1. So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the lord. They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it.
2. The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the lord had abandoned them.
3. Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
4. So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the lord.