And there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim from the hills of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.

And he had two wives, the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the second, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

And this man went up out of his city from year to year, to worship and to sacrifice to Jehovah of Hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of Jehovah, were there.

But to Hannah he gave one double portion, for he loved Hannah. But Jehovah had shut up her womb.

And her foe also provoked her grievously, in order to make her tremble, because Jehovah had shut up her womb.

And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Jehovah, so she provoked her. And she wept and did not eat.

And Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. And Eli the priest sat on the seat by the side post of the temple of Jehovah.

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Jehovah, and wept sorely.

Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. And Eli thought she had become drunk.

And Eli said to her, How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you!

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

And Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant to you your petition that you have asked of Him.

And she said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

And they rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before Jehovah, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and Jehovah remembered her.

And it happened when the time had come around, Hannah conceived and bore a son and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of Jehovah.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls and one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of Jehovah in Shiloh. And the child was young.

And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in Jehovah, my horn is exalted in Jehovah. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation.

He raises up the poor out of the dust; He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to set them among princes; yea, He causes them to inherit a throne of honor; for to Jehovah are the pillars of the earth; and He sets the habitable world on them.

He keeps the feet of his saints, and the wicked are silenced in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

The foes of Jehovah shall be broken to pieces. He thunders in the heavens upon them. Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth. And He shall give strength to His king, and exalts the horn of His anointed.

And the priests' custom with the people was: If 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 stuck it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. All that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came there.

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

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, May Jehovah give you seed of this woman for the loan which is loaned to Jehovah. And they went to their own home.

If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sins against Jehovah, who shall plead for him? But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because Jehovah desired to kill them.

And the child Samuel went on growing both in stature and in goodness, both with Jehovah and also with men.

And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, So says Jehovah: Did I plainly appear to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me? And did I give to the house of your father all the offerings made by fire from the sons of Israel?

Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering, which I have commanded in My house? Do you honor your sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?

Behold, the days come when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that no old man shall be in your house.

And you shall see an adversary in My house, in all the good which he does with Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

And that man of yours whom I shall not cut off from My altar, shall be left in order to make your eyes fail, and to grieve your heart. And all the increase of your house shall die young men.

And this shall be a sign to you, which shall come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day both of them shall die.

And I will raise up a faithful priest to Myself, one who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

And it shall be that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a piece of bread. And they shall say, Please put me into one of the priests' offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.

And the child Samuel served Jehovah before Eli. And the Word of Jehovah was rare in those days. There was no open vision.

And it happened at that time, when Eli was lying down in his place, and his eyes began to become dim so that he could not see.

And the lamp of God had not gone out. And Samuel was lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was.

And Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down; and it shall be, if One calls you, you shall say, Speak, Jehovah, for Your servant hears. And Samuel went to lie down in his place.

And Jehovah 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 confirm to Eli all that which I have spoken as to his house, beginning and making an end.

And Jehovah appeared again in Shiloh. For Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of Jehovah.

And the word of Samuel was revealed to all Israel. And Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer. And the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

And the Philistines put themselves in order against Israel. And the battle was joined. And Israel was beaten before the Philistines. And they killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.

And when the people had come to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has Jehovah beaten us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of Shiloh to us, so that when it comes among us it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

And the people sent to Shiloh in order to bring the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts from there, the ark which dwells between the cherubs. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

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

And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they saw that the ark of Jehovah had come into the camp.

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

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was beaten, and each one of them fled into his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell thirty thousand footmen of Israel.

And he came in, and behold, Eli sat on a 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 when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man hurried in and told Eli.

And it happened when he spoke of the ark of God, he fell backward off the seat, 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 years.

And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, ready to be delivered. And when she heard the report that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed, for her pains came upon her.

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

And when those of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again.

And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the earth before the ark of Jehovah. And the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

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

And the hand of Jehovah was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He destroyed them and struck them with hemorrhoids, Ashdod and its borders.

And it happened after they had carried it around, the hand of Jehovah was against the city with a very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and hemorrhoids broke forth in them.

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

And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people. For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there.

And the ark of Jehovah was in the field of the Philistines seven months.

And they said, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him? And they answered, Five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines. For one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

And why do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had worked wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and did they not depart?

And now make a new cart, and take 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 Jehovah and lay it on the cart. And put the jewels of gold which you return to Him for a trespass offering in a box in its side. And send it away so that it may go.

And watch. If it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us.

And they laid the ark of Jehovah on the cart, and the box with the mice of gold and the images of their hemorrhoids.

And the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

And the Levites took down the ark of Jehovah and the box in it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to Jehovah.

And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen, they returned to Ekron on that day.

And these are the golden hemorrhoids which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod, one; for Gaza, one; for Askelon one; for Gath, one; for Ekron, one.

And the golden mice were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines for the five lords, of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great meadow on which they set down the ark of Jehovah to this day, in the field of Joshua the Bethshemite.

And the men of Kirjath-jearim came and brought up the ark of Jehovah, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill. And they sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Jehovah.

And it happened from the day the ark began to dwell in Kirjath-jearim, the days became many; yea, they were twenty years. And all the house of Israel yearned after Jehovah.

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

And it happened as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But Jehovah thundered with a great noise on that day on the Philistines, and troubled them. And they were beaten before Israel.

And he went from year to year in a circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.

And his return was to Ramah, for his house was there. And he judged Israel there. And he built an altar there to Jehovah.

And it happened when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

And the name of his first-born was Joel, and the name of his second was Abiah, judges in Beer-sheba.

And his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after ill gain and took bribes and perverted judgment.

And they said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

But the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to Jehovah.

And Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

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

And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of Jehovah.

And he had a son named Saul, a young and handsome one. And there was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he, being taller than any of the people from his shoulder and upward.

And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Please take one of the servants with you and rise, and go look for the asses.

And he said to him, Behold now, in this city is a man of God, and an honorable man. All that he says surely comes to pass. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can declare our way to us, how to go.

Then Saul said to his young man, But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?

(In the old days in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said this: Come, let us go to the seer, for the prophet of today was before called a seer.)

And they answered them and said, He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he came today to the city, for there is a feast of the people today in the high place.

And they went up into the city. When they had come into the middle of the city, behold, Samuel came out to meet them, to go up to the high place.

And Jehovah had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,

Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin. And you shall anoint him to be leader over My people Israel, so that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked on My people because their cry has come to Me.

And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah said to him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall reign over My people.

And Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate and said, Please tell me where the seer's house is.

And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place. For you shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let you go, and will tell you all that is in your heart.