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.

We will take ten men of one hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions to the troops, to repay [them] when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel."

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.

The descendants of Benjamin went out from Gibeah, and they struck down on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel to the ground.

But the troops, the men of Israel, {encouraged themselves}, and again they arranged [their] battle [lines] in the place where they had arranged themselves the first day.

And Benjamin went out from Gibeah to meet them on the second day, and they struck down the {Israelites} again, eighteen thousand men to the ground; all of these [were] {sword-wielding}.

And all the {Israelites} and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.

And the {Israelites} went up against the descendants of Benjamin on the third day, and they took up positions against Gibeah as before.

The descendants of Benjamin went out to meet the troops, and they lured [them] away from the city and began to inflict casualties on the troops as before, on the main road, one of which goes up [to] Bethel, the other to Gibeah; [and] in the field [there were] about thirty men of Israel.

And the descendants of Benjamin thought, "They [are] being defeated before us {as previously}," and the {Israelites} said, "Let us flee and lure them away from the city to the main roads."

Then ten thousand well-trained men from all Israel came out against Gibeah, and the battle became fierce; they did not know that disaster [was about to] {close in} on them.

The descendants of Benjamin saw that they were defeated, and the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they trusted the ambush that they had set against Gibeah.

Now the appointed time for the men of Israel with the ambush was that they sent up for them a great amount of smoke from the city.

And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to inflict casualties on about thirty men of Israel because they thought, "They will be completely defeated before us as in the first battle."

And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed because they saw that disaster was {closing in} on them.

And they retreated from before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness, but the battle caught up to them, and [those] who [came] from the cities destroyed them in the midst of them.

They surrounded Benjamin; they pursued them without rest [and] trod them down opposite Gibeah to the east.

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.

But six hundred turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon [for] four months.

And the men of Israel returned to the descendants of Benjamin, and they put them to {the edge of the sword}, both the inhabitants of city and [the] animals that were found; they also set on fire all the cities that they found.

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?"

On the next day the people rose early, and they built there an altar and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

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

They asked, "Which one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?" And behold, no one came from Jabesh-gilead to the camp, to the assembly.

And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men from the troops, and they commanded them, saying, "Go, strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with {the edge of the sword}, and the women and children.

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not {had sex with a man}, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan.

Then the congregation sent and spoke all [this] to the descendants of Benjamin who [were] at the rock of Rimmon, and {they assured them they would not be hurt}.

And Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave to them the women whom they kept alive from Jabesh-gilead; but they were not enough for them.

And they said, "[There must be] a remnant for Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel.

And they said, "Look, the annual feast of Yahweh [is] in Shiloh, which [is] to the north of Bethel, {east} of [the] main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.

They instructed the descendants of Benjamin, saying, "Go, lie in ambush in the vineyards,

The descendants of Benjamin did likewise, and they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they seized, and they went and returned to their territory, and they rebuilt the cities and they lived in them.

So the {Israelites} dispersed from there at that time according to tribe and family; and they went out from there, each one to their own territory.

And the name of the man [was] Elimelech, and the name of his wife [was] Naomi, and the name of his two sons [were] Mahlon and Kilion. [They were] Ephraimites from Bethlehem [in] Judah. And they went [to] the countryside of Moab and remained there.

And {they took} for themselves Moabite wives. The name of the one [was] Orpah and the name of the other [was] Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

So she set out from the place {where she was} and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

May Yahweh {grant that you} find a resting place, each [in] the house of her husband." And she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and cried.

And they said to her, "[No,] we want to return with you to your people."

would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore {refrain from marrying}? No, my daughters, for it is far more bitter to me than [to] you. For the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me."

And they lifted up their voices and cried again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law [goodbye], but Ruth clung to her.

[So] the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. {And when they came} to Bethlehem, all of the town was stirred because of them. And they said, "[Is] this Naomi?"

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, returning from the countryside of Moab. And they came [to] Bethlehem at [the] beginning of [the] harvest of barley.

And look, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "[May] Yahweh [be] with you." And they said to him, "[May] Yahweh bless you."

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."

And Ruth the Moabite said, "Also, he said to me, 'You shall stay close with the servants which are mine until they have finished all of the harvest which is mine.'"

And he took ten men from the elders of the city and said, "Sit here." And they sat.

And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He [was] the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh {and returned} to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah {had sexual relations with} Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her.

They slaughtered the bull, and they brought the boy to Eli.

I in turn have lent him to Yahweh. {As long as he lives} he [is] lent to Yahweh." Then they worshiped Yahweh there.

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

and would thrust it into the pan or into the kettle or into the cauldron or into the cooking pot. All that the meat fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This [is] what they used to do to all of the Israelites who came there at Shiloh.

Also, before they {offered up} the fat as a burnt offering, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only {raw}."

And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and he said, "May Yahweh give you an offspring from this woman in place of the petitioned [one] that she requested from Yahweh." Then they went to their home.

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.

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?

This [is] the sign for you that will come regarding your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: they will both die on the same day!

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.

When [the] Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What [is] the noise of this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.

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!}

Take courage and be men, [you] Philistines, lest you end up serving the Hebrews just like they have served you. Be men and fight!"

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].

After they moved it, the hand of Yahweh was against the city, causing a very great confusion, and he struck the men of the city {from the youngest to the oldest}, causing tumors to break out on them.

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."

And they said, "What [is] the guilt offering that we should return to him?" They said, "The number of the rulers of [the] Philistines [is] five. Therefore send five gold tumors and five gold mice, because one plague [was] on all of you and all your rulers.

Why should you harden your hearts like [the] Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Is it not just like when he dealt with them wantonly so that they sent them away and they left?

So the men did so; they took two milking cows and harnessed them to the utility cart, but they shut up their calves in the stall.

Then they put the ark of Yahweh on the utility cart with the container [holding] the gold mice and the images of their tumors.

The cows went straight on the way on the road to Beth Shemesh, on the one main road, {lowing as they went}. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left, and the rulers of [the] Philistines [were] walking after them up to the border of Beth Shemesh.

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].

The utility cart came to the field of Joshua [of] Beth Shemesh and stopped there where there [was] a large stone. They split the wood of the utility cart and sacrificed the cows [as] a burnt offering to Yahweh.

Then the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the container that was beside it, in which [were] the gold objects, and [they] set them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings, and they {made} sacrifices to Yahweh on that day.

And the gold mice [according to] the number of all the cities of [the] Philistines, for their five rulers, from [the] fortified city to the unwalled village of the open country as far as the great stone, {where they set} the ark of Yahweh until this day in the field of Joshua [of] Beth Shemesh.

He struck seventy men among the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the ark of Yahweh. So the people mourned because Yahweh had struck a great blow among the people.

So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim saying, "[The] Philistines have returned the ark of Yahweh. Come down and take it up to yourselves."

The men of Kiriath Jearim came and brought up the ark of Yahweh, and they brought it to the house of Abinadab in Gibeah. They consecrated Eleazer his son to guard the ark of Yahweh.

So the {Israelites} removed the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and they served Yahweh alone.

So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured [it] out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, "We have sinned against Yahweh!" So Samuel judged the {Israelites} at Mizpah.

[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}.

{While} Samuel [was] sacrificing the burnt offering, [the] Philistines drew near for the battle against Israel. But Yahweh thundered against [the] Philistines with a great noise on that day and threw them into confusion so that they were defeated before Israel.

Then the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued [the] Philistines and they struck them down as far as below Beth Car.

So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come into the territory of Israel again, and the hand of Yahweh was against [the] Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The name of his firstborn son [was] Joel, and the name of his second son [was] Abijah. [They were] judges in Beersheba.

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

They said to him, "Look, you are old and your sons do not follow in your ways. So then appoint a king for us to judge us, like all the nations.

But the matter {was displeasing to Samuel} when they said, "Give us a king to judge us," so Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Like all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt until this day, they have forsaken me and have served other gods--so they [are] doing to you also.

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

However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, "No, but there must be a king over us,

So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim; he passed through the land of Shalisha but they did not find [them]. They passed through the land of Shaalim but they were not there. He passed through the land of Benjamin but did not find [them].

When they entered the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who [was] with him, "Come, let us return, lest my father cease [caring about] the female donkeys and worry about us!"