And there was a certain man, of Ramathaim-zuphi, of the hill country of Ephraim, - whose name, was Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite;

And so it was, as she continued praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth.

But as for, Hannah, she, was speaking in her heart, only her lips, were moving, but, her voice, could not be heard, - so Eli thought she had been drunken.

But, Hannah, went not up, - for she said to her husband - Not till the boy is weaned, then will I take him, and he shall appear before Yahweh, and abide there evermore.

And Elkanah her husband said to her - Do what is good in thine own eyes, tarry until thou have weaned him, only may Yahweh establish his word! So the woman tarried, and nursed her son, until she weaned him.

Hence, I also, have loaned him unto Yahweh, all the days that he liveth. He, is lent unto Yahweh. And he bowed down there, unto Yahweh.

Then prayed Hannah, and said, My heart hath leaped for joy in Yahweh, My horn is exalted in Yahweh, My mouth is opened wide, o'er my foes, Because I rejoice in thy salvation.

There is none holy like Yahweh, Nay! there, is none, except Thee, Nor, is, there a rock, like our God.

Do not multiply words, so loftily - loftily, Nor let arrogance proceed from your mouth, - For, a GOD of knowledge, is Yahweh, And, for himself, are great doings made firm.

The bow of the mighty, is dismayed, - While, the fainting, are girded with strength;

As for Yahweh, - they shall be shattered who contend with him, Over him, in the heavens will he thunder, Yahweh, will judge the ends of the earth, - That he may give strength to his King, And exalt the horn of his Anointed One.

And, the custom of the priests with the people, was - when any man offered a sacrifice, then would come the priests young man, as the flesh was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand;

And, if the man said to him, Let them at least, make incense, at once with the fat, then take thou as much as thy soul craveth, Then said he to him, But, at once, shalt thou give it; or else, I will take it by force.

But, as for Samuel, he was ministering before Yahweh, - a boy girded with an ephod of linen.

So he said to them, Wherefore should ye do such things as these? for I keep hearing of your wicked doings, from all these people.

Nay, my sons! for it is no good report that I do hear: leading into transgression the people of Yahweh.

And there came a man of God, unto Eli, - and said unto him - Thus, saith Yahweh, I, did indeed reveal myself, unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt, as servants unto the house of Pharaoh;

choosing him out of all the tribes of Israel unto myself, to minister as priest, to offer upon mine altar, to perfume with incense to bear an ephod before me, - Therefore gave I unto the house of thy father all the altar-flames of the sons of Israel.

Hence, the oracle of Yahweh God of Israel, I, said, that, thy house, and the house of thy father, should go to and fro in my presence, unto times age-abiding: But, now, (is the oracle of Yahweh) - Be it far from me! For, them who honour me, will I honour, but, they who despise me, shall be lightly esteemed.

And, this, for thee is the sign, which shall come upon thy two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas, - In one day, shall they, both of them, die;

And I will raise me up a faithful priest, According to that which is in my heart and in my soul, will he do; Therefore will I build for him an assured house, and he shall go to and fro in presence of mine Anointed, all the days.

And it shall be, that, any that is left in thy house, shall come bowing down to him for a small coin of silver, and for a cake of bread, and shall say: Appoint me, I pray thee, to one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.

Now, Samuel, as yet knew not Yahweh, - nor, as yet, had been revealed unto him, the word of Yahweh.

So Eli said to Samuel - Go, lie down, and it shall be, if he call unto thee, that thou shalt say - Speak, Yahweh, for thy servant is listening. And Samuel went, and lay down in his place.

Then came Yahweh, and stood, and called as time after time - Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant is listening.

And he said - What is the word, which he spake unto thee? I pray thee, do not hide it from me. So, let God do to thee, and, so, let him add, if thou hide from me a word, out of anything which he hath spoken unto thee.

So Samuel told him all the words, and hid nothing from him. And he said, Yahweh, he is; what is good in his own eyes, let him do.

So all Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, came to know, - that Samuel had become confirmed as a prophet unto Yahweh.

And, when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath Yahweh smitten us to-day, before the Philistines? Let us fetch unto us, out of Shiloh, the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that, when it cometh into our midst, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said - God hath come into the camp. And they said - Woe to us! for there hath not happened the like of this, heretofore.

Woe to us! Who shall rescue us out of the hand of these majestic gods? These, are the gods, who smote the Egyptians with all manner of smiting in the desert!

Take courage, and quit yourselves like men, ye Philistines, lest ye come into bondage to the Hebrews, as they have been in bondage unto you, - therefore must ye quit yourselves like men, and fight.

So the man said unto Eli, I, am he that came in from the army, yea, I, from the army, fled to-day. And he said - What is the thing that hath happened, my son?

And the bearer of tidings answered, and said - Israel hath fled before the Philistines, Moreover also, a great smiting, hath taken place among the people, - Moreover also, thy two sons, are slain, Hophni and Phinehas, And, the ark of God, is taken.

Now, his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, was with child, ready to give birth, and, when she heard the tidings, as to the taking of the ark of God, and the death of her father-in-law, and her husband, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her pains had seized her.

And she called the boy I-chabod! saying, Exiled is the glory from Israel, - In regard to the taking of the ark of God, and to her father-in-law, and to her husband.

So she said - Exiled is the glory from Israel, - For the ark of God hath been taken.

And, when the men of Ashdod saw that, so, it was, then kept they saying, Let not the ark of the God of Israel abide with us, for, hard, is his hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

Then called the Philistines for the priests and for the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Let us know, wherewith we shall send it to its own place.

Wherefore, then, should ye make your heart dull, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh made their heart dull! When he had done his great doings upon them, did they not let them go, and they departed?

and ye shall take the ark of Yahweh, and place it in the waggon, also, the jewels of gold which ye send back to him as a guilt-offering, shall ye put into a coffer, at the side thereof, - so shall ye let it go, and it shall depart.

Then shall ye look - if, by the way of its own boundary, it goeth up to Beth-shemesh, he, it was who caused us this great affliction, - but, if not, then shall we know that it was not, his hand, that smote us, a chance, it was, that befell us.

And the kine went straight along the road, on the way to Beth-shemesh, yea, along the main highway, they went, lowing as they went, turning not aside, to the right hand or to the left. And, the lords of the Philistines, went along after them, as far as the bounds of Beth-shemesh.

And, the waggon, entered into the field of Joshua, a man of Beth-shemesh, and stood still, there, where also, was a great stone, - so they clave into pieces the planks of the waggon, and, the kine, offered they up as an ascending-sacrifice, unto Yahweh.

Now, these, are the golden boils which, the Philistines returned as a guilt-offering unto Yahweh, - For Ashdod, one, for Gaza, one, for Ashkelon, one, for Gath, one, for Ekron, one;

And the golden mice, by the number of all the cities of the Philistines, pertaining to the five lords, both fortified cities, and country villages, - yea, even the great meadow whereon they rested the ark of Yahweh, until this day, is in the field-land of Joshua, the man of Beth-shemesh.

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

And the sons of Israel said unto Samuel, Do not turn in silence from us, from making outcry unto Yahweh our God, - that he would save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

So Samuel took one sucking lamb, and offered it up, as an entire ascending-sacrifice unto Yahweh, - and Samuel made outcry unto Yahweh, for Israel, and Yahweh answered him.

And the men of Israel went forth out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, - and smote them as far as under Beth-car.

And Samuel took a certain stone, and set it between Mizpah and Yeshanah, and called the name thereof Eben-ezer, - and said, Hitherto, hath Yahweh helped us.

And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even as far as Gath; even the boundaries thereof, did Israel rescue out of the hand of the Philistines, - thus came there to be peace between Israel and the Amorites.

and said unto him - Lo! thou, art old, and, thy sons, walk not in thy ways: Now, appoint for us a king to judge us, like all the nations.

But the thing was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give unto us a king to judge us. So Samuel prayed unto Yahweh.

And he said, This, will be the manner of the king who will reign over you, - Your sons, will he take and appoint for himself, as his charioteers and as his horsemen, and they shall run before his chariots;

And, your daughters, will he take, - as perfumers and as cooks, and as bakers;

But the people refused to hearken unto the voice of Samuel, - and they said - Nay! but, a king, shall be over us:

so shall, even we, become like all the nations, - and our king shall judge us, and go forth before us, and fight our battles.

Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name, was Kish - son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjamite, - a mighty man of valour;

and, he, had a son, whose name, was Saul, a choice young man and of noble appearance, and there was not a man of the sons of Israel, more noble than he, - from his shoulders and upwards, was he taller than any of the people.

They, had come into the land of Zuph when, Saul, said to his young man who was with him, Come! and let us return; lest my father leave off caring for the asses, and be concerned for us.

And he said to him: Lo! I pray thee, a man of God, liveth in this city, and, the man, is held in honour, all that he saith, surely cometh to pass. Now, let us go thither; peradventure he may tell us our way, whereon we should have gone.

Then said Saul to his young man: Behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man, for, the bread, hath failed from our sacks, and, present, there is none to bring to the man of God, - what is there with us?

And the young man again answered Saul, and said - Lo! there is found in my hand, the fourth part of a shekel of silver, - which thou canst give to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.

Beforetime, in Israel, thus, said a man when he went to enquire of God, Come and let us go as far as the seer, - for, the prophet of to-day, used to be called, beforetime, the seer.

And Saul said unto his young man, Good, is thy word, come! let us go! So they went unto the city, where the man of God was.

They were going up the ascent of the city, when they found young women, coming out to draw water, - so they said unto these, Is, the seer, in this place?

And the young women answered them and said: He is, lo! before you now, even as, to-day, hath he entered the city, for the people have a sacrifice, to-day, in the high place.

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.

So they went up into the city. As they were entering into the midst of the city, lo! Samuel, coming out over against them, to ascend the high place.

And, when, Samuel, beheld Saul, Yahweh, answered him, Lo! the man, of whom I said unto thee, Here, is one shall control my people.

And Saul drew near unto Samuel, in the midst of the gate, - and said - I pray thee, do tell me, where is the house of the seer?

And Samuel answered Saul, and said - I, am, the seer! Go up before me, to the high place, so shall ye eat with me, to-day, - and I will let thee go in the morning, and, all that is in thy heart, will I tell thee.

And, as for the asses that went astray from thee three days ago, do not regard them, for they are found, - but to whom belongeth all that is desirable in Israel? is it not to thee, and to all the house of thy father?

Then answered Saul, and said - Am not I, a man of Benjamin, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and is not , my family, the poorest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore, then, hast thou spoken unto me of such a thing as this?

As they were going down the end of the city, Samuel, said unto Saul - Bid the young man, that he pass on before us, (and he passed on) but, thou, stand still where thou art, that I may let time hear the word of God.

Then took Samuel a flask of oil, and poured out upon his head, and kissed him, - and said - Is it not, that Yahweh hath anointed thee over his inheritance, as leader?

When thou departest, to-day, from me, then shalt thou find two men by the grave of Rachel, within the boundary of Benjamin, in Zelzah, - and they will say unto thee, The asses are found, which thou wentest to seek, and lo! thy father hath abandoned caring for the asses, and is concerned for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

Then shalt thou pass on quickly from thence onwards, and come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there shall find thee there, three men going up unto God, at Bethel, - one, carrying three kids, and, another, carrying three cakes of bread, and, another, carrying a skin of wine;

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 it shall be, when these signs shall come unto thee, then act thou for thyself, as thou shalt find occasion, for, God, is with thee.

And it came to pass, that, all who knew him aforetime, looked, and lo! with the prophets, he did prophesy. So the people said, one to another - What, now, hath befallen the son of Kish? Is, even Saul, among the prophets?

Then responded one of that place, and said, But who is, their father? For this cause, it became a proverb, Is, even Saul, among the prophets?

And Saul said unto his uncle, He, told, us that the asses were found, - but, as to the matter of the kingdom, he told him not what Samuel had said.

Yet, ye, to-day, have rejected your God, who, himself, hath been giving you salvation from all your calamities and your distresses, and ye have said to him: A king, shalt thou set over us, - Now, therefore, present yourselves before Yahweh, by your tribes, and by your thousands.

And Samuel said unto all the people - Have ye seen him whom Yahweh hath chosen, that there is none like him, among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said - Let the king live!

Yea, even Saul, went to his own house, at Gibeah, - and the valiant men whose heart God had moved went with him.

But, abandoned men, said - How can this one save us? So they treated him with contempt, and brought him no present, - but he was as one that was deaf.

Then came up Nahash the Ammonite, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead, - and all the man of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Solemnise with us a covenant, that we may serve thee.

And the elders of Jabesh said unto him - Give us a respite of seven days, that we may send messengers throughout all the bounds of Israel, - and then, if there is none to save us, we will come out unto thee.

So he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent throughout all the bounds of Israel by the hand of messengers - saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul, and after Samuel, so, shall it be done unto his oxen. Then felt the dread of Yahweh, upon the people, and they came forth, as one man.

So they said unto the messengers who had come - Thus, shall ye surely say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, To-morrow, shall ye have deliverance, about the time the son is hot. And, when the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced.

So the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow, will we come out unto you, - Then shall ye do with us, according to all that is good in your eyes.

Then said the people unto Samuel, Who is he that was saying, Shall, Saul, reign over us? Give up the men, that we may put them to death.

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

Behold me! testify against me, before Yahweh, and before his Anointed - Whose, ox, have I taken? or whose, ass, have I taken? or whom have I oppressed? Whom have I crushed? or at whose, hands, have I taken a bribe, to cover up mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it unto you.

And they said, Thou hast not oppressed us, neither hast thou crushed us, - neither hast thou taken, at the hand of any man, any thing.

And he said unto them - Witness, is Yahweh against you, and, witness, is his Anointed, this day, that ye have not found in my hand, any thing! And they said: Witness!

And Samuel said unto the people: Witness, is Yahweh, who wrought with Moses and with Aaron, and who brought up your fathers out of the land of Egypt.

But, when they made outcry unto Yahweh and said - We have sinned, in that we have forsaken Yahweh, and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, - now, therefore, deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve thee,