⁹ But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(A)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(B) Tamar,^(C) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(D) until my son Shelah^(E) grows up.”^(F) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(G) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(H) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(I) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(J) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(K) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(L) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(M) covered herself with a veil^(N) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(O) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(P) For she saw that, though Shelah^(Q) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,^(R) for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing^(S) that she was his daughter-in-law,^(T) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”^(U)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”^(V) she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat^(W) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge^(X) until you send it?” she asked.

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim,^(A) a Zuphite^[a](B) from the hill country^(C) of Ephraim,^(D) whose name was Elkanah^(E) son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² He had two wives;^(F) one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ Year after year^(G) this man went up from his town to worship^(H) and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh,^(I) where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli,^(J) were priests of the Lord. ⁴ Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice,^(K) he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.^{(L) 5} But to Hannah he gave a double portion^(M) because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.^{(N) 6} Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.^{(O) 7} This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.^{(P) 8} Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?^(Q)”

⁹ Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house.^{(R) 10} In her deep anguish^(S) Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow,^(T) saying, “Lord Almighty^(U), if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember^(V) me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life,^(W) and no razor^(X) will ever be used on his head.”

¹² As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

¹⁵ “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled.^(Y) I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring^(Z) out my soul to the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”^(AA)

¹⁷ Eli answered, “Go in peace,^(AB) and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.^(AC)”

¹⁸ She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.^(AD)” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.^(AE)

¹⁹ Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.^(AF) Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered^(AG) her. ²⁰ So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.^(AH) She named^(AI) him Samuel,^[b](AJ) saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

²¹ When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual^(AK) sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,^{(AL) 22} Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present^(AM) him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”^[c]

²³ “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good^(AN) his^[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned^(AO) him.

²⁴ After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[e](AP) an ephah^[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵ When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶ and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed^(AQ) for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life^(AR) he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

The Future Glory of Zion

⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers^(A) and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners^(B) and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good,^(C) and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend^(D)?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(E)

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”^(F)

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.^(A) So the next day he released him^(B) and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin^(C) to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin^(D) and said, “My brothers,^(E) I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience^(F) to this day.” ² At this the high priest Ananias^(G) ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.^{(H) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^(I) You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”^(J)

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵ Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’^[a]”^(K)

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees^(L) and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers,^(M) I am a Pharisee,^(N) descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”^{(O) 7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,^(P) and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

⁹ There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(Q) stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”^(R) they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^{(S) 10} The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.^(T)

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!^(U) As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”^(V)