And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the LORD and ^abrought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they ¹consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the ark of the LORD. 2 From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the ¹time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel ²mourned after the LORD.

3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^aIf you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then ^bremove the foreign gods and the ^cAshtaroth from among you, and ^ddirect your hearts to the LORD and ^eserve Him alone; and He will save you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the LORD alone.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to ^aMizpah and ^bI will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and ^apoured it out before the LORD, and ^bfasted on that day and said there, “^cWe have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, ^athey were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^aDo not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!” 9 Samuel took ^aa nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD; and Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and ^bthe LORD answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But ^athe LORD thundered with a great ¹thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^bconfused them, so that they were struck down before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel ^atook a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ¹Ebenezer, saying, “²So far the LORD has helped us.” 13 ^aSo the Philistines were subdued, and ^bthey did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel ¹recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^athe Amorites.

15 Now Samuel ^ajudged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he used to go annually on a circuit to ^aBethel, ^bGilgal, and ^cMizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would make his return to ^aRamah, because his house was there, and there he also judged Israel; and there he ^bbuilt an altar to the LORD.

So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and ^abrought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to care for the ark of the Lord. 2 And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years until the reign of King David; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the LORD. 2+@Sam 6:3, 4; 1+@Chr 13:5-7

3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “^aIf you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, ^bremove the foreign gods and the ^cAshtaroth (pagan goddesses) from among you and ^ddirect your hearts to the LORD and ^eserve Him only; and He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the LORD alone.

5 Samuel said, “Gather all Israel together at ^aMizpah and ^bI will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and ^apoured it out before the LORD, and ^bfasted on that day and said there, “^cWe have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords (governors) of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard it, ^athey were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^aDo not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, so that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took ^aa nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD; and Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel and ^bthe LORD answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines approached for the battle against Israel. Then ^athe LORD thundered with a great voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into ^bconfusion, and they were defeated and fled before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as the territory below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel ^atook a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer (stone of help) , saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” 13 ^aSo the Philistines were subdued and ^bthey did not come anymore into Israelite territory. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered the cities’ territory from the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and ^athe Amorites.

15 Now Samuel ^ajudged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He used to go annually on a circuit to ^aBethel, ^bGilgal, and ^cMizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to ^aRamah, because his home was there; and there he judged Israel, and there he ^bbuilt an altar to the LORD.