¹⁴ David said to him, Why were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?

¹⁵ David called one of the young men and said, Go near and fall upon him. And he smote him so that he died.

¹⁶ David said to [the fallen man], Your blood be upon your own head; for you have testified against yourself, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.

¹⁷ David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son,

¹⁸ And he commanded to teach it, [the lament of] the bow, to the Israelites. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar:

¹⁹ Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your high places. How have the mighty fallen!

²⁰ Tell it not in Gath, announce it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

²¹ O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, or fields with offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, as though he were not anointed with oil.

²² From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

²³ Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In their lives and in their deaths they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

²⁴ You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with [other] delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

²⁵ How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

²⁷ How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

2 Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

² There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

³ Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance go forth from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

⁴ The bows of the mighty are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children languishes and is forlorn.

⁶ The Lord slays and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He lifts up.

⁸ He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them.

⁹ He will guard the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked shall be silenced and perish in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them will He thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge [all peoples] to the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to ^[a]His king (King) and exalt the power of His anointed (Anointed ^[b]His Christ).^(A)

¹¹ Elkanah and his wife Hannah returned to Ramah to his house. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

¹² The sons of Eli were base and worthless; they did not know or regard the Lord.

¹³ And the custom of the priests with the people was this: when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the flesh was boiling with a fleshhook of three prongs in his hand;

¹⁴ And he thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh with all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵ Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, Give the priest meat to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.

16 Now I introduce and commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae,

² That you may receive her in the Lord [with a Christian welcome], as saints (God’s people) ought to receive one another. And help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many including myself [shielding us from suffering].

³ Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

⁴ Who risked their lives [endangering their very necks] for my life. To them not only I but also all the churches among the Gentiles give thanks.

⁵ [Remember me] also to the church [that meets] in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was a firstfruit (first convert) to Christ in Asia.

⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked so hard among you.

⁷ Remember me to Andronicus and Junias, my tribal kinsmen and once my fellow prisoners. They are men held in high esteem among the apostles, who also were in Christ before I was.

⁸ Remember me to Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹ Salute Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear Stachys.

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, that one tried and approved in Christ (the Messiah). Remember me to those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet my tribal kinsman Herodion, and those in the Lord who belong to the household of Narcissus.

¹² Salute those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet my dear Persis, who has worked so hard in the Lord.

¹³ Remember me to Rufus, eminent in the Lord, also to his mother [who has been] a mother to me as well.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brethren who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy (consecrated) kiss. All the churches of Christ (the Messiah) wish to be remembered to you.

¹⁷ I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine (the teaching) which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them.

¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites and base desires, and by ingratiating and flattering speech, they beguile the hearts of the unsuspecting and simpleminded [people].

¹⁹ For while your loyalty and obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you well versed and wise as to what is good and innocent and guileless as to what is evil.

²⁰ And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with you.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, wishes to be remembered to you, as do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my tribal kinsmen.

²² I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church here, greets you. So do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus.

²⁴ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with you all. Amen (so be it).

²⁵ Now to Him Who is able to strengthen you in the faith which is in accordance with my Gospel and the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ (the Messiah), according to the revelation (the unveiling) of the mystery of the plan of redemption which was kept in silence and secret for long ages,

²⁶ But is now disclosed and through the prophetic Scriptures is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, [to win them] to obedience to the faith,

²⁷ To [the] only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One)! Amen (so be it).