Samuel’s First Prophecy

3 Now ^(A)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And ^(B)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. ² And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow ^(C)so dim that he could not see, ³ and before ^(D)the lamp of God went out in the ^[a]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, ⁴ that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” ⁵ So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

⁶ Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”

So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ (Now Samuel ^(E)did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ^(F)‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel ^(G)at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day I will perform against Eli ^(H)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13 (I)For I have told him that I will ^(J)judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because ^(K)his sons made themselves vile, and he ^(L)did not ^[b]restrain them. ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house ^(M)shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until ^[c]morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷ And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(N)God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” ¹⁸ Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(O)“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ So Samuel ^(P)grew, and ^(Q)the Lord was with him ^(R)and let none of his words ^[d]fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(S)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been ^[e]established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by ^(T)the word of the Lord.

The Death of Eli

4 And the word of Samuel came to all ^[f]Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside ^(U)Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. ² Then the ^(V)Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was ^[g]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. ³ And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? ^(W)Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, ^(X)who dwells between ^(Y)the cherubim. And the ^(Z)two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. ⁶ Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound 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, ^(AA)“Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. ^9 (AB)Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, ^(AC)as they have been to you. ^[h]Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and ^(AD)Israel was ^[i]defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ Also ^(AE)the ark of God was captured; and ^(AF)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Death of Eli

¹² Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and ^(AG)came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and ^(AH)dirt on his head. ¹³ Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on ^(AI)a seat ^[j]by the wayside watching, for his heart ^[k]trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^(AJ)his eyes were so ^[l]dim that he could not see.

¹⁶ Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.”

And he said, ^(AK)“What happened, my son?”

¹⁷ So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸ Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

Ichabod

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. ²⁰ And about the time of her death ^(AL)the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she ^[m]regard it. ²¹ Then she named the child ^(AM)Ichabod,^[n] saying, ^(AN)“The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

The Glories of the City of God

A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus^(A)

19 So then ^(B)Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. ² And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. ^3 [a]Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they ^(C)struck Him with their hands.

⁴ Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, ^(D)that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”

Pilate’s Decision

⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!”

^6 (E)Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

⁷ The Jews answered him, ^(F)“We have a law, and according to ^[b]our law He ought to die, because ^(G)He made Himself the Son of God.”

⁸ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹ and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” ^(H)But Jesus gave him no answer.

¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have ^[c]power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, ^(I)“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ^(J)the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. ^(K)Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

^13 (L)When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now ^(M)it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

¹⁵ But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered, ^(N)“We have no king but Caesar!”

^16 (O)Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus ^[d]and led Him away.

The King on a Cross^(P)

^17 (Q)And He, bearing His cross, ^(R)went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸ where they crucified Him, and ^(S)two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. ^19 (T)Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁰ Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

²¹ Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

^23 (U)Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴ They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

Therefore the soldiers did these things.

Behold Your Mother

^25 (W)Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of ^(X)Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and ^(Y)the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ^(Z)“Woman, behold your son!” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her ^(AA)to his own home.

It Is Finished

²⁸ After this, Jesus, ^[e]knowing that all things were now accomplished, ^(AB)that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” ²⁹ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and ^(AC)they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. ³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ^(AD)“It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus’ Side Is Pierced

^31 (AE)Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, ^(AF)that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a ^(AG)high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately ^(AH)blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is ^(AI)true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may ^(AJ)believe. ³⁶ For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ^(AK)“Not one of His bones shall be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, ^(AL)“They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb^(AM)

^38 (AN)After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, ^(AO)for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. ³⁹ And ^(AP)Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of ^(AQ)myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰ Then they took the body of Jesus, and ^(AR)bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. ⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So ^(AS)there they laid Jesus, ^(AT)because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.