nkjv 1Samuel:6-8 SEEK
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Now the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months .
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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 should send it to its place ."
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So they said , "
If you send away the ark of the God of Israel ,
do not send it empty ;
but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering .
Then you will be healed ,
and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you ."
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Then they said , "
What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him ?"
They answered , "
Five golden tumors and five golden rats ,
according to the number of the lords of the Philistines .
For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords .
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Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land ,
and you shall give glory to the God of Israel ;
perhaps He will lighten His hand from you ,
from your gods ,
and from your land .
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Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts ?
When He did mighty things among them ,
did they not let the people go ,
that they might depart ?
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Now therefore ,
make a new cart ,
take two milk cows which have never been yoked ,
and hitch the cows to the cart ;
and take their calves home ,
away from them .
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Then take the ark of the LORD and set it on the cart ;
and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side .
Then send it away ,
and let it go .
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And watch :
if it goes up the road to its own territory ,
to Beth Shemesh ,
then He has done us this great evil .
But if not ,
then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us--it happened to us by chance ."
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Then the men did so ;
they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart ,
and shut up their calves at home .
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And they set the ark of the LORD on the cart ,
and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors .
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Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh ,
and went along the highway ,
lowing as they went ,
and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left .
And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh .
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Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley ;
and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark ,
and rejoiced to see it .
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Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh ,
and stood there ;
a large stone was there .
So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD .
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The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest that was with it ,
in which were the articles of gold ,
and put them on the large stone .
Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the LORD .
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So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it ,
they returned to Ekron the same day .
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These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the LORD :
one for Ashdod ,
one for Gaza ,
one for Ashkelon ,
one for Gath ,
one for Ekron ;
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and the golden rats ,
according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords ,
both fortified cities and country villages ,
even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the LORD ,
which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh .
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Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh ,
because they had looked into the ark of the LORD .
He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people ,
and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter .
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And the men of Beth Shemesh said , "
Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God ?
And to whom shall it go up from us ?"
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So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim ,
saying , "
The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD ;
come down and take it up with you ."
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Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD ,
and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill ,
and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD .
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So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time ;
it was there twenty years .
And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD .
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Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel ,
saying , "
If you return to the LORD with all your hearts ,
then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you ,
and prepare your hearts for the LORD ,
and serve Him only ;
and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines ."
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So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths ,
and served the LORD only .
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And Samuel said , "
Gather all Israel to Mizpah ,
and I will pray to the LORD for you ."
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So they gathered together at Mizpah ,
drew water ,
and poured it out before the LORD .
And they fasted that day ,
and said there , "
We have sinned against the LORD ."
And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah .
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Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah ,
the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel .
And when the children of Israel heard of it ,
they were afraid of the Philistines .
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So the children of Israel said to Samuel , "
Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us ,
that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines ."
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And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD .
Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel ,
and the LORD answered him .
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Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering ,
the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel .
But the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day ,
and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel .
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And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines ,
and drove them back as far as below Beth Car .
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Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen ,
and called its name Ebenezer ,
saying , "
Thus far the LORD has helped us ."
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So the Philistines were subdued ,
and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel .
And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel .
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Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel ,
from Ekron to Gath ;
and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines .
Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites .
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And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life .
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He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel ,
Gilgal ,
and Mizpah ,
and judged Israel in all those places .
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But he always returned to Ramah ,
for his home was there .
There he judged Israel ,
and there he built an altar to the LORD .
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Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel .
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The name of his firstborn was Joel ,
and the name of his second ,
Abijah ;
they were judges in Beersheba .
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But his sons did not walk in his ways ;
they turned aside after dishonest gain ,
took bribes ,
and perverted justice .
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Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah ,
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and said to him , "
Look ,
you are old ,
and your sons do not walk in your ways .
Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations ."
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But the thing displeased Samuel when they said , "
Give us a king to judge us ."
So Samuel prayed to the LORD .
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And the LORD said to Samuel , "
Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you ;
for they have not rejected you ,
but they have rejected Me ,
that I should not reign over them .
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According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt ,
even to this day--with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing to you also .
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Now therefore ,
heed their voice .
However ,
you shall solemnly forewarn them ,
and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them ."
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So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king .
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And he said , "
This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you :
He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen ,
and some will run before his chariots .
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He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties ,
will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest ,
and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots .
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He will take your daughters to be perfumers ,
cooks ,
and bakers .
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And he will take the best of your fields ,
your vineyards ,
and your olive groves ,
and give them to his servants .
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He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage ,
and give it to his officers and servants .
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And he will take your male servants ,
your female servants ,
your finest young men ,
and your donkeys ,
and put them to his work .
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He will take a tenth of your sheep .
And you will be his servants .
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And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves ,
and the LORD will not hear you in that day ."
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Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel ;
and they said , "
No ,
but we will have a king over us ,
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that we also may be like all the nations ,
and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles ."
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And Samuel heard all the words of the people ,
and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD .
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So the LORD said to Samuel , "
Heed their voice ,
and make them a king ."
And Samuel said to the men of Israel , "
Every man go to his city ."
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There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel ,
the son of Zeror ,
the son of Bechorath ,
the son of Aphiah ,
a Benjamite ,
a mighty man of power .