1And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. (2Sa 6:3)2From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
Samuel Judges Israel
3And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Ge 35:2; De 6:13; De 10:20; De 13:4; De 30:2; Jos 24:14; Jos 24:23; Jud 2:13; Jud 10:16; 1Ki 8:48; 2Ch 19:3; 2Ch 30:19; Ezr 7:10; Isa 55:7; Ho 6:1; Joe 2:12; Mt 4:10; Lu 4:8)4So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.5Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” (Jud 20:1)6So they gathered at 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 people of Israel at Mizpah. (Jud 10:10; 1Sa 7:5; 1Sa 31:13; 2Sa 14:14; Ne 9:1)7Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.8And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”9So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. (Ps 99:6; Jer 15:1)10As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. (1Sa 2:10; 2Sa 22:14; Ps 18:13)11And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen[1] and called its name Ebenezer;[2] for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” (Ge 28:18; Ge 31:45; Ge 35:14; Jos 4:9; Jos 24:26)13So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. (Jud 13:1)14The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.15Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. (Jud 2:16; 1Sa 7:6; 1Sa 12:11)16And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.17Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. And he built there an altar to the Lord. (Jud 21:4; 1Sa 1:19; 1Sa 14:35)
1 Samuel 7
New International Version
1So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.
Samuel subdues the Philistines at Mizpah
2The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time – twenty years in all. Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord.3So Samuel said to all the Israelites, ‘If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’4So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.5Then Samuel said, ‘Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.’6When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ Now Samuel was serving as leader[1] of Israel at Mizpah.7When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.8They said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.’9Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.10While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,[2] saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’13So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.14The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighbouring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.15Samuel continued as Israel’s leader all the days of his life.16From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places.17But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the Lord.
1 Samuel 7
King James Version
1And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.2And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.3And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.4Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.5And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.6And they gathered together to Mizpeh, 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 children of Israel in Mizpeh.7And 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.8And 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.9And 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.10And 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 upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.11And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.12Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.13So 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.14And 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.15And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.16And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.17And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.
1 Samuel 7
New International Reader’s Version
1So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and got the ark of the LORD. They brought it up to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They set his son Eleazar apart to guard the ark.
Samuel brings the Philistines under Israel’s control
2The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for a long time. It was there for a full 20 years. Then all the Israelites turned back to the LORD.3So Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, ‘Do you really want to return to the LORD with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your false gods. Get rid of your statues of female gods that are named Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the LORD. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the power of the Philistines.’4So the Israelites put away their statues of gods that were named Baal. They put away their statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They served the LORD only.5Then Samuel said, ‘Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah. I will pray to the LORD for you.’6When the people had come together at Mizpah, they went to the well and got water. They poured it out in front of the LORD. On that day they didn’t eat any food. They admitted they had sinned. They said, ‘We’ve sinned against the LORD.’ Samuel was serving as the leader of Israel at Mizpah.7The Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid.8They said to Samuel, ‘Don’t stop crying out to the LORD our God to help us. Keep praying that he’ll save us from the power of the Philistines.’9Then Samuel got a very young lamb. He sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD to help Israel. And the LORD answered his prayer.10The Philistines came near to attack Israel. At that time Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into such a panic that the Israelites were able to chase them away.11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah. They chased the Philistines all the way to a point below Beth Kar. They killed them all along the way.12Then Samuel got a big stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer. He said, ‘The LORD has helped us every step of the way.’13So the Philistines were brought under Israel’s control. The Philistines didn’t attack their territory again. The LORD used his power against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived.14The Philistines had captured many towns between Ekron and Gath. But they had to give all of them back. Israel took back the territories near those towns from the control of the Philistines. During that time Israel and the Amorites were friendly towards each other.15Samuel continued to lead Israel all the days of his life.16From year to year he travelled from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He served Israel as judge in all those places.17But he always went back to Ramah. That’s where his home was. He served Israel as judge there too. And he built an altar there to honour the LORD.