So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, "The Philistines are on you, Samson." The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.

It happened, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was troubled to death.

However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved.

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson made sport.

There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he lived there.

The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was looking for an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were there, and how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority that might trouble them in anyway, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone.

The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.

There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived there.

They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel. However the name of the city was originally Laish.

So they set up for themselves Micah's engraved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem Judah.

His concubine was unfaithful to him and went away from him to her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah, and was there about four months.

But the man wouldn't stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And there were with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was also with him.

When they were by Jebus, the day was almost gone, and the servant said to his master, "Please come and let us stop at this city of the Jebusites, and spend the night in it."

They turned that way to go in to spend the night in Gibeah. And he went in and they sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who would take them into their house to spend the night.

Behold, there came an old man from his work out in the field at evening. Now the man was of the hill country of Ephraim, and he was residing in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.

Then at daybreak the woman arrived and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, until daylight.

Her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

It was so, that all who saw it said, "There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel, and speak."

Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to the LORD at Mizpah.

The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, "I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.

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

There came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe; but they didn't know that disaster was close upon them.

Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

It happened in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. A certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem Judah. They came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

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

And they took for themselves wives from the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they lived there about ten years.

Mahlon and Chilion both died, and the woman was bereaved of her two children and of her husband.

She went forth out of 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.

When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking to her.

So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. It happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they asked, "Is this Naomi?"

Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.

She went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, "Whose young lady is this?"

The servant who was set over the reapers answered, "It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

At meal time Boaz said to her, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar." She sat beside the reapers, and they reached her parched grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left some of it.

So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

She took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.

Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

When Boaz had eaten and drank, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. She came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

It happened at midnight, that the man was startled and turned over; and behold, a woman lay at his feet.

He said to the near kinsman, "Naomi, who has come back out of the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's.

Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his sandal, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of attestation in Israel.

Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, "You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi.

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

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

So Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD, and wept bitterly.

And Hannah, she was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

She said, "Let your handmaid find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way, and ate; and her facial expression wasn't sad any more.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year old bull, and one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh. And the child was young.

The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand;

The sin of the young men was very great before the LORD; for they despised the offering of the LORD.

Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "The LORD give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of the LORD." They went to their own home.

Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

The child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

It happened at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),

and the lamp of God hadn't yet gone out, and Samuel had lain down in the LORD's temple, where the ark of God was;

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.

Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.

All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.

The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was struck before the Philistines; and they killed of the army in the field about four thousand men.

So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

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

When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.

It happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered. When she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her.

She named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

When the Ashdodites arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. They took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

When they arose early on the next day morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on 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 on the threshold. Only Dagon's torso was intact.

But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the Ashdodites, and he ravaged them and afflicted Ashdod and its territory with tumors. And in the midst of their country mice multiplied, and there was a great terror of death in the city.

When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us; for his hand is severe on us, and on Dagon our god."

And it happened after they had brought it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great confusion: and he struck the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them.

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly confusion throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months.

Then they said, "What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him?" They said, "Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.

And watch; if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it was a chance that happened to us."

The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they split the wood of the cart, and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to the LORD.

The Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the LORD.

It happened, from the day that the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.

As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day on the Philistines, and confused them; and they were struck down before Israel.

So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the territory of Israel. The hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory out of the hand of the Philistines. There was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

His return was to Ramah, for there was his house; and there he judged Israel: and he built there an altar to the LORD.

It happened, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beersheba.

Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, and let us return, lest my father stop caring about the donkeys, and be anxious for us."

(In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, and let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)

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