healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you."

Then said they, "What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to him?" And they said, "Five golden tumours, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. Wherefore ye shall make images of your tumours, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: and take the ark of Yahweh, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a guilt offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. And see, if it goeth up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us."

And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: and they put the ark of Yahweh upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their tumours. And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along the high way, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh.

And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt offering unto Yahweh.

And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them

on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto Yahweh. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

And these are the golden tumours which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering unto Yahweh; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities and of country villages: even unto the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of Yahweh, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh, even he smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand men: and the people mourned, because Yahweh had smitten the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up from us? And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought again the ark of Yahweh; come ye down, and fetch it up to you." And the men of Kiriathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of Yahweh, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Yahweh.

THE STORY OF SAUL

Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valour. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a young man and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

And the asses of Kish, Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul, his son, "Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses."

And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not, then they passed through the land of Shallim, and there they

were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.

When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, "Come and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us." And he said unto him, "Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honour; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go." Then said Saul to his servant, "But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?" And the servant answered Saul again, and said, “Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way." (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, "Come and let us go to the seer": for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) Then said Saul to his servant, "Well said; come, let us go."

As

So they went unto the city where the man of God was. they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, "Is the seer here? And they answered them, and said, "He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he is come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place: as soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall find him." And they went up to the city, and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.

Now Yahweh had revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, "Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be prince over my people Israel, and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me."

And when Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh said unto him, " Behold

the man of whom I spake to thee! This same shall have authority over my people."

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is." And Samuel answered Saul, and said, “I am the seer; go up before me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me today: and in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for thee, and for all thy father's house?"

And Saul answered and said, "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore then speakest thou to me after this manner? "

And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the guest chamber, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons. And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, 'Set it by thee.'" And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, "Behold that which hath been reserved! Set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept for thee, for I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.

And when they were come down from the high place into the city, he communed with Saul upon the housetop. And they arose early and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, saying, “Up, that I may send thee away." And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.

As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thee still at this time, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God."

Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, " Is it not that Yahweh hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance? When thou art departed from me today, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's

sepulchre, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, 'The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and lo thy father hath left the care of the asses, and taketh thought for you, saying, "What shall I do for my son? Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor, and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine; and they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hand. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall be prophesying: and the spirit of Yahweh will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee."

And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him before time saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, "What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And one of the same place answered and said, "And who is their father?"

Therefore, it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

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

And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, " Whither went ye?" And he said, "To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel." And Saul's uncle said, "Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you." And Saul said unto his uncle, "He told us plainly that the asses