Study Desk

So the LORD called Samuel a third time. And he stood and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli understood that it was the LORD [who was] calling the boy.

So Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and it shall be that if He calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Then the LORD came and stood and called as at the previous times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

"Now I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the sinful behavior which he knew [was happening], because his sons were bringing a curse on themselves [dishonoring and blaspheming God] and he did not rebuke them.

"Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the sinful behavior of Eli's house (family) shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."

And the LORD continued to appear in Shiloh, for the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

The Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe [disaster is coming] to us! For nothing like this has happened before.

So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated and every man fled to his tent. It was a very great defeat, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.

When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road, keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. When the man arrived to report [the news] in the city, everyone in the city cried out [to God, for help].

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the [city] gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

And about the time of her death [following the sudden birth] the women attending her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer or pay any attention.

She said, "The glory has left Israel, for the ark of God has been taken."

When the men of Ashdod saw what had happened, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god."

But it happened that after they had taken it to Gath, the hand of the LORD was against the city, causing an extremely great panic [because of the deaths from the plague], for He struck the people of the city, both young and old, and tumors broke out on them.

So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel; let it be returned to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy (severe) there.

The men who had not died were stricken with tumors and the cry of the city [for help] went up to heaven.

Now the ark of the LORD had been in the country of the Philistines for seven months.

And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners (seers), saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Let us know how we can send it back to its place."

Then they said, "What shall the guilt offering be which we shall return to Him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords (governors) of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of you and on your lords.

The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A large stone was there; and the men split up the wood of the cart [for firewood] and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.