And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the Ark of Jehovah and brought it to the  ¹house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the Ark of Jehovah.

And it was a long time from the day that the Ark began to abide in Kiriath-jearim, for it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Jehovah.

Then Samuel  ¹spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you are returning with all your heart to Jehovah, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from your midst, and direct your heart to Jehovah and serve only Him; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.

Then the children of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served only Jehovah.

And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Jehovah for you.

And they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Jehovah, and they fasted that day. And they said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel gathered themselves at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Do not stop crying to Jehovah our God for us, so that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.

And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to Jehovah. And Samuel cried out to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him.

And while Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines approached for battle against Israel. And Jehovah thundered with a great voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into a panic; and they were struck down before Israel.

And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and they struck them as far as below Beth-car.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen; and he called its name  ¹Ebenezer and said, Thus far Jehovah has helped us.

So the Philistines were subdued, and they no longer came into the territory of Israel. And the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel rescued their territory from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

And he went year by year in circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places.

Then he would return to Ramah, for his house was there. And he judged Israel there and built an altar to Jehovah there.

Now when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

And the name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba.

But his sons did  ¹not follow in his ways, but turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

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

And they said to him, You are now old, and your sons do not follow in your ways. Appoint now for us a king to judge us like all the  ¹nations.

But the matter displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Then Samuel prayed to Jehovah.

And Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people according to all that they have said to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but they have  ¹rejected Me from being King over them.

Like all the deeds that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt to this very day by forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they do also to you.

Now therefore listen to their voice, but you shall solemnly warn them and declare to them the practice of the king who will reign over them.

So Samuel spoke all the words of Jehovah to the people, who had asked him for a king.

And he said, This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for himself to his chariots and as his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots;

And he will appoint them for himself as captains of thousands and as captains of fifties, and to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war and the equipment for his chariots.

And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

And he will take your best fields and vineyards and olive groves, and give them to his servants.

And he will exact a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give it to his eunuchs and servants.

And he will take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

He will exact a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his servants.

And you will cry out in that day on account of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No; but there will be a king over us,

That we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.

And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them in the hearing of Jehovah.

Then Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and  ¹appoint a king to them. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go, each one to his city.

Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of  ¹wealth.

And he had a son whose name was  ¹Saul, a choice and handsome man; and there was not a man among the children of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders and up he was taller than all the people.

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take with you one of the servants, and rise up and go to search for the donkeys.

And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and he passed through the land of Shalishah; but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.

When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, and let us return; otherwise, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will worry about us.

But he said to him, There is a man of God here in this city, and he is a man held in honor; all that he says happens without fail. Let us now go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey that we have set out on.

And Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what will we bring the man? For the food is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring the man of God. What do we have?

And the servant answered Saul again and said, Here in my hand is a quarter shekel of silver, and I can give it to the man of God; then he will tell us our way.

(Formerly in Israel a man spoke this way when he went to inquire of God, Come, and let us go to the seer; for today's prophet was formerly called a seer.)

Then Saul said to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.

As they went up the ascent into the city, they found some girls coming out to draw water; and they said to them, Is the seer here?

And they answered them and said, He is; there he is ahead of you. Hurry now; for he has just come to the city today, because the people have a sacrifice at the high place today.

Right when 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 he is the one who blesses the sacrifice. Right after that, those who have been invited will eat. Go up now then, for you will find him right away.

So they went up into the city. As they came into the midst of the city, there came Samuel out toward them, going up to the high place.

Now Jehovah had revealed this to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying,

At about this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have looked upon My people because their cry has come to Me.

And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah declared to him, Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. This man shall rule over My people.

And Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, Tell me, please, where is the seer's house?

And 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 send you away, and I will tell you all that is in your heart.

And as for your donkeys that have now been lost three days, do not even consider them; for they have been found. And for whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?

And Saul answered and said, Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?

And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them to the hall, and put them in the chief place among those who had been invited; and there were about thirty men.

And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion that I gave, concerning which I said to you, Set it by you.

And the cook took up the thigh and what was attached to 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 for the appointed time, when I said I was inviting the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

And when they came down from the high place to the city, he spoke with Saul upon the roof.

And they rose early; and around the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, Rise up, and I will send you away. So Saul rose up, and they both went outside, he and Samuel.

As they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to go on ahead of us — and the servant went on — but you stand here now, and I will let you hear the word of God.