And you must take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the utility cart with the gold objects that you [are] returning to him as a guilt offering. You must place [them] in the container beside [the ark] and then send it [off] so that it goes away.

And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.

And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:

And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

And, the waggon, entered into the field of Joshua, a man of Beth-shemesh, and stood still, there, where also, was a great stone, - so they clave into pieces the planks of the waggon, and, the kine, offered they up as an ascending-sacrifice, unto Yahweh.

And the five lords of the Philistines saw it, and returned to Ekron the same day.

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.

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?'

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."

So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to care for the ark of the Lord.

And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years [until the reign of King David]; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the Lord.

And Samuel spake unto all Israel, saying, "If ye be come again unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods from among you, and Ashtaroth, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD and serve him alone; and so shall he rid you out of the hands of the Philistines."

So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.

And Samuel will say, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to 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 sons of Israel say unto Samuel, 'Keep not silent for us from crying unto Jehovah our God, and He doth save us out of the hand of the Philistines.'

So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him.

{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.

So Samuel took a single stone and put [it] between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer and said, "Up to here Yahweh has helped us."

So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The LORD continued to oppose the Philistines all during Samuel's life time. The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

So Samuel led Israel all the days of his life.

And, his returning, was to Ramah, for, there, was his house, and, there, judged he Israel, - so he built there an altar unto Yahweh.

His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.

His sons did not follow Samuel's example. Instead, they pursued dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

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

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.'

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

And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

So now listen to their voice; only solemnly warn them and tell them the ways of the king who will reign over them.”

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

And he will say, This shall be the judgment of the king who shall reign over you: your sons he will take and set for himself, for his chariots and for his horsemen; and running before his chariots.

So you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you on that day!"

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

so that we {also} may be like all the nations, and our king may rule us and go out before us and fight our battles."

Samuel had heard all the words of the people and repeated them to the Lord.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and appoint a king for them." So Samuel spoke to the men of Israel, "Each of you go to his [own] town."

There was a man from Benjamin named Kish, Abiel's son, the grandson of Zeror and great-grandson of Aphiah's son Becorath. A prominent man from Benjamin,

the same had a son called Saul, a goodly young man, so that among the children of Israel, there was none goodlier than he, and was thereto, from the shoulders upward, higher than all the other people.

And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

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 came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the attendant who was with him, “Come on, let’s go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”

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.)

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

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.'

So they went up to the city. And as they came into the city, there was Samuel coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

Now the day before Saul’s arrival, the Lord had informed Samuel,

Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin. And you shall anoint him to be leader over My people Israel, so that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked on My people because their cry has come to Me.

And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.

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

“I am the seer,” Samuel answered. “Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. When I send you off in the morning, I’ll tell you everything that’s in your heart.

And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?

And Saul answered and said, 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? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?

So Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them to a room in the building and gave them a place at the head of {the invited guests}. There were about thirty men.

And Samuel will say to the cook, Thou shalt give the portion which I gave to thee, which I said to thee, Put it with thee.

And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.

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.

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.'

Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has the Lord not anointed you as ruler over His inheritance (Israel)?

When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

Then you are to go on from there, and when you come to the oak-tree of Tabor, you will see three men going up to God to Beth-el, one having with him three young goats and another three cakes of bread and another a skin full of wine:

They will say, Peace be with you, and will give you two cakes of bread, which you are to take from them.

After that you will come to Gibeah, the hill of God, where an armed force of the Philistines is stationed: and when you come to the town, you will see a band of prophets coming down from the high place with instruments of music before them; and they will be acting like prophets:

And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; for God is with you.

And thou shall go down before me to Gilgal. And, behold, I will come down to thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings. Thou shall tarry seven days till I come to thee, and show thee what thou s

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.

When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.

And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

And a man from there answered, “But who is the father of the others?” So it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

And Saul, answering him, said, He gave us word that the asses had come back. But he said nothing to him of Samuel's words about the kingdom.

And he said to the sons of Israel, So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, of those who oppressed you.

and ye to-day have rejected your God, who is Himself your saviour out of all your evils and your distresses, and ye say, 'Nay, but -- a king thou dost set over us; and now, station yourselves before Jehovah, by your tribes, and by your thousands.'

So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

And, when he had brought near the tribe of Benjamin, by their families, then was taken the family of Matri, - and, when he had brought near the family of Matri, man by man, then was taken Saul the son of Kish; so they sought him, but he was not to be found.

So they inquired again of Yahweh, "{Did the man come here}?" And Yahweh said, "Look, he [is] hiding himself among the baggage."

So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up.

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.

Samuel explained to the people the regulations concerning kingship. He wrote them in a scroll and placed it in the LORD's presence. Then Samuel sent all the people to their own houses.

However, some {worthless men} said, "How can this [man] deliver us?" So they despised him and brought no gift to him, but he kept silent.

And Nahash the Ammonite cometh up, and encampeth against Jabesh-Gilead, and all the men of Jabesh say unto Nahash, 'Make with us a covenant, and we serve thee.'

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this [condition] {I will make a treaty} with you, by gouging out the right eye of each of you, so that I can make it a disgrace for all Israel."

And the elders of Jabesh say to him, 'Let us alone seven days, and we send messengers into all the border of Israel: and if there is none saving us -- then we have come out unto thee.'

When the messengers came to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, and told the terms to the people, all wept aloud.

{Just then}, Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, "What [is the matter] with the people, that they [are] weeping?" So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.

and the men of Jabesh say to the Ammonites, 'To-morrow we come out unto you, and ye have done to us according to all that is good in your eyes.'

And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

And the people say unto Samuel, 'Who is he that saith, Saul doth reign over us! give ye up the men, and we put them to death.'

And Saul will say, A man shall not die in this day, for this day Jehovah made salvation in Israel.

Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal, so we can renew the kingship there.”

So all the people went to Gilgal and they made Saul king there before Yahweh in Gilgal. They sacrificed fellowship offerings there before Yahweh. Then Saul rejoiced there greatly [along with] all the men of Israel.