¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat^(A) for you.”

¹⁶ The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,^(B) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize^(C) that it was the angel of the Lord.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,^(D) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

¹⁸ He replied, “Why do you ask my name?^(E) It is beyond understanding.^[a]” ¹⁹ Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock^(F) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: ²⁰ As the flame^(G) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.^{(H) 21} When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized^(I) that it was the angel of the Lord.

²² “We are doomed^(J) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen^(K) God!”

²³ But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”^(L)

²⁴ The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.^(M) He grew^(N) and the Lord blessed him,^(O)

The Choosing of the Seven

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,^(A) the Hellenistic Jews^[a](B) among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows^(C) were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.^{(D) 2} So the Twelve gathered all the disciples^(E) together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God^(F) in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters,^(G) choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit^(H) and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them^{(I) 4} and will give our attention to prayer^(J) and the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen,^(K) a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;^(L) also Philip,^(M) Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed^(N) and laid their hands on them.^(O)

⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.^{(A) 6} Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”^{(B) 8} (His disciples had gone into the town^(C) to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan^(D) woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”^(E)

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well^(F) and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.^(G) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water^(H) welling up to eternal life.”^(I)

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty^(J) and have to keep coming here to draw water.”