And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And [when] she saw that she had conceived, then her mistress grew small in her eyes.

And the men who [were] at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they were unable to find the entrance.

And he drew near and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his garments, and he blessed him and said, "Look, the smell of my son [is] like the smell of a field that Yahweh has blessed!

And she said to her, "[Is] your taking my husband [such] a small [thing] that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?" Then Rachel said, "Then he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

And Hadad died, and Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.

And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth [on] the Euphrates reigned in his place.

And if the household is too small for a lamb, he and the neighbor nearest to his house will take [one] according to the number of persons; you will count out portions of the lamb {according to how much each one can eat}.

And every first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem [it], then you will break its neck, and every firstborn human among your sons you will redeem.

" 'If a man steals an ox or small livestock and slaughters it or sells it, he will make restitution with five cattle in place of the ox and with four sheep or goats in place of the small livestock.

If indeed the stolen item is found {in his possession} alive, from ox to donkey to small livestock, he will make double restitution.

Concerning every account of transgression--concerning an ox, concerning a donkey, concerning small livestock, concerning clothing, concerning all lost property--where [someone] says, "This belongs to me," the matter of the two of them will come to God; whomever God declares guilty will make double restitution to his neighbor.

" 'If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or small livestock or any beast to watch over and it dies or is injured or is captured [when] there is no one who sees,

And you will turn into smoke [on] the altar all of the ram; it is a burnt offering for Yahweh; it [is] a smell of appeasement, an offering by fire for Yahweh.

Anyone who makes [any] like it to smell it will be cut off from his people."

Every first offspring of a womb [is] for me--all of your male livestock, [the] first offspring of cattle and small livestock.

But the first offspring of a donkey you will redeem with small livestock, and if you will not redeem [it], you will break its neck. Every firstborn of your sons you will redeem, and you will not appear before me empty-handed.

And I will lay your cities [in] ruins, and I will lay waste your sanctuaries; and I shall not smell your [sacrifices'] appeasing fragrance.

" 'However, a man shall not consecrate a firstborn among livestock, which belongs as firstborn to Yahweh; whether an ox {or} small livestock, it is for Yahweh.

They will take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light source, its lamps, a pair of its tongs, its small pans, and all the vessels of its oil with which they attend to it.

" 'This is how it should be done for each bull, or for the each ram, or for the small four-footed mammal, or ram-lambs, or goats.

The {Israelites} said to him, "We will go up on the main road, and if we and our livestock drink your water, we will pay [for it]. It is only a small matter; let us pass through on our feet."

of the tribe of the descendants of Simeon, Samuel son of Ammihud;

You must not {be partial} {in your judgment}; hear [out] the small [person] as [also] the great [person]; {do not be intimidated by any person}, because the judgment [is] God's; and the case that is too difficult for you, bring [it] to me, and I will hear it [out].'

And you will there serve gods {made by human hands}, [of] wood and stone, [gods] that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell.

"There shall not be {for your use} in your bag {two kinds of stone weights, a large one and a small one}.

God chose new [leaders], then war [was at the] gates; a small shield or a spear was not seen among forty thousand in Israel.

{In due time}, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for [she said], "I requested him from Yahweh."

Now Samuel [was] serving before Yahweh, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

His mother used to make for him a small robe and take it to him {year by year} whenever she came up with her husband to offer the {annual sacrifice}.

Yahweh took note of Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters, while the young man Samuel grew up with Yahweh.

But the boy Samuel {continued to grow in stature and in favor} with Yahweh and with the people.

Now the boy Samuel was serving Yahweh {in the presence} of Eli. The word of Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God [was].

Then Yahweh called out to Samuel and he said, "Here I am!"

And Yahweh called Samuel again, so Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." And he said, "I did not call you, my son. Go back [and] lie down."

Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him.

Again Yahweh called Samuel a third time, so he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." Then Eli realized that Yahweh was calling the boy.

