1 Samuel 1:3

1:3 Year after year ¹  this man would go up from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. It was there that the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, served as the Lord’s priests.

1 Samuel 7:3

7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. ²  Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you ³  from the hand of the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 7:6

7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed ⁴  there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led ⁵  the people of Israel at Mizpah.

1 Samuel 12:10

12:10 Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, ⁶  ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. ⁷  Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.’ ⁸ 

1 Samuel 14:6

14:6 Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene ⁹  for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few.”

1 Samuel 16:2

16:2 Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you ¹⁰  and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

1 Samuel 17:37

17:37 David went on to say, “The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!” Then Saul said to David, “Go! The Lord will be with you.” ¹¹ 

1 Samuel 20:13

20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know ¹²  and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. ¹³  May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father.

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “from days to days.”

[7:3]  ² tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.

[7:3]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.

[7:3]  ³ tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[7:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”

[12:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and said.”

[12:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural). The words “images of” are supplied in both vv. 3 and 4 for clarity.

[12:10]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.

[12:10]  ⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[14:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “act.”

[16:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[17:37]  ¹¹ tn Or “Go, and may the Lord be with you” (so NASB, NCV, NRSV).

[20:13]  ¹² tn Heb “uncover your ear.”

[20:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “in peace.”