And there is a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name is Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, and Ephrathite,

and he hath two wives, the name of the one is Hannah, and the name of the second Peninnah, and Peninnah hath children, and Hannah hath no children.

and her adversity hath also provoked her greatly, so as to make her tremble, for Jehovah hath shut up her womb.

And Elkanah her husband saith to her, 'Hannah, why weepest thou? and why dost thou not eat? and why is thy heart afflicted? am I not better to thee than ten sons?'

And Hannah riseth after eating in Shiloh, and after drinking, and Eli the priest is sitting on the throne by the side-post of the temple of Jehovah.

And she is bitter in soul, and prayeth unto Jehovah, and weepeth greatly,

And it hath been, when she multiplied praying before Jehovah, that Eli is watching her mouth,

and Hannah, she is speaking to her heart, only her lips are moving, and her voice is not heard, and Eli reckoneth her to be drunken.

And Hannah hath not gone up, for she said to her husband, 'Till the youth is weaned -- then I have brought him in, and he hath appeared before the face of Jehovah, and dwelt there -- unto the age.'

And Elkanah her husband saith to her, 'Do that which is good in thine eyes; abide till thy weaning him; only, Jehovah establish His word;' and the woman abideth and suckleth her son till she hath weaned him,

and she causeth him to go up with her when she hath weaned him, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she bringeth him into the house of Jehovah at Shiloh, and the youth is but a youth.

and also I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived -- he is asked for Jehovah;' and he boweth himself there before Jehovah.

There is none holy like Jehovah, For there is none save Thee, And there is no rock like our God.

Ye multiply not -- ye speak haughtily -- The old saying goeth out from your mouth, For a God of knowledge is Jehovah, And by Him actions are weighed.

And the custom of the priests with the people is: any man sacrificing a sacrifice -- then hath the servant of the priest come in when the flesh is boiling, and the hook of three teeth in his hand,

Also before they make perfume with the fat -- then hath the priest's servant come in, and said to the man who is sacrificing, 'Give flesh to roast for the priest, and he doth not take of thee flesh boiled, but raw;'

and the man saith unto him, 'Let them surely make a perfume (as to-day) with the fat, then take to thee as thy soul desireth;' and he hath said to him, 'Surely now thou dost give; and if not -- I have taken by strength.'

And the sin of the young men is very great in the presence of Jehovah, for the men have despised the offering of Jehovah.

And Samuel is ministering in the presence of Jehovah, a youth girt with an ephod of linen;

And Eli is very old, and hath heard all that his sons do to all Israel, and how that they lie with the women who are assembling at the opening of the tent of meeting,

Nay, my sons; for the report which I am hearing is not good causing the people of Jehovah to transgress. --

And the youth Samuel is going on and growing up, and is good both with Jehovah, and also with men.

Therefore -- the affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel -- I certainly said, Thy house and the house of thy father, do walk up and down before Me to the age; and now -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- Far be it from Me! for he who is honouring Me, I honour, and those despising Me, are lightly esteemed.

Lo, days are coming, and I have cut off thine arm, and the arm of the house of thy father, that an old man is not in thy house;

and thou hast beheld an adversary in My habitation, in all that He doth good with Israel, and there is not an old man in thy house all the days.

And the man I cut not off of thine from Mine altar, is to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy soul; and all the increase of thy house do die men;

and this is to thee the sign that cometh unto thy two sons, unto Hophni and Phinehas -- in one day they die both of them;

and I have raised up for Me a stedfast priest; as in My heart and in My soul he doth do; and I have built for him a stedfast house, and he hath walked up and down before Mine anointed all the days;

and it hath been, every one who is left in thy house doth come in to bow himself to him, for a wage of silver, and a cake of bread, and hath said, Admit me, I pray thee, unto one of the priest's offices, to eat a morsel of bread.'

And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days -- there is no vision broken forth.

And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Eli is lying down in his place, and his eyes have begun to be dim -- he is not able to see.

And the lamp of God is not yet extinguished, and Samuel is lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God is,

And Samuel hath not yet known Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah is not yet revealed unto him.

And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the third time, and he riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, 'Here am I, for thou hast called for me;' and Eli understandeth that Jehovah is calling to the youth.

And Eli saith to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place.

And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, 'Samuel, Samuel;' and Samuel saith, 'Speak, for Thy servant is hearing.'

and therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli: the iniquity of the house of Eli is not atoned for, by sacrifice, and by offering -- unto the age.'

And Samuel lieth till the morning, and openeth the doors of the house of Jehovah, and Samuel is afraid of declaring the vision unto Eli.

And he saith, 'What is the word which He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me; so doth God do to thee, and so doth He add, if thou hidest from me a word of all the words that He hath spoken unto thee.'

And Samuel declareth to him the whole of the words, and hath not hid from him; and he saith, 'It is Jehovah; that which is good in His eyes He doth.'

and all Israel know, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, that Samuel is established for a prophet to Jehovah.

And the word of Samuel is to all Israel, and Israel goeth out to meet the Philistines for battle, and they encamp by Eben-Ezer, and the Philistines have encamped in Aphek,

and the Philistines set themselves in array to meet Israel, and the battle spreadeth itself, and Israel is smitten before the Philistines, and they smite among the ranks in the field about four thousand men.

And the people cometh in unto the camp, and the elders of Israel say, 'Why hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? we take unto us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and it cometh into our midst, and He doth save us out of the hand of our enemies.'

And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout -- a great shout -- and the earth is moved.

And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, 'What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?' and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp.

And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, 'God hath come in unto the camp;' and they say, 'Woe to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore.

