Study Desk

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,

Then rane there one of Ben Iamin out of the fore fronte of the battayl, & came vnto Silo the same daye, & had his clothes rente, and had earth vpo his heade.

And whan he came in, Heli sat vpon the seate, that he mighte loke towarde the waye: for his herte was fearfull aboute ye Arke of God. And whan the man came in to the cite, he tolde it forth: and all the cite cried.

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

Whan he had made mencion of the Arke of God, he fell downe bacwarde from the seate by the gate, and brake his neck, and dyed: for he was olde, & an heuy man. He iudged Israel fortie yeares.

The wife of his sonne Phineas was wt childe, & shulde shortly be delyuered, whan she herde the tydinges yt the Arke of God was taken, and yt hir brother in lawe and hir hußbade were deed, she bowed hir selfe and trauayled: for hir payne came vpon her.

And whan they of Aßdod rose vp early on the morowe, they founde Dagon lyenge on his face vpon the earth, before the Arke of the LORDE. But they toke vp Dagon, and set him agayne in his place.

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.

Therfore the prestes of Dagon, and all they that go in to his house, treade not vpo the threßsholde of Dagon at Aßdod vnto this daye.

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.

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.

Therfore must ye make youre hynder partes of one faßshion and youre myce, which haue destroyed youre londe, that ye maye geue the God of Israel the honoure: peraduenture his hade shal be the lighter vpon you and vpon youre God, and vpon youre londe.

And loke well: yf it go the waie of hir awne coaste BethSemes, the hath he done vs all this greate euell: Yf no, then shal ye knowe that his hande hath not touched vs, but yt it is happened vnto vs by chauce.

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.

he came agayne vnto Ramath for there was his house, & there he iudged Israel, & builded an altare there vnto ye LORDE.

Bvt whan Samuel waxed olde, he set his sonnes to be iudges ouer Israel.

His firstborne sonne was called Ioel & the secode Abia, & they were iudges at Bersaba.

Neuertheles his sonnes walked not in his wayes, but enclyned vnto couetousnes, & toke giftes, & wraysted the lawe.

This shal be the lawe of the kynge yt shal raigne ouer you: Yor sonnes shall he take for his charettes, and for horsmen to runne before his charettes,

and to be rulers & captaynes, to be plowemen to tyll his londe and to be reapers in his haruest, and to make his harnesse, and soch thinges as belonge to his charettes.