Study Desk

She named the child Ikhavod, saying, The glory is departed from Yisra'el; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

She said, The glory is departed from Yisra'el; for the ark of God is taken.

Now the Pelishtim had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Even-Ha`ezer to Ashdod.

The Pelishtim took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Yisra'el shall not abide with us; for his hand is sore on us, and on Dagon our god.

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Pelishtim to them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Yisra'el? They answered, Let the ark of the God of Yisra'el be carried about to Gat. They carried the ark of the God of Yisra'el [there].

So they sent the ark of God to `Ekron. It happened, as the ark of God came to `Ekron, that the `Ekroni cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Yisra'el to us, to kill us and our people.

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Pelishtim, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Yisra'el, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people. For there was a deadly confusion throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Yisra'el, don't send it empty; but by all means return him a trespass-offering: then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you."

Therefore you shall make images of your tumors, and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Yisra'el: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.

The men of Beit-Shemesh said, Who is able to stand before the LORD, this holy God? and to whom shall he go up from us?

The children of Yisra'el said to Shemu'el, "Don't cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Pelishtim."

He said to him, See now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes surely to pass: now let us go there; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.

Then said Sha'ul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?

The servant answered Sha'ul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

(In earlier times in Yisra'el, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he who is now called a Prophet was before called a Seer.)

Then said Sha'ul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.

As they were going down at the end of the city, Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand you still first, that I may cause you to hear the word of God.

Then shall you go on forward from there, and you shall come to the oak of Tavor; and there shall meet you there three men going up to God to Beit-El, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Pelishtim: and it shall happen, when you are come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying: