⁵ She lived under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

⁸ Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and the name of it was called Allon Bacuth.

¹⁵ Thus says Yahweh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.

² Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, Of what city are you? He said, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.

³ Absalom said to him, Behold, your matters are good and right; but there is no man deputized of the king to hear you.

⁴ Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!

⁵ It was so, that when any man came near to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.

⁶ In this manner Absalom did to all Israel who came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

¹ Samuel died; and all Israel gathered themselves together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

¹⁶ When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

¹⁷ These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering to Yahweh: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

¹⁹ They rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before Yahweh, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Yahweh remembered her.

¹ Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

²⁵ Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,

²² and Beth Arabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,

² and it went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the Archites to Ataroth;

⁸ If there arise a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then shall you arise, and go up to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose;

⁹ and you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days: and you shall inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment.

¹⁰ You shall do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show you from that place which Yahweh shall choose; and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:

¹¹ according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.

¹² The man who does presumptuously, in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before Yahweh your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die: and you shall put away the evil from Israel.

²⁶ They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard causes to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

¹⁹ Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.

¹⁶ When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws."

¹³ It happened on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening.