Book of
First Samuel
Chapter 1
1; And there was a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim from the hills of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.
2; And he had two wives, the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the second, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3; And that man went up from his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice before YAHWEH of Hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to YAHWEH there.
4; And the day came, and Elkanah sacrificed. And he would give to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and her daughters portions.
5; And to Hannah he gave one double portion, for he loved Hannah. And YAHWEH had shut up her womb.
6; And her rival tormented her even to vexation, so as to make her tremble, because YAHWEH had shut up her womb.
7; And so he did year by year, as often as she went up to the house of YAHWEH, so she provoked her. And she wept, and did not eat.
8; And her husband Elkanah said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart afflicted? Am I not better to you than ten sons?
9; And Hannah rose up after eating in Shiloh, and after drinking. And Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the side post of the sanctuary of YAHWEH.
10; And she was bitter of soul, and prayed to YAHWEH, and weeping she wept.
11; And she vowed a vow, and said, O YAHWEH of Hosts, if looking You will look upon the affliction of Your handmaid, and shall remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, and shall give to Your handmaid a seed of men, then I will give him to YAHWEH all the days of his life; and a razor shall not go up on his head.
12; And it happened, when she prayed long before YAHWEH, Eli was watching her mouth.
13; And Hannah was speaking in her heart; only, her lips moved; but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk.
14; And Eli said to her, Until when will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you.
15; And Hannah answered and said, No, my master; I am a woman pained in spirit. And I have not drunk wine or fermented drink, but I am pouring out my soul before YAHWEH.
16; Do not put your handmaid down for a daughter of wickedness; for from the abundance of my complaint and grief until now I have been speaking.
17; And Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and may the Elohim of Israel give you your petition which you have asked of Him.
18; And she said, Let your handmaid find grace in your eyes. And the woman went her way, and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
19; And they rose up early in the morning and worshiped before YAHWEH. And they went back and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and YAHWEH remembered her.
20; And it happened when the time had come around, Hannah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of YAHWEH.
21; And the man Elkanah and all his house went up to sacrifice to YAHWEH a sacrifice of the days, and to vow his vow.
22; And Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, Until the child is weaned, then I will bring him, that he may appear before YAHWEH and remain there forever.
23; And her husband Elkanah said to her, Do that which is good in your eyes. Remain until you wean him. Only, may YAHWEH confirm His Word. And the woman remained, and suckled her son until she had weaned him.
24; And when she had weaned him, she brought him up with her, along with three bulls, and one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. And she brought him to the house of YAHWEH at Shiloh. And the child was a young one.
25; And they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli.
26; And she said, O my master, may your soul live! My master, I am the woman who stood with you here to pray to YAHWEH.
27; I prayed for this boy, and YAHWEH has given my petition to me which I asked of Him.
28; And I have asked him to be given to YAHWEH all the days which he shall be, he is loaned for YAHWEH. And he worshiped there before YAHWEH.
Chapter 2
1; And Hannah prayed and said: My heart has exulted in YAHWEH; my horn has been high in YAHWEH. My mouth has been large over my enemies; for I have rejoiced in Your salvation.
2; There is none holy like YAHWEH, for there is none except You; yea, there is no rock like our Elohim.
3; Do not multiply your haughty words; let not arrogance go out from your mouth; for YAHWEH is a Elohim of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.
4; Bows of the mighty are broken; and they that stumble gird on strength.
5; They that were full have hired themselves out for bread; and the hungry have ceased, while the barren has borne seven; yea, she who had many sons has languished.
6; YAHWEH kills and keeps alive; He brings down and causes to go to Sheol.
7; YAHWEH brings down, and He gives riches; He brings low; yea, He lifts up high.
8; He raises the poor from the dust; He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, to cause them to sit with nobles; yea, He causes them to inherita throne of honor; for to YAHWEH are the pillars of the earth; and He sets the habitable world on them.
9; He keeps the feet of His saints, and the wicked are silenced in darkness; for man does not become mighty by power.
