1 Samuel 7

English TL (The Living Bible) (1971)

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1So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark to the hillside home of Abinadab and installed his son Eleazar to be in charge of it.

2The Ark remained there for twenty years, and during that time all Israel was in sorrow because the Lord had seemingly abandoned them.

3At that time Samuel said to them, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth idols. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.“

4So they destroyed their idols of Baal and Ashtaroth and worshiped only the Lord.

5Then Samuel told them, “Come to Mizpah, all of you, and I will pray to the Lord for you.“

6So they gathered there and, in a great ceremony, drew water from the well and poured it out before the Lord. They also went without food all day as a sign of sorrow for their sins. So it was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel's judge.

7When the Philistine leaders heard about the great crowds at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelis were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching.

8“Plead with God to save us!“ they begged Samuel.

9So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering and pleaded with him to help Israel. And the Lord responded.

10Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived for battle, but the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven, and they were thrown into confusion, and the Israelis routed them

11and chased them from Mizpah to Beth-car, killing them all along the way.

12Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah and named it Ebenezer (meaning, “the Stone of Help“), for he said, “The Lord has certainly helped us!“

13So the Philistines were subdued and didn't invade Israel again at that time because the Lord was against them throughout the remainder of Samuel's lifetime.

14The Israeli cities between Ekron and Gath, which had been conquered by the Philistines, were now returned to Israel, for the Israeli army rescued them from their Philistine captors. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days.

15Samuel continued as Israel's judge for the remainder of his life.

16He rode circuit annually, setting up his court first at Bethel, then Gilgal, and then Mizpah, and cases of dispute were brought to him in each of those three cities from all the surrounding territory.

17Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there, and he would hear cases there too. And he built an altar to the Lord at Ramah.

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