She said, &#8220;Just as surely as you are alive, my lord, I am the woman who previously stood here with you in order to pray to the <sc>Lordsc>.

<p class="poetry">Don&#8217;t keep speaking so arrogantly,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">letting proud talk come out of your mouth!p> <p class="poetry">For the <sc>Lordsc> is a God who knows;p> <p class="poetry">he<n id="2" /> evaluates what people do.p>

<p class="bodytext">Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the <sc>Lordsc> under the supervision of<n id="1" /> Eli the priest.p>

<p class="bodytext">Then the <sc>Lordsc> came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, &#8220;Samuel! Samuel!&#8221; Samuel replied, &#8220;Speak, for your servant is listening!&#8221;

The <sc>Lordsc> said to Samuel, &#8220;Look! I am about to do something in Israel;<n id="1" /> when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle.

<p class="bodytext">So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.

<p class="bodytext">So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> will do what he pleases.&#8221;<n id="2" />

When the ark of the covenant of the <sc>Lordsc> arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly<n id="1" /> that the ground shook.p>

When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day,<n id="1" /> Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the <sc>Lordsc>. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place.

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> attacked<n id="1" /> the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of<n id="2" /> both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores.<n id="3" />

the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, &#8220;What should we do with the ark of the <sc>Lordsc>? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place.&#8221;p>

They put the ark of the <sc>Lordsc> on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores.

<p class="bodytext">These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the <sc>Lordsc> &#8211; one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.

The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, &#8220;Who is able to stand before the <sc>Lord,sc> this holy God? To whom will the ark<n id="1" /> go up from here?&#8221;p>

<p class="bodytext">So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, &#8220;The Philistines have returned the ark of the <sc>Lordsc>. Come down here and take it back home with you.&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">It was quite a long time &#8211; some twenty years in all &#8211; that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people<n id="1" /> of Israel longed for<n id="2" /> the <sc>Lordsc>.

The Israelites said to Samuel, &#8220;Keep<n id="1" /> crying out to the <sc>Lordsc> our<n id="2" /> God so that he may save us<n id="3" /> from the hand of the Philistines!&#8221;

So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the <sc>Lordsc> was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.p>

Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged<n id="1" /> Israel there and built an altar to the <sc>Lordsc> there.p>

<p class="bodytext">But this request displeased Samuel, for<n id="1" /> they said, &#8220;Give us a king to lead us.&#8221; So Samuel prayed to the <sc>Lordsc>.