4. So the people of Israel put away their statues of gods that were named after Baal. They put away their statues of goddesses named after Ashtoreth. They served the Lord only.
5. Then Samuel said, "Gather all of the people of Israel together at Mizpah. I will pray to the Lord for you."
6. When the people had come together at Mizpah, they went to the well and got water. They poured it out in the sight of the Lord. On that day they didn't eat any food. They admitted they had sinned. They said, "We've sinned against the Lord." Samuel was the leader of Israel at Mizpah.
7. The Philistines heard that Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. So the Philistine rulers came up to attack them. When the people of Israel heard about it, they were afraid.
8. They said to Samuel, "Don't stop crying out to the Lord our God to help us. Keep praying that he'll save us from the powerful hand of the Philistines."
9. Then Samuel got a very young lamb. He sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord to help Israel. And the Lord answered his prayer.
10. The Philistines came near to attack Israel. At that time Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He threw them into such a panic that the Israelites were able to chase them away.
11. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah. They chased the Philistines all the way to a point below Beth Car. They killed them all along the way.