and the Philistines set themselves in array to meet Israel, and the battle spreadeth itself, and Israel is smitten before the Philistines, and they smite among the ranks in the field about four thousand men.

And the people cometh in unto the camp, and the elders of Israel say, 'Why hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? we take unto us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and it cometh into our midst, and He doth save us out of the hand of our enemies.'

And the people sendeth to Shiloh, and they take up thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs, and there are two sons of Eli, with the ark of the covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas.

And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout -- a great shout -- and the earth is moved.

And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, 'God hath come in unto the camp;' and they say, 'Woe to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore.

Woe to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these are the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

Strengthen yourselves, and become men, O Philistines, lest ye do service to Hebrews, as they have done to you -- then ye have become men, and have fought.'

And the Philistines fight, and Israel is smitten, and they flee each to his tents, and the blow is very great, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen;

and the ark of God hath been taken, and the two sons of Eli have died, Hophni and Phinehas.

And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes are rent, and earth on his head;

and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare it in the city, and all the city crieth out.

And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, 'What -- the noise of this tumult!' And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli.

And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.

And the man saith unto Eli, 'I am he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;' and he saith, 'What hath been the matter, my son?'

And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, 'Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died -- Hophni and Phinehas -- and the ark of God hath been captured.'

And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man is old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.

And his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, is pregnant, about to bear, and she heareth the report of the taking of the ark of God, that her father-in-law and her husband have died, and she boweth, and beareth, for her pains have turned upon her.

And at the time of her death, when the women who are standing by her say, 'Fear not, for a son thou hast borne,' she hath not answered, nor set her heart to it;

And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod,

And the Ashdodites rise early on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah; and they take Dagon, and put it back to its place.

And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;

therefore the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, tread not on the threshold of Dagon, in Ashdod, till this day.

And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines unto them, and say, 'What do we do to the ark of the God of Israel?' and they say, 'To Gath let the ark of the God of Israel be brought round;' and they bring round the ark of the God of Israel;

and it cometh to pass after they have brought it round, that the hand of Jehovah is against the city -- a very great destruction; and He smiteth the men of the city, from small even unto great; and break forth on them do emerods.

And they send the ark of God to Ekron, and it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of God to Ekron, that the Ekronites cry out, saying, 'They have brought round unto us the ark of the God of Israel, to put us to death -- and our people.'

And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines, and say, 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and it turneth back to its place, and it doth not put us to death -- and our people;' for there hath been a deadly destruction throughout all the city, very heavy hath the hand of God been there,

and the Philistines call for priests and for diviners, saying, 'What do we do to the ark of Jehovah? let us know wherewith we send it to its place?'

And they say, 'If ye are sending away the ark of the God of Israel, ye do not send it away empty; for ye do certainly send back to Him a guilt-offering; then ye are healed, and it hath been known to you why His hand doth not turn aside from you.'

And they say, 'What is the guilt-offering which we send back to Him?' and they say, 'The number of the princes of the Philistines -- five golden emerods, and five golden mice -- for one plague is to you all, and to your princes,

and ye have made images of your emerods, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and have given honour to the God of Israel; it may be He doth lighten His hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land;

and why do ye harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? do they not -- when He hath rolled Himself upon them -- send them away, and they go?

'And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling kine, on which a yoke hath not gone up, and ye have bound the kine in the cart, and caused their young ones to turn back from after them to the house,

and ye have taken the ark of Jehovah, and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which ye have returned to Him -- a guilt-offering -- ye put in a coffer on its side, and have sent it away, and it hath gone;

and ye have seen, if the way of its own border it goeth up to Beth-Shemesh -- He hath done to us this great evil; and if not, then we have known that His hand hath not come against us; an accident it hath been to us.'

And the men do so, and take two suckling kine, and bind them in the cart, and their young ones they have shut up in the house;

And the kine go straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh, in one highway they have gone, going and lowing, and have not turned aside right or left; and the princes of the Philistines are going after them unto the border of Beth-Shemesh.

And the Beth-Shemeshites are reaping their wheat-harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and see the ark, and rejoice to see it.

And the cart hath come in unto the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite, and standeth there, and there is a great stone, and they cleave the wood of the cart, and the kine they have caused to ascend -- a burnt-offering to Jehovah.

And the Levites have taken down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer which is with it, in which are the vessels of gold, and place them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-Shemesh have caused to ascend burnt-offerings and sacrifice sacrifices in that day to Jehovah;

and the five princes of the Philistines have seen it, and turn back to Ekron, on that day.

And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines have sent back -- a guilt-offering to Jehovah: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

and the golden mice -- the number of all the cities of the Philistines -- for the five princes, from the fenced city even unto the hamlet of the villages, even unto the great meadow on which they placed the ark of Jehovah -- are unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite.

And the men of Beth-Shemesh say, 'Who is able to stand before Jehovah, this holy God? and unto whom doth He go up from us?'

And the men of Kirjath-Jearim come and bring up the ark of Jehovah, and bring it in unto the house of Abinadab, in the height, and Eleazar his son they have sanctified to keep the ark of Jehovah.

And it cometh to pass, from the day of the dwelling of the ark in Kirjath-Jearim, that the days are multiplied -- yea, they are twenty years -- and wail do all the house of Israel after Jehovah.

and Samuel saith, 'Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I pray for you unto Jehovah.'

And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, 'We have sinned against Jehovah;' and Samuel judgeth the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

And the Philistines hear that the sons of Israel have gathered themselves to Mizpeh; and the princes of the Philistines go up against Israel, and the sons of Israel hear, and are afraid of the presence of the Philistines.

And Samuel taketh a fat lamb, and causeth it to go up -- a burnt-offering whole to Jehovah; and Samuel crieth unto Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answereth him;

and Samuel is causing the burnt-offering to go up -- and the Philistines have drawn nigh to battle against Israel -- and Jehovah doth thunder with a great noise, on that day, upon the Philistines, and troubleth them, and they are smitten before Israel.

And the Philistines are humbled, and have not added any more to come into the border of Israel, and the hand of Jehovah is on the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

And the cities which the Philistines have taken from Israel are restored to Israel -- from Ekron even unto Gath -- and their border hath Israel delivered out of the hand of the Philistines; and there is peace between Israel and the Amorite.

and he hath gone from year to year, and gone round Beth-El, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all these places;

and his returning is to Ramath, for there is his house, and there he hath judged Israel, and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah.

And it cometh to pass, when Samuel is aged, that he maketh his sons judges over Israel.

And all the elders of Israel gather themselves together, and come in unto Samuel to Ramath,

and say unto him, 'Lo, thou hast become aged, and thy sons have not walked in thy ways; now, appoint to us a king, to judge us, like all the nations.'

And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, 'Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah.

And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Hearken to the voice of the people, to all that they say unto thee, for thee they have not rejected, but Me they have rejected, from reigning over them.

According to all the works that they have done from the day of My bringing them up out of Egypt, even unto this day, when they forsake Me, and serve other gods -- so they are doing also to thee.

And now, hearken to their voice; only, surely thou dost certainly protest to them, and hast declared to them the custom of the king who doth reign over them.'

also to appoint for himself heads of thousands, and heads of fifties; also to plow his plowing, and to reap his reaping; and to make instruments of his war, and instruments of his charioteer.

and your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards -- the best -- he doth take, and hath given to his servants.

And your seed and your vineyards he doth tithe, and hath given to his eunuchs, and to his servants.

your flock he doth tithe, and ye are to him for servants.

And ye have cried out in that day because of the king whom ye have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah doth not answer you in that day.'

And the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel, and say, 'Nay, but a king is over us,

and Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Hearken to their voice, and thou hast caused to reign over them a king.' And Samuel saith unto the men of Israel, 'Go ye each to his city.'

They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who is with him, 'Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.'

And he saith to him, 'Lo, I pray thee, a man of God is in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.'

And Saul saith to his young man, 'And lo, we go, and what do we bring in to the man? for the bread hath gone from our vessels, and a present there is not to bring in to the man of God -- what is with us?'

And the young man addeth to answer Saul, and saith, 'Lo, there is found with me a fourth of a shekel of silver: and I have given to the man of God, and he hath declared to us our way.'

Formerly in Israel, thus said the man in his going to seek God, 'Come and we go unto the seer,' for the 'prophet' of to-day is called formerly 'the seer.'

And Saul saith to his young man, 'Thy word is good; come, we go;' and they go unto the city where the man of God is.

They are going up in the ascent of the city, and have found young women going out to draw water, and say to them, 'Is the seer in this place?'

And they answer them and say, 'He is; lo, before thee! haste, now, for to-day he hath come in to the city, for the people hath a stated sacrifice in a high place.

At your going in to the city so ye do find him, before he doth go up in to the high place to eat; for the people do not eat till his coming, for he doth bless the sacrifice; afterwards they eat, who are called, and now, go up, for at this time ye find him.'

And they go up in to the city; they are coming in to the midst of the city, and lo, Samuel is coming out to meet them, to go up to the high place;

and Jehovah had uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before the coming of Saul, saying,

And Saul draweth nigh to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and saith, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, where is this -- the seer's house?'

And Samuel answereth Saul and saith, 'I am the seer; go up before me into the high place, and ye have eaten with me to-day, and I have sent thee away in the morning, and all that is in thy heart I declare to thee.

As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom is all the desire of Israel?' is it not to thee and to all thy father's house?'

And Saul answereth and saith, 'Am not I a Benjamite -- of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken unto me according to this word?'

And Samuel taketh Saul, and his young man, and bringeth them in to the chamber, and giveth to them a place at the head of those called; and they are about thirty men.

And Samuel saith to the cook, 'Give the portion which I gave to thee, of which I said unto thee, 'Set it by thee?'

(and the cook lifteth up the leg, and that which is on it, and setteth before Saul), and he saith, 'Lo, that which is left; set it before thee -- eat, for to this appointed season it is kept for thee, saying, The people I have called;' and Saul eateth with Samuel on that day.

And they come down from the high place to the city, and he speaketh with Saul on the roof.

And they rise early, and it cometh to pass, at the ascending of the dawn, that Samuel calleth unto Saul, on the roof, saying, 'Rise, and I send thee away;' and Saul riseth, and they go out, both of them -- he and Samuel, without.

They are going down in the extremity of the city, and Samuel hath said unto Saul, 'Say to the young man that he pass on before us (and he passeth on), and thou, stand at this time, and I cause thee to hear the word of God.'

In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

'And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine,

and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is, and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying;

and prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man;

and it hath been, when these signs come to thee -- do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God is with thee.

'And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.'

And it hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on that day,

and they come in thither to the height, and lo, a band of prophets -- to meet him, and prosper over him doth the Spirit of God, and he prophesieth in their midst.

And it cometh to pass, all his acquaintance heretofore, see, and lo, with prophets he hath prophesied, and the people say one unto another, 'What is this hath happened to the son of Kish? is Saul also among the prophets?'

And he ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place,