Danites Seek Territory

18 ^(A)In those days there was no king of Israel; and ^(B)in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day ^[a]an inheritance had not ^[b]been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. ² So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, ^[c]valiant men from ^(C)Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they came to ^(D)the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and stayed overnight there. ³ When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” ⁴ He said to them, “Micah has done this and that for me, and he has hired me and ^(E)I have become his priest.” ⁵ Then they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” ⁶ And the priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going ^[d]has the Lord’s approval.”

⁷ So the five men departed and came to ^(F)Laish, and saw the people who were in it living in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting; for there was no ^[e]oppressive ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸ When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you say?” ⁹ And they said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you ^[f]sit still? Do not hesitate to go, to enter, to take possession of the land. ¹⁰ When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people with a spacious land; for God has handed it over to you, ^(G)a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.”

¹¹ Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out. ¹² They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place ^[g](H)Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is ^[h]west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³ And they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

Danites Take Micah’s Idols

¹⁴ Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish ^[i]said to their kinsmen, “Do you know that there are in these houses ^(I)an ephod and ^[j]household idols, and a carved image and a cast metal image? Now then, consider what you should do.” ¹⁵ So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked ^[k]him how he was doing. ¹⁶ Meanwhile, the six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, were positioned at the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷ Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there; they took ^(J)the carved image, the ephod, the ^[l]household idols, and the cast metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸ When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, ^[m]household idols, and the cast metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹ And they said to him, “Be silent, ^(K)put your hand over your mouth, and go with us, and be to us ^(L)a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” ²⁰ The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the ^[n]household idols, and the carved image, and went among the people.

²¹ Then they turned and left, and put the children, the livestock, and the valuables in front of them. ²² When they had distanced themselves from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled by command and overtook the sons of Dan. ²³ Then they called out to the sons of Dan, who turned ^[o]around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?” ²⁴ And he said, “You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away; what more do I have? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” ²⁵ Then the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else ^[p]fierce men will attack you, and you will ^[q]lose your life and the lives of your household.” ²⁶ So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

²⁷ Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to ^(M)Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. ²⁸ And there was no one to save them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near ^(N)Beth-rehob. So they rebuilt the city and lived in it. ²⁹ And ^(O)they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was previously Laish. ³⁰ The sons of Dan set up for themselves ^(P)the carved image; and Jonathan, the son of ^(Q)Gershom, the son of ^[r]Manasseh, ^(R)he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹ So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he had made, all the time that the ^(S)house of God was in Shiloh.

A Levite’s Concubine Raped and Killed

19 Now it came about in those days, when ^(T)there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite ^[s]staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. ² But his concubine ^[t]found him repugnant, and she left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and remained there for a period of four months. ³ Then her husband set out and went after her to ^(U)speak ^[u]gently to her in order to bring her back, ^[v]taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he was glad to meet him. ⁴ His father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him, and he remained with him for three days. So they ate and drank and stayed there. ⁵ Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he ^[w]prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “^(V)Strengthen ^[x]yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.” ⁶ So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please ^[y]be so kind as to spend the night, and ^(W)let your heart be cheerful.” ⁷ However, the man got up to go; but his father-in-law urged him, and he spent the night there again. ⁸ Now on the fifth day he got up to go early in the morning, but the girl’s father said, “Please strengthen ^[z]yourself, and wait until ^[aa]late afternoon”; so both of them ate. ⁹ When the man got up to go, along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn ^[ab]to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is ^[ac]coming to an end; spend the night here so that your heart may be cheerful. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey and go ^[ad]home.”