10; They who strive with YAHWEH will be smashed; He thunders in the heavens against him. YAHWEH judges the ends of the earth and gives strength to His king; and He exalts the horn of His Messiah.
11; And Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. And the child served YAHWEH before Eli the priest.
12; And the sons of Eli were sons of worthlessness; they did not know YAHWEH.
13; And the custom of the priests with the people was: any man offering a sacrifice and the priest's young man came when the flesh was boiling with the three-toothed hook in his hand,
14; even he stuck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the hook brought up, the priest took for himself. So they did to all Israel who came in there to Shiloh.
15; Yea, before they made the fat to smoke, then the priest's young man came in. And he said to the man who was sacrificing, Give meat to roast for the priest; and he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.
16; And if the man said to him, Let the fat be made to smoke as the day, and then take as much as your soul desires; then he would say, No, but you shall give now. And if not, I will take it by force.
17; And the sin of the young men was very great before YAHWEH, for the men had despised the offering of YAHWEH.
18; And Samuel was serving before YAHWEH, a boy girded with an ephod of linen.
19; And his mother made a small coat for him, and she brought it up to him from year to year, as she came up with her husband to offer the sacrifice of the days.
20; And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, YAHWEH shall give you seed of this woman, because of the petition she prayed to YAHWEH. And they went away to their place.
21; So YAHWEH visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up with YAHWEH.
22; And Eli was very old and had heard all that his sons did to Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled by troops at the door of the tent of meeting.
23; And he said to them, Why do you do things like these? For I am hearing of your evil doings from all these people.
24; No my sons, for the report which I am hearing is not good, causing the people of YAHWEH to transgress.
25; If a man sins against a man, then Elohim shall judge him. But if a man sins against YAHWEH, who shall pray for him? But they did not listen to the voice of their father because YAHWEH desired to put them to death.
26; And the boy Samuel went on, growing both in stature and in goodness, both with YAHWEH and also with men.
27; And a man of Elohim came to Eli, and said to him, So says YAHWEH: Did I reveal Myself plainly to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, at the house of Pharaoh,
28; even to choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be priest to Me, to go up on My altar, to cause incense to smoke, to bear an ephod before Me? And did I give to your father's house all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?
29; Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I commanded in My habitation? And why do you honor your sons above Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of My people?
30; So says YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, I said indeed that your house and your father's house should walk before Me until forever. But now YAHWEH says, Be it far from Me! For those who honor Me I will honor; and those despising Me will be despicable.
31; Behold, days come when I shall cut off your arm, and the arm of your father's house, that no old man shall be in your house.
32; And you shall see an adversary in My habitation, in all the good that he does with Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house all the days.
33; And the man of yours that I shall not cut off from My altar shall be to cause your eyes to fail, and to grieve your soul. And all the increase of your house shall die young men.
34; And this shall be the sign to you, that which shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day the both of them shall die.
35; And I shall raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He shall do all that is in My heart and in My soul. And I shall build for him a sure house; and he shall walk before My Messiah all the days.
36; And it shall be, everyone who is left in your house shall come in to bow to him for a wage of silver and a loaf of bread. And they shall say, please admit me into one of the priest's offices to eat a bit of bread.
Chapter 3
1; And the boy Samuel was ministering to YAHWEH before Eli. And the Word of YAHWEH was rare in those days. There was no breaking- through vision.
2; And it happened at that time, Eli was lying down in his place, and his eyes had begun to be dim; he was not able to see.
3; And the lamp of Elohim had not yet gone out. And Samuel was lying down in the sanctuary of YAHWEH, where the ark of Elohim was.
4; And YAHWEH called to Samuel. And he said, Behold me.
5; And he ran to Eli and said, Behold, I am here. For you have called to me. And he said, I did not call. Go back and lie down. And he went and lay down.
6; And YAHWEH again called Samuel. And Samuel rose up and went to Eli and said, Behold me, for you have called me. And he said, I have not called, my son. Go back and lie down.
7; And Samuel did not yet know YAHWEH, and the Word of YAHWEH had not yet been revealed to him.
8; And YAHWEH again called Samuel the third time. And he rose up and went to Eli and said, Behold me, for you have called me. And Eli understood that YAHWEH was calling the boy.
9; And Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down; and it shall be, if One calls you, even you shall say, Speak, O YAHWEH, for Your servant hears. And Samuel lay down in his place.
10; And YAHWEH came and stood, and called as the other times, Samuel, Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for Your servant hears.
11; And YAHWEH said to Samuel, Behold! I am doing a thing in Israel at which the two ears of every one hearing it shall tingle.
12; In that day I will confirm to Eli all that I have spoken to his house, beginning and making an end.
13; And I declare to him that I am judging his house forever, for the iniquity which he has known; for his sons have been making themselves vile, and he has not restrained them.
14; And so I have sworn to the house of Eli, the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be atoned for, by sacrifice or by offering, until forever.
15; And Samuel lay until the morning. And he opened the doors of the house of YAHWEH. And Samuel was afraid to declare the vision to Eli.
16; And Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, hear I am.
17; And he said, What is the word which He has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. May Elohim do so to you, and more also, if you keep back anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.
18; And Samuel told him all the words, and did not hide from him. And he said, It is YAHWEH; He does that which is good in His eyes.
19; And Samuel grew up, and YAHWEH was with him, and did not let any of his words fall to the earth.
20; And all Israel knew, from Dan even to Beer-Sheva, that Samuel was confirmed to be a prophet to YAHWEH.
21; And YAHWEH again appeared in Shiloh. For YAHWEH revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh, by the Word of YAHWEH.
Chapter 4
1; And the word of Samuel was revealed to all Israel. And Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle. And they pitched beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2; And the Philistines set themselves in order to meet Israel, and the battle was spread. And Israel was stricken before the Philistines. And they struck about four thousand men from the battle line in the field.
3; And the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, Why has YAHWEH stricken us today before the Philistines? Let us take the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH to us, and let it come into our midst; and it will save us from the hand of our enemies.
4; And the people sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubs. And the two sons of Eli were there with the ark of the covenant of Elohim, Hophni and Phinehas.
5; And it happened, when the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH came into the camp, all Israel shouted a great shout, and the earth shook.
6; And the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, and said, What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they saw that the ark of YAHWEH had come into the camp.
7; And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, Elohim has come to the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For never has it been like this before.
8; Woe to us! Who will deliver us out of the hand of these great Elohim? These are the Elohim who struck Egypt with every plague in the wilderness.
9; Make yourselves strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were slaves to you. Then you must be men and fight.
10; And the Philistines fought, and Israel was beaten. And they each one fled to his tent. And the blow was very great, and thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell.
11; And the ark of Elohim was taken, and the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas.
12; And a man of Benjamin ran out of the battle line and came to Shiloh on that day. And his clothes were torn, and earth on his head.
13; And he came in. And, behold, Eli was sitting on the seat by the side of the highway, watching. For his heart trembled for the ark of Elohim. And the man came in to report in the city. And all the city cried out.
14; And Eli heard the noise of the cry, and said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man hurried and came and reported to Eli.
15; And Eli was ninety eight years old, and his eyes were set, and he was not able to see.
16; And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the ranks, and I fled today out of the battle line. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?
17; And he bearing the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines; and also there has been a great slaughter among the people. And also your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas. And the ark of Elohim has been taken.
18; And it happened when he mentioned the ark of Elohim, Eli fell off the seat backward, by the side of the gate. And his neck was broken, and he died. For the man was old and heavy. And he judged Israel forty years.
19; And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child, about to bear. And she heard the report of the taking of the ark of Elohim, and that her father-in-law and her husband had died. And she bowed and bore, for her pains had turned in on her.
20; And at the time of her death, when the women who stood by her said, Fear not, for you have borne a son; she did not even answer, nor set her heart.
21; And she called the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel, because of the taking of the ark of Elohim, and because of her father- in-law and her husband.
22; And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of Elohim has been taken.
Chapter 5
1; And the Philistines took the ark of The Elohim and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2; And the Philistines took the ark of The Elohim and brought it to the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon.
3; And the Ashdodites rose early on the next day. And, behold! Dagon had fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of YAHWEH! And they took Dagon and put it back in its place.
4; And they rose early in the morning on the next day; and, behold! Dagon had fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of YAHWEH, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands, were cut off at the threshold. Only the flat part had been left to him.
5; On account of this the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until this day.
6; And the hand of YAHWEH was heavy on the men of Ashdod. And He wasted them, and struck them with hemorrhoids, Ashdod and its borders.
7; And the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, and said, The ark of the Elohim of Israel shall not remain with us, for His hand has been hard on us, and on our Elohim Dagon.
8; And they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines to them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the Elohim of Israel? And they said, Let the ark of the Elohim of Israel go around to Gath. And they brought around the ark of the Elohim of Israel.
9; And it happened after they had brought it around, the hand of YAHWEH was against the city with a very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, from the least to the greatest; and hemorrhoids broke forth on them.
10; And they sent the ark of the Elohim around to Ekron. And it happened as the ark of Elohim came into Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought around the ark of the Elohim of Israel to me to cause me and my people to die.
11; And they sent and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the Elohim of Israel, and let it return to its place, and it may not cause me and my people to die. For there had been a great destruction throughout all the city. The hand of the Elohim had been very heavy there.
12; And the men who had not died were stricken with hemorrhoids. And the cry of the city went up to the heavens.
Chapter 6
1; And the ark of YAHWEH was in the field of the Philistines seven months.
2; And the Philistines called for priests and for those divining, saying, What shall we do to the ark of YAHWEH? Let us know with what we shall send it to its place.
3; And they said, If you send away the ark of the Elohim of Israel, you shall not send it away empty. For turning back you shall return a guilt offering back to Him. Then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand has not turned away from you.
4; And they said, What shall be the guilt offering which we shall send back to Him? And they said, The number of the rulers of the Philistines, five golden hemorrhoids, and five golden mice. For one plague has been on all of you, and on your rulers.
5; And you shall make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice that are corrupting the land, and shall give honor to the Elohim of Israel. It may be that He will lift His hand from off you and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6; And why do you harden your heart as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? When He dealt ruthlessly with them, did they not send them away? And they went.
7; And now, take and make one new cart, and two suckling cows, on which a yoke has never gone up. And you shall tie the cows to the cart, and cause
their young ones to return home from them.
8; And you shall take the ark of YAHWEH and put it on the cart, and the vessels of gold which you shall return to Him for a guilt offering. Put them in a coffer in its side and send it away; and let it go.
9; And watch; if it goes up by way of its own border, to Beth-Shemesh, He has done this great evil to us. And if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that touched us; it was an accident to us.
10; And the men did so. And they took two suckling cows and tied them to the cart. And they shut their young ones in the house.
11; And they placed the ark of YAHWEH on the cart, and the coffer with the golden mice and the images of their hemorrhoids.
12; And the cows went straight in the way, on the way to Beth-Shemesh. They went on one highway, going and lowing. And they did not turn to the right or to the left. And the rulers of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-Shemesh.
13; And those of Beth-Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14; And the cart had come to the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemite, and stood there. And there was a great stone. And they cut the wood of the cart, and they offered the cows as a burnt offering to YAHWEH.
15; And the Levites took the ark of YAHWEH down, and the coffer which was with it, in which were the vessels of gold. And they placed them on the great stone. And the men of Beth-Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices in that day to YAHWEH.
16; And the five rulers of the Philistines saw it, and turned back to Ekron on that day.
17; And these were the golden hemorrhoids which the Philistines sent back as a guilt offering to YAHWEH: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron:
18; and the golden mice, the number of all the cities of the Philistines, for the five rulers, from the fortified city even to the hamlet of the villagers, even to the great meadow on which they placed the ark of YAHWEH remain until this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemite.
