1 Samuel 7
1 And the men of Cariathiarim come,
and bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord: and they bring it into the
house of Aminadab in the hill; and they sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the
ark of the covenant of the Lord.
2 And it came to pass from the time
that the ark was in Cariathiarim, the days were multiplied, and
the time was twenty years; and all the house of
Israel looked after the Lord. 3 And
Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do with all your heart
return to the Lord, take away the strange gods from the midst of you, and the
groves, and prepare your hearts to serve the Lord,
and serve him only; and he shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.
4 And the children of Israel took away
Baalim and the groves of Astaroth, and served the Lord only.
5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel
to Massephath, and I will pray for you to the Lord.
6 And they were gathered together to
Massephath, and they drew water, and poured it out upon the earth before the
Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said, We have sinned before the Lord.
And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Massephath.
7 And the Philistines heard that all
the children of Israel were gathered together to Massephath: and the lords of
the Philistines went up against Israel: and the children of Israel heard, and
they feared before the Philistines.
8 And the children of Israel said to
Samuel, Cease not to cry to the Lord thy God for us, and he shall save us out
of the hand of the Philistines. 9 And
Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it up as a whole-burnt-offering with
all the people to the Lord: and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the
Lord heard him. 10 And Samuel was
offering the whole-burnt-offering; and the Philistines drew near to war
against Israel; and the Lord thundered with a mighty sound in that day upon
the Philistines, and they were confounded and overthrown before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went forth
out of Massephath, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them to the parts
under Bæthchor.
12 And Samuel took a stone, and set
it up between Massephath and the old city; and he
called the name of it Abenezer, stone of the helper; and he said, Hitherto has
the Lord helped us.
13 So the Lord humbled the
Philistines, and they did not any more come into the border of Israel; and the
hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 And the cities which the
Philistines took from the children of Israel were restored; and they restored
them to Israel from
aAlex. from Accaron to Geth. So the Heb.Ascalon to Azob: and they took the coast of Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines; and there was peace between Israel and the Amorite.
15 And Samuel judged Israel all the
days of his life. 16 And he went year
by year, and went round Bæthel, and Galgala, and Massephath; and he judged
Israel in all these consecrated places.
17 And his return was to Armathaim,
because there was his house; and there he judged Israel, and built there an
altar to the Lord.