1 Samuel 7:9-17

7:9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb ¹  and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and the Lord answered him.

7:10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. ²  But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by ³  Israel. 7:11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

7:12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. ⁴  He named it Ebenezer, ⁵  saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.” 7:13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

7:14 The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control ⁶  of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 7:15 So Samuel led ⁷  Israel all the days of his life. 7:16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, ⁸  Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places. 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged ⁹  Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there.

[7:9]  ¹ tn Heb “a lamb of milk”; NAB “an unweaned lamb”; NIV “a suckling lamb”; NCV “a baby lamb.”

[7:10]  ² tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”

[7:10]  ³ tn Heb “before.”

[7:12]  ⁴ tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”

[7:12]  ⁵ sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[7:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).

[7:16]  ⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).