Bible in 90 Days

¹³ And they said to him, No, we will bind you fast and give you into their hand; but surely we will not kill you. So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon [Samson], and the ropes on his arms became as flax that had caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.

¹⁵ And he found a still moist jawbone of a donkey and reached out and took it and slew 1,000 men with it.

¹⁶ And Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain 1,000 men!

¹⁷ And when he stopped speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and that place was called Ramath-lehi [the hill of the jawbone].

¹⁸ Samson was very thirsty, and he prayed to the Lord and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?

¹⁹ And God split open the hollow place that was at Lehi, and water came out of it. And when he drank, his spirit returned and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore [the spring of him who prayed], which is at Lehi to this day.

²⁰ And [Samson] judged (defended) Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.^(A)

16 Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.

² The Gazites were told, Samson has come here. So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, In the morning, when it is light, we will kill him.

³ But Samson lay until midnight, and [then] he arose and took hold of the doors of the city’s gate and the two posts, and pulling them up, bar and all, he put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is before Hebron.

⁴ After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.

⁵ And the lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, Entice him and see in what his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him that we may bind him to subdue him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.

⁶ And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray you, wherein your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound to subdue you.

⁷ And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven fresh, strong gutstrings, still moist, then shall I be weak and be like any other man.

⁸ Then the Philistine lords brought to her seven fresh, strong bowstrings, still moist, and she bound him with them.

⁹ Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he broke the bowstrings as a string of tow breaks when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰ And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies; now tell me, I pray you, how you might be bound.

¹¹ And he said to her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.

¹² So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And the men lying in wait were in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like [sewing] thread.

¹³ And Delilah said to Samson, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me with what you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven braids of [the hair of] my head with the web.

¹⁴ And she did so and fastened it with the pin and said to him, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep and went away with the pin of the [weaver’s] beam and with the web.

¹⁵ And she said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times and have not told me in what your great strength lies.

¹⁶ And when she pressed him day after day with her words and urged him, he was vexed to death.

¹⁷ Then he told her all his mind and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my birth. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.

¹⁸ And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his mind, she went and called for the Philistine lords, saying, Come up this once, for he has told me all he knows. Then the Philistine lords came up to her and brought the money in their hands.

¹⁹ And she made Samson sleep upon her knees, and she called a man and caused him to shave off the seven braids of his head. Then she began to torment [Samson], and his strength went from him.

²⁰ She said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as I have time after time and shake myself free. For Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

²¹ But the Philistines laid hold of him, bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison.

²² But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

²³ Then the Philistine lords gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.

²⁴ And when the people saw Samson, they praised their god, for they said, Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, the ravager of our country, who has slain many of us.

²⁵ And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. So they called [blind] Samson out of the prison, and he made sport before them. They made him stand between the pillars.

²⁶ And Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, Allow me to feel the pillars upon which the house rests, that I may lean against them.

²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women; all the Philistine princes were there, and on the roof were about 3,000 men and women who looked on while Samson made sport.

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, [earnestly] remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, O God, and let me have one vengeance upon the Philistines for both my eyes.

²⁹ And Samson laid hold of the two middle pillars by which the house was borne up, one with his right hand and the other with his left.

³⁰ And Samson cried, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself mightily, and the house fell upon the princes and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.

³¹ Then his kinsmen and all the tribal family of his father came down, took his body, and brought it up; and they buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial place of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel [that is, had defended the Israelites] twenty years.^(B)

17 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

² And he said to his mother, The 1,100 shekels of silver that were taken from you, about which you cursed and also spoke about in my hearing, behold, I have the silver with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be you by the Lord, my son!

³ He restored the 1,100 shekels of silver to his mother, and she said, I had truly dedicated the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will restore it to you.

⁴ So when he restored the money to his mother, she took 200 pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, who made of it a graven image and a molten image; and they were in the house of Micah.

⁵ And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod and teraphim and dedicated one of his sons, who became his priest.

⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

⁷ And there was a young man in Bethlehem of Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there.

⁸ And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place, and as he journeyed he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.

⁹ And Micah said to him, From where do you come? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

¹⁰ And Micah said to him, Dwell with me and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver each year, a suit of clothes, and your living. So the Levite went in.

¹¹ And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man was to Micah as one of his sons.

¹² And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and was in the house of Micah.

¹³ Then said Micah, Now I know that the Lord will favor me, since I have a Levite to be my priest.

18 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no [sufficient] inheritance had been acquired by them among the tribes of Israel.

² So the Danites sent from the whole number of their tribe five brave men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and to explore it, and they said to them, Go, explore the land. They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

³ When they went by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite, and they turned aside there and said to him, Who brought you here? And what do you do in this place? And what have you here?

⁴ And he said to them, Thus and thus Micah deals with me and has hired me, and I am his priest.

⁵ And they said to him, Ask counsel, we pray you, of God that we may know whether our journey will be successful.

⁶ And the priest said to them