1 Samuel 7:1-8

7:1 Then the people ¹  of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

Further Conflict with the Philistines

7:2 It was quite a long time – some twenty years in all – that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people ²  of Israel longed for ³  the Lord. 7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. ⁴  Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you ⁵  from the hand of the Philistines.” 7:4 So the Israelites ⁶  removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

7:5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” 7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed ⁷  there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led ⁸  the people of Israel at Mizpah.

7:7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 7:8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep ⁹  crying out to the Lord our ¹⁰  God so that he may save us ¹¹  from the hand of the Philistines!”

[7:1]  ¹ tn Heb “men.”

[7:2]  ² tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).

[7:2]  ³ tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”

[7:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.

[7:3]  ⁵ tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[7:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[7:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “said.”

[7:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”

[7:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “don’t stop.”

[7:8]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”

[7:8]  ¹¹ tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.