1 Samuel 7:5

5 And Samuel said, Gather ye all Israel into Mizpah, that I pray the Lord for you (and I shall pray to the Lord for you).

1 Samuel 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 7:5

And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpeh
Not Mizpeh in Gilead, on the other side Jordan, but a city which lay on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, where the tribes met on the account of the Levite's concubine, ( Judges 20:1 ) . This order Samuel gave by messengers sent to the several tribes, or the heads of them, to meet him at this place:

and I will pray for you unto the Lord;
no doubt he prayed for them privately, that the reformation begun might be carried on, and appear to be sincere, and hearty, and general, and universal; but he was desirous that they might appear in a body, and join with him in public prayer for their spiritual and temporal welfare; that they might have true repentance for their sins, reform from them, and have remission of them, and be delivered out of the hands of their enemies.

1 Samuel 7:5 In-Context

3 And Samuel spake to all the house of Israel, and said, If in all your heart ye turn again to the Lord, do ye away alien gods (do ye away foreign, or other, gods), (the) Baalim, and (the) Ashtaroth, from the midst of you; and make ye ready your hearts to the Lord, and serve ye him alone; and (then) he shall deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.

4 Therefore the sons of Israel did away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone. (And so the Israelites did away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.)

5 And Samuel said, Gather ye all Israel into Mizpah, that I pray the Lord for you (and I shall pray to the Lord for you).

6 And they came together into Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out in the Lord's sight; and they fasted in that day, and said, Lord, we have sinned to thee (and said, Lord, we have sinned against thee). And Samuel deemed the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

7 And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel were gathered together in Mizpeh; and the princes of Philistines went up to Israel. And when the sons of Israel had heard this, they dreaded of the face of (the) Philistines. (And the Philistines heard that the Israelites were gathered together in Mizpeh; and the princes of the Philistines came up against Israel. And when the Israelites had heard this, they feared to face the Philistines.)