When the people saw Samson, they praised their god, claiming: Our god has given our enemy into our control; the one who was destroying our land, and who has killed many of us.

Now the building was full of men, women, and all the Philistine officials, with about 3,000 men and women on the roof watching Samson while he was entertaining them.

So the five men left and went to Laish, and observed the people who were living there carefree, as Sidonians tend to do, in peace and quiet. There was no ruler in the land oppressing them for any reason. They were living far away from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone.

The priest was happy to oblige, so he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image and went along with the army.

They renamed the city Dan, after the name of their ancestor Dan, who had been born in Israel. The former name of the city was Laish.

The descendants of Dan set up the carved image, and Gershom's son Jonathan, a descendant of Manasseh, served along with his descendants as priests to the tribe of Dan until the land was taken captive.

Micah's carved image, that he himself had crafted, was in place during the entire time that God's tent was set up at Shiloh.

Now it happened in those days, before there was a king in Israel, that a certain male descendant of Levi, who lived in a remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, took a mistress for himself from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah.

But his mistress was sexually unfaithful to him, and then she left him to live in her father's home in Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. She had been living there for a period of about four months

when her husband got up and went after her, intending to speak lovingly to her in order to win her back. He took with him his young man servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father's house to see him, her father was happy to have met him.

Because the man was unwilling to spend the night, he got up, left, and arrived opposite Jebus (now known as Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys, along with his mistress.

As they approached Jebus, the daylight was almost gone, so the servant suggested to his master, "Come on, let's spend the night in this Jebusite city."

After they entered the city, they had to sit down in the public square because no one would take them into their home for the night. Just then, an old man was coming out of the fields that evening from work. The man was from the mountainous region of Ephraim and had been staying in Gibeah, even though the men of that place were descendants of Benjamin.

But the men were unwilling to listen to him. So the descendant of Levi grabbed his mistress, took her out to them, and they raped and tortured her all night until morning. Then they released her as the first daylight was beginning to appear.

As dawn was breaking, the woman approached the door of the man's home where her master was and collapsed. Eventually, full daylight came.

When her master got up that morning and opened the doors of the house to leave on his way, there was his mistress, fallen dead at the door of the house with her hands grasping the threshold.

But there was no response. So he placed her on the donkey, mounted his own animal, and went home. When he arrived home, he grabbed a knife, took hold of his mistress, cut her apart limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her remains throughout the land of Israel.

The Israelis inquired of the LORD, since the Ark of the Covenant was there at that time

As 10,000 of Israel's best soldiers came to fight Gibeah, the battle became fierce, but the army of Benjamin didn't know that disaster was close at hand.

But then the smoke began to rise from the city in a column. The army of Benjamin observed behind them that the whole city was going up in flames straight into the sky!

At that point, as the army of Israel turned back to face the army of Benjamin, the army of Benjamin was filled with terror, because they realized that disaster was about to overtake them.

since when they took a census of the assembly, not even one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was in attendance.

The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name was Naomi, and their two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They journeyed to the country of Moab and lived there for some time.

Then Naomi's husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons.

Naomi had a close relative of her late husband, a man of considerable wealth from the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.

At lunchtime, Boaz invited her, "Come on over, have some food, and dip your bread in our oil and vinegar." So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he handed her some roasted grain, which she ate until she was satisfied. She kept what was left over.

Her mother-in-law noticed how much Ruth had gleaned and had brought back from what was left over from her lunch. So her mother-in-law quizzed her, "Where did you glean today? Where, precisely, did you work? May the one who took notice of you be blessed." So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz."

In the middle of the night, Boaz was startled awake and turned over in surprise to see a woman lying at his feet.

So she lay down at his feet until dawn approached, then got up while it was still difficult for anyone to be recognized. Then he told her, "It shouldn't be known that a woman has come to the threshing floor."

So her women neighbors gave the child a nickname, which is "Naomi has a son!" They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

A certain man lived in Ramathaim-zophim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim. He was Jeroham's son Elkanah, the grandson of Elihu and grandson of Tohu, who was the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

Hannah got up after she had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the chair by the doorpost of the tent of the LORD.

As she continued to pray in the LORD's presence, Eli was watching her mouth.

Hannah was praying inwardly. Her lips were quivering, and her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

She said, "Let your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went on her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Then, when she had weaned him, she brought him up with her to Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh, and the boy was young.

Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah, while the boy was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli the priest.

The custom of the priests with the people was that whenever a person offered a sacrifice, a servant of the priest would come with a three pronged fork in his hand while the meat was boiling, and

By doing this, the sin of the young men was very serious in the LORD's sight because the men despised the LORD's offering.

Now Samuel was ministering in the LORD's presence, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

The LORD took note of Hannah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel continued to grow, and the LORD was constantly with him.

Now Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to the Israelis, and how they lay with the women who were serving regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Meanwhile the boy Samuel was serving the LORD before Eli. A word from the LORD was rare in those days, and visions were infrequent.

At that time Eli, whose vision was growing dim, was lying down in his bedroom.

The lamp of God had not yet been extinguished, and Samuel was lying down in the tent of the LORD where the Ark of God was.

Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the boy, so Eli told Samuel, "Go lie down, and then if he calls you, answer, "Speak, LORD, because your servant is listening.'" Then Samuel went and lay down.

Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD, but he was afraid to report the vision to Eli.

As Samuel grew, the LORD was with him and did not let any of Samuel's predictions fail.

All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as the LORD's prophet.

What Samuel had to say was directed to all Israel, and Israel went out to engage the Philistines in battle. The Israelis were camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines were camped at Aphek.

The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.

The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; each of them fled to his own tent. It was a very great slaughter, and 30,000 soldiers of Israel died.

The Ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, died.

That very same day, a man who was a descendant of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh, with his garments torn and dirt on his head.

When he arrived, Eli was sitting there on a seat beside the road, watching because his heart trembled for the Ark of God. The man went into the town to give the report, and the whole town cried out.

Now Eli was 98 years old, and his vision had failed.

The messenger answered, "Israel fled from the Philistines and the people suffered a great defeat as well. Moreover, your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead, and the Ark of God was captured."

When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, since he was old and heavy. Eli had judged Israel for 40 years.

Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and ready to give birth. When she heard the report about the capture of the Ark of God and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she crouched down and gave birth, because her labor pains suddenly began.

As she was about to die, the women standing around her said, "Don't be afraid! You've given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay attention.

When the people of Ashdod got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD. They took Dagon and put him back in his place.

But when they got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground again in front of the Ark of the LORD. Dagon's head and both of his arms were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left intact.

"Five gold tumors and five gold mice," they answered, "according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, since the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. Make images of your tumors and images of the mice that are destroying your land, and you are to give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will remove his pressure from you, your gods, and your land.

Keep watching it. If it goes up along the road to its own territory to Beth-shemesh, it's the LORD who has done this great evil to us. But if it does not, then we will know that he wasn't pressuring us. It happened to us as a natural event."

The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh, and stopped there. In that place there was a large stone. They broke up the wood from the cart, and offered up the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

The descendants of Levi took down the Ark of the LORD, along with the box that was with it, containing the objects of gold, and they put them on the large stone. The men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD that day.

A long time passed it was twenty years from the time the Ark came to reside in Kiriath-jearim, and all the house of Israel mourned because of the LORD.

While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to attack Israel. But that day the LORD thundered against the Philistines and threw them into panic, and they were defeated before Israel.

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.

He would return to Ramah because his house was there, and judged Israel from there. He also built an altar to the LORD there.

The name of his firstborn son was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.

Samuel was displeased when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

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,

he had a son named Saul, who was a choice and handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelis as handsome as he, and he was a head taller than any of the other people.

(Previously in Israel, a person would say when he went to inquire of God, "Come on! Let's go to the seer!" because the person known as a prophet today was formerly called a seer.)

Saul told his young man, "That's a good suggestion! Come on, let's go!" Then they entered the town where the man of God was.

They went up to the town, and as they were coming to the center of the town, Samuel was coming out to meet them, on his way up to the high place.

The cook picked up the thigh and what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Then Samuel said, "Here is what is left! Set it before you and eat, for it has been kept for you until the appointed time, about which I said, "I've invited the people.'" So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

When they arrived there at Gibeah, a band of prophets was right there to meet them. The Spirit of God came upon Saul, and he prophesied along with them.

When all those who had known Saul previously saw that he was there among the prophets prophesying, the people told one another, "What has happened to Kish's son? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was chosen. Finally, Kish's son Saul was chosen, but when they looked for him, they couldn't find him.

They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the others by a head.

Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.

Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind the oxen and he said, "What's with the people? Why are they crying?" They reported to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God came on him, and he was very angry.

But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was coming to fight you, you told me, "No, let a king rule over us instead,' even though the LORD your God was your king.

Saul was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he ruled for 42 years over Israel.

The charge was one pin for plows, mattocks, three pronged forks, and axes, or for setting the goads.

Saul was sitting on the outskirts of Geba under the pomegranate tree which was at Migron, and with him were about 600 men.

Along with him were Ahitub's son Ahijah, Ichabod's brother, who was Phineas' son and a grandson of Eli the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, who was carrying the ephod. The people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

Now in the pass through which Jonathan planned to get across to the Philistine garrison, there was a sharp crag on one side and a sharp crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh.

Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer who was behind him also killed some.

There was terror in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders were terrified. The earth shook, and there was even greater terror.

Saul's sentries in Gibeah of Benjamin watched as the camp was in disarray, going this way and that.

Saul told Ahijah, "Bring the Ark of God here." For at that time the Ark of God was with the Israelis.

While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the commotion in the Philistine camp increased more and more, and Saul told the priest, "Remove your hand."

Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled and went into battle. Now the swords of all the Philistines were against each other, and there was very great confusion.

Later on, all the soldiers entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.