He had two wives; the name of the first [was] Hannah, and the name of the second [was] Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

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.

(Now her rival wife would provoke her severely in order to upset her because Yahweh had closed her womb.)

Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking at Shiloh. (Now Eli the priest [was] sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the temple of Yahweh.)

Now Hannah had been speaking in her heart; her lips [were] moving, but her voice could not be heard, so Eli considered her [to be] drunk.

Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. Now the boy was serving Yahweh {in the presence of} Eli the priest.

Now the sons of Eli [were] {worthless scoundrels}; they did not know Yahweh.

And [if] the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat completely {first}, then take for yourself as {you} desire," then he would say to him, "No! Give it now! If not, I will take it by force!"

Now Samuel [was] serving before Yahweh, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel and that they [were] having sexual relations with the women who [were] serving [at] the entrance of [the] tent of assembly.

Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: "Thus says Yahweh: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh?

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!

Now the boy Samuel was serving Yahweh {in the presence} of Eli. The word of Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

{And then} one day when Eli was lying in his place (now his eyes had begun [to grow] weak so that he was not able to see)

Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him.

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet [the] Philistines for battle, and they encamped at Ebenezer, and [the] Philistines encamped at Aphek.

Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel {let out a loud shout} so that the earth shook.

When he came, {there was} Eli sitting on his chair {by the side of the road} watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. Now the man had come {to give his report} in the city, and all the city cried out.

Now Eli [was] {ninety-eight years old} and his eyes {stayed fixed ahead} and he was not able to see.

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, [was] pregnant and [about] to give birth. When she heard the news concerning the capture of the ark of God and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she {went into labor} and gave birth, because her labor pains came upon her.

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

Now the hand of Yahweh was heavy against the Ashdodites and he destroyed them and struck them with tumors, both in Ashdod and its territories.

Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the territory of [the] Philistines [for] seven months,

Now [the people of] Beth Shemesh [were] reaping the wheat harvest in the valley. They lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and they were glad to see [it].

Now these [are] the gold tumors which [the] Philistines returned [as] a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron.

[Now] when [the] Philistines heard that the {Israelites} had gathered at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the {Israelites} heard [of it], {they were afraid of the Philistines}.

Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh.

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}.

Now the female donkeys of Kish the father of Saul got lost, and Kish said to Saul his son, "Please take one of the servants with you and get up; go and seek the female donkeys."

They answered them and said, "There is. Look, [he is] just in front of you! Hurry now, because he has come to the town today, because there [is] a sacrifice for the people today at the high place.

Now Yahweh {had revealed this to} Samuel the day before Saul arrived, saying,

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?'

Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "{Make a treaty with us} and we will serve you."

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.

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!'

therefore I said, 'Now [the] Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet implored the face of Yahweh.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering."

But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his [own] heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you."

Now no skilled craftsman could be found in all the land of Israel, for [the] Philistines had said, "So that the Hebrews cannot make swords or spears for themselves."

Now the garrison of [the] Philistines went out to the pass of Micmash.

Now Saul [was] staying at the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that [was] in Migron, and the troops that [were] with him [were] about six hundred men.

Now Ahijah, the son of Ahitub (the brother of Ichabod), the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was carrying an ephod. The troops did not know that Jonathan had gone.

Now between the passes where Jonathan sought to go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines [there was] a crag of rock {on one side} and a crag of rock {on the other}. The name of the one [was] Bozez and the name of the other [was] Seneh.

Now the men of Israel were hard pressed on that day, because Saul had made the army take an oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats [any] food until evening, when I will have avenged myself on my enemies!" So none of the army tasted [any] food.

(Now all [the people of] the land used to go into the forest, for there was honey on the surface of the ground.)

Then Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble on the land! See now that my eyes have brightened because I have tasted a little of this honey.

{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."

Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua; the names of his two daughters [were as follows]: the name of the firstborn [was] Merab and the younger [was] Michal.

Now Kish [was] the father of Saul, but Ner, the father of Abner, [was] the son of Abiel.

Then he said, "I have sinned! Now please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me {so that I can worship} Yahweh your God."

So he sent and brought him. Now he [was] ruddy with beautiful eyes and of {handsome} appearance. And Yahweh said, "Arise, anoint him, for this [is] he."

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

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.

Now David was the youngest. The three oldest {followed} Saul,

Now the Philistine came forward early and late, and he took his stand [for] forty days.

Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel [were] in the valley of Elah fighting [the] Philistines.

Now David had spoken to the men [who were] standing with him, saying, "What will be done for the man who defeats this Philistine and removes [the] disgrace from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine that he defies the battle lines of the living God?"

David replied, "What have I done now? {I merely asked a question}!

Now the words which David had spoken were heard and they reported [them] {to} Saul, and he summoned him.

Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Whose son [is] this young man, Abner?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

{On} [the] next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing [the lyre] with his hand on [that] day {as usual}, and the spear was in Saul's hand.

{Now Saul was threatened by the presence of David} because Yahweh was with him, but had departed from Saul.

Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, so they told Saul, and the matter {pleased him}.

Then Saul said, "This [is] what you must say to David: '{The king desires no bride price} except for a hundred foreskins of [the] Philistines, to avenge himself on the enemies of the king.'" (Now Saul had planned to allow David to fall by the hand of [the] Philistines.)

Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants about killing David, but Saul's son Jonathan {liked David very much}.

So Jonathan informed David, saying, "My father Saul [is] trying to kill you; now please take care! In the morning you should stay in the hiding place and conceal yourself.

He put his life in his hand and attacked the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great victory for all of Israel, and you saw [it] and rejoiced! Now why should you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?"

Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and he said to him, "Why are you alone and there are no men with you?"

Now then, {what do you have at hand}? Give me five [loaves] of bread or {whatever is here}."

Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name [was] Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.

Every man in distress and every man who had a creditor and every embittered man gathered to him, and he became {their commander}. Now there [were] about four hundred men with him.

Now Saul heard that David and the men who [were] with him had been located. Saul [was] sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk [tree] at Ramah. Now his spear [was] in his hand and all his servants [were] stationed around him.

Now they told David, "Look, [the] Philistines [are] fighting in Keilah and they [are] raiding the threshing floors."

{Now when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled} to David [at] Keilah, he went down [with] an ephod in his hand.

Then they got up and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men [were] in the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah, to the south of Jeshimon.

He came to the sheep pens beside the road, and a cave [was] there. Then Saul went in {to relieve himself}. Now David and his men [were] sitting in the innermost part of the cave.

Now, my father, see, yes, see, the hem of your robe in my hand! For {when I cut} the hem of your robe I did not kill you. Know and {realize} that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I did not sin against you, but you [are] hunting down my life to take it.

For a man has found his enemy but sent him on [his] way safely. Now may Yahweh reward you with good in return for this day, for what you have done for me.

So now then, look, I know that you will certainly be king and the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his house at Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

Now there was a man in Maon, whose business [was] in Carmel. The man was very rich and {owned} three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. {Now} the shearing of his sheep [was taking place] in Carmel.

The name of the man [was] Nabal, and the name of his wife [was] Abigail. Now the woman [was] wise and beautiful, but the man [was] stubborn and {mean}, and he [was] as his heart.

Now I have heard that {you have shearers}. Now while your shepherds [were] with us, we did not mistreat them, and nothing of theirs [was] missing, all the days they were in Carmel.

Now David had said, "Surely {in vain} I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that [was] his, but he returned evil against me in place of good!

(Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who [was] from Gallim.)

Now Saul was on the hill of Hakilah, which [is] opposite Jeshimon by the road, but David was staying in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had come to the wilderness after him,

Then David got up and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul [was] lying down, {as well as} Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. (Now Saul [was] lying in the encampment, and the army [was] encamping around him.)

Then David {thought to himself}, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me but [that] I must certainly escape to the land of [the] Philistines. Then Saul will desist from searching for me further in all of the territories of Israel, and so I will escape from his hand."

Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites, for they had been living [in] the land for a long time {in the direction of} Shur and {as far as} the land of Egypt.

{Now} in those days [the] Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, "Certainly you realize that you must go out with me in the army, you and your men."

(Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his [own] city. And Saul had expelled the mediums and the soothsayers from the land.)

Now the woman had a fattened bull calf in the house, {so she quickly slaughtered it} and took flour, kneaded [dough], and baked him [some] unleavened bread.

Now [the] Philistines assembled all their forces at Aphek, and Israel [was] encamped at the spring that [is] in Jezreel.

{Now} when David and his men came [to] Ziklag on the third day, [the] Amalekites had raided [the] Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire.

Now [the] Philistines [were] fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before [the] Philistines, and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa.