host: And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thy hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. And the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and all the children of the east, lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea-side for multitude. And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered, and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered. Midian, and all the host.

And it was so, when Gideon heard the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

§ And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: When I blow with a trumpet, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.

So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal; and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the

camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughont| all the host. And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. And he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfitted all the host.

Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.

Now there was a certain man of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, an Ephrathite. And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah. She bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, O my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli.

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; that the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here

am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: for I have told him, that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord: and Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

§ And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle; and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before

the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.

And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. And when the ark came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Wo unto us! these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Bel strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you.

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

And there ran a man to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. And lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the way-side watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man told it all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? And the messenger said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been a great slaughter, and thy two sons Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. And when he made mention of the ark of God, he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the

Philistines seven months. And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. And the lords of the Philistines went up against İsrael. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid, and said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. And Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him.

And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and the men of Israel pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. So the Philistines were subdued: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored. And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.