1 Samuel 3-5
Christian Standard Bible
Samuel’s Call
3 The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence.(A) In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.(B)
2 One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing,(C) was lying in his usual place. 3 Before the lamp of God had gone out,(D) Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was located.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel,[a] and he answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“I didn’t call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Once again the Lord called, “Samuel!”
Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“I didn’t call, my son,” he replied. “Go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 He told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that will cause everyone who hears about it to shudder.[b](E) 12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.(F) 13 I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are cursing God,[c] and he has not stopped them.(G) 14 Therefore, I have sworn to Eli’s family: The iniquity of Eli’s family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering.”(H)
15 Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” answered Samuel.
17 “What was the message he gave you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that he told you.”(I) 18 So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is good.”(J)
19 Samuel grew.(K) The Lord was with him,(L) and he fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied.[d](M) 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the Lord.(N) 21 The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, because there he revealed himself to Samuel by his word.(O)
4 And Samuel’s words came to all Israel.
The Ark Captured by the Philistines
Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and[e] camped at Ebenezer(P) while the Philistines camped at Aphek.(Q) 2 The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
3 When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord defeat us today before the Philistines?(R) Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it[f] will go with us and save us from our enemies.”(S) 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim.(T) Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.(U)
6 The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp?” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the Lord had entered the camp, 7 they panicked. “A god has entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will rescue us from these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Show some courage and be men, Philistines!(V) Otherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you.(W) Now be men and fight!”
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated,(X) and each man fled to his tent.(Y) The slaughter was severe—thirty thousand of the Israelite foot soldiers fell. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.(Z)
Eli’s Death and Ichabod’s Birth
12 That same day, a Benjaminite man ran(AA) from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn,(AB) and there was dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road waiting,(AC) because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.
14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” The man quickly came and reported to Eli. 15 At that time Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes didn’t move[g] because he couldn’t see.(AD)
16 The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle.[h] I fled from there today.”
“What happened, my son?” (AE) Eli asked.
17 The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate,(AF) and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel forty years.
19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her. 20 As she was dying,[i] the women taking care of her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son!” (AG) But she did not respond or pay attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod,[j] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,”(AH) referring to the capture of the ark of God(AI) and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 “The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “because the ark of God has been captured.”
The Ark in Philistine Hands
5 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer(AJ) to Ashdod,(AK) 2 brought it into the temple of Dagon[k](AL) and placed it next to his statue.[l] 3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord.(AM) So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. 4 But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, Dagon’s head and both of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso remained.[m] 5 That is why, still today, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon’s threshold.
6 The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod.(AN) He terrified(AO) the people of Ashdod and its territory and afflicted them with tumors.[n][o](AP) 7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of Israel’s God must not stay here with us, because his hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon.” 8 So they called all the Philistine rulers together(AQ) and asked, “What should we do with the ark of Israel’s God?”
“The ark of Israel’s God should be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they moved the ark of Israel’s God. 9 After they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against the city of Gath,(AR) causing a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.(AS)
10 The people of Gath then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, “They’ve moved the ark of Israel’s God to us to kill us and our people!” [p]
11 The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together.(AT) They said, “Send the ark of Israel’s God away. Let it return to its place so it won’t kill us and our people!” [q] For the fear of death pervaded the city; God’s hand was oppressing them.(AU) 12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.(AV)
Footnotes
- 3:4 DSS, LXX read called, “Samuel! Samuel!”
- 3:11 Lit about it, his two ears will tingle; Hb obscure
- 3:13 LXX, Old Lat; MT reads them
- 3:19 Lit he let none of his words fall to the ground
- 4:1 LXX reads In those days the Philistines gathered together to fight against Israel, and Israel went out to engage them in battle. They
- 4:3 Or he
- 4:15 Lit his eyes stood; 1Kg 14:4
- 4:16 LXX reads camp
- 4:20 LXX reads And in her time of delivery, she was about to die
- 4:21 = Where Is Glory?
- 5:2 A Philistine god of the sea, grain, or storm
- 5:2 Lit to Dagon
- 5:4 LXX; Hb reads Only Dagon remained on it
- 5:6 LXX adds He brought up mice against them, and they swarmed in their ships. Then mice went up into the land and there was a mortal panic in the city.
- 5:6 Perhaps bubonic plague
- 5:10 DSS, LXX read “Why have you moved... people?”
- 5:11 DSS, LXX read “Why don’t you return it to... people?”
Psalm 23
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
Acts 6
Christian Standard Bible
Seven Chosen to Serve
6 In those days, as the disciples(A) were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.(B) 2 The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation,(C) full of the Spirit(D) and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen,(E) a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch.(F) 6 They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed(G) and laid their hands on(H) them.
7 So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased(I) greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen Accused of Blasphemy
8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from some members of the Freedmen’s Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, and they began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.
11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”(J) 12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; so they came, seized him, and took him to the Sanhedrin. 13 They also presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the law.(K) 14 For we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”(L) 15 And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
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