1Sa 7 | HCSB | STEP | So the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the Lord and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill . They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it .

1 Samuel 7

1 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the Lord and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill. ^a They consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it.

Victory at Mizpah

2 Time went by until 20 years had passed since the ark had been taken to Kiriath-jearim. Then the whole house of Israel began to seek the Lord. 3 Samuel told them, “If you ^b are returning to the Lord ^c with all your heart, ^d get rid of the foreign gods ^e and the ^{▼▼Ashtoreth(s): A Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war, who was the daughter of Asherah and consort of Baal; the plural form of her name in Hebrew is Ashtaroth.}Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to ^{▼▼Lit you and set your hearts on} the Lord, and worship only Him. ^h Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites removed the ^{▼▼Baal: A fertility god who was the main god of the Canaanite religion and the god of rain and thunderstorms; also the Hebrew word meaning "lord," "master," "owner," or "husband"}Baals and the Ashtoreths ^j and only worshiped the Lord.

5 Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, ^k and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” ^l 6 When they gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out in the Lord’s presence. ^m They fasted that day, ⁿ and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” ^o And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, so that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

9 Then Samuel took a young lamb ^p and offered it as a whole ^{▼▼burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.}burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him. ^r 10 Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly ^s against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel. ^t 11 Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines striking them down all the way to a place below Beth-car.

12 Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it upright ^u between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, ^{▼▼= Stone of Help} explaining, “The Lord has helped us to this point.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued ^w and ^{▼▼LXX reads The Lord humbled the Philistines and they} did not invade Israel’s territory again. ^y The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all of Samuel’s life. 14 The cities from Ekron to Gath, which they had taken from Israel, were restored; Israel even rescued their surrounding territories from Philistine control. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 Samuel judged Israel throughout his life. ^z 16 Every year he would go on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and would judge Israel at all these locations. 17 Then he would return to Ramah ^aa because his home was there, he judged Israel there, and he built an altar to the Lord there.