And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.

And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept bitterly;

And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?

And the children of Israel repented for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast come to trust.

And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou shouldst go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

Then Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there: and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; to whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that hath come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:

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

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seemeth to thee good; tarry until thou hast weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and nursed her son until she weaned him.

There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none besides thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogance come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband, to offer the yearly sacrifice.

No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress.

And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear to the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thy arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.

And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall be to consume thy eyes, and to grieve thy heart: and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age.

And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou shalt hide any thing from me, of all the things that he said to thee.

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.

So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

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

And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the way-side 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 the messenger answered and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and there hath 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 he fell from off the 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 years.

And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law, and her husband were dead, she bowed herself, and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory hath departed from Israel. (Because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.)

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

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod.

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

And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD: and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshhold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

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 severe 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 the ark of the God of Israel thither.

Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

So they sent and convened all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass-offering: then ye will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory to the God of Israel: it may be he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

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

And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us from the hand of the Philistines.

And he said to him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; it may be he can show us our way that we should go.

Then said Saul to his servant, But behold, if we go, what shall we bring to 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 here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

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

Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go: so they went to the city where the man of God was.

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.

And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God.

Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou hast come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will prophesy:

And let it be, when these signs have come to thee, that thou do as occasion shall serve thee; for God is with thee.

And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

And said to the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities, and your tribulations; and ye have said to him, No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out to you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good to you.

And when they forgot the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host 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 ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, No; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.

If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God.

And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.

Moreover as for me, Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

And Saul said to Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.

And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatever seemeth good to thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither to God.

And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.

Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what seemeth good to thee.

Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.

And Saul answered, God do so, and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.

And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? By no means: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and also of a beautiful countenance, and a good appearance. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek a man who is a skillful player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou wilt be well.

And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

This day will the LORD deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been toward thee very good:

And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

And when the messengers had come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster.