New American Standard Bible (NASB)

David’s Psalm of Deliverance

1 And David spoke the words of this song to the Lordin the day that the Lorddelivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

2 He said,

“The Lordis my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;

My savior, You save me from violence.

4 “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me;

The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me;

6 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord,

Yes, I cried to my God;

And from His temple He heard my voice,

And my cry for helpcameinto His ears.

8 “Then the earth shook and quaked,

The foundations of heaven were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

9 “Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

Fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

10 “He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

11 “And He rode on a cherub and flew;

And He appeared on the wings of the wind.

12 “And He made darkness canopies around Him,

A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky.

13 “From the brightness before Him

Coals of fire were kindled.

14 “The Lordthundered from heaven,

And the Most High uttered His voice.

15 “And He sent out arrows, and scattered them,

Lightning, and routed them.

16 “Then the channels of the sea appeared,

The foundations of the world were laid bare

By the rebuke of the Lord,

At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

17 “He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

18 “He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

19 “They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lordwas my support.

20 “He also brought me forth into a broad place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

21 “The Lordhas rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

22 “For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

And have not acted wickedly against my God.

23 “For all His ordinanceswerebefore me,

Andas forHis statutes, I did not depart from them.

24 “I was also blameless toward Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

25 “Therefore the Lordhas recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to my cleanness before His eyes.

26 “With the kind You show Yourself kind,

With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

27 With the pure You show Yourself pure,

And with the perverted You show Yourself astute.

28 “And You save an afflicted people;

But Your eyes are on the haughtywhomYou abase.

29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord;

And the Lordillumines my darkness.

30 “For by You I canrun upon a troop;

By my God I can leap over a wall.

31 “As for God, His way is blameless;

The word of the Lordis tested;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

32 “For who is God, besides the Lord?

And who is a rock, besides our God?

33 “God is my strong fortress;

And He sets the blameless in His way.

34 “He makes my feet like hinds’feet,

And sets me on my high places.

35 “He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your help makes me great.

37 “You enlarge my steps under me,

And my feet have not slipped.

38 “I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,

And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

39 “And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise;

And they fell under my feet.

40 “For You have girded me with strength for battle;

You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

41 “You have also made my enemies turntheirbacks to me,

And I destroyed those who hated me.

42 “They looked, but there was none to save;

Evento the Lord, but He did not answer them.

43 “Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth;

I crushedandstamped them as the mire of the streets.

44 “You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;

You have kept me as head of the nations;

A people whom I have not known serve me.

45 “Foreigners pretend obedience to me;

As soon as they hear, they obey me.

46 “Foreigners lose heart,

And come trembling out of their fortresses.

47 “The Lordlives, and blessed be my rock;

And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation,

48 The God who executes vengeance for me,

And brings down peoples under me,

49 Who also brings me out from my enemies;

You even lift me above those who rise up against me;

You rescue me from the violent man.

50 “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,

And I will sing praises to Your name.

51 “Heis a tower ofdeliverance to His king,

And shows lovingkindness to His anointed,

To David and his descendants forever.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2SA/22-7cbf709038f4877b2e1f96cf565c22b9.mp3?version_id=100—

David’s Last Song

1 Now these are the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse declares,

The man who was raised on high declares,

The anointed of the God of Jacob,

And the sweet psalmist of Israel,

2 “The Spirit of the Lordspoke by me,

And His word was on my tongue.

3 “The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spoke to me,

‘He who rules over men righteously,

Who rules in the fear of God,

4 Is as the light of the morningwhenthe sun rises,

A morning without clouds,

Whenthe tender grassspringsout of the earth,

Through sunshine after rain.’

5 “Truly is not my house so with God?

For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,

Ordered in all things, and secured;

For all my salvation and allmydesire,

Will He not indeed makeitgrow?

6 “But the worthless, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns,

Because they cannot be taken in hand;

7 But the man who touches them

Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,

And they will be completely burned with fire intheirplace.”

