8. and said to Samuel, “Don’t stop praying to the Lord our God for us. Ask him to save us from the Philistines.”
9. Samuel took a baby lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He prayed to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered his prayer.
10. The Philistines came closer and closer to fight the Israelites while Samuel offered the sacrifice. But then, the Lord caused a loud clap of thunder to hit near the Philistines. The thunder scared the Philistines, and they became confused, so the Israelites defeated them in battle.
11. The men of Israel ran out of Mizpah and chased the Philistines all the way to Beth Car. They killed Philistine soldiers all along the way.
12. After this Samuel set up a special stone to help people remember what God did. Samuel put the stone between Mizpah and Shen and named the stone “Stone of Help.” Samuel said, “The Lord helped us all the way to this place.”
13. The Philistines were defeated and did not enter the land of Israel again. The Lord was against the Philistines during the rest of Samuel’s life.
14. The Philistines had taken some cities from Israel, but the Israelites won them back. They recovered those cities throughout the Philistine area, from Ekron to Gath. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15. Samuel led Israel all his life.
16. He went from place to place judging the Israelites. Every year he traveled around the country. He went to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and he judged the Israelites in all these places.
17. But Samuel always went back to his home in Ramah. There he built an altar to the Lord and judged Israel.