by Septuagint
[31] Behold, the days come when I will destroy thy seed and the seed of thy father’s house. [32] And thou shalt not have an old man in my house for ever. [33] And if I do not destroy a man of thine from my altar, it shall be that his eyes may fail and his soul may perish; and every one that remains in thy house shall fall by the sword of men.
[34] And this which shall come upon thy two sons Ophni and Phinees shall be a sign to thee; in one day they shall both die. [35] And I will raise up to myself a faithful priest, who shall do all that is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my Christ for ever. [36] And it shall come to pass that he that survives in thy house, shall come to do obeisance before him for a little piece of silver, saying, Put me into one of thy priest’s offices to eat bread.
Chapter 3
[1] And the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli the priest: and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no distinct vision. [2] And it came to pass at that time that Heli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes began to fail, and could not see. [3] And the lamp of God was burning before it was trimmed, and Samuel slept in the temple, where was the ark of God. [4] And the Lord called, Samuel, Samuel; and he said, Behold, here am I. [5] And he ran to Heli, and said, Here am I, for thou didst call me: and he said, I did not call thee; return, go to sleep; and he returned and went to sleep. [6] And the Lord called again, Samuel, Samuel: and he went to Heli the second time, and said, Behold here am I, for thou didst call me: and he said, I called thee not; return, go to sleep. [7] And it was before Samuel knew the Lord, and before the word of the Lord was revealed to him. [8] And the Lord called Samuel again for the third time: and he arose and went to Heli, and said, Behold, I am here, for thou didst call me: and Heli perceived that the Lord had called the child. [9] And he said, Return, child, go to sleep; and it shall come to pass if he shall call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak for thy servant hears: and Samuel went and lay down in his place. [10] And the Lord came, and stood, and called him as before: and Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant hears.
[11] And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I execute my words in Israel; whoever hears them, both his ears shall tingle. [12] In that day I will raise up against Heli all things that I have said against his house; I will begin, and I will make an end. [13] And I have told him that I will be avenged on his house perpetually for the iniquities of his sons, because his sons spoke evil against God, and he did not admonish them. [14] And it shall not go on so; I have sworn to the house of Eli, the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be atoned for with incense or sacrifices for ever.
[15] And Samuel slept till morning, and rose early in the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel feared to tell Heli the vision. [16] And Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, my son; and he said, Behold, here am I. [17] And he said, What was the word that was spoken to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: may God do these things to thee, and more also, if thou hide from me any thing of all the words that were spoken to thee in thine ears. [18] And Samuel reported all the words, and hid them not from him. And Heli said, He is the Lord, he shall do that which is good in his sight.
[19] And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and there did not fall one of his words to the ground. [20] And all Israel knew from Dan even to Bersabee, that Samuel was faithful as a prophet to the Lord. [21] And the Lord manifested himself again in Selom, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel; and Samuel was accredited to all Israel as a prophet to the Lord from one end of the land to the other: and Heli was very old, and his sons kept advancing in wickedness, and their way was evil before the Lord.
Chapter 4
[1] And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together against Israel to war; and Israel went out to meet them and encamped at Abenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphec. [2] And the Philistines prepare to fight with Israel, and the battle was turned against them; and the men of Israel fell before the Philistines, and there were smitten in the battle in the field four thousand men.
[3] And the people came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said, Why has the Lord caused us to fall this day before the Philistines? let us take the ark of our God out of Selom, and let it proceed from the midst of us, and it shall save us from the hand of our enemies.
[4] And the people sent to Selom, and they take thence the ark of the Lord who dwells between the cherubs: and both the sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were with the ark. [5] And it came to pass when the ark of the Lord entered into the camp, that all Israel cried out with a loud voice, and the earth resounded. [6] And the Philistines heard the cry, and the Philistines said, What is this great cry in the camp of the Hebrews: and they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. [7] And the Philistines feared, and said, These are the Gods that are come to them into the camp. [8] Woe to us, O Lord, deliver us to-day for such a thing has not happened aforetime: woe to us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote Egypt with every plague, and in the wilderness. [9] Strengthen yourselves and behave yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not serve the Hebrews as they have served us, but be ye men and fight with them.
[10] And they fought with them; and the men of Israel fall, and they fled every man to his ten; and there was a very great slaughter; and there fell of Israel thirty thousand fighting men. [11] And the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Heli, Ophni, and Phinees, died.
[12] And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and he came to Selom on that day: and his clothes were rent, and earth was upon his head. [13] And he came, an behold, Heli was upon the seat by the gate looking along the way, for his heart was greatly alarmed for the ark of God: and the man entered into the city to bring tidings; and the city cried out. [14] And Heli heard the sound of the cry, and said, What is the voice of this cry? and the men hasted and went in, and reported to Heli. [15] Now Heli was ninety years old, and his eyes were fixed, and he saw not. [16] And Heli said to them that stood round about him, What is the voice of this sound? And the man hasted and advanced to Heli, and said to him, I am he that is come out of the camp, and I have fled from the battle to-day: and Heli said, What is the even, my son? [17] And they young man answered and said, The men of Israel fled from the face of the Philistines, and there was a great slaughter among the people, and both thy sons are dead, and the ark of God is taken. [18] And it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of God, that he fell from the seat backward near the gate, and his back was broken, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy: and he judged Israel twenty years.
[19] And his daughter-in-law the wife of Phinees was with child, about to bring forth; and she heard the tidings, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead; and she wept and was delivered, for her pains came upon her. [20] And in her time she was at the point of death; and the women that stood by her, said to her, Fear not, for thou hast born a son: but she answered not, and her heart did not regard it. [21] And she called the child Uaebarchaboth, because of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law, and because of her husband. [22] And they said, The glory of Israel is departed, forasmuch as the ark of the Lord is taken.
