1 Samuel 7
7
1So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and got the ark of the Lord. They brought it up to Abinadab’s house on the hill. They set his son Eleazar apart to guard the ark. 2The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim for a long time. It was there for a full 20 years.
Samuel Brings the Philistines Under Israel’s Control
Then all the Israelites turned back to the Lord. 3So Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “Do you really want to return to the Lord with all your hearts? If you do, get rid of your false gods. Get rid of your statues of female gods that are named Ashtoreth. Commit yourselves to the Lord. Serve him only. Then he will save you from the power of the Philistines.” 4So the Israelites put away their statues of gods that were named Baal. They put away their statues of female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They served the Lord only.
5Then Samuel said, “Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6When the people had come together at Mizpah, they went to the well and got water. They poured it out in front of the Lord. On that day they didn’t eat any food. They admitted they had sinned. They said, “We’ve sinned against the Lord.” Samuel was serving as the leader of Israel at Mizpah.
7The Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard about it, they were afraid. 8They said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to the Lord our God to help us. Keep praying that he’ll save us from the power of the Philistines.” 9Then Samuel got a very young lamb. He sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord to help Israel. And the Lord answered his prayer.
10The Philistines came near to attack Israel. At that time Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into such a panic that the Israelites were able to chase them away. 11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah. They chased the Philistines all the way to a point below Beth Kar. They killed them all along the way.
12Then Samuel got a big stone. He set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer. He said, “The Lord has helped us every step of the way.”
13So the Philistines were brought under Israel’s control. The Philistines didn’t attack their territory again. The Lord used his power against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. 14The Philistines had captured many towns between Ekron and Gath. But they had to give all of them back. Israel took back the territories near those towns from the control of the Philistines. During that time Israel and the Amorites were friendly toward each other.
15Samuel continued to lead Israel all the days of his life. 16From year to year he traveled from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah. He served Israel as judge in all those places. 17But he always went back to Ramah. That’s where his home was. He served Israel as judge there too. And he built an altar there to honor the Lord.
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1 Samuel 7: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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1 Samuel 7
7
1The men of Kiriath Jearim came and took the Lord’s Holy Box up the hill to the house of Abinadab the priest. They performed a special ceremony to prepare Abinadab’s son, Eleazar, to guard the Lord’s Holy Box. 2The Box stayed there at Kiriath Jearim for a long time.
The Lord Saves the Israelites
Twenty years passed while the Holy Box was in Kiriath Jearim, and the Israelites began to follow the Lord again. 3Samuel told the Israelites, “If you are really coming back to the Lord with all your heart, you must throw away your foreign gods and your idols of Ashtoreth. You must give yourselves fully to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will save you from the Philistines.”
4So the Israelites threw away their statues of Baal and Ashtoreth. The Israelites served only the Lord.
5Samuel said, “All Israel must meet at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6The Israelites met together at Mizpah. They got water and poured it out before the Lord. In this way they began a time of fasting. They did not eat any food that day, and they confessed their sins. They said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel served as a judge of Israel at Mizpah.
7When the Philistines heard that the Israelites were meeting at Mizpah, they went to fight them. The Israelites were frightened when they heard the Philistines were coming 8and said to Samuel, “Don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us. Ask him to save us from the Philistines.”
9Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He prayed to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered his prayer. 10The Philistines came closer and closer to fight the Israelites while Samuel offered the sacrifice. But then, the Lord caused a loud clap of thunder to hit near the Philistines. The thunder scared the Philistines, and they became confused, so the Israelites defeated them in battle. 11The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines all the way to Beth Car. They killed Philistine soldiers all along the way.
Peace Comes to Israel
12After this Samuel set up a special stone to help people remember what God did. Samuel put the stone between Mizpah and Shen#7:12 Shen Or “Jeshanah,” a town about 17 miles north of Jerusalem. and named the stone “Stone of Help.”#7:12 Stone of Help Or “Ebenezer.” Samuel said, “The Lord helped us all the way to this place.”
13The Philistines were defeated and did not enter the land of Israel again. The Lord was against the Philistines during the rest of Samuel’s life. 14The Philistines had taken some cities from Israel, but the Israelites won them back. They recovered those cities throughout the Philistine area, from Ekron to Gath.
There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15Samuel led Israel all his life. 16He went from place to place judging the Israelites. Every year he traveled around the country. He went to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and he judged the Israelites in all these places. 17But Samuel always went back to his home in Ramah. There he built an altar to the Lord and judged Israel.
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