The Prophetic Call to Samuel

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

² But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^(C)his eyesight had begun to be ^[b]poor and he could not see well), ³ and ^(D)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, “^(E)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 (F)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, ^(G)I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. ¹² On that day ^(H)I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For ^(I)I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for ^(J)the wrongdoing that he knew, because ^(K)his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and ^(L)he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^(M)the wrongdoing of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^(N)opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^(O)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. ^(P)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 ^[c]everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “^(Q)He is the Lord; let Him do ^[d]what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ Now ^(R)Samuel grew, and ^(S)the Lord was with him, and He ^(T)let none of his words ^[e]fail. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(U)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And ^(V)the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, ^(W)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 ^(X)Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in ^(Y)Aphek.

Naaman Is Healed

5 Now ^(A)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^[a]in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy. ² Now the Arameans had gone out ^(B)in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she ^[b]waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were ^[c]with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴ And ^[d]Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such.” ⁵ Then the king of Aram said, “Go ^[e]now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and ^(C)took with him ten ^[f]talents of silver, six thousand ^[g]shekels of gold, and ten ^(D)changes of clothes.

⁶ And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, ^[h]which said, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷ But when the king of Israel read the letter, ^(E)he tore his clothes and said, “^(F)Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But ^(G)consider now, and see how he is seeking ^[i]a quarrel against me.”

⁸ Now it happened, when Elisha ^(H)the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “^(I)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, “Behold, I ^[j]thought, ‘He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the ^[k]leprosy.’ ¹² Are ^[l]Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and ^(J)went away in a rage. ^13 (K)Then his servants approached and spoke to him, ^[m]saying, “^(L)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and ^(M)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(N)he was clean.

Gehazi’s Greed

¹⁵ Then he returned to the man of God ^[n]with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold now, ^(O)I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please ^(P)accept a ^[o]gift from your servant now.” ¹⁶ But he said, “^(Q)As surely as the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(R)I will accept nothing.” And he urged him to accept it, but he refused. ¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant be given two mules’ load of ^(S)earth; for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. ¹⁸ Regarding this matter may the Lord forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(T)he leans on my hand and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord please forgive your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹ He said to him, “^(U)Go in peace.” So he went some distance from him.

²⁰ But ^(V)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, ^[p]thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, ^[q]by not accepting from his hand what he brought. ^(W)As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything well?” ²² And he said, “^(X)Everything is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from ^(Y)the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and ^(Z)two changes of clothes.’” ²³ Naaman said, “^(AA)Be sure to take two talents.” And he urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes, and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him. ²⁴ When he came to the ^[r]hill, he took them from their hand and ^(AB)deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. ²⁵ But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “^(AC)Your servant went nowhere.”

²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? ^(AD)Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves? ²⁷ Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your ^[s]descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence ^(AE)afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.

^18 (A)Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to ^[a]Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(B)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to ^[b]marry the wife and raise up ^[c]children for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. ²¹ The second one ^[d]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; ²² and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ^[e]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But ^[f]regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, ^(C)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘^(D)I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ^27 (E)He is not the God ^[g]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

^28 (F)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and ^(G)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[h]foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The ^[i]foremost is, ‘^(H)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; ^30 (I)and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘^(J)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^(K)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; ^33 (L)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^(M)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(N)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

^35 (O)And Jesus responded and began saying, as He ^(P)taught in the temple area, “How is it that the scribes say that the ^[j]Christ is the ^(Q)son of David? ³⁶ David himself said ^[k]in the Holy Spirit,

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And ^(S)the large crowd ^[l]enjoyed listening to Him.

^38 (T)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like ^(U)personal greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, ^40 (V)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive all the more condemnation.”

The Widow’s Coins

^41 (W)And Jesus sat down opposite ^(X)the treasury, and began watching how the ^[m]people were ^(Y)putting ^[n]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large amounts. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two ^[o]lepta coins, which amount to a ^[p]quadrans. ⁴³ Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all ^[q]the contributors to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their ^[r]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, ^[s]all she had ^(Z)to live on.”

Paul Arrives in Rome

¹¹ After three months we set sail on ^(A)an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had ^[a]the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. ¹² After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³ From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ^14 [b]There we found some ^(B)brothers and sisters, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and that is how we came to Rome. ¹⁵ And from there the ^(C)brothers and sisters, when they heard about us, came as far as the ^[c]Market of Appius and the ^[d]Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

¹⁶ When we entered Rome, Paul was ^(D)allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

¹⁷ After three days ^[e]Paul called together those who were ^(E)the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “^(F)Brothers, ^(G)though I had done nothing against our people or ^(H)the customs of our ^[f]fathers, yet I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And when they had ^(I)examined me, they ^(J)were willing to release me because there were ^(K)no grounds ^[g]for putting me to death. ¹⁹ But when the Jews ^[h]objected, I was forced to ^(L)appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I ^[i]requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing ^(M)this chain for ^(N)the sake of the hope of Israel.” ²¹ They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor has any of ^(O)the brothers come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what ^[j]your views are; for regarding this ^(P)sect, it is known to us that ^(Q)it is spoken against everywhere.”

²³ When they had set a day for ^[k]Paul, people came to him at ^(R)his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly ^(S)testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, ^(T)from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. ^24 (U)Some were being persuaded by the things said by Paul, but others would not believe. ²⁵ And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul said one parting statement: “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, ²⁶ saying,

²⁸ Therefore, let it be known to you that ^(Y)this salvation of God has been sent ^(Z)to the Gentiles; they will also listen.”^[p]

³⁰ Now Paul stayed two full years ^[q]in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, ^31 [r](AA)preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ ^(AB)with all openness, unhindered.