1Sa 7, 1Sa 12 | ESV | STEP | And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill . And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord .

1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of ^aAbinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

Samuel Judges Israel

3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ^b“If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^cput away the foreign gods and the ^dAshtaroth from among you and ^edirect your heart to the Lord ^fand serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at ^gMizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at ^hMizpah ⁱand drew water and poured it out before the Lord ^jand fasted on that day and said there, ^k“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “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 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And ^lSamuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. ^mBut the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel ⁿtook a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint, Syriac Jeshanah} and called its name Ebenezer; ^{▼▼ Ebenezer means stone of help} for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 ^qSo the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

15 ^rSamuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to ^sRamah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. ^tAnd he built there an altar to the Lord.

1 Samuel 12

Samuel’s Farewell Address

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^uyour voice in all that you have said to me ^vand have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king ^wwalks before you, ^xand I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^yhis anointed. ^zWhose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me} and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^abhis anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ^acin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, ^ad“The Lord is witness, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness} who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 ^afWhen Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them} ^ahthen your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^aithe Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^ajwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But ^akthey forgot the Lord their God. ^alAnd he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, ^{▼▼Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor} ^anand into the hand of the Philistines, ^aoand into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 ^apAnd they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^aqand have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^ardeliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent ^asJerubbaal ^atand Barak ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan} ^avand Jephthah and ^awSamuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that ^axNahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^ayyou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^azwhen the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now ^babehold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^bbthe Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will ^bcfear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But ^bdif you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^bethe hand of the Lord will be against you and ^bfyour king. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew fathers} 16 Now therefore ^bhstand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 ^biIs it not wheat harvest today? ^bjI will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^bkyour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^bland all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, ^bm“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^bndo not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And ^bodo not turn aside after ^bpempty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 ^bqFor the Lord will not forsake his people, ^brfor his great name’s sake, because ^bsit has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^btto pray for you, ^buand I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 ^bvOnly fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^bwwhat great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, ^bxyou shall be swept away, ^byboth you and your king.”