Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill-country of Ephraim. And his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, and Ephraimite.

but to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but LORD had shut up her womb.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do thou weep? And why do thou not eat? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons?

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou will indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but will give to thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to LORD all t

And Eli said to her, How long will thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before LORD.

Count not thy handmaid for an iniquitous woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken until now.

And she said, Let thy handmaid find favor in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and ate, and her countenance was no more [sad].

And it came to pass, when the time came about, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel, [saying], Because I have asked him of LORD.

But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, [Not] until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before LORD, and abide there forever.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the house of LORD in Shiloh, and the child was young.

And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by thee here, praying to LORD.

I prayed for this child, and LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him.

Therefore also I have granted him to LORD; as long as he lives he is granted to LORD. And he worshipped LORD there.

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults in LORD. My horn is exalted in LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation.

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.

The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased [to hunger]. Yea, the barren has borne seven, and she who has many sons languishes.

Those who strive with LORD shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in heaven. LORD will judge the ends of the earth, and he will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand,

and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot. All that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took with it. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

And before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not have boiled flesh from thee, but raw.

And if the man said to him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desires, then he would say, No, but thou shall give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.

But Samuel ministered before LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Now Eli was very old. And he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tent of meeting.

And he said to them, Why do ye such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

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?

And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I give to the house of thy father all the offerings of the sons of Israel made by fire

Why do ye kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honor thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chief of all the offerings of Israel my people?

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 thou shall see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all that I shall give Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house forever.

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 I will raise up for me a faithful priest who shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build for him a sure house, and he shall walk before my anointed forever.

And it shall come to pass, that everyone who is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices that I may eat a morse

that LORD called Samuel. And he said, Here I am.

And he ran to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And he said, I did not call. Lay down again. And he went and lay down.

And LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And he answered, I did not call, my son. Lay down again.

And LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And Eli perceived that LORD had called the child.

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

In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.

For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse upon themselves, and he did not restrain them.

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering forever.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am.

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 all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of LORD.

And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out o

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 when the ark of the covenant of LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

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.

Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness.

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

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with dirt upon his head.

And the man said to Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?

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 about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, Fear not, for thou have brought forth a son. But she did not answer, neither did she regard it.

Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any who come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to this day.

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

And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of LORD was against the city with a very great discomfiture. And he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out upon them.

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 the men who did not die were smitten with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

And the Philistines called for the priests and the psychics, saying, What shall we do with the ark of LORD? Show us with what we shall sent it to its place.

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.

Then they said, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, [according to] the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on you all, an

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.

Why then do ye harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

Now therefore take and prepare for you a new cart, and two milk cows on which there has come no yoke. And tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them.

And take the ark of LORD, and lay it upon the cart. And put the jewels of gold, which ye return to him for a trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side of it, and send it away, that it may go.

And watch. If it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he has done to us this great evil, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.

And the cows took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went behind them to the border

And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there where there was a great stone. And they split the wood of the cart, and offered up the cows for a burnt-offering to LORD.

And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering to LORD: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one.

And he smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of LORD. He smote of the people fifty thousand and seventy men. And the people mourned, because LORD had smitten the people with a great slaughter.

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 they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of LORD. Come ye down, and fetch it up to you.

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return to LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts to LORD, and serve him only. And he will deli

Then the sons of Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served LORD only.

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

And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering to LORD. And Samuel cried to LORD for Israel, and LORD answered him.

And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten down before

Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, LORD has helped us to now.

And they said to him, Behold, thou are old, and thy sons do not walk in thy ways. Now make for 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. And Samuel prayed to LORD.

And LORD said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.

According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also to thee.

Now therefore hearken to their voice. However thou shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the manner of the king who shall reign over them.

And Samuel told all the words of LORD to the people who asked of him a king.

And he said, This will be the manner 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 flocks. And ye shall be his servants.

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you, and LORD will not answer you in that day.

But the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel. And they said, No, but we will have a king over us

that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

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

Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

And he had a son whose name was Saul, a young man and fine looking. And there was not among the sons of Israel a man better looking than he. From his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people.