Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou have asked of him.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems good to thee. Remain until thou have weaned him, only LORD establish his word. So the woman remained and gave her son suck, until she weaned him.

There is none holy as LORD, for there is none besides thee, neither is there any rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly. Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth, for LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear. Ye make LORD's people to transgress.

If one man sins against another, God shall judge him, but if a man sins against LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they did not hearken to the voice of their father, because LORD intended to kill them.

And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus says LORD, Did I reveal myself to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house?

Therefore LORD, the God of Israel, says, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever, but now LORD says, Be it far from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me

Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from my altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart. And all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age.

and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down in the temple of LORD where the ark of God was,

And he said, What is the thing that [LORD] has spoken to thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to thee.

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is LORD. Let him do what seems him good.

So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of LORD of hosts, who sits [above] the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

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

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

And when he came, lo, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

And he who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has 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 it came to pass, 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. And he had judged Israel forty year

And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought forth, fo

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.

Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

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

And when they arose early on the morning of the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of LORD, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands [lay] cut off upon the threshold. Only [the

And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is hard upon us, and upon 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? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried

So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.

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 dis

And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return for him a trespass-offering. Then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

Therefore ye shall make images of your tumors, and images of your mice that mar the land. And ye shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up from us?

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

And he said to him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey on which we go.

Then Saul said to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What have we?

And 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.

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer, for he who is now called a Prophet was formerly called a Seer.)

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

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.

As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou still first, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.

Then thou shall go on forward from there, and thou shall come to the oak of Tabor. And there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and anothe

After that thou shall come to the hill of God where is the garrison of the Philistines. And it shall come to pass, when thou have come there to the city, that thou shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with

And let it be, when these signs have come to thee, that thou do as occasion shall serve thee, for God is with thee.

And it was so, that, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day.

And when they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him. And the Spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them.

And he said to the sons of Israel, Thus says 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 ye have this day rejected your God who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses, and ye have said to him, No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before LORD by your tribes, and by y

And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah, and mighty men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.

And the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was greatly kindled.

And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth behind Saul and behind Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. A

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

But they forgot 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.

And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, No, but a king shall reign over us, when LORD your God was your king.

If ye will fear LORD, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of LORD, then both ye and also the king who reigns over you shall be followers of LORD your God.

And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to LORD thy God that we not die, for we have added to all our sins [this] evil, to ask a king for us.

Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against LORD in ceasing to pray for you. But I will instruct you in the good and the right way.

Now 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.

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou have done foolishly. Thou have not kept the commandment of LORD thy God, which he commanded thee. For now LORD would have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever,

And Samuel arose, and got up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring here the ark of God. For the ark of God was [there] at that time with the sons of Israel.

And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatever seems good to thee. Then the priest said, Let us draw n

And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him that day.

Then he said to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what seems good to thee.

Therefore Saul said to LORD, the God of Israel, Show the right. And Jonathan and Saul were taken [by lot], but the people escaped.

And Saul said, God do so and more also, for thou shall surely die, Jonathan.

And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who has wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far from it. As LORD lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has wrought with God this day. So the peop

And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them, for ye showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. But everything that was vile and refuse, that they dest

And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to LORD thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to LORD thy God in Gilgal.

Then he said, I have sinned. Yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship LORD thy God.

And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubles thee.

Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp. And it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou sh

And Jesse took a donkey with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

And it came to pass, when the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand. So Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail. And the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.

And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

Then David said to the Philistine, Thou come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come to thee in the name of LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou have defied.

Then David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath of it, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

And David went out wherever Saul sent him, [and] behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played with his hand, as he did day by day, and Saul had his spear in his hand.

And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against thee, and because his works have been very good toward thee.

And Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

And he went there to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

And Jonathan said to David, LORD, the God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about this time tomorrow, [or] the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send to thee, and disclose it to thee?

but also thou shall not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when LORD has cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

And he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother, he has commanded me. And now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brothers. Therefore he has

And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab, and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, [and be] with you, till I know what God will do for me.

And the prophet Gad said to David, Abide not in the stronghold. Depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.

And Saul said to him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou have given him bread, and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me to lay in wait as at this day?

Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? Be it far from me. Let not the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father, for thy servant knows nothing of all this, less or more.

And it was told Saul that David came to Keilah. And Saul said, God has delivered him into my hand, for he is shut in by entering into a town that has gates and bars.

Then said David, O LORD, the God of Israel, thy servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.

Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down as thy servant has heard? O LORD, the God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And LORD said, He will come down.

And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into the forest, and strengthened his hand in God.

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain. And David made haste to get away for fear of Saul. For Saul and his men encompassed David and his men round about to take them.

And the men of David said to him, Behold, the day of which LORD said to thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, and thou shall do to him as it shall seem good to thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul