There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

Now this man used to go up from his town {year by year} to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh, {where} the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, [were] priests to Yahweh.

{In due time}, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for [she said], "I requested him from Yahweh."

I prayed for this boy, and Yahweh has given me my request that I asked from him.

Do not increase speaking {very proud} words! Let no arrogance go forth from your mouth, for Yahweh is a God of knowledge [whose] deeds are not weighed.

He raises up the poor from [the] dust. From [the] ash heap he lifts up the needy, to cause them to sit with noble people and to cause them to inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth belong to Yahweh and he has set the inhabited world on them.

Also, before they {offered up} the fat as a burnt offering, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only {raw}."

And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and he said, "May Yahweh give you an offspring from this woman in place of the petitioned [one] that she requested from Yahweh." Then they went to their home.

And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to bear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor all the offerings made by fire by the {Israelites}.

Why do you despise my sacrifice and my offering which I commanded [for my] dwelling place, while you honored your sons more than me by making yourselves fat from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel?

Therefore,' {declares} Yahweh the God of Israel, 'though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor would walk before me forever, but now,' {declares} Yahweh, 'far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt!

The only one I will not cut off from my altar [is you]. [Rather], to cause your eyes to fail and to cause your soul to grieve, {all the members of your household} will die [as] men.

On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken against his household, {from beginning to end}.

And he said, "What [is] the message that he spoke to you? Please do not conceal [it] from me. May God {punish you severely} if you conceal anything from me of all the words that he told you."

So Samuel told him all the words and did not conceal [anything] from him. And he said, "He [is] Yahweh, he will do {what is} good in his {sight}."

All Israel from Dan to Beersheba realized that Samuel was faithful as a prophet to Yahweh.

When the army came [back] to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why has Yahweh defeated us today before [the] Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to us from Shiloh so that it may come into our midst and deliver us from the hand of our enemies."

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

Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These [are] the [same] gods who struck the Egyptians with all [sorts of] plagues in the desert.

So [the] Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and each man fled to his tent, for the slaughter was very great. Thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell.

A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came [to] Shiloh that same day, and his clothes [were] torn and earth [was] on his head.

And the man said to Eli, "I am the [one] who has come from the battle line! I have fled today from the battle line!" And he said, "{What exactly happened}, my son?"

Just as he mentioned the ark of God, he fell from his chair backwards against the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, because the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

She called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," referring to the capture of the ark of God and concerning her father-in-law and husband.

And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was captured."

Now [the] Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

After they moved it, the hand of Yahweh was against the city, causing a very great confusion, and he struck the men of the city {from the youngest to the oldest}, causing tumors to break out on them.

They said, "If you [are] sending the ark of the God of Israel away, you must not send it away empty, but by all means return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will become known to you why his hand [is] not turned aside from you."

So then, {prepare} one new utility cart and two milking cows that have never had a yoke on them, and you must harness the cows to the utility cart and then turn their calves from following them to their stall.

And the gold mice [according to] the number of all the cities of [the] Philistines, for their five rulers, from [the] fortified city to the unwalled village of the open country as far as the great stone, {where they set} the ark of Yahweh until this day in the field of Joshua [of] Beth Shemesh.

Then the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who [is] able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall it go up from us?"

{From} the day the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim, {days multiplied and became twenty years} while all the house of Israel mourned after Yahweh.

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If with all your heart you [are] turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of [the] Philistines."

Then the {Israelites} said to Samuel, "{You must not cease} from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of [the] Philistines."

Then the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued [the] Philistines and they struck them down as far as below Beth Car.

The towns which [the] Philistines had taken from Israel [were] returned to Israel from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territories from the hand of [the] Philistines. Then there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

He used to go [on the circuit] {from year to year}. He went around Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel [in] all these places.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Like all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt until this day, they have forsaken me and have served other gods--so they [are] doing to you also.

So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who [were] requesting a king from him.

Now there was a man from 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 Benjaminite, {a very wealthy man}.

He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the {Israelites} more handsome than he [was]; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.

So Saul said to his servant, "Look, we may go, but what should we bring to the man? For the bread [is] gone from our bags, and there [is] no present to bring to the man of God. What [do we have] with us?"

"This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of [the] Philistines. For I have seen [the suffering of] my people, because their cry [of distress] has come to me."

Saul answered and said, "[Am] I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the humblest of all the families of the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me {in this way}?"

When they came down from the high place to the town, he spoke with Saul on the roof.

As you go from with me {today}, you will find two men near the burial site of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, 'The female donkeys that you went to search for have been found.' Now look, your father {is no longer concerned about} the female donkeys and has begun worrying about you, saying, 'What should I do about my son?'

Then you will go on from there and further you will come to the oak of Tabor. There three men will meet you, who [are] going up to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three male kid goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine.

{They will ask how you are doing} and will give you two loaves, which you will take from their hand.

After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God, where there are sentries of [the] Philistines. {Just as you enter} the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying.

{Just as he turned} his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God {changed his} heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day.

When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.

And a man from there responded and said, "And who [is] their father?" Therefore it became a proverb: "[Is] Saul also among the prophets?"

and he said to the {Israelites}, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that [were] oppressing you.'

But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, 'No, but you must appoint a king over us!' So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans."

So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up.

{Just then}, Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, "What [is the matter] with the people, that they [are] weeping?" So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

And so then here [is] the king walking about before you. Now I am old and gray, but my sons (look at them!) [are] with you; and I have walked about before you from my youth until this day.

Here I am! Testify against me before Yahweh and before his anointed one! Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, that I may shut my eyes {regarding} him?-then I will restore it to you."

Then they said, "You have not exploited us or oppressed us, and you have not taken anything from the hand of anyone."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Yahweh [is witness], who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.

"When Jacob came to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to Yahweh, so he sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought your ancestors out from Egypt and settled them in this place.

So they cried out to Yahweh and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hand of our enemies and we will serve you!'

So Yahweh sent Jerub-Baal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel. Then he delivered you from the hand of your enemies all around, and you lived [in] security.

And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear! You have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from {following} Yahweh. But you must serve Yahweh with all your heart.

Also, as for me, far be it from me {that I should sin} against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the good and righteous way.

He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.

He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and {the army started to slip away from him}.

But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash,

Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.

The {raiders} went out from the camp of [the] Philistines [in] three divisions. One division turned on the road to Ophrah toward the land of Shual.

So the two of them showed themselves to the garrison of [the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines said, "The Hebrews [are] coming out from the holes in which they have hidden themselves."

Saul said to the troops that [were] with him, "Please call the roll and see who has gone from us." So they called the roll {and found that} Jonathan and {his armor bearer} were not [present].

Then a man from the army informed [him] and said, "Your father made the army swear a solemn [oath], saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today,'" so the army [is] exhausted.

{How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great."

They defeated [the] Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the troops were very weary.

For as Yahweh lives, who delivers Israel, [I swear] that even if it [is] in Jonathan my son, {he will certainly die}!" But nobody from all the army answered him.

But the army said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the army ransomed Jonathan and he did not die.

Saul went up from [pursuing the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines went to their place.

He acted bravely and defeated [the] Amalekites and rescued Israel from the hand of those who plundered it.

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'I have observed what Amalek did to Israel, {how he opposed him} when he went up from Egypt.

Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you with them. You have shown loyal love to all the {Israelites} when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites left from among [the] Amalekites.

Then Saul defeated [the] Amalekites from Havilah as one goes to Shur which [is] {east of} Egypt.

"I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not kept my word." {Samuel became angry}, and he cried out to Yahweh all night.

Saul said, "They have brought them from [the] Amalekites; the troops spared the best of the sheep and the cattle in order to sacrifice them to Yahweh your God. But the rest we have utterly destroyed."

The troops took from the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal."

For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"

But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and he has rejected you from being king over Israel!"

Then Samuel said to him, "Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor {who is better than you}.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "{How long} will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn [with] oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons."

But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd {with you}, and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.'

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day {on}. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him.

So the servants of Saul said to him, "Look please, an evil spirit from God [is] tormenting you.

Please, let our lord command your servants [who are] before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. {When} the evil spirit from God [is] upon you, he can play {on it} and {you will feel better}."

So whenever the [evil] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then {it would bring relief} for Saul; {he would feel better} and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Then {a champion} went out from the camps of [the] Philistines, whose name was Goliath from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.

He stood and called to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, "Why have you come out to form ranks [for] battle? [Am] I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Commission for yourselves a man and let him come down to me.

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite. This [man was] from Bethlehem of Judah, and his name was Jesse. {He had} eight sons; in the days of Saul this man was old, [yet] he [still] walked among the men.

but David went {back and forth} from Saul to feed the sheep of his father in Bethlehem.