And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and they entered there [and] took the carved divine image, ephod, teraphim, and the molten image. The priest [was] standing [at] the entrance of the gate [with] the six hundred men armed [with] the weapons of war.

And they said to him, "Keep quiet! Put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be for us a father and a priest. Is it better being a priest for a house of one man or being a priest for a tribe and clan in Israel?"

And they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and they came to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and {they put them to the sword} and burned the city with fire.

So they set up for themselves the carved divine image that Micah had made, all the days that the house of God [was] in Shiloh.

The man got up to go, but his father-in-law urged him, and he returned and spent the night there.

And the man got up to go--he, his concubine, and his servant--but his father-in-law, the father of the young woman, said to him, "Please, the day has worn on to evening; please, spend the night, the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night here and {enjoy yourself}. You can rise early tomorrow for your journey and {go to your home}."

But the man was not willing to spend the night, and he got up and went; and he arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). [He had] with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.

In the morning her master got up, and he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his journey, and behold, his concubine [was] falling [at] the entrance of the house, with her hand on the threshold.

And he said to her, "Get up, let us go," but there was no answer. So he put her on the donkey, and the man got up and went to his place.

When he entered his house he took a knife, and he grasped his concubine and cut her into twelve pieces; and he sent her throughout the whole territory of Israel.

And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand sword-bearing infantry.

Then I grabbed my concubine and cut her into pieces, and I sent her throughout all the territory of Israel's inheritance; for they committed a shameful and disgraceful thing in Israel.

All the people got up as one body, saying, "Not one of us will go to his tent, or will any of us return to his house.

Then the {Israelites} got up and went up [to] Bethel, and they inquired of God, saying, "Who will go up first for the battle against the descendants of Benjamin?" And Yahweh said, "Judah [will go] first."

And the {Israelites} got up in the morning, and they encamped against Gibeah.

And the {Israelites} inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God [was] there,

And all the men of Israel got up from their places and took up positions in Baal Tamar; and the ambush of Israel charged from their places, from the vicinity of Gibeah.

And they turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the rock of Rimmon, but they cut down on the main roads five thousand men; and they pursued after them up to Gidom, and they struck down two thousand men.

And the people of Bethel came and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted their voices and {wept bitterly}.

And they said, "Why, Yahweh, God of Israel, has it happened today in Israel that one tribe is lacking from Israel?"

But the {Israelites} had compassion for Benjamin, their relatives, and they said, "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel.

And she got up, she and her daughters-in-law, and returned from the countryside of Moab, because she had heard in the countryside of Moab that Yahweh had {come to the aid of} his people to give food to them.

But Ruth said, "{Do not urge} me to leave you [or] to return from {following you}! For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people [will be] my people and your God [will be] my God.

Keep your eyes on the field that they reap and go after them. Have I not ordered the servants not to bother you? And if you get thirsty, you shall go to the containers and drink from where the servants have drawn."

May Yahweh reward your work and may a full reward be [given to] you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you came to take refuge."

And she got up to glean, and Boaz instructed his servants saying, "Let her also glean between the sheaves and do not reproach her.

And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "[It is] good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidservants so that you will not {be bothered} in another field."

Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek for you security that [things] may be good for you?

{Stay tonight,} and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, good; but if he is not willing to redeem, {then as Yahweh lives,} I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning."

So she lay at his feet until morning and got up before {anyone could recognize each other}. And he said, "It must not be known that {you} came [to] the threshing floor."

And Boaz had gone up [to] the [city] gate and sat there. And look, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken [was] passing by. And he said, "Come over here to sit, {friend}." And he came over and sat.

And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired as a wife, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his relatives and from the gate of his [birth] place. You [are] witnesses today."

And all of the people who [were] at the gate and the elders said, "[We are] witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman coming into your house as Rachel and as Leah, who {together} built the house of Israel. May you have strength in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem.

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.)

Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have asked of him."

There is no one holy like Yahweh, for there is no one besides you, and there is no rock like our God.

Do not increase speaking {very proud} words! Let no arrogance go forth from your mouth, for Yahweh is a God of knowledge [whose] deeds are not weighed.

No, my sons, the report [is] not good that I am hearing the people of Yahweh spreading.

If a man sins against a man, then God can intercede for him. But if a man sins against Yahweh, who can intercede for him?" But they did not {obey} their father, because Yahweh wanted to kill them.

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!

Look, days [are] coming when I will cut off your {strength} and the {strength} of the house of your ancestor {so that no one in your house will live to old age}.

You will look at the distress of my dwelling place, [despite] all the good caused for Israel, but there will never be an old [man] in your household {forever}!

