And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do thou weep? And why do thou not eat? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons?

So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon his seat by the door-post of the temple of LORD.

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou will indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but will give to thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to LORD all t

And Eli said to her, How long will thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.

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

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou have asked of him.

And she said, Let thy handmaid find favor in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and ate, and her countenance was no more [sad].

But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, [Not] until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before LORD, and abide there forever.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems good to thee. Remain until thou have weaned him, only LORD establish his word. So the woman remained and gave her son suck, until she weaned him.

And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by thee here, praying to LORD.

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults in LORD. My horn is exalted in LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation.

He raises up the poor out of the dust, he lifts up the needy from the dunghill, to make them sit with rulers, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are LORD's, and he has set the world upon them.

And before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not have boiled flesh from thee, but raw.

And if the man said to him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desires, then he would say, No, but thou shall give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, LORD give thee seed by this woman for the petition which was asked of LORD. And they went to their own home.

And he said to them, Why do ye such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus says LORD, Did I reveal myself to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house?

Therefore LORD, the God of Israel, says, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever, but now LORD says, Be it far from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me

that LORD called Samuel. And he said, Here I am.

And he ran to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And he said, I did not call. Lay down again. And he went and lay down.

And LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And he answered, I did not call, my son. Lay down again.

And LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And Eli perceived that LORD had called the child.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lay down, and it shall be, if he calls thee, that thou shall say, Speak, LORD, for thy servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant hears.

And LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am.

And he said, What is the thing that [LORD] has spoken to thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to thee.

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is LORD. Let him do what seems him good.

And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out o

And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What is the meaning of the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of LORD came into the camp.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing heretofore.

And when he came, lo, Eli was sitting upon his 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 does the noise of this tumult mean? And the man hastened, and came and told Eli.

And the man said to Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?

And he who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. And thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that [Eli] fell from off his seat backward 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 year

And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, Fear not, for thou have brought forth a son. But she did not answer, neither did she regard it.

And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And when those of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

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

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people. For there was a deadly dis

And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return for him a trespass-offering. Then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

Then they said, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, [according to] the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on you all, an

And take the ark of LORD, and lay it upon the cart. And put the jewels of gold, which ye return to him for a trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side of it, and send it away, that it may go.

And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone on which they set down the ark of LORD, [which

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

And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to LORD.

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

And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, LORD has helped us to now.

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

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to LORD.

And LORD said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.

And he said, This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them to him for his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and they shall run before his chariots.

And he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties. And [he will set some] to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.

And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

But the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel. And they said, No, but we will have a king over us

And LORD said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice, and make for them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye every man to his city.

And the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the donkeys.

When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the donkeys, and be anxious for us.

And he said to him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey on which we go.

Then Saul said to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What have we?

And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer, for he who is now called a Prophet was formerly called a Seer.)

Then Saul said to his servant, Well said. Come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.

As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the seer here?

And they answered them, and said, He is. Behold, [he is] before thee. Make haste now, for he has come today into the city, for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place.

And when Samuel saw Saul, LORD said to him, Behold, the man of whom I spoke to thee! This man shall have authority over my people.

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, 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 ye shall eat with me today. And in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart.

And as for thy donkeys that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them, for they are found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for thee, and for all thy father's house?

And Saul answered and said, Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then speak thou to me according to this manner?

And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the guest-chamber, and made them sit in the chief place among those who were bidden, who were about thirty men.

And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said to thee, Set it by thee.

And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And [Samuel] said, Behold, that which has been reserved! Set it before thee and eat, because it has been kept for thee to the appointed time, for I

As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou still first, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.

Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that LORD has anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance?

And it came to pass, when all who knew him formerly saw, that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

And a man from the same place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Where did ye go? And he said, To seek the donkeys, and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.

And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you.

And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys were found. But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he did not tell him.

And he said to the sons of Israel, Thus says LORD, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you,

but ye have this day rejected your God who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses, and ye have said to him, No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before LORD by your tribes, and by y

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, Live, O king!

But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this condition will I make it with you, that all your right eyes be put out, and I will lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.

And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel, and then, if there be none to save us, we will come out to thee.

And, behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field, and Saul said, What troubles the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.

And they said to the messengers who came, Thus ye shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have deliverance. And the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.

Therefore the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and ye shall do with us all that seems good to you.

And the people said to Samuel, Who is he who said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death.

And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day, for today LORD has wrought deliverance in Israel.

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

And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king over you.

And they said, Thou have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have thou taken anything of any man's hand.

And he said to them, LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand. And they said, He is witness.