1 Samuel 6 - 10 — Legacy Standard Bible

The Ark Returned to Israel

6Now the ark of Yahweh had been in the ¹fields of the Philistines seven months. ²And ^athe Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? Make us know ¹how we shall send it to its place.” ³So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, ^ado not send it empty; but you shall surely ^breturn to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not turned away from you.” ⁴Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden ^atumors and five golden mice ^baccording to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of ¹you and on your lords. ⁵“So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that bring the land to ruin, and ^ayou shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps ^bHe will ease His hand from you, ^cyour gods, and your land. ⁶“Why then do you ¹harden your hearts ^aas the Egyptians and Pharaoh ²hardened their hearts? When He had abused them, ^bdid they not allow ³the people to go, and they went? ⁷“So now, take and ^amake a new cart and two milch cows on which there ^bhas never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. ⁸“And take the ark of Yahweh and place it on the cart; and put ^athe articles of gold which you return to Him as ^ba guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. ⁹“See, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to ^aBeth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then ^bwe will know that it was not His hand that smote us; it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰Then the men did so and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹And they put the ark of Yahweh on the cart, as well as the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹²And the cows took the straight way in the ¹direction of ^aBeth-shemesh; they went along ^bthe highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. ¹⁴And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there, and a large stone was there; and they split the wood of the cart and ^aoffered the cows as a burnt offering to Yahweh. ¹⁵^aAnd the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to Yahweh. ¹⁶So the ^afive lords of the Philistines saw it and returned to Ekron that day.

¹⁷^aNow these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to Yahweh: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; ¹⁸and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, ^aboth of fortified cities and of country villages. ^bThe large ¹stone on which they set the ark of Yahweh is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

¹⁹^aThen He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “^aWho is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?” ²¹So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^aKiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh; come down and take it up to you.”

7And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and brought the ark of Yahweh up and ^abrought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill and set apart Eleazar his son as holy in order to keep the ark of Yahweh. ²Now it happened from the day when the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.

Samuel Judges Israel

³Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^aIf you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then ^bremove the foreign gods and the ^cAshtaroth from among you and ^dset your hearts toward Yahweh and ^eserve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh alone.

⁵Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to ^aMizpah, and ^bI will pray to Yahweh for you.” ⁶And they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and ^apoured it out before Yahweh and ^bfasted on that day and said there, “^cWe have sinned against Yahweh.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷Then the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah. And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. Then the sons of Israel heard it and ^awere afraid of the Philistines. ⁸So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^aDo not cease to cry out to Yahweh our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹And Samuel took ^aa suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh; and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and ^bYahweh answered him. ¹⁰Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But ^aYahweh thundered with a great ¹thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^bconfused them, so that they were ²defeated before Israel. ¹¹So the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

¹²Then Samuel ^atook a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it ¹Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.” ¹³^aSo the Philistines were subdued, and ^bthey did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^athe Amorites.

¹⁵Thus Samuel ^ajudged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶And he used to go annually on circuit to ^aBethel and ^bGilgal and ^cMizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷But his return would be to ^aRamah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he ^bbuilt there an altar to Yahweh.

Israel Tells Samuel to Appoint a King

8And it happened when Samuel was old that ^ahe appointed his sons judges over Israel. ²The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in ^aBeersheba. ³But his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after greedy gain and ^atook bribes and caused justice to turn aside.

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^aRamah; ⁵and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^aappoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶But the thing was ^aevil in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And ^bSamuel prayed to Yahweh. ⁷Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for ^athey have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. ⁸“Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹“So now, listen to their voice; ^ahowever, you shall solemnly ¹testify to them and tell them of ^bthe ²custom of the king who will reign over them.”

The People Refuse Samuel’s Words

¹⁰So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to ^athe people who had asked of him a king. ¹¹And he said, “^aThis will be the ¹custom of the king who will reign over you: ^bhe will take your sons and appoint them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and ^cthey will run before his chariots. ¹²“^aAnd he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to ¹do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³“He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴“^aHe will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his ¹servants. ¹⁵“He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. ¹⁶“He will also take your male slaves and your female slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and ¹use them for his work. ¹⁷“He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸“Then ^ayou will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but ^bYahweh will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹Nevertheless, the people ^arefused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ²⁰^athat we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹So Samuel heard all the words of the people, and ^ahe repeated them in the hearing of Yahweh. ²²Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “^aListen to their voice and ¹appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Saul to Be Anointed Over Israel

9Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^aKish 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 ¹valor. ²Now he had a son whose name was Saul, a ^achoice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; ^bfrom his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now with you one of the young men, and arise, go search for the donkeys.” ⁴Thus he passed through ^athe hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^bShalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^cShaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

⁵They came to the land of ^aZuph. And Saul said to his young man who was with him, “Come, and let us return, ^blest my father cease to be concerned about the donkeys and become anxious for us.” ⁶But he said to him, “Behold now, there is ^aa man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ^ball that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, ^cperhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have gone.” ⁷Then Saul said to his young man, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack, and there is ^ano present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸And the young man answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a ¹shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, and he will ^atell us our way.” ⁹(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called ^aa seer.) ¹⁰Then Saul said to his young man, “Your word is good; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹As they were going up the slope to the city, ^athey found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹²And they answered them and said, “He is! Behold, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for ^athe people have a sacrifice on ^bthe high place today. ¹³“As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes because ^ahe must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. So now, go up for you will find him at once.” ¹⁴So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out to meet them to go up to the high place.

¹⁵Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^aYahweh had revealed this in Samuel’s hearing, saying, ¹⁶“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^ayou shall anoint him to be ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ¹^,^bI have regarded My people because their cry has come to Me.” ¹⁷Now Samuel saw Saul, and Yahweh answered him, “^aBehold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall restrict My people.” ¹⁸Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” ¹⁹And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your heart. ²⁰“^aAs for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your heart on them, for they have been found. And ^bfor whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” ²¹And Saul answered and said, “^aAm I not a Benjamite, of ^bthe smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ¹tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

²²Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the chamber and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. ²³And Samuel said to the cook, “¹Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, ‘Set it ²aside.’” ²⁴Then the cook ^atook up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ¹since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵Then they came down from the high place into the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul ^aon the ¹roof. ²⁶And they arose early; and at the ¹breaking of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. ²⁷As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the young man that he might pass before us and pass onwards, but you remain standing now, that I may cause you to hear the word of God.”

Saul Among the Prophets

10Then ^aSamuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, ^bkissed him, and said, “Has not ^cYahweh anointed you a ruler over ^dHis inheritance? ²“When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to ^aRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^bThe donkeys which you went to search for have been found. Now behold, your father has ¹ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ ³“Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ¹^,^aoak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^bto God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; ⁴and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread. And you will take them from their hand. ⁵“Afterward you will come to ¹^,^athe hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^ba group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and ^cthey will be prophesying. ⁶“Then ^athe Spirit of Yahweh will ¹come upon you mightily, and ^byou shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. ⁷“Now it will be when these signs come to you, ^ado for yourself whatever your hand finds to do, for ^bGod is with you. ⁸“And ^ayou shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^bsacrifice peace offerings. ^cYou shall wait seven days until I come to you and make you know what you should do.”

⁹Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God ^achanged ¹his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ¹⁰^aAnd they came to ¹the hill there, and behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God ²came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. ¹¹Now it happened that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, so the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? ^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” ¹²And a man there answered and said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³Then he finished prophesying and came to the high place.

¹⁴Now ^aSaul’s uncle said to him and his young man, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^bTo look for the donkeys. And we saw that they were not anywhere, so we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶So Saul said to his uncle, “^aHe told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had said.

Saul the King

¹⁷Then Samuel called the ^apeople together to Yahweh at Mizpah; ¹⁸and he said to the sons of Israel, “^aThus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹“But you ^ahave today rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have ¹said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ So now, ^btake your stand before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”

²⁰Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but they looked for him, and he could not be found. ²²Therefore ^athey inquired further of Yahweh, “Has the man come here yet?” So Yahweh said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.” ²³So they ran and took him from there, and he stood among the people. And ^ahe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^awhom Yahweh has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “¹^,^bLong live the king!”

²⁵Then Samuel spoke with the people about ^athe legal judgments of the kingdom and wrote them in the book and ^bplaced it before Yahweh. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. ²⁶Saul also went ^ato his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷But certain ¹^,^avile men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and ^bdid not bring him any present. But he kept silent.