Chapter 5
[1] And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Abenezer to Azotus. [2] And the Philistines took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. [3] And the people of Azotus rose early, and entered into the house of Dagon; and looked, and behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord: and they lifted up Dagon, and set him in his place. And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians, and he plagued them, and he smote them in their secret parts, Azotus and her coasts. [4] And it came to pass when they rose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off each before the threshold,
and both the wrists of his hands had fallen on the floor of the porch; only the stump of Dagon was left. [5] Therefore the priests of Dagon, and every one that enters into the house of Dagon, do not tread upon the threshold of the house of Dagon in Azotus until this day, for they step over.
[6] And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon Azotus, and he brought evil upon them, and it burst out upon them into the ships, and mice sprang up in the midst of their country, and there was a great and indiscriminate mortality in the city. [7] And the men of Azotus saw that it was so, and they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god. [8] And they send and gather the lords of the Philistines to them, and say, What shall we do to the ark of the God of Israel? and the Gittites say, Let the ark of God come over to us; and the ark of the God of Israel came to Geth.
[9] And it came to pass after it went about to Geth, that the hand of the Lord comes upon the city, a very great confusion; and he smote the men of the city small and great, and smote them in their secret parts: and the Gittites made to themselves images of emerods.
[10] And they send away the ark of God to Ascalon; and it came to pass when the ark of God went into Ascalon, that the men of Ascalon cried out, saying, Why have ye brought back the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people? [11] And they send and gather the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it lodge in its place; and let it not slay us and our people. [12] For there was a very great confusion in all the city, when the ark of the God of Israel entered there; and those, who lived and died not were smitten with emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
Chapter 6
[1] And the ark was seven months in the country of the Philistines, and their land brought forth swarms of mice. [2] And the Philistines call their priests, and their prophets, and their enchanters, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? teach us wherewith we shall send it away to its place. [3] And they said, If ye send away the ark of the covenant of the Lord God of Israel, do not on any account send it away empty, but by all means render to it an offering for the plague; and then shall ye be healed, and an atonement shall be made for you: should not his hand be thus stayed from off you? [4] And they say, What is the offering for the plague which we shall return to it? and they said, [5] According to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five golden emerods, for the plague was on you, and on your rulers, and on the people; and golden mice, the likeness of the mice that destroy your land: and ye shall give glory to the Lord, that he may lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. [6] And why do ye harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? was it not so when he mocked them, that they let the people go, and they departed?
[7] And now take wood and make a new wagon, and take two cows, that have calved for the first time, without their calves; and do ye yoke the cows to the wagon, and lead away the calves from behind them home. [8] And ye shall take the ark and put it on the wagon; and ye shall restore to it the golden articles for the trespass-offering in a coffer by the side of it: and ye shall let it go, and sent it away, and ye shall depart. [9] And ye shall see, if it shall go the way of its coasts along by Baethsamys, he has brought upon us this great affliction; and if not, then shall we know that his hand has not touched us, but this is a chance which has happened to us.
[10] And the Philistines did so; and they took two cows that had calved for the first time, and yoked them to the waggon, and shut up their calves at home. [11] And they set the ark of the Lord, and the coffer, and the golden mice, on the waggon. [12] And the cows went straight on the way to the way of Baethsamys, they went along one track; and laboured, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after it as far as the coasts of Baethsamys. [13] And the men of Baethsamys were reaping the wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark of the Lord, and rejoiced to meet it. [14] And the waggon entered into the field of Osee, which was in Baethsamys, and they set there by it a great stone; and they split the wood of the waggon, and offered up the cows for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. [15] And the Levites brought up the ark of the Lord, and the coffer with it, and the golden articles upon it, and placed them on the great stone, and the men of Baethsamys offered whole-burnt-offerings and meat offerings on that day to the Lord. [16] And the five lords of the Philistines saw, and returned to Ascalon in that day.
[17] And these are the golden emerods which the lords of the Philistines gave as a trespass-offering to the Lord; for Azotus one, for Gaza one, for Ascalon one, for Geth one, for Accaron one. [18] And the golden mice according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five lords, from the fenced city to the village of the Pherezite, and to the great stone, on which they placed the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that was in the field of Osee the Baethsamysite.
[19] And the sons of Jechonias were not pleased with the men of Baethsamys, because they saw the ark of the Lord; and the Lord smote among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because the Lord had inflicted on the people, a very great plague. [20] And the men of Baethsamys said, Who shall be able to pass before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall the ark of the Lord go up from us?
[21] And they send messengers to the inhabitants of Cariathiarim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord, go down and take it home to yourselves.
Chapter 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 Baethchor.
[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 anymore 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 Ascalon to Azob: and they took the coast of Israel out of the hand of the Philistines; and th
ere 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 Baethel, 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.
Chapter 8
[1] And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. [2] And these are the names of his sons; Joel the first-born, and the name of the second Abia, judges in Bersabee. [3] And his sons did not walk in his way; and they turned aside after gain, and took gifts, and perverted judgments.
[4] And the men of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Armathaim to Samuel, [5] and they said to him, Behold, thou art grown old, and thy sons walk not in thy way; and now set over us a king to judge us, as also the other nations have.
[6] And the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the Lord. [7] And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear the voice of the people, in whatever they shall say to thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me from reigning over them. [8] According to all their doings which they have done to me, from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day, even as they have deserted me, and served other gods, so they do also to thee. [9] And now hearken to their voice; only thou shalt solemnly testify to them, and thou shalt describe to them the manner of the king who shall reign over them.