1 Samuel 7:1-17
7 And the men of Kirjath-Jeʽarim came and fetched up the ark of Jehovah and put it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of Jehovah.
2 * And from the day of the settlement of the ark in Kirjath-Jeʽarim, the time was long: it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel turned to follow Jehovah.
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel “If you are coming back to Jehovah with all your hearts, remove the foreign gods from among you, and the ʽAshtarts, and direct your hearts to Jehovah and worship him alone, that he may deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines”;
4 and the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the ʽAshtarts, and worshiped Jehovah alone.
5 And Samuel said “Gather all Israel at Mispah, and let me pray to Jehovah for you”;
6 and they gathered at Mispah, and drew water and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day; and they said there “We have sinned against Jehovah.” And Samuel passed judgment on the sons of Israel at Mispah.
7 And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered themselves at Mispah, and the Sarns of the Philistines came up against Israel; and the sons of Israel heard of it, and were afraid of the Philistines.
8 And the sons of Israel said to Samuel “Do not shut your mouth against us and refuse to cry to our God Jehovah to deliver us out of the hands of the Philistines.”
9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as an entire burnt-offering to Jehovah; and Samuel cried to Jehovah for Israel, and Jehovah answered him.
10 And as Samuel was offering the burnt-offering the Philistines came on to fight a battle with the Israelites; and Jehovah thundered loudly over the Philistines on that day, and threw them into confusion, and they were beaten by the Israelites.
11 And the men of Israel came out from Mispah and pursued the Philistines and cut them down till below Beth-Car.
12 * And Samuel took a stone and set it between Mispah and Jeshanah, and named it the Help Stone, and said “Thus far Jehovah helped us.”
13 And the Philistines were humbled, and no longer entered the territory of Israel; and Jehovah’s hand was against the Philistines throughout Samuel’s life.
14 And the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel came back to Israel, from ʽEkron to Gath, and Israel recovered the territory of these cities out of the hands of the Philistines.
15 And Samuel judged Israel all his life;
16 and he went year by year in circuit to Bethel and the Gilgal and Mispah, and judged Israel at all these sanctuaries.
17 But his headquarters was at Ramah, because his home was there; and there he judged Israel, and built an altar there to Jehovah.