19; And he struck among the men of Beth-Shemesh, because they looked into the ark of YAHWEH. Yea, He struck seventy among the people, fifty out of a thousand men. And the people mourned because YAHWEH destroyed among the people with a great destruction.
20; And the men of Beth-Shemesh said, Who is able to stand before YAHWEH, this holy Elohim? And to whom shall He go up from us?
21; And they sent messengers to the ones living in Kirjath-Jearim, saying, The Philistines have sent back the ark of YAHWEH. Come down: take it up to you.
Chapter 7
1; And the men of Kirjath-Jearim came and brought up the ark of YAHWEH, and brought it to the house of Abinadab, in the hill. And they sanctified his son Eleazar to keep the ark of YAHWEH.
2; And it happened from the day the ark began to dwell in Kirjath-Jearim, the days became many; yea, they were twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after YAHWEH.
3; And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, saying, If you are returning to YAHWEH with all your heart, put aside the foreign Elohims from among you, and the Ashtoroth. And prepare your heart to YAHWEH, and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
4; And the sons of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served YAHWEH only.
5; And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to YAHWEH for you.
6; And they were gathered to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured out before YAHWEH. And they fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against YAHWEH. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.
7; And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah. And the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel, and the sons of Israel heard, and were afraid before the Philistines.
8; And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to YAHWEH our Elohim for us, that He save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
9; And Samuel took a milk lamb and offered a whole burnt offering to YAHWEH. And Samuel cried to YAHWEH for Israel. And YAHWEH answered him.
10; And it happened as Samuel made a whole burnt offering to go up, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. And YAHWEH thundered with a great noise on that day, on the Philistines, and troubled them. And they were stricken 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; And Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Stone of Help, saying, YAHWEH has helped us until now.
13; And the Philistines were subdued and did not yet again come into the border of Israel. And the hand of YAHWEH was on the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14; And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath. And Israel delivered their border out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15; And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
16; And He went from year to year even in a circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all these places.
17; And he returned to Ramah, for his house was there. And there he judged Israel; and he built an altar to YAHWEH there.
Chapter 8
1; And it happened when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
2; And the name of his first-born was Joel, and the name of his second, Abiah, judges in Beer-Sheba.
3; And his sons did not walk in his ways, and turned aside after dishonest gain, and took a bribe, and perverted judgment.
4; And all the elders of Israel gathered and came in to Samuel, to Ramah.
5; And they said to him, Behold, you have become old, and your sons have not walked in your ways. Now appoint a king to us, to judge us, like all the nations.
6; And the thing was evil in Samuel's eyes when they said, Give to us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to YAHWEH.
7; And YAHWEH said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people, to all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from reigning over them.
8; According to all the works that they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, when they forsook Me and served other Elohims, so they are also doing to you.
9; And now listen to their voice. Only, protesting you shall protest to them, and shall declare to them the privilege of the king who shall reign over them.
10; And Samuel spoke all the words of YAHWEH to the people who were asking a king from him.
11; And he said, This is the privilege of the king who shall reign over you. He shall take your sons and shall appoint them for himself among his chariots, and among his horsemen. And they shall run before his chariots.
12; And he will appoint for himself heads of thousands, and heads of fifties; and to plow his plowing, and to reap his reaping; and to make weapons for war for him, and weapons for his charioteer.
13; And he will take your daughters for perfumers, and for cooks, and for bakers.
14; And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, the best, and give them to his servants.
15; And he will tithe your seed and your vineyards, and will give them to his eunuchs and to his servants.
16; And he will take your male slaves and your slave-girls, and the best of your young men, and your donkeys , and will use them for his own work.
17; He will tithe your flock, and you will be servants to him.
18; And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves. And YAHWEH will not answer you in that day.
19; And the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and said, No, but a king shall be over us.
20; And we shall be, even we, like all the nations. And our king shall judge us and shall go out before us and fight our battles.
21; And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and spoke them in the ears of YAHWEH.
22; And YAHWEH said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and you shall cause a king to reign over them. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Each of you go to his city.