¹⁰ But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite ^(X)Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And with him was a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him. ¹¹ When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and ^(Y)the servant said to his master, “Please come, and let’s turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” ¹² However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; instead, we will go on as far as Gibeah.” ¹³ And he said to his servant, “Come, and let’s approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” ¹⁴ So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ¹⁵ They turned aside there to enter and spend the night in Gibeah. When ^[ae]they entered, ^[af]they sat down in the public square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶ Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from ^(Z)the hill country of Ephraim, and he was ^[ag]staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place ^(AA)were Benjaminites. ¹⁷ And he raised his eyes and saw the traveler in the public square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” ¹⁸ And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to ^[ah]my house, and no one will take me into his house. ¹⁹ Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, and ^[ai]your female slave, and ^(AB)the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” ²⁰ Then the old man said, “^(AC)Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the public square.” ^21 (AD)So he took him into his house and fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

²² While they were ^[aj]celebrating, behold, ^(AE)the men of the city, certain ^[ak](AF)worthless men, surrounded the house, pushing one another at the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who entered your house that we may ^[al]have relations with him.” ²³ Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not act so wickedly. Since this man has come into my house, ^(AG)do not commit this vile sin. ^24 (AH)Here is my virgin daughter and ^[am]the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out, then rape them and do to them ^[an]whatever you wish. But do not commit this act of vile sin against this man.” ²⁵ But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her outside to them; and they ^[ao]raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. ^26 [ap]As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.

²⁷ When her master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸ And he said to her, “Get up and let’s go,” ^(AI)but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his ^[aq]home. ²⁹ When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and ^(AJ)cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb. Then he sent her throughout the territory of Israel. ³⁰ All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, ^[ar](AK)make a plan, and speak up!”

Resolve to Punish the Guilty

20 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one person to the Lord at ^(AL)Mizpah. ² And the ^[as]leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot ^[at]soldiers ^(AM)who drew the sword. ³ (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?” ⁴ So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. ⁵ But the ^[au](AN)citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, ^[av]threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ^(AO)raped my concubine so that she died. ⁶ And I ^(AP)took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for ^(AQ)they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel. ⁷ Behold, all you sons of Israel, ^(AR)give your ^[aw]response and advice here.”

⁸ Then all the people rose up as one person, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us go home. ⁹ But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. ¹⁰ And we will take ten men out of a hundred throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to ^[ax]supply provisions for the people, so that when they come to ^[ay]Gibeah of Benjamin, they may ^[az]punish them for all the vile sin that they have committed in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, ^[ba]united as one man.

¹² Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire ^[bb]tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? ¹³ Now then, turn over the men, the ^[bc](AS)worthless men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and ^(AT)remove this wickedness from Israel.” But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. ¹⁴ Instead, the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. ¹⁵ From the cities on that day the ^(AU)sons of Benjamin were ^[bd]counted, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were ^[be]counted, seven hundred choice men. ¹⁶ Out of all these people seven hundred ^(AV)choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷ Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were ^[bf]counted, four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

Civil War, Benjamin Defeated

¹⁸ Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and ^(AW)inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.”

¹⁹ So the sons of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah. ²⁰ The men of Israel went to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle against them at Gibeah. ²¹ Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and ^[bg](AX)struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel. ²² But the people, the men of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined themselves up on the first day. ²³ And ^(AY)the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and ^(AZ)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall we again advance for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”

²⁴ So the sons of Israel ^[bh]came against the sons of Benjamin on the second day. ²⁵ And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword. ²⁶ Then ^(BA)all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. ²⁷ And the sons of Israel ^(BB)inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸ and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop?” And the Lord said, “Go up, ^(BC)for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”

^29 (BD)So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰ And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and lined up against Gibeah as at other times. ^31 (BE)When the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, they were lured away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the roads (one of which goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah), and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. ³² And the sons of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, like the first time.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let’s flee, so that we may draw them away from the city to the roads.” ³³ Then all the men of Israel rose from their place and lined up at Baal-tamar; ^(BF)and the men of Israel in ambush charged from their place, from Maareh-geba. ³⁴ When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became ^[bi]fierce; ^(BG)but ^[bj]Benjamin did not know that disaster was ^[bk]close to them. ³⁵ And the Lord struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that ^[bl]day, all who drew the sword.

³⁶ So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were ^[bm]defeated. ^(BH)When the men of Israel gave ^[bn]ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, ^37 (BI)the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸ Now the agreed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was ^(BJ)that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. ³⁹ Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, ^(BK)for they said, “Undoubtedly they are ^[bo]defeated before us, as in the first battle.” ⁴⁰ But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked ^(BL)behind them; and behold, the entire city was going up in smoke to heaven. ⁴¹ Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that ^(BM)disaster was ^[bp]close to them. ⁴² Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel to flee in the ^(BN)direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who attacked from the cities were annihilating them in the midst of them. ^43 (BO)They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest, and trampled them down opposite Gibeah toward the ^[bq]east. ⁴⁴ So eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all of these were valiant men. ^45 [br]The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of ^(BP)Rimmon, but they ^[bs]caught five thousand of them on the roads and overtook them ^[bt]at Gidom, and ^[bu]killed two thousand of them. ⁴⁶ So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men. ⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months. ⁴⁸ The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

Mourning a Lost Tribe

21 Now the men of Israel ^(BQ)had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin ^[bv]in marriage.” ^2 (BR)So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and raised their voices and wept ^[bw]profusely. ³ And they said, “Why, Lord, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe is missing today from Israel?” ⁴ And it came about the next day that the people got up early and built ^(BS)an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵ Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not go up to the Lord in the assembly?” For ^[bx]they had taken a solemn oath concerning anyone ^(BT)who did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall certainly be put to death.” ⁶ And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin, and said, “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel! ⁷ What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since we have ^(BU)sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives?”

Provision for Their Survival

⁸ And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. ⁹ For when the people were ^[by]counted, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. ¹⁰ And the congregation sent twelve thousand ^[bz]of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and ^(BV)strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, along with the women and the children. ¹¹ And this is the thing that you shall do: you ^(BW)shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has ^[ca]slept with a male.” ¹² And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by ^[cb]sleeping with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were ^(BX)at the rock of Rimmon, and ^(BY)proclaimed peace to them. ¹⁴ And the tribe of Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had allowed to live from the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they ^[cc]were not enough for them. ¹⁵ And the people were sorry for Benjamin, because the Lord had created a gap in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, “What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since the women have been eliminated from Benjamin?” ¹⁷ And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel. ¹⁸ But we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the sons of Israel ^(BZ)had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin!”

¹⁹ So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in ^(CA)Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” ²⁰ And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, ²¹ and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to ^[cd](CB)take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall seize his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, ‘^[ce]Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin ^[cf]a wife in battle, ^[cg](CC)nor did you give them to them, ^[ch]otherwise you would now be guilty.’” ²³ The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and ^(CD)rebuilt the cities and lived in them. ²⁴ And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his inheritance.

^25 (CE)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days ^(A)when the judges ^[a]governed, that there was ^(B)a famine in the land. And a man ^(C)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab ^[b]with his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they ^(D)entered the land of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. ⁵ Then ^[c]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had ^(E)visited His people by ^(F)giving them food. ⁷ So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to ^[d]your mother’s house. ^(G)May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. ¹⁰ However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that ^(H)they may be your husbands? ¹² Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because ^(I)the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”

Ruth’s Loyalty

¹⁴ And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her ^(J)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May ^(K)the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates ^[e]me from you.” ¹⁸ When ^(L)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

¹⁹ So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(M)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^[f]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ But she said to them, “Do not call me ^[g]Naomi; call me ^[h]Mara, for ^[i](N)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went away full, but ^(O)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and ^[j]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²² So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at ^(P)the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field

2 Now Naomi had ^[k]a relative of her husband, a ^[l]man of great wealth, of the family of ^(Q)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ² And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and ^(R)glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and ^[m]she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “^(S)May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” ⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was ^[n]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶ And the servant ^[o]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “^[p]Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here. ⁹ Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the ^[q]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” ¹⁰ Then she ^(T)fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” ¹¹ Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. ^12 (U)May the Lord reward your ^[r]work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(V)under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” ¹³ Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken ^[s]kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants.”

