God

They sent messengers to the people living in Kiryat-Ye'arim with this message: "The P'lishtim have returned the ark of ADONAI. Come down and bring it back up with you."

So the men of Kiryat-Ye'arim came and brought back the ark of ADONAI. They took it to the home of Avinadav on the hill and appointed his son El'azar to guard the ark of ADONAI.

From the day that the ark arrived in Kiryat-Ye'arim a long time elapsed, twenty years; and all the people of Isra'el yearned for ADONAI.

Sh'mu'el addressed all the people of Isra'el; he said: "If you are returning to ADONAI with all your heart, then be done with the foreign gods and 'ashtarot that you have with you, and direct your hearts to ADONAI. If you will serve only him, he will rescue you from the power of the P'lishtim."

So the people of Isra'el banished the ba'alim and the 'ashtarot and served only ADONAI.

Sh'mu'el said, "Gather all Isra'el to Mitzpah, and I will pray for you to ADONAI."

So they gathered together at Mitzpah, drew water and poured it out before ADONAI, fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against ADONAI." Sh'mu'el began serving as judge over the people of Isra'el at Mitzpah.

The people of Isra'el said to Sh'mu'el, "Don't stop crying out to ADONAI our God for us, to save us from the power of the P'lishtim."

Sh'mu'el took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to ADONAI. Then Sh'mu'el cried to ADONAI for Isra'el, and ADONAI answered him.

As Sh'mu'el was presenting the burnt offering, the P'lishtim advanced to attack Isra'el. But this time, ADONAI thundered violently over the P'lishtim, throwing them into such confusion that they were struck down before Isra'el.

Sh'mu'el took a stone, placed it between Mitzpah and Shen, and gave it the name Even-'Ezer [stone of help], explaining, "ADONAI has helped us until now."

Thus the P'lishtim were humbled, so that they no longer entered Isra'el's territory; and the hand of ADONAI was against the P'lishtim as long as Sh'mu'el lived.

Then he would return to Ramah, because that's where his home was, and he would judge Isra'el there too. He also built an altar there to ADONAI.

Sh'mu'el was not pleased to hear them say, "Give us a king to judge us"; so he prayed to ADONAI.

ADONAI said to Sh'mu'el, "Listen to the people, to everything they say to you; for it is not you they are rejecting; they are rejecting me; they don't want me to be king over them.

They are doing to you exactly what they have been doing to me, from the day I brought them out of Egypt until today, by abandoning me and serving other gods.

Sh'mu'el reported everything ADONAI had said to the people asking him for a king.

When that happens, you will cry out on account of your king, whom you yourselves chose. But when that happens, ADONAI will not answer you!"

Sh'mu'el heard everything the people said and repeated them for ADONAI to hear.

ADONAI said to Sh'mu'el, "Do what they ask, and set up a king for them." So Sh'mu'el told the men of Isra'el, "Each of you, return to his city."

His servant replied, "Here now, there's a man of God in this city, a man who is highly respected, and everything he says proves true. Let's go to him; maybe he can tell us something about where we should go."

"But look," Sha'ul said to his servant, "if we go to the man, what can we bring him? We've used up all the bread in our packs, and there's nothing for us to give the man of God - what do we have left?"

The servant replied again to Sha'ul: "See, I have here in my hand a silver quarter-shekel [one-tenth of an ounce]. I will give it to the man of God to tell us which way to go."

(In Isra'el, back in the old days, when someone went to consult God, he would say, "Come, let's go to the seer"; because a person now called a prophet used to be called a seer.)

"Well said," Sha'ul answered his servant. "Come on, let's go." So they went to the city where the man of God was.