After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, "I asked the Lord for him.

Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord. The boy was dressed in a linen ephod.

His mother used to make him a small robe and bring it up to him at regular intervals when she would go up with her husband to make the annual sacrifice.

So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord's sanctuary.

Now the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.

Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli's supervision. Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.

and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there.

The Lord called to Samuel, and he replied, "Here I am!"

The Lord again called, "Samuel!" So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But Eli said, "I didn't call you, my son. Go back and lie down."

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Then the Lord called Samuel a third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me!" Eli then realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy.

So Eli said to Samuel, "Go back and lie down. When he calls you, say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." So Samuel went back and lay down in his place.

Then the Lord came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel replied, "Speak, for your servant is listening!"

The Lord said to Samuel, "Look! I am about to do something in Israel; when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle.

So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord's house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.

However, Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" He replied, "Here I am."

So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli said, "The Lord will do what he pleases."

Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled.

All Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba realized that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.

Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel through the word of the Lord.

Samuel revealed the word of the Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines."

Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf."

After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed there, "We have sinned against the Lord." So Samuel led the people of Israel at Mizpah.

The Israelites said to Samuel, "Keep crying out to the Lord our God so that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines!"

So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf, and the Lord answered him.

As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by Israel.

Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Up to here the Lord has helped us."

So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

So Samuel led Israel all the days of his life.

In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah.

But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, "Give us a king to lead us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord.

The Lord said to Samuel, "Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king.

So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.

But the people refused to heed Samuel's warning. Instead they said, "No! There will be a king over us!

So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the Lord.

The Lord said to Samuel, "Do as they say and install a king over them." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Each of you go back to his own city."

So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction to go up to the high place.

Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told Samuel:

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, "Here is the man that I told you about! He will rule over my people."

As Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, he said, "Please tell me where the seer's house is."

Samuel replied to Saul, "I am the seer! Go up in front of me to the high place! Today you will eat with me and in the morning I will send you away. I will tell you everything that you are thinking.

Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the room and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty people present.

Samuel said to the cook, "Give me the portion of meat that I gave to you -- the one I asked you to keep with you."

So the cook picked up the leg and brought it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, "What was kept is now set before you! Eat, for it has been kept for you for this meeting time, from the time I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

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

They got up at dawn and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get up, so I can send you on your way." So Saul got up and the two of them -- he and Samuel -- went outside.

While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us." So he did. Samuel then said, "You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God's message."

Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. Samuel kissed him and said, "The Lord has chosen you to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord's people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen you as leader over his inheritance.

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. All these signs happened on that very day.

Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?" Saul replied, "To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, we went to Samuel."

Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."

Saul said to his uncle, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.

Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah.

Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.

Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people!" All the people shouted out, "Long live the king!"

Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.

He took a pair of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, "Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!" Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army.

Then the people said to Samuel, "Who were the ones asking, 'Will Saul reign over us?' Hand over those men so we may execute them!"

Samuel said to the people, "Come on! Let's go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there."

Samuel said to all Israel, "I have done everything you requested. I have given you a king.

Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.

So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel.

All the people said to Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us -- your servants -- so we won't die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Don't be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don't turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart.

He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul.

Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.

But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn't come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash,

Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed the commandment that the Lord your God gave you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever!

Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men.

Then Samuel said to Saul, "I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says.

Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel:

"I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do." Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, "Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal."

When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said."

Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?"

Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me."

Samuel said, "Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel.

Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites.

Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.

Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes.

Samuel said to Saul, "I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!"

When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore.

Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you!

So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Then Samuel said, "Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites." So Agag came to him trembling, thinking to himself, "Surely death is bitter!"

Samuel said, "Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!" Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord.

Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.

Until the day he died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons."

Samuel replied, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!" But the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'

Samuel did what the Lord told him. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They said, "Do you come in peace?"

When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, "Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!"

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one, either."

Then Jesse presented Shammah. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either."

Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these."

Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Is that all of the young men?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest one, but he's taking care of the flock." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here."