuel saith unto Saul, 'Thou hast been foolish; thou hast not kept the command of Jehovah thy God, which He commanded thee, for now had Jehovah established thy kingdom over Israel unto the age;

and there hath been the file for mattocks, and for coulters, and for three-pronged rakes, and for the axes, and to set up the goads.

And it hath been, in the day of battle, that there hath not been found sword and spear in the hand of any of the people who are with Saul and with Jonathan -- and there is found to Saul and to Jonathan his son.

They let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison, and the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they’ve been hiding!”

Then Saul said to the people who were with him, Let everyone be numbered and let us see who has gone from us. And when they had been numbered, it was seen that Jonathan and his servant were not there.

And Saul saith to Ahiah, 'Bring nigh the ark of God;' for the ark of God hath been on that day with the sons of Israel.

And Saul is called, and all the people who are with him, and they come in unto the battle, and, lo, the sword of each hath been against his neighbour -- a very great destruction.

And the Hebrews who have been for the Philistines as heretofore, who had gone up with them into the camp, have turned round, even they, to be with Israel who are with Saul and Jonathan,

When all the Israelite men who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle.

And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjureth the people, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eateth food till the evening, and I have been avenged of mine enemies;' and none of the people hath tasted food.

Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?

Some reported to Saul: “Look, the troops are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.”

Saul said, “You have been unfaithful. Roll a large stone over here at once.”

And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.

Then Saul said, "O Lord God of Israel! If this sin has been committed by me or by my son Jonathan, then, O Lord God of Israel, respond with Urim. But if this sin has been committed by your people Israel, respond with Thummim." Then Jonathan and Saul were indicated by lot, while the army was exonerated.

And the people said to Saul, Is death to come to Jonathan, the worker of this great salvation for Israel? Let it not be so: by the living Lord, not one hair of his head is to be touched, for he has been working with God today. So the people kept Jonathan from death.

and Saul captured the kingdom over Israel, and he fighteth round about against all his enemies, against Moab, and against the Bene-Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and whithersoever he turneth he doth vex them.

He acted valiantly, defeated Amalek, and delivered Israel from those who had been plundering them.

and Saul hath pity -- also the people -- on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that is good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted -- it they devoted.