¹⁴ And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “^[t]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied ^(W)and had some left. ¹⁵ When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ^[u]insult her. ¹⁶ Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ^[v]ephah of barley. ¹⁸ And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and ^(X)gave ^[w]Naomi what she had left after ^[x]she was satisfied. ¹⁹ Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who ^(Y)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” ²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “^(Z)May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative; he is one of our ^(AA)redeemers.” ²¹ Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “^[y]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’” ²² And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field.” ²³ So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until ^(AB)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Boaz Will Redeem Ruth

3 Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek ^[z]security for you, that it may go well for you? ² Now then, is Boaz not ^(AC)our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. ³ Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall ^[aa]take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do.” ⁵ And she said to her, “^(AD)All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ When Boaz had eaten and drunk and ^(AE)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and ^[ab]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ So he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “^(AF)May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all ^[ac]my people in the city know that you are ^(AG)a woman of excellence. ¹² But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I. ¹³ Remain this night, and when morning comes, ^(AH)if he will ^[ad]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to ^[ae]redeem you, then I will redeem you, ^(AI)as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, “^(AJ)Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Again he said, “Give me the shawl that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then ^[af]she went into the city. ¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “^[ag]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She also said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” ¹⁸ Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter ^[ah]turns out; for the man will not rest until he has ^[ai]settled it today.”

The Marriage of Ruth

4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, ^(AK)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, ^[aj]friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. ² Then he took ten men of the ^(AL)elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³ And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land ^(AM)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ So I thought that I would ^[ak]inform you, saying, ‘^(AN)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if ^[al]not, tell me so that I may know; for ^(AO)there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order ^(AP)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ⁶ Then ^(AQ)the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would ^[am]jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.”

⁷ Now this was ^(AR)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel. ⁸ So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so ^(AS)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the ^[an]court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹ And all the people who were ^[ao]in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home ^(AT)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve ^[ap]wealth in Ephrathah and ^[aq]become famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Moreover, may your house be like the house of ^(AU)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the ^[ar]descendants whom the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And ^(AV)the Lord ^[as]enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the ^(AW)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name ^[at]become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you ^[au](AX)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and ^[av]laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷ And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: ^(AY)Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, ²² and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a man from ^(A)Ramathaim-zophim from the ^(B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^(C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² And he had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was ^(E)Hannah and the name of the ^[a]other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now this man would go up from his city ^(F)yearly ^(G)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of armies in ^(H)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. ⁴ When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he ^(I)would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, ^(J)but the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival, moreover, ^(K)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? ^(L)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(M)the ^[b]temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She, ^[c]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she ^(N)made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed ^(O)look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a ^[d]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^(P)a razor shall never come on his head.”

¹² Now it came about, as she ^[e]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, ^(Q)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “^(R)How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ^[f]despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^(S)have poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not ^[g]consider your bond-servant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “^(T)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel ^(U)grant your request that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ She said, “^(V)Let your bond-servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way and ate, and ^(W)her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

¹⁹ Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in ^(X)Ramah. And Elkanah ^[h]had relations with Hannah his wife, and ^(Y)the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ It came about ^[i]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^(Z)Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

²¹ Then the man Elkanah ^(AA)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go until the child is weaned; then I will ^(AB)bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and ^(AC)stay there for life.” ^23 (AD)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do ^[j]what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only ^(AE)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, ^(AF)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull, one ephah of flour, and a jug of wine, and brought him to ^(AG)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. ²⁵ Then ^(AH)they ^[k]slaughtered the bull, and ^(AI)brought the boy to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Pardon me, my lord! ^(AJ)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. ^27 (AK)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request which I asked of Him. ^28 (AL)So I have also ^[l]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is ^[m]dedicated to the Lord.” And ^(AM)he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2 Then Hannah ^(AN)prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his home at ^(BQ)Ramah. ^(BR)But the boy continued to attend to the service of the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^[t](BS)useless men; they did not know the Lord. ^13 (BT)And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ And he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They did so in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before ^(BU)they ^[u]burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “They must ^[v]burn the fat ^[w]first, then take as much as ^[x]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I am taking it by force!” ¹⁷ And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^(BV)treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

¹⁸ Now ^(BW)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy ^(BX)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother would make for him a little ^(BY)robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^(BZ)the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would ^(CA)bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you ^[y]children from this woman in place of the ^[z]one she ^(CB)requested of the Lord.” And they went to their own ^[aa]home.

^21 [ab](CC)The Lord indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^(CD)the boy Samuel grew up ^[ac]before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard about ^(CE)everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with ^(CF)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why are you doing such things as these, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(CG)which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, ^(CH)God will mediate for him; but ^(CI)if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the ^(CJ)Lord desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy ^(CK)Samuel was continuing to grow and to be in favor both with the Lord and with people.

²⁷ Then ^(CL)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(CM)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (CN)Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me? And did I not ^(CO)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why are you ^[ad](CP)showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering ^(CQ)which I have commanded for My ^(CR)dwelling, and why are you ^(CS)honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[ae]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘^(CT)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^(CU)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(CV)who despise Me will be insignificant. ³¹ Behold, ^(CW)the days are coming when I will eliminate your ^[af]strength and the ^[ag]strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will look at ^(CX)the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ^[ah]I do for Israel; and there will never be an ^(CY)old man in your house. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, ^[ai]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the ^[aj]increase of your house will die ^[ak]in the prime of life. ³⁴ And this will be ^(CZ)the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(DA)on the same day both of them will die. ³⁵ But ^(DB)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and ^(DC)I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before ^(DD)My anointed always. ³⁶ And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a ^[al]silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ^[am]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

The Prophetic Call to Samuel

3 Now ^(DE)the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord before Eli. And ^(DF)word from the Lord was rare in those days; ^[an]visions were infrequent.

² But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^(DG)his eyesight had begun to be ^[ao]poor and he could not see well), ³ and ^(DH)the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was, ⁴ that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “^(DI)Here I am.” ⁵ Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ And the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.” ^7 (DJ)Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. ⁸ So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, ^(DK)I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. ¹² On that day ^(DL)I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For ^(DM)I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for ^(DN)the wrongdoing that he knew, because ^(DO)his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and ^(DP)he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^(DQ)the wrongdoing of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^(DR)opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^(DS)the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(DT)May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him ^[ap]everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “^(DU)He is the Lord; let Him do ^[aq]what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ Now ^(DV)Samuel grew, and ^(DW)the Lord was with him, and He ^(DX)let none of his words ^[ar]fail. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(DY)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And ^(DZ)the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, ^(EA)because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Philistines Take the Ark in Victory

4 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside ^(EB)Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in ^(EC)Aphek. ² Then the Philistines drew up in battle formation to meet Israel. When the battle ^[as]spread, Israel was ^[at]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. ³ When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “^(ED)Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? ^(EE)Let’s take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of armies ^(EF)who is enthroned above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord was coming into the camp, ^(EG)all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶ And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. ⁷ So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “^(EH)Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ^9 (EI)Take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, ^(EJ)as they have been slaves to you; so be men and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought and ^(EK)Israel was defeated, and ^(EL)every man fled to his tent; and the defeat was very great, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ¹¹ Moreover, the ark of God was taken; and ^(EM)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with ^(EN)his clothes torn, and ^[au]dust on his head. ¹³ When he came, behold, ^(EO)Eli was sitting on his seat ^[av]by the road keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came to give a report in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^(EP)his eyes were ^[aw]fixed and he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “^(EQ)How are things, my son?” ¹⁷ Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, ^[ax](ER)Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for ^[ay]he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her pains came upon her. ²⁰ And about the time of her death the women who were standing by her said to her, “^(ES)Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ And she named the boy ^[az]Ichabod, saying, “^(ET)The glory has departed from Israel,” because ^(EU)the ark of God had been taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² So she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.”

Capture of the Ark Provokes God

5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and ^(EV)brought it from Ebenezer to ^(EW)Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into ^(EX)the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, ^(EY)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and ^(EZ)set him back in his place. ⁴ But when they got up early the next morning, behold, ^(FA)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; ^[ba]only the torso of Dagon was left. ⁵ For that reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house ^(FB)step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ Now ^(FC)the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and ^(FD)He made them feel devastated and struck them with ^(FE)tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent word and ^(FF)gathered all the governors of the Philistines to them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Have the ark of the God of Israel ^[bb]brought to Gath.” So they took the ark of the God of Israel away. ⁹ After they had taken it away, ^(FG)the hand of the Lord was against the city, creating a very great panic; and He struck the people of the city, from the young to the old, so that ^(FH)tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to ^[bc]us, to kill ^[bd]us and ^[be]our people!” ¹¹ Therefore they ^(FI)sent word and gathered all the governors of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill ^[bf]us and ^[bg]our people!” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; ^(FJ)the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² And the people who did not die were struck with tumors, and ^(FK)the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. ² And ^(FL)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us ^[bh]how we may send it to its place.” ³ And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, ^(FM)do not send it empty; but you shall certainly ^(FN)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.” ⁴ Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold ^(FO)tumors and five gold mice ^(FP)corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of ^[bi]you and on your governors. ⁵ So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and ^(FQ)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps ^(FR)He will lighten His hand from you, ^(FS)your gods, and your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts ^(FT)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, ^(FU)did they not let ^[bj]the people go, and they left? ⁷ Now then, take and ^(FV)prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there ^(FW)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves back home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put ^(FX)the articles of gold which you return to Him as ^(FY)a guilt offering in a saddlebag by its side. Then send it away that it may go. ⁹ But watch: if it goes up by the way of its own territory to ^(FZ)Beth-shemesh, then He has done this great evil to us. But if not, then ^(GA)we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ Then the men did so: they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut in their calves at home. ¹¹ And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the saddlebag with the gold mice and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹² Now the cows went straight in the ^[bk]direction of ^(GB)Beth-shemesh; they went on ^(GC)the same road, bellowing as they went, and did not turn off to the right or to the left. And the governors of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were gathering in their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced at seeing it. ¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and ^(GD)offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ And ^(GE)the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the saddlebag that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the ^(GF)five governors of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.

¹⁷ Now ^(GG)these are the gold tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron; ¹⁸ and the gold mice, corresponding to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five governors, ^(GH)both of fortified cities and of country villages. ^(GI)The large ^[bl]stone on which they placed the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

^19 (GJ)Now He fatally struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰ And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “^(GK)Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom will He go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^(GL)Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to yourselves.”

Israel Saved from the Philistines

7 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord and ^(GM)brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they ^[bm]consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the ark of the Lord. ² From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the ^[bn]time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel ^[bo]mourned after the Lord.

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^(GN)If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^(GO)remove the foreign gods and the ^(GP)Ashtaroth from among you, and ^(GQ)direct your hearts to the Lord and ^(GR)serve Him alone; and He will save you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to ^(GS)Mizpah and ^(GT)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and ^(GU)poured it out before the Lord, and ^(GV)fasted on that day and said there, “^(GW)We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, ^(GX)they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^(GY)Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!” ⁹ Samuel took ^(GZ)a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and ^(HA)the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But ^(HB)the Lord thundered with a great ^[bp]thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^(HC)confused them, so that they were struck down before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as below Beth-car.

¹² Then Samuel ^(HD)took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ^[bq]Ebenezer, saying, “^[br]So far the Lord has helped us.” ^13 (HE)So the Philistines were subdued, and ^(HF)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel ^[bs]recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^(HG)the Amorites.

Samuel’s Ministry

¹⁵ Now Samuel ^(HH)judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ And he used to go annually on a circuit to ^(HI)Bethel, ^(HJ)Gilgal, and ^(HK)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would make his return to ^(HL)Ramah, because his house was there, and there he also judged Israel; and there he ^(HM)built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

8 Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that ^(HN)he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in ^(HO)Beersheba. ³ His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they ^(HP)took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^(HQ)Ramah; ⁵ and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^(HR)appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶ But the matter was ^[bt](HS)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And ^(HT)Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because ^(HU)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them. ⁸ Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well. ⁹ Now then, listen to their voice; ^(HV)however, you shall warn them strongly and tell them of ^(HW)the ^[bu]practice of the king who will reign over them.”

Warning concerning a King

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to ^(HX)the people who had asked him for a king. ¹¹ And he said, “^(HY)This will be the ^[bv]practice of the king who will reign over you: ^(HZ)he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and ^(IA)they will run before his chariots. ^12 (IB)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to ^[bw]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ^14 (IC)He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and ^[bx]use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ Then ^(ID)you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but ^(IE)the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

¹⁹ Yet the people ^(IF)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ^20 (IG)so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, ^(IH)he ^[by]repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. ²² And the Lord said to Samuel, “^(II)Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, every man to his city.”

Saul’s Search

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(IJ)Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a ^[bz]valiant mighty man. ² He had a son whose name was Saul, a ^(IK)young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; ^(IL)from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through ^(IM)the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^(IN)Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^(IO)Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of ^(IP)Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, ^(IQ)or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.” ⁶ But he said to him, “Behold now, there is ^(IR)a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ^(IS)everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, ^(IT)perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is ^(IU)no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will ^(IV)tell us our way.” ⁹ (Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called ^(IW)a seer.) ¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “^[ca]Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the slope to the city, ^(IX)they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered them and said, “He is; ^[cb]see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because ^(IY)the people have a sacrifice on ^(IZ)the high place today. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because ^(JA)he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

God’s Choice for King

¹⁵ Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^(JB)the Lord had ^[cc]revealed this to Samuel, saying, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^(JC)you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^(JD)I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord ^[cd]said to him, “^(JE)Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” ¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind. ^20 (JF)And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And ^(JG)for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” ²¹ Saul replied, “^(JH)Am I not a Benjaminite, of ^(JI)the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ^[ce]tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “^[cf]Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it ^[cg]aside.’” ²⁴ Then the cook ^(JJ)took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ^[ch]since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they came down from the high place into the city, ^[ci]Samuel spoke with Saul ^(JK)on the roof. ²⁶ And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. ²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”

Saul among the Prophets

10 Then ^(JL)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on ^[cj]Saul’s head, ^(JM)kissed him, and said, “Has ^(JN)the Lord not anointed you as ruler over ^(JO)His inheritance? ² When you leave me today, then you will find two men close to ^(JP)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^(JQ)The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has stopped talking about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What am I to do about my son?”’ ³ Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ^[ck](JR)oak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^(JS)to God at Bethel will meet you: one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine. ⁴ And they will ^[cl]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. ⁵ Afterward you will come to ^[cm](JT)the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^(JU)a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and ^(JV)they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then ^(JW)the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and ^(JX)you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. ⁷ And it shall be when these signs come to you, ^(JY)do for yourself what ^[cn]the occasion requires, because ^(JZ)God is with you. ⁸ And ^(KA)you shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(KB)sacrifice peace offerings. ^(KC)You shall wait seven days until I come to you and inform you of what you should do.”

⁹ Then it happened, when he turned his back to leave Samuel, that God ^(KD)changed ^[co]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ^10 (KE)When they came there to ^[cp]the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And it came about, when all who previously knew him saw that he was indeed prophesying with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? ^(KF)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “^(KG)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ Now ^(KH)Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^(KI)To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ So Saul said to his uncle, “^(KJ)He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

Saul Publicly Chosen King

¹⁷ Now Samuel called the ^(KK)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; ¹⁸ and he said to the sons of Israel, “^(KL)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the ^[cq]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But today you ^(KM)have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have ^[cr]said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, ^(KN)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your ^[cs]groups of thousands.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward; and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. ²¹ Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the Matrite family was selected by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was selected by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore ^(KO)they inquired further of the Lord: “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” ²³ So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, ^(KP)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(KQ)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “^[ct](KR)Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people ^(KS)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book, and ^(KT)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. ²⁶ Saul also went ^(KU)to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But certain ^[cu](KV)useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and ^(KW)did not bring him a gift. But ^[cv]he kept silent about it.

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now ^(KX)Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^(KY)Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make ^(KZ)a covenant with us and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, ^(LA)that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and thereby I will inflict ^(LB)a disgrace on all Israel.” ³ So ^(LC)the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Allow us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” ⁴ Then the messengers came ^(LD)to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people ^(LE)raised their voices and wept.

⁵ Now behold, Saul was coming from the field ^(LF)behind the oxen, and Saul said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶ Then ^(LG)the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and ^[cw]he became very angry. ⁷ He then took a yoke of oxen and ^(LH)cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “^(LI)Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out ^(LJ)as one person. ⁸ He ^[cx]counted them in ^(LK)Bezek; and the ^(LL)sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, thirty thousand. ⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “This is what you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they rejoiced. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said, “^(LM)Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good ^[cy]to you.” ¹¹ The next morning Saul put the people ^(LN)in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch, and struck and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “^(LO)Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^[cz](LP)Bring the men, so that we may put them to death!” ¹³ But Saul said, “^(LQ)Not a single person shall be put to death this day, for today ^(LR)the Lord has brought about ^[da]victory in Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to ^(LS)Gilgal and ^(LT)renew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(LU)before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also ^(LV)offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel Addresses Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^(LW)I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^(LX)have appointed a king over you. ² Now, ^(LY)here is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^(LZ)I am old and gray, and ^(MA)my sons are here with you. And ^(MB)I have walked before you since my youth to this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and ^(MC)His anointed. ^(MD)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(ME)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” ⁴ And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” ⁵ So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(MF)you have found nothing ^(MG)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^[db](MH)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, take your stand, ^(MI)so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord that He did for you and your fathers. ^8 (MJ)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(MK)your fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^(ML)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^[dc](MM)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(MN)they forgot the Lord their God, so ^(MO)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^(MP)into the hand of the Philistines, and ^(MQ)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (MR)They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served ^(MS)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(MT)now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent ^(MU)Jerubbaal, ^[dd](MV)Bedan, ^(MW)Jephthah, and ^(MX)Samuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

¹² But when you saw ^(MY)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘^(MZ)No, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^(NA)Yet the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now, ^(NB)behold, the king whom you have chosen, ^(NC)whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has ^[de]put a king over you. ^14 (ND)If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[df]command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But ^(NE)if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^[dg]command of the Lord, then ^(NF)the hand of the Lord will be against you, ^(NG)even as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Even now, ^(NH)take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. ^17 (NI)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(NJ)I will call to the Lord, that He will send ^[dh]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(NK)your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent ^[di]thunder and rain that day; and ^(NL)all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, “^(NM)Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^(NN)this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(NO)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^(NP)useless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. ²² For ^(NQ)the Lord will not abandon His people ^(NR)on account of His great name, because the Lord ^(NS)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³ Furthermore, as for me, ^(NT)far be it from me that I would sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(NU)I will instruct you in the good and right way. ^24 (NV)Only ^[dj]fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^(NW)what great things He has done for you. ^25 (NX)But if you still do evil, ^(NY)both you and your king ^(NZ)will be swept away.”

War with the Philistines

13 Saul was ^[dk]thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for ^[dl]forty-two years over Israel.

² Now Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom two thousand were with Saul in ^(OA)Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while a thousand were with Jonathan at ^(OB)Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent the rest of the people away, each to his tent. ³ And Jonathan attacked ^(OC)the garrison of the Philistines that was in ^(OD)Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul ^(OE)blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ And all Israel heard ^[dm]the news that Saul had attacked the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel ^(OF)had become repulsive to the Philistines. Then the people were summoned ^[dn]to Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and ^(OG)people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of ^(OH)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard-pressed), then ^(OI)the people kept themselves hidden in caves, in crevices, in cliffs, in crypts, and in pits. ⁷ And some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of ^(OJ)Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.

⁸ Now ^(OK)he waited for seven days, until the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him.