Study Desk

Beholde, the tyme shal come, that I wyll breake thyne arme in two, and the arme of thy fathers house, so that there shal no oldeman be in thy house.

And who so euer remayneth of thy house, shall come and worshipe him for a syluer peny and for a pece of bred, and shall saye: I praye the leaue me to one prestes parte, that I maye eate a morsell of bred.

And it fortuned at the same tyme, that Eli laye in his place, and his eyes beganne to be dymme, so that he coulde not se.

The LORDE called againe: Samuel. And Samuel arose, & wente vnto Eli, & sayde: Beholde, here am I, thou hast called me. Neuertheles he sayde: My sonne, I haue not called the. So thy waye agayne, and laye the downe to slepe.

And the LORDE saide vnto Samuel: Beholde, I do a thinge in Israel, yt who so euer shall heare it, both his eares shal glowe.

and prepared them selues agaynst Israel. And whan the battayll beganne, the hoost was deuyded, so that Israel was smytte before the enemies, & in the edge in the felde they slewe aboute a foure thousande men.

And whan the Arke of the couenaunt of the LORDE came in to the hoost, all Israel shouted wt a greate shoute, so that the earth sounded withall.

Then foughte the Philistynes, & Israel was smytten, & euery one fled vnto his tete, & there was a very greate slaughter, so that there fell of Israel thirtye thousande fote me,

(As for Eli, he was fourescore and eightene yeare olde, and his eyes were dymme, so that he coulde not se.)

Neuertheles whan they rose vp early on the nexte morowe, they founde Dagon lyenge on his face agayne vpon the earth before the Arke of the LORDE: but his heade and both his hades hewen of vpon the threßholde, so that the block laie there onely.

Whan the men of Aßdod sawe that they were so plaged, they sayde: Let not the Arke of the God of Israel tary with vs, for his hande is to harde vpo vs & vpon or god Dagon.

And the people that dyed not, were smytten in secrete places, so that the noyse of the cite wete vp vnto heauen.

They sayde: Yf ye wyll sende awaye the Arke of the God of Israel, sende it not awaye emptye, but geue a trespace offerynge: so shal ye be made whole, and ye shal knowe, why his hande departeth not from you.

The men dyd so, and toke two yonge mylke kyne, and yocked them to a cart, and helde their calues at home,

And certaine of BethSames were slaine because they had sene ye Arke of the LORDE, and he slewe fyftye thousande and seuentye men of the people. Then mourned the people, because the LORDE had done so greate a slaughter in the people.

And the men at BethSemes sayde: Who maye stode before the LORDE so holy a God? And to who shal he go fro vs?

So the men of Kiriath Iearim came downe, & fetched vp ye Arke of ye LORDE, & brought it in to ye house of Abinadab at Gibea, & they consecrated Eleasar his sonne, yt he might kepe ye Arke.

And fro yt daye that the Arke of ye LORDE abode at KiriathIearim, ye tyme extended forth so longe tyll it came to twentye yeares: and all the house of Israel wepte after the LORDE.

But Samuel sayde vnto all the house of Israel: Yf ye turne you withall youre hert vnto the LORDE, then put awaye from you the straunge goddes and Astaroth, and directe youre hert vnto the LORDE and serue him onely, so shall he delyuer you out of the hande of the Philistynes.

And they came together vnto Mispa, and drue water, & poured it out before the LORDE, and fasted the same daye, and there they sayde: We haue synned vnto the LORDE. So Samuel iudged the children of Israel at Mispa.