1 Samuel 6-10

New King James Version

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. ² And the Philistines ^(A)called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”

³ So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it ^(B)empty; but by all means return it to Him with ^(C)a trespass 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 is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?”

They answered, ^(D)“Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of ^[a]you and on your lords. ⁵ Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ^(E)ravage the land, and you shall ^(F)give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ^(G)lighten^[b] His hand from you, from ^(H)your gods, and from your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts ^(I)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, ^(J)did they not let the people go, that they might depart? ⁷ Now therefore, make ^(K)a new cart, take two milk cows ^(L)which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put ^(M)the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. ⁹ And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to ^(N)Beth Shemesh, then He has done ^[c]us this great evil. But if not, then ^(O)we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹ And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. ¹² Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the ^(P)highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their ^(Q)wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴ Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So 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 Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. ¹⁶ So when ^(R)the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

^17 (S)These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for ^(T)Gath, one for Ekron; ¹⁸ and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ Then ^(U)He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. ^[d]He ^(V)struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.

The Ark at Kirjath Jearim

²⁰ And the men of Beth Shemesh said, ^(W)“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^(X)Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”

Israel Defeats the Philistines

7 Then the men of ^(Y)Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of ^(Z)Abinadab on the hill, and ^(AA)consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

Samuel Judges Israel

² So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there 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 ^(AB)return to the Lord with all your hearts, then ^(AC)put away the foreign gods and the ^(AD)Ashtoreths^[e] from among you, and ^(AE)prepare your hearts for the Lord, and ^(AF)serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the children of Israel put away the ^(AG)Baals and the ^[f]Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

⁵ And Samuel said, ^(AH)“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and ^(AI)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered together at Mizpah, ^(AJ)drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they ^(AK)fasted that day, and said there, ^(AL)“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together 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. ⁸ So the children of Israel said to Samuel, ^(AM)“Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁹ And Samuel took a ^(AN)suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then ^(AO)Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. ^(AP)But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and ^[g]drove them back as far as below Beth Car. ¹² Then Samuel ^(AQ)took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name ^[h]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

^13 (AR)So the Philistines were subdued, and they ^(AS)did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ And Samuel ^(AT)judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷ But ^(AU)he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he ^(AV)built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

8 Now it came to pass when Samuel was ^(AW)old that he ^(AX)made his ^(AY)sons judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. ³ But his sons ^(AZ)did not walk in his ways; they turned aside ^(BA)after dishonest gain, ^(BB)took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, ⁵ and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^(BC)make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

⁶ But the thing ^(BD)displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel ^(BE)prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for ^(BF)they have not rejected you, but ^(BG)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 to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹ Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and ^(BH)show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

¹⁰ So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. ¹¹ And he said, ^(BI)“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your ^(BJ)sons and appoint them for his own ^(BK)chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. ¹² He will ^(BL)appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ And ^(BM)he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶ And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest ^[i]young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. ¹⁸ And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord ^(BN)will not hear you in that day.”

¹⁹ Nevertheless the people ^(BO)refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, ²⁰ that we also may be ^(BP)like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. ²² So the Lord said to Samuel, ^(BQ)“Heed their voice, and make them a king.”

And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

Saul Chosen to Be King

9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(BR)Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of ^[j]power. ² And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. ^(BS)From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of ^(BT)Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they had come to the land of ^(BU)Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let ^(BV)us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”

⁶ And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city ^(BW)a man of God, and he is an honorable man; ^(BX)all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”

⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, ^(BY)what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸ And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man ^(BZ)went ^[k]to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called ^(CA)a seer.)

¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, ^[l]“Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, ^(CB)they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because ^(CC)there is a sacrifice of the people today ^(CD)on the high place. ¹³ As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

^15 (CE)Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time ^(CF)I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, ^(CG)and you shall anoint him ^[m]commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have ^(CH)looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

¹⁷ So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, ^(CI)“There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?”

¹⁹ 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 tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰ But as for ^(CJ)your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And ^[n]on whom ^(CK)is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”

²¹ And Saul answered and said, ^(CL)“Am I not a Benjamite, of the ^(CM)smallest of the tribes of Israel, and ^(CN)my family the least of all the families of the ^[o]tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

²² Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” ²⁴ So the cook took up ^(CO)the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they had come down from the high place into the city, ^[p]Samuel spoke with Saul on ^(CP)the top of the house. ²⁶ They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel.

Saul Anointed King

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here ^[q]awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”

Samuel Anoints Saul

10 Then ^(CQ)Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, ^(CR)and kissed him and said: “Is it not because ^(CS)the Lord has anointed you commander over ^(CT)His ^[r]inheritance? ² When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by ^(CU)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin ^(CV)at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about ^(CW)you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ ³ Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up ^(CX)to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. ⁴ And they will ^[s]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. ⁵ After that you shall come to the hill of God ^(CY)where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down ^(CZ)from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; ^(DA)and they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then ^(DB)the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and ^(DC)you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. ⁷ And let it be, when these ^(DD)signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for ^(DE)God is with you. ⁸ You shall go down before me ^(DF)to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. ^(DG)Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

⁹ So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God ^[t]gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. ^10 (DH)When they came there to the hill, there was ^(DI)a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? ^(DJ)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² Then a man from there answered and said, “But ^(DK)who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

¹⁴ Then Saul’s ^(DL)uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?”

So he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵ And Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.”

¹⁶ So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been ^(DM)found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said.

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Then Samuel called the people together ^(DN)to the Lord ^(DO)at Mizpah, ¹⁸ and said to the children of Israel, ^(DP)“Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ ^19 (DQ)But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your ^[u]clans.”

²⁰ And when Samuel had ^(DR)caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they ^(DS)inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”

²³ So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, ^(DT)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(DU)whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?”

So all the people shouted and said, ^(DV)“Long^[v] live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel explained to the people ^(DW)the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. ²⁶ And Saul also went home ^(DX)to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. ^27 (DY)But some ^(DZ)rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, ^(EA)and brought him no presents. But he ^[w]held his peace.