Israel Defeats the Philistines

Then the men of (A)Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of (B)Abinadab on the hill, and (C)consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

Samuel Judges Israel

So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you (D)return to the Lord with all your hearts, then (E)put away the foreign gods and the (F)Ashtoreths[a] from among you, and (G)prepare your hearts for the Lord, and (H)serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” So the children of Israel put away the (I)Baals and the [b]Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

And Samuel said, (J)“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and (K)I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered together at Mizpah, (L)drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they (M)fasted that day, and said there, (N)“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, (O)“Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

And Samuel took a (P)suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then (Q)Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. (R)But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and [c]drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel (S)took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name [d]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

13 (T)So the Philistines were subdued, and they (U)did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 And Samuel (V)judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 But (W)he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he (X)built an altar to the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 7:3 Images of Canaanite goddesses
  2. 1 Samuel 7:4 Images of Canaanite goddesses
  3. 1 Samuel 7:11 struck them down
  4. 1 Samuel 7:12 Lit. Stone of Help

Job Complains of Violence on the Earth

24 Since (A)times are not hidden from the Almighty,
Why do those who know Him see not His (B)days?

Some remove (C)landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They (D)take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
They push the needy off the road;
All the (E)poor of the land are forced to hide.
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
They (F)spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And (G)huddle around the rock for want of shelter.

Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without (H)clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 (I)The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.
15 (J)The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
(K)Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he [a]disguises his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
(L)They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat [b]consume the snow waters,
So [c]the grave consumes those who have sinned.
20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
(M)He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he [d]preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.

22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet (N)His eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are [e]taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.

25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 24:15 Lit. puts a covering on his face
  2. Job 24:19 Lit. seize
  3. Job 24:19 Or Sheol
  4. Job 24:21 Lit. feeds on
  5. Job 24:24 Lit. gathered up

Introduction and Benediction

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, (A)which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must [a]shortly take place. And (B)He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, (C)who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things (D)that he saw. (E)Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for (F)the time is near.

Greeting the Seven Churches

John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him (G)who is and (H)who was and who is to come, (I)and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, (J)the faithful (K)witness, the (L)firstborn from the dead, and (M)the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him (N)who [b]loved us (O)and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has (P)made us [c]kings and priests to His God and Father, (Q)to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Behold, He is coming with (R)clouds, and every eye will see Him, even (S)they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

(T)“I am the Alpha and the Omega, [d]the Beginning and the End,” says the [e]Lord, (U)“who is and who was and who is to come, the (V)Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

I, John, [f]both your brother and (W)companion in the tribulation and (X)kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 (Y)I was in the Spirit on (Z)the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me (AA)a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, [g]“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches [h]which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned (AB)I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 (AC)and in the midst of the seven lampstands (AD)One like the Son of Man, (AE)clothed with a garment down to the feet and (AF)girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and (AG)hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and (AH)His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 (AI)His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and (AJ)His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 (AK)He had in His right hand seven stars, (AL)out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, (AM)and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And (AN)when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But (AO)He laid His right hand on me, saying [i]to me, “Do not be afraid; (AP)I am the First and the Last. 18 (AQ)I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, (AR)I am alive forevermore. Amen. And (AS)I have the keys of [j]Hades and of Death. 19 [k]Write the things which you have (AT)seen, (AU)and the things which are, (AV)and the things which will take place after this. 20 The [l]mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are (AW)the [m]angels of the seven churches, and (AX)the seven lampstands [n]which you saw are the seven churches.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 1:1 quickly or swiftly
  2. Revelation 1:5 NU loves us and freed; M loves us and washed
  3. Revelation 1:6 NU, M a kingdom
  4. Revelation 1:8 NU, M omit the Beginning and the End
  5. Revelation 1:8 NU, M Lord God
  6. Revelation 1:9 NU, M omit both
  7. Revelation 1:11 NU, M omit “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and,
  8. Revelation 1:11 NU, M omit which are in Asia
  9. Revelation 1:17 NU, M omit to me
  10. Revelation 1:18 Lit. Unseen; the unseen realm
  11. Revelation 1:19 NU, M Therefore, write
  12. Revelation 1:20 hidden truth
  13. Revelation 1:20 Or messengers
  14. Revelation 1:20 NU, M omit which you saw

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