The only one I will not cut off from my altar [is you]. [Rather], to cause your eyes to fail and to cause your soul to grieve, {all the members of your household} will die [as] men.

and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God [was].

And Yahweh called Samuel again, so Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." And he said, "I did not call you, my son. Go back [and] lie down."

Again Yahweh called Samuel a third time, so he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." Then Eli realized that Yahweh was calling the boy.

And he said, "What [is] the message that he spoke to you? Please do not conceal [it] from me. May God {punish you severely} if you conceal anything from me of all the words that he told you."

So Samuel told him all the words and did not conceal [anything] from him. And he said, "He [is] Yahweh, he will do {what is} good in his {sight}."

So the army sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits [between] the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, [were] there with the ark of the covenant of God.

So [the] Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come to the camp." And they said, "Woe to us, {for this has never happened before!}

Furthermore, the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

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.

Then the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before [the] Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured."

Just as he mentioned the ark of God, he fell from his chair backwards against the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, because the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

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.

She called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," referring to the capture of the ark of God and concerning her father-in-law and husband.

And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was captured."

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

Then [the] Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.

When the Ashdodites got up early the next morning, {there was} Dagon fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

When they got up early in the morning the next day, {there was} Dagon fallen [again] with his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh! The head of Dagon and the palms of his two hands were cut off, lying at the threshold; only [the body] of Dagon was left.

The men of Ashdod saw [that] it [was] so, and they said, "The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, because his hand [is] harsh on us and on Dagon our god!"

So they sent and gathered all the rulers of [the] Philistines to them, and they asked, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" And they said, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around toward Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel [to Gath].

So they sent the ark of God [to] Ekron. But when the ark of God came [to] Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought around the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people!"

So they sent and gathered all the rulers of [the] Philistines, and they said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people." For a {deadly confusion} was throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

They said, "If you [are] sending the ark of the God of Israel away, you must not send it away empty, but by all means return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will become known to you why his hand [is] not turned aside from you."

You must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that [are] ravaging the land, and you must give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand on you and on your gods and on your land.

Then the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who [is] able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall it go up from us?"

Then the {Israelites} said to Samuel, "{You must not cease} from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of [the] Philistines."

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."

But he said to him, "Look, a man of God [is] in this town, and the man [is] honored. All that he says certainly comes true. So then let us go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey on which we have gone."

So Saul said to his servant, "Look, we may go, but what should we bring to the man? For the bread [is] gone from our bags, and there [is] no present to bring to the man of God. What [do we have] with us?"

The servant again answered Saul and said, "Look, {I have} in my hand a quarter shekel of silver! I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us our way."

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: "Come, let us go up to the seer." For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.)

So Saul said to his servant, "{Your suggestion is a good one}. Come, let us go." And they went to the town where the man of God [was].

Then Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate and said, "Please tell me, where [is] the house of the seer?"

They got up early, {and as dawn was breaking}, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, "Get up, so that I can send you away." So Saul got up and the two of them, he and Samuel, went outside.

As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to pass on before us. When he has passed, you stand here {a while}, so that I can make known to you [the] word of God."

Then you will go on from there and further you will come to the oak of Tabor. There three men will meet you, who [are] going up to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three male kid goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine.

After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God, where there are sentries of [the] Philistines. {Just as you enter} the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying.

When these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds [to do], for God [will be] with you.

{Just as he turned} his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God {changed his} heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day.

When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.

and he said to the {Israelites}, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that [were] oppressing you.'

But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, 'No, but you must appoint a king over us!' So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans."

And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the troops whose hearts God had touched went with him.

Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and {he became very angry}.

So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent [them] throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, "Whoever [is] not going out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen." Then the fear of Yahweh fell on the people and they went out as one man.

The men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you and you may do to us {whatever seems good to you}."

But they forgot Yahweh their God, so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the hosts of Hazor, and into the hand of [the] Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

"And when you saw that Nahash, the king of [the] {Ammonites}, was coming against you, you said to me, 'No! A king shall reign over us,' although Yahweh your God [is] your king.

If you will fear Yahweh, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not be rebellious against {what Yahweh says}, and both you and the king who rules over you will [follow] after Yahweh your God, [all will be well].

Then all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God so that we will not die, because we have added to all our sins by requesting a king for ourselves."

Also, as for me, far be it from me {that I should sin} against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the good and righteous way.

[Some] of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the army {followed him trembling}.

Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.

Then Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ark of God" (for the ark of God was {at that time} with the {Israelites}).

Saul said, "Let us go down after [the] Philistines [by] night, and let us plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave [alive] a man among them." So they said, "Do all that [is] good in your eyes." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."