Study Desk

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth; for her labor pains overwhelmed her.

As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer or give heed.

She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us; for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon."

They sent therefore and gathered together 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, that it may not kill us and our people." For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;

Then the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the Lord ? Tell us what we should send with it to its place."

And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five gold tumors and five gold mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords.

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

Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you."

The people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines."

So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord ; Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."

Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there; he administered justice there to Israel, and built there an altar to the Lord .

and said to him, "You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations."

and the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.

and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day."

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the boys with you; go and look for the donkeys."