15 Now Heli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, and he could not see.

16 And he said to Heli: I am he that came from the battle, and have fled out of the field this day. And he said to him: What is there done, my son?

17 And he that brought the news answered, and said: Israel is fled before the Philistines; and there has been a great slaughter of the people: moreover thy two sons, Ophni and Phinees, are dead: and the ark of God is taken.

18 And when he had named the ark* of God, he fell from his stool backwards by the door, and broke his neck, and died. For he was an old man, and far advanced in years. And he judged Israel forty years.

19 And his daughter-in-law the wife of Phinees, was big with child, and near her time: and hearing the news that the ark of God was taken, and her father-in-law, and her husband, were dead, she bowed herself, and fell in labour: for her pains came upon her on a sudden.

20 And when she was upon the point of death, they that stood about her said to her: Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. She answered them not, nor gave heed to them.

21 And she called the child Ichabod,† saying: The glory is gone from Israel, because the ark of God was taken, and for her father-in-law, and for her husband:

22 And she said: The glory is departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken.

CHAP. V.

Dagon twice falleth down before the ark. The Philistines are grievously afflicted, wherever the ark cometh.

ND the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the Stone of help into Azotus.

2 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

3 And when the Azotians arose early the next day, behold, Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord: and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place.

4 And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold:

5 And only the stump of Dagon remained in its place. For this cause neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that go into the temple tread on the threshold of Dagon in Azotus unto this day

6 And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Azotians: And he destroyed them, and afflicted Azotus and the coasts thereof with emerods. And in the villages and fields in the midst of that country, there came forth a multitude of mice; and there was the confusion of a great mortality in the city.

7 And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague, said: The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us: for his hand is heavy upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

8 And sending, they gathered together all the

lords of the Philistines to them, and said: What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And the Gethites answered: Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about.

9 And while they were carrying it about, the hand of the Lord came upon every city with an exceeding great slaughter: and he smote the men of every city, both small and great; and they had emerods in their secret parts. And the Gethites consulted together, and made themselves seats of skins.

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God into Accaron. And when the ark of God was come into Accaron, the Accaronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.

11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines: and they said: Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return into its own place, and not kill us and our people.

12 For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy. The men also that did not die, were afflicted with the emerods: and the cry of every city went up to heaven.

CHAP. VI.

The ark is sent back to Bethsames: where many
are slain for looking, through curiosity, into it.
TOW the ark of God was in the land of the
Philistines seven months.

2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? tell us how we are to send it back to its place. And they said:

3 If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty; but render unto him what you owe for sin, and then you shall be healed: and you shall know why his hand departeth not from you,

4 They answered: What is it we ought to render unto him for sin? and they answered:

5 According to the number of the provinces of the Philistines you shall make five golden emerods, and five golden mice: for the same plague hath been upon you all, and upon your lords. And you shall make the likeness of your emerods, and the likeness of the mice, that have destroyed the land: and you shall give glory to the God of Israel, to see if he will take off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.

6 Why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharao hardened their hearts? did not he, after he was struck, then let them go, and they departed?

7 Now therefore take and make a new cart: and two kine that have calved, on which there hath come no yoke, tie to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

8 And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and lay it on the cart: and the vessels of gold, which you haye paid him for sin, you shall put into a little box, at the side thereof: and send it away that it may go.

9 And you shall look: and if it go up by the way of his own coasts towards Bethsames, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, we shall know that it is not his hand hath touched us, but it hath happened by chance.

*Named the ark, &c. There is great reason, by all these circumstances, to hope that Heli died 10 They did therefore in this manner: and in the state of grace; and by his temporal punish-taking two kine, that had sucking calves, they ments escaped the eternal. yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

Ichabod. That is, Where is the glory? or, there is no glory. We see how much the Israelites lamented the loss of the ark, which was but the symbol of God's presence amongst them. How much more ought Christians to lament the loss of God himself, when by sin they have drove him out of their souls?

11 And they laid the ark of God upon the cart, and the little box that had in it the golden mice and the likeness of the emerods.

12 And the kine took the straight way that leadeth to Bethsames: and they went along the way, lowing as they went, and turned not aside

neither to the right hand nor to the left: and the||Israel were gathered together to Masphath; and lords of the Philistines followed them as far as the the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. borders of Bethsames. And when the children of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines.

13 Now the Bethsamites were reaping wheat in the valley: and lifting up their eyes they saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

14 And the cart came into the field of Josue a Bethsamite, and stood there. And there was a great stone, and they cut in pieces the wood of the cart, and laid the kine upon it a holocaust to the Lord.

15 And the Levites took down the ark of God, 10 And it came to pass, when Samuel was ofand the little box that was at the side of it, where- fering the holocaust, the Philistines began the batin were the vessels of gold; and they put them tle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a upon the great stone. The men also of Bethsames great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, offered holocausts, and sacrificed victims that day and terrified them: and they were overthrown to the Lord. before the face of Israel.

yet testify to them, and foretel them the right of the king, that shall reign over them.

10 Then Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people that had desired a king of him,

II And said: This will be the right of the king, that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and will make them his horsemen, and his running footmen to run before his chariots.

12 And he will appoint of them to be his tribunes, and centurions, and to plough his fields, and to reap his corn, and to make him arms and chariots.

the bread is spent in our bags: and we have no present to make to the man of God, nor any thing at all.

8 The servant answered Saul again, and said: Behold, there is found in my hand the fourth part of a sicle of silver: let us give it to the man of God, that he may tell us our way.

9 Now in time past in Israel when a man went to consult God, he spoke thus: Come, let us go to the seer. For he that is now called a prophet, in time past was called a seer.†

10 And Saul said to his servant: Thy word is very good; come, let us go. And they went into the city, where the man of God was.

11 And when they went up the ascent to the

13 Your daughters also he will take to make him ointments, and to be his cooks, and bakers.city, they found maids coming out to draw water: 14 And he will take your fields, and your vine- and they said to them: Is the seer here? yards, and your best olive-yards, and give them to his servants.

15 Moreover he will take the tenth of your corn, and of the revenues of your vineyards, to give to his eunuchs and servants.

16 Your servants also and handmaids, and your goodliest young men, and your asses he will take away, and put them to his work.

17 Your flocks also he will tithe; and you shall be his servants.

12 They answered, and said to them: He is: behold, he is before you, make haste now: for he came to-day into the city, for there is a sacrificet of the people to-day in the high place.§

13 As soon as you come into the city, you shall immediately find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat till he come: because he blesseth the victim, and afterwards they eat that are invited. Now therefore go up, for to-day you shall find him.

18 And you shall cry out in that day from the 14 And they went up into the city. And when face of the king, whom you have chosen to your-they were walking in the midst of the city, beselves: and the Lord will not hear you in that day, hold, Samuel was coming out over-against them, because you desired unto yourselves a king. to go up to the high place. 19 But the people would not hear the voice of Samuel, and they said: Nay: but there shall be a king over us:

20 And we also will be like all nations: and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles for us.

21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel: Hearken to, their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel: Let every man go to his city.

Seror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphia, the son of a man of Jemini, valiant and strong.

2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and goodly man: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he appeared above all the people.

3 And the asses of Cis, Saul's father, were lost: and Cis said to his son Saul: Take one of the servants with thee, and arise, go, and seek the asses. And when they had passed through mount Ephraim,

4 And through the land of Salisa, and had not found them, they passed also through the land of Salim; and they were not there; and through the land of Jemini, and found them not.

15 Now the Lord had revealed to the ear of Samuel the day before Saul came, saying:

16 To-morrow about this same hour I will send thee a man of the land of Benjamin; and thou shalt anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked down upon my people, because their cry is come to me.

17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him: Behold the man, of whom I spoke to thee: this man shall reign over my people.

18 And Saul came to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said: Tell me, I pray thee, where is the house of the seer?

19 And Samuel answered Saul, saying: I am the secr: go up before me to the high place, that you may eat with me to-day, and I will let thee

heart.

20 And as for the asses, which were lost three days ago, be not solicitous, because they are found. And for whom shall be all the best things

+4 seer. Because of his seeing by divine light hidden things and things to come.

A sacrifice. The law did not allow of sacrifices in any other place, but at the tabernacle, or temple, in which the ark of the covenant was kept; but Samuel, by divine dispensation, offered sacrifices in other places. For which dispensation this reason may be alleged, that the house of God in Silo, having lost the ark, was now cast off; as a figure of the reprobation of the Jews, Psal. lxxvii, 60, 67. And in Cariathiarim where the ark was, there was neither tabernacle, nor altar.

5 And when they were come to the land of Suph, Saul said to the servant that was with him: Come, let us return, lest perhaps my father forget § The high place. Excelsum. The excelsa, or the asses, and be concerned for us. high places, so often mentioned in scripture, were 6 And he said to him: Behold, there is a man places of worship, in which were altars for saeriof God in this city, a famous man: all that he fice. These were sometimes employed in the saith, cometh certainly to pass. Now therefore service of the true God, as in the present case let us go thither; perhaps he may tell us of our but more frequently in the service of idols: and way, for which we are come. were called Excelsa, which is commonly (though perhaps not so accurately) rendered high places; not because they were always upon hills, for the very worst of all, which was that of Topheth or Geennom (Jeremiah xix.) was in a valley; but because of the high altars, and pillars, or mon?:ments erected there, on which were set up the idols, or images of their deities.

7 And Saul said to his servant: Behold, we will go: but what shall we carry to the man of God?

The right. That is, the manner (misphat) after which he shall proceed, having no one to control him, when he has the power in his

hands.

of Israel? Shall they not be for thee and for all the high place, with a psaltery and a timbrel, and thy father's house? a pipe, and a harp before them: and they shall be 21 And Saul answering, said: Am not I a son prophesying. of Jemini of the least tribe of Israel, and my kin-6 And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon dred the last among all the families of the tribe thee: and thou shalt prophesy with them, and of Benjamin? Why then hast thou spoken this shalt be changed into another man. word to me?

22 Then Samuel taking Saul and his servant, brought them into the parlour, and gave them a place at the head of them that were invited; for there were about thirty men.

23 And Samuel said to the cook: Bring the postion, which I gave thee, and commanded thee tit apart by thee.

to set it

24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said: Behold what is left: set it before thee, and eat: because it was kept of purpose for thee, when I invited the people. And Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 And they went down from the high place into the town; and he spoke with Saul upon the top of the house: and he prepared a bed for Saul on the top of the house; and he slept.

25 And when they were risen in the morning, and it began now to be light, Samuel called Saul on the top of the house, saying, Arise, that I may let thee go. And Saul arose: and they went out both of them, to wit, he and Samuel.

27 And as they were going down in the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul: Speak to the servant to go before us, and pass on: but stand thou still a while, that I may tell thee the word of the Lord.

CHAP. X.

Saul is anointed. He prophesieth, and is changed into another man. Samuel calleth the people together, to make a king: the lot falleth on Saul.

7 When therefore these signs shall happen to thee, do whatsoever thy hand shall find; for the Lord is with thee.

S And thou shalt go down before me to Galgals (for I will come down to thee,) that thou mayst offer an oblation, and sacrifice victims of peace: seven days shalt thou wait, till I come to thee; and I will shew thee what thou art to do.

9 So when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave unto him another heart: and all these things came to pass that day.

10 And they came to the foresaid hill; and behold, a company of prophets met him: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them.

11 And all that had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and prophesied, said to each other: What is this that hath happened to the son of Cis? is Saul also among the prophets?

12 And one answered another, saying: And who is their father?|| therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?

13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 And Saul's uncle said to him, and to his servant: Whither went you? They answered: To seek the asses: and not finding them we went to Samuel.

15 And his uncle said to him: Tell me what Samuel said to thee.

16 And Saul said to his uncle: He told us that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken to him, he told him not.

17 And Samuel called together the people to the Lord in Maspha:

ND Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and sail: Behold, the Lord hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance: and thou shalt deliver his people out of the hands of their enemies, that 18 And he said to the children of Israel: Thus are round about them. And this shall be a sign into thee, that God hath anointed thee to be

saith the Lord the God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you.

2 When thou shalt depart from me this day, thou shalt find two men by the sepulchre of Ra- 19 But you this day have rejected your God, chel in the borders of Benjamin to the south: who only hath saved you out of all your evils and ead they shall say to thee: The asses are found your tribulations: and you have said: Nay: but which thou wentest to seek: and thy father think- set a king over us. Now therefore stand before ing no more of the asses, is concerned for you, the Lord by your tribes, and by your families. and saith: What shall I do for my son?

3 And when thou shalt depart from thence, and go farther on, and shalt come to the oak of ThaFer, there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.

4 And they will salute thee, and will give thee two loaves; and thou shalt take them at their hand.

5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God,t where the garrison of the Philistines is: and when thou shalt be come there into the city, thou shalt meet a company of prophets‡ coming down from

Bethel. Where there was at that time an altar of God; it being one of the places where Samuel judged Israel.

The hill of God. Gabaa, in which there was also at that time, a high place or altar.

20 And Samuel brought to him all the tribes of Israel: and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin.

21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin and the kindreds thereof: and the lot fell upon the kindred of Metri, and it came to Saul the son of Cis. They sought him therefore, and he was not found.

22 And after this they consulted the Lord whether he would come thither. And the Lord answered: Behold, he is hidden at home.

23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and he stood in the midst of the people: and he was higher than any of the people from the shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people: Surely you see him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people cried and said: God save the king. 25 And Samuel told the people the law of the

another at Naioth in Ramatha. See 1 Samuel xix. 20, 21, &c.

Prophets. These were men whose office it was to sing hymns and praises to God: for such in holy writ are called prophets, and their singing § Galgal. Here also by dispensation was an praises to God is called prophesying. See I Pa- altar of God.

ralipom. alias 1 Chronic. xv. 22. and xxv. 1. Their father. That is, their teacher or supeNow there were in those days colleges, or schools rior. As much as to say, Who could bring about for training up these prophets; and it seems there such a wonderful change as to make Saul a prowas one of these schools at this hill of God; and phet?