So Eli said to Samuel "Go lie down. {If he calls} to you, then you must say, 'Speak Yahweh, because your servant [is] listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Then Yahweh came and stood [there] and called out {as before}, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, because your servant [is] listening."

So Yahweh said to Samuel, "Look, I am doing something in Israel {which will cause} the two ears of everyone who hears it to tingle.

So Samuel lay down until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh, but Samuel was afraid of telling the vision to Eli.

Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" And he said, "Here I am."

So Samuel told him all the words and did not conceal [anything] from him. And he said, "He [is] Yahweh, he will do {what is} good in his {sight}."

And Samuel grew up, and Yahweh was with him. {He did not allow any of his prophecies to go unfulfilled}.

All Israel from Dan to Beersheba realized that Samuel was faithful as a prophet to Yahweh.

And Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh, for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the word of Yahweh.

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.

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If with all your heart you [are] turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of [the] Philistines."

Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you."

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.

Then the {Israelites} said to Samuel, "{You must not cease} from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of [the] Philistines."

So Samuel took a single {nursing lamb} and sacrificed [it] as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh. Then Samuel cried out to Yahweh on behalf of Israel, and Yahweh 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 did not come into the territory of Israel again, and the hand of Yahweh was against [the] Philistines all the days of Samuel.

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

When Samuel grew old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

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

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.

So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who [were] requesting a king from him.

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

Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh.

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."

So they went up to the town. As they [were] entering into the middle of the town, Samuel was coming forth to meet them, to go up to the high place.

Now Yahweh {had revealed this to} Samuel the day before Saul arrived, saying,

When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh answered him, "Here [is] the man about whom I told you! This [is the] one [who] will govern my people."

Then Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate and said, "Please tell me, where [is] the house of the seer?"

Samuel answered Saul and said, "I [am] the seer. Go up {ahead of me} to the high place, and you will eat with me today; then I will send you away in the morning. I will tell you all that [is] {on your mind}.

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.

Then Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion that I gave to you, about which I said to you, 'Keep it with you.'"

So the cook took up the shank and what was on it and put it before Saul, and he said, "Look, {the saved portion} [is] placed {before you}--eat, because it has been kept for you for the appointed time," {and he said}, "I have invited the people." So Saul ate 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.

As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to pass on before us. When he has passed, you stand here {a while}, so that I can make known to you [the] word of God."

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it over his head and kissed him and said, "{Has not} Yahweh anointed you as leader over his inheritance?

{Just as he turned} his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God {changed his} heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day.

Then Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To search [for] the female donkeys; and when we saw none, we went to Samuel."

So Saul's uncle said to him, "Please tell me, what did Samuel say to you?"

Then Saul said to his uncle, "He told us for certain that the female donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingship [of] which Samuel had spoken.

Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah,

So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot.

Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"

Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote [the rules] down on a scroll and laid [it] before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house.

So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent [them] throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, "Whoever [is] not going out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen." Then the fear of Yahweh fell on the people and they went out as one man.

Then the people said to Samuel, "Who [is] the one who asked, 'Will Saul reign over us?' Give the men to us that we may kill them."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there."

Then Samuel said to all Israel, "Look, I have listened to your voice regarding all that you have said to me, so I have set a king over you.

Then Samuel said to the people, "Yahweh [is witness], who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.

So Yahweh sent Jerub-Baal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel. Then he delivered you from the hand of your enemies all around, and you lived [in] security.

So Samuel called out to Yahweh, and Yahweh brought thunder and rain that [same] day, so all the people feared Yahweh and Samuel greatly.

Then all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God so that we will not die, because we have added to all our sins by requesting a king for ourselves."

And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear! You have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from {following} Yahweh. But you must serve Yahweh with all your heart.

He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and {the army started to slip away from him}.

{Just as} he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Samuel was coming. So Saul went out to meet him [and] to bless him.

But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash,

Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.

Then Samuel said to Saul, "Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. So then, {listen to the words} of Yahweh!

Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying,

"I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not kept my word." {Samuel became angry}, and he cried out to Yahweh all night.