They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.

So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven.

David was going back and forth from Saul in order to care for his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.

Saul retained David on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David.

Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem.

But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!

Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along, mooing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

Once she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, an ephah of flour, and a container of wine. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh, even though he was young.

In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength and the strength of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house!

Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a secure dynasty and he will serve my chosen one for all time.

Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’”

So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.

The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.

(For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon’s priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon’s temple step on Dagon’s threshold in Ashdod.)

The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?”

It was quite a long time – some twenty years in all – that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people of Israel longed for the Lord.

Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places.

As Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, he said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert.