1 Samuel 7
New American Standard Bible 1995
Deliverance from the Philistines
7 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord and (A)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, “(B)If you return to the Lord with all your heart, (C)remove the foreign gods and the (D)Ashtaroth from among you and (E)direct your hearts to the Lord and (F)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 Lord alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to (G)Mizpah and (H)I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and (I)poured it out before the Lord, and (J)fasted on that day and said there, “(K)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, (L)they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “(M)Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Samuel took (N)a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and (O)the Lord answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But (P)the Lord thundered with a great [a]thunder on that day against the Philistines and (Q)confused them, so that they were [b]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 (R)took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it [c]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 13 (S)So the Philistines were subdued and (T)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was 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 (U)the Amorites.
Samuel’s Ministry
15 Now Samuel (V)judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He used to go annually on circuit to (W)Bethel and (X)Gilgal and (Y)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then his return was to (Z)Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he (AA)built there an altar to the Lord.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 7:10 Lit voice
- 1 Samuel 7:10 Lit smitten
- 1 Samuel 7:12 I.e. The stone of help
1 Samuel 7
Contemporary English Version
7 (A) The people of Kiriath-Jearim got the chest and took it to Abinadab's house, which was on a hill in their town. They chose his son Eleazar to take care of it, 2 and it stayed there for 20 years.
During this time everyone in Israel was very sad and begged the Lord for help.[a]
The People of Israel Turn Back to the Lord
3 One day, Samuel told all the people of Israel, “If you really want to turn back to the Lord, then prove it. Get rid of your foreign idols, including the ones of the goddess Astarte. Turn to the Lord with all your heart and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
4 The people got rid of their idols of Baal and Astarte and began worshiping only the Lord.
5 Then Samuel said, “Tell everyone in Israel to meet together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6 The Israelites met together at Mizpah with Samuel as their leader. They drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the Lord. On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the Lord.
The Philistines Attack Israel
7 When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel.
The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming. 8 “Don't stop praying!” they told Samuel. “Ask the Lord our God to rescue us.”
9-10 (B) Samuel begged the Lord to rescue Israel, then he sacrificed a young lamb to the Lord. Samuel had not even finished offering the sacrifice when the Philistines started to attack. But the Lord answered his prayer and made thunder crash all around them. The Philistines panicked and ran away. 11 The men of Israel left Mizpah and went after them as far as the hillside below Beth-Car, killing every enemy soldier they caught.
12-13 The Philistines were so badly beaten that it was quite a while before they attacked Israel again. After the battle, Samuel set up a monument between Mizpah and the rocky cliffs. He named it “Help Monument”[b] to remind Israel how much the Lord had helped them.
For as long as Samuel lived, the Lord helped Israel fight the Philistines. 14 The Israelites were even able to recapture their towns and territory between Ekron and Gath.
Israel was also at peace with the Amorites.[c]
Samuel Is a Leader in Israel
15 Samuel was a leader[d] in Israel all his life. 16 Every year he would go around to the towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah where he served as judge for the people. 17 Then he would go back to his home in Ramah and do the same thing there. He also had an altar built for the Lord at Ramah.
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