Woe to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these are the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

Strengthen yourselves, and become men, O Philistines, lest ye do service to Hebrews, as they have done to you -- then ye have become men, and have fought.'

And the Philistines fight, and Israel is smitten, and they flee each to his tents, and the blow is very great, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen;

and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare it in the city, and all the city crieth out.

And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.

And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, 'Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died -- Hophni and Phinehas -- and the ark of God hath been captured.'

And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man is old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.

And his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, is pregnant, about to bear, and she heareth the report of the taking of the ark of God, that her father-in-law and her husband have died, and she boweth, and beareth, for her pains have turned upon her.

And the Ashdodites rise early on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah; and they take Dagon, and put it back to its place.

And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;

And the hand of Jehovah is heavy on the Ashdodites, and He maketh them desolate, and smiteth them with emerods, Ashdod and its borders.

And the men of Ashdod see that it is so, and have said, 'The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'

and it cometh to pass after they have brought it round, that the hand of Jehovah is against the city -- a very great destruction; and He smiteth the men of the city, from small even unto great; and break forth on them do emerods.

And they send the ark of God to Ekron, and it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of God to Ekron, that the Ekronites cry out, saying, 'They have brought round unto us the ark of the God of Israel, to put us to death -- and our people.'

And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines, and say, 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and it turneth back to its place, and it doth not put us to death -- and our people;' for there hath been a deadly destruction throughout all the city, very heavy hath the hand of God been there,

And the ark of Jehovah is in the field of the Philistines seven months,

and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, 'What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its place?'

And they say, 'What is the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?' and they say, 'The number of the princes of the Philistines -- five golden emerods, and five golden mice -- for one plague is to you all, and to your princes,

and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not -- when He hath rolled Himself upon them -- send them away, and they go?

and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh -- He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.'

And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there is a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend -- a burnt-offering to Jehovah.

And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer which is with it, in which are the vessels of gold, and place them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-Shemesh have caused to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah;

And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, 'Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?'

And the sons of Israel say unto Samuel, 'Keep not silent for us from crying unto Jehovah our God, and He doth save us out of the hand of the Philistines.'

and Samuel is causing the burnt-offering to go up -- and the Philistines have drawn nigh to battle against Israel -- and Jehovah doth thunder with a great noise, on that day, upon the Philistines, and troubleth them, and they are smitten before Israel.

And Samuel taketh a stone, and setteth it between Mizpeh and Shen, and calleth its name Eben-Ezer, saying, 'Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.'

And the Philistines are humbled, and have not added any more to come into the border of Israel, and the hand of Jehovah is on the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

And the cities which the Philistines have taken from Israel are restored to Israel -- from Ekron even unto Gath -- and their border hath Israel delivered out of the hand of the Philistines; and there is peace between Israel and the Amorite.

and his returning is to Ramath, for there is his house, and there he hath judged Israel, and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

And it cometh to pass, when Samuel is aged, that he maketh his sons judges over Israel.

And the name of his first-born son is Joel, and the name of his second Abiah, judges in Beer-Sheba:

and say unto him, 'Lo, thou hast become aged, and thy sons have not walked in thy ways; now, appoint to us a king, to judge us, like all the nations.'

And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, 'Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah.

and saith, 'This is the custom of the king who doth reign over you: Your sons he doth take, and hath appointed for himself among his chariots, and among his horsemen, and they have run before his chariots;

And the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel, and say, 'Nay, but a king is over us,

and we have been, even we, like all the nations; and our king hath judged us, and gone out before us, and fought our battles.'

And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name is Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, mighty of valour,

and he hath a son, and his name is Saul, a choice youth and goodly, and there is not a man among the sons of Israel goodlier than he -- from his shoulder and upward, higher than any of the people.

They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who is with him, 'Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.'

And he saith to him, 'Lo, I pray thee, a man of God is in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.'

And Saul saith to his young man, 'And lo, we go, and what do we bring in to the man? for the bread hath gone from our vessels, and a present there is not to bring in to the man of God -- what is with us?'

And the young man addeth to answer Saul, and saith, 'Lo, there is found with me a fourth of a shekel of silver: and I have given to the man of God, and he hath declared to us our way.'

Formerly in Israel, thus said the man in his going to seek God, 'Come and we go unto the seer,' for the 'prophet' of to-day is called formerly 'the seer.'

And Saul saith to his young man, 'Thy word is good; come, we go;' and they go unto the city where the man of God is.

They are going up in the ascent of the city, and have found young women going out to draw water, and say to them, 'Is the seer in this place?'

And they answer them and say, 'He is; lo, before thee! haste, now, for to-day he hath come in to the city, for the people hath a stated sacrifice in a high place.

And they go up in to the city; they are coming in to the midst of the city, and lo, Samuel is coming out to meet them, to go up to the high place;

And Saul draweth nigh to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and saith, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, where is this -- the seer's house?'

And Samuel answereth Saul and saith, 'I am the seer; go up before me into the high place, and ye have eaten with me to-day, and I have sent thee away in the morning, and all that is in thy heart I declare to thee.

As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom is all the desire of Israel?' is it not to thee and to all thy father's house?'

(and the cook lifteth up the leg, and that which is on it, and setteth before Saul), and he saith, 'Lo, that which is left; set it before thee -- eat, for to this appointed season it is kept for thee, saying, The people I have called;' and Saul eateth with Samuel on that day.

They are going down in the extremity of the city, and Samuel hath said unto Saul, 'Say to the young man that he pass on before us (and he passeth on), and thou, stand at this time, and I cause thee to hear the word of God.'

And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, 'Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?