Eli reproveth his sons. B. C. about 1165. i Gen. 14. 19. || Or, petition which he asked, &c. k ch. 1. 28. 1 Gen. 21. 1. m ver. 26. Judg. 13. 24. ch. 3. 19. Luke 1. 80. & 2. 40. n See Ex. 38.8. † Heb. assem bled by troops. Or, I hear evil words of you. || Or, to cry out. o Num. 15. 30. I. SAMUEL. m 21 And the LORD 1visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. 22 ¶ Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all | Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for "I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD's people to transgress. 25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of P Josh. 11. 20. their father, P because the LORD would slay them. Prov. 15. 10. 26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. 27 ¶ "And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus t Ex. 4. 14, 27. saith the LORD, 'Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? 30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. e b 31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth The Lord calleth Samuel. which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be fan old man in thine house for ever. B. C. about 1165. f See Zech.8.4. 33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart and all the increase of thine house shall die in the † Heb. men. flower of their age. 34 And this shall be a sign unto 1 Kings 13. 3. thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; hinh ch. 4. 11. one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faith-i1 Kings 2. 35. ful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before 'mine anointed for ever. 3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel: and Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. c Gen. 27. 1. & 48. 10. ch. 2. 22. & d Ex. 27. 21. 2 Chr. 13. 11. e ch. 1. 9. The death of Eli. B. C. I. SAMUEL. d The fall of Dagon. came into the city, and told it, all the | took Dagon, and set him in his place about 1141. city cried out. again. m ch. 3. 2. Heb. stood. n 2 Sam. 1. 4. † Heb. is the thing. || Or, to cry out. † Heb. were turned. o Gen. 35. 17. † Heb. set not her heart. || That is, 14 And when Eli heard the noise of 16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, "What is there done, my son ? 17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 18 And it came to pass, when he 19 ¶ And his daughter in law, Phin- 20 And about the time of her death 21 And she named the child PIchWhere is the abod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. glory? or, There is no glory. p ch. 14. S. q Ps. 26. 8. & 78. 61. a ch. 4. 1. & 7.12. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken. CHAPTER V. The Philistines bring the ark into the house of Dagon at Ashdod. 3 Dagon falleth down before the ark; and the men of Ashdod are smitten with emerods. 8 The ark being brought to Gath and to Ekron, the 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. 8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. k 9 And it was so, that, after they 10 T Therefore they sent the ark of m ver. 6. Ps. 78.66. + Heb. me, to slay me and my. 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay tus not, and Heb. me not our people for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; "the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men that died not were AND the Philistines took the ark smitten with the emerods; and the of God, and brought it a from cry of the city went up to heaven. Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. ark of God, they brought it into the After seven months the Philistines take counsel how to and my. n ver. 6, 9. was fallen upon his face to the earth AND the ark of the LORD was in about 1140. the country of the Philistines before the ark of the LORD. And they seven months. The Philistines take counsel. B. C. about 1140. a Gen. 41. 8. Ex. 7. 11. Dan. 2. 2. & 5.7. Matt. 2. 4. b Ex. 23. 15. Deut. 16. 16. c Lev. 5. 15, 16. d ver. 9. I. SAMUEL. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. b 3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five | golden emerods, and five golden mice, e according to the number of the lords 3. Judg. 3.3. of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. e See ver. 17, 18. Josh. 13. † Heb. them. f ch. 5. 6. g Josh. 7. 19. Is. 42. 12. е g h 5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that 'mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your h See ch.5.6, gods, and from off your land. 6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, 'did they not let the people go, and they departed? 11. Ps. 39. 10. i ch. 5. 3, 4, 7. k Ex. 7. 13. & 8. 15. & 14. 17. Or reproach fully. † Heb. them. 1 Ex. 12. 31. m 2 Sam. 6. 3. n Num. 19. 2. o ver. 4, 5. k 7 Now therefore make ma new cart, and take two milch kine, "on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9 And see, if it goeth up by the way p Josh. 15. 10. of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, || Or, it. 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. | The ark sent to Beth-shemesh. reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein 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 unto the LORD. with the mice of gold and the images They of Kirjath-jearim bring the ark into the house came, and fetched up the ark the lords of the Philistines went after of the LORD, and brought it into the them unto the border of Beth-she- house of Abinadab in the hill, and mesh. sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the 13 And they of Beth-shemesh were ark of the LORD. a ch. 6. 21. Ps. 132.6. b 2 Sam. 6. 4. k 2 Sam. 14. 14. 1 Neh. 9. 1, 2. Dan. 9. 3, 4, 5. Joel 2. 12. m Judg. 10.10. 1 Kings 8. 47. Ps. 106. 6. † Heb. Be not silent from us from crying. n Is. 37. 4. o Ps. 99. 6. Jer. 15. 1. || Or, answered. 10. Judg. 4. 15. & 5. 20. ch. 2. 10. i 5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. k 6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and 1fasted on that day, and said there, m We have sinned against the LORD.' And Save uel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. 7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, + Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 9 ¶ And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. : 10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: p See Josh. 10. P but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; 2.Sam. 22. 14, and they were smitten before Is 15. q Gen. 28, 18. & 31. 45. & 35. 14. Josh. 4. 9. & 24. 26. rael. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and That is, The called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD help stone of help: ch. 4. 1. r Judg. 13. 1. s ch. 13. 5. ed us. 13 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. They desire a king. 14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. B. C. about 1120. tver. 6. ch. 12. 11. Judg. 2. 16. circuited. 16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, † Heb, and he and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 And "his return was to Ramah; u ch. 8. 4. for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built Judg. 21. 4. an altar unto the Lord. CHAPTER VIII. The Israelites ask a king. 6 Samuel, displeased thereat, is comforted of God. 10 He describeth to them the manner of a king. 19 Because of their importunity, God directeth Samuel to make them a king. AND it came to pass, when Sam- about 1112. b uel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. d 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judg e a Deut. 16. 18. 2 Chr. 19. 5. Vashni, 1 Chr. 6. 28. b See Judg.10. 4. & 12. 14. compared with Judg. 5. 10. c Jer. 22. 15, 16, 17. ment. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gath- about 1095. ered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, d Ex. 18. 21. 1 Tim. 3. 3. & 6. 10. e Deut. 16. 19. Ps. 15. 5. f ver. 19, 20. 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6¶ But the thing † displeased Sam-† Heb. was uel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. evil in the eyes of Samuel. 7 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 g See Ex. 16. they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8 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. 9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: "howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10 T And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. |