His Mighty Men

8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he wascalledAdino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slainby himat one time;

9 and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn.

10 He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the Lordbrought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to stripthe slain.

11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines.

12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the Lordbrought about a great victory.

13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim.

14 David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

15 David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!”

16 So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and tookitand broughtitto David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord;

17 and he said, “Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this.Shall I drinkthe blood of the men who went injeopardyof their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

18 Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killedthem,and had a name as well as the three.

19 He was most honored of the thirty, therefore he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the three.

20 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the twosons ofAriel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.

21 He killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now the Egyptianhada spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.

22 ThesethingsBenaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men.

23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.

24 Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

29 Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin,

30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,

33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite,

34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

35 Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah,

38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

39 Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2SA/23-6df72079c93b1403607a4420903873d4.mp3?version_id=100—

The Census Taken

1 Now again the anger of the Lordburned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

2 The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

3 But Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lordyour God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the kingstillsee; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”

4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel.

5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward Jazer.

6 Then they came to Gilead and tothe land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon,

7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah,toBeersheba.

8 So when they had gone about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

9 And Joab gave the number of the registration of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

10 Now David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

11 When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lordcame to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,

12 “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lordsays, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”‘”

13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”

14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lordfor His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

Pestilence Sent

15 So the Lordsent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.

16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lordrelented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lordwas by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 Then David spoke to the Lordwhen he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

David Builds an Altar

18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lordon the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

19 David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lordhad commanded.

20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king.

21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be held back from the people.”

22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.

23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lordyour God accept you.”

24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buyitfrom you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lordmy God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 David built there an altar to the Lordand offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the Lordwas moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/2SA/24-7141b858a1514e518c79c6ce6c50b5bf.mp3?version_id=100—

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from 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.

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

3 Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lordof hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lordthere.

4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;

5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lordhad closed her womb.

6 Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lordhad closed her womb.

7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.

8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

9 Then 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.

10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lordand wept bitterly.

11 She made a vow and said, “O Lordof hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lordall the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”

12 Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth.

13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”

15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord.

16 Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.”

17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.”

18 She said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longersad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

19 Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the Lordremembered her.

20 It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel,saying,”Because I have asked him of the Lord.”

21 Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the Lordthe yearly sacrifice andpayhis vow.

22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go upuntil the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lordand stay there forever.”

23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the Lordconfirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lordin Shiloh, although the child was young.

25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli.

26 She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord.

27 For this boy I prayed, and the Lordhas given me my petition which I asked of Him.

28 So I have alsodedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lordthere.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/1-568053fc099ade62a0b53d0f5d600792.mp3?version_id=100—

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

1 Then Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;

My horn is exalted in the Lord,

My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,

Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

2 “There is no one holy like the Lord,

Indeed, there is no one besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God.

3 “Boast no more so very proudly,

Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;

For the Lordis a God of knowledge,

And with Him actions are weighed.

4 “The bows of the mighty are shattered,

But the feeble gird on strength.

5 “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,

But those who were hungry ceaseto hunger.

Even the barren gives birth to seven,

But she who has many children languishes.

6 “The Lordkills and makes alive;

He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

7 “The Lordmakes poor and rich;

He brings low, He also exalts.

8 “He raises the poor from the dust,

He lifts the needy from the ash heap

To make them sit with nobles,

And inherit a seat of honor;

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

And He set the world on them.

9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones,

But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;

For not by might shall a man prevail.

10 “Those who contend with the Lordwill be shattered;

Against them He will thunder in the heavens,

The Lordwill judge the ends of the earth;

And He will give strength to His king,

And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy ministered to the Lordbefore Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli wereworthless men; they did not know the Lord

13 and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.”

16 If the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall giveit to menow; and if not, I will take it by force.”

17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord,asa boy wearing a linen ephod.

19 And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lordgive you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own home.

21 The Lordvisited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

23 He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

24 No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’speople circulating.

25 If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lorddesired to put them to death.

26 Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lordand with men.

27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did Inotindeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egyptin bondageto Pharaoh’s house?

28 Did Inotchoose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did Inotgive to the house of your father all the fireofferingsof the sons of Israel?

29 Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commandedin Mydwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

30 Therefore the LordGod of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lorddeclares, ‘Far be it from Me-for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

32 You will see the distress ofMydwelling, inspite ofall the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever.

33 Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will failfrom weepingand your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life.

34 This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die.

35 But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

36 Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”‘”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/2-be867422f33c0745cadaf937051852a6.mp3?version_id=100—

The Prophetic Call to Samuel

1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lordbefore Eli. And word from the Lordwas rare in those days, visions were infrequent.

2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dimandhe could not seewell),

3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lordwhere the ark of Godwas,

4 that the Lordcalled Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”

5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 The Lordcalled yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call, my son, lie down again.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lordyet been revealed to him.

8 So the Lordcalled Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that the Lordwas calling the boy.

9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then the Lordcame and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

11 The Lordsaid to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

12 In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

13 For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.

14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.”

17 He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.”

18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

19 Thus Samuel grew and the Lordwas with him and let none of his words fail.

20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.

21 And the Lordappeared again at Shiloh, because the Lordrevealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/3-7c459988ae164c5a24f21b43083db852.mp3?version_id=100—

Philistines Take the Ark in Victory

1 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek.

2 The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.

3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lorddefeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lordof hosts who sitsabovethe cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,werethere with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 As the ark of the covenant of the Lordcame into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.

6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “Whatdoesthe noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrewsmean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lordhad come into the camp.

7 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.

8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with allkinds ofplagues in the wilderness.

9 Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head.

13 When he came, behold, Eli was sitting onhisseat by the road eagerly watching, because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. So the man came to tellitin the city, and all the city cried out.

14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “Whatdoesthe noise of this commotionmean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli.

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

16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?”

17 Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.”

18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.

20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention.

21 And she called the boyIchabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/4-cd406d7802eca7a562e12604109444ac.mp3?version_id=100—

Capture of the Ark Provokes God

1 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.

3 When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again.

4 But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his handswerecut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 Now the hand of the Lordwas heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.

7 When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.”

8 So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israelaround.

9 After they had brought it around, the hand of the Lordwas against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them.

10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people.”

11 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

12 And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/5-e19e67fb70d7a0ed55bb2f3f631b5e4d.mp3?version_id=100—

The Ark Returned to Israel

1 Now the ark of the Lordhad been in the country of the Philistines seven months.

2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we shall send it to its place.”

3 They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but you shall surely return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

4 Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden tumors and five golden miceaccording tothe number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.

5 So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ease His hand from you, your gods, and your land.

6 Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not allow the people to go, and they departed?

7 Now therefore, take and prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them.

8 Take the ark of the Lordand place it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you return to Him as a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go.

9 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 will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”

10 Then the men did so, and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

11 They put the ark of the Lordon the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors.

12 And the cows took the straight way in the direction of Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

13 Nowthe people ofBeth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to seeit.

14 The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where therewasa large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lordand 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 the Lord.

16 When the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.

17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;

18 and the golden mice,accordingto the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages. The large stone on which they set the ark of the Lordis a witnessto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

19 He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the Lordhad struck the people with a great slaughter.

20 The men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?”

21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to you.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/6-8c3c576ad80047cb0889fdc3b0dafd1a.mp3?version_id=100—

Deliverance from the Philistines

1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lordand brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

2 From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lordwith all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lordand serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lordalone.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lordfor you.”

6 They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

8 Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the Lordour God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

9 Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lordfor Israel and the Lordanswered him.

10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lordthundered with a great thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them, so that they were routed before Israel.

11 The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named itEbenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lordhas helped us.”

13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lordwas against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 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 the Amorites.

Samuel’s Ministry

15 Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

16 He used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places.

17 Then his returnwasto Ramah, for his housewasthere, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to the Lord.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/1SA/7-0cfcc8a9720c106cdce0d2b4f7d12c84.mp3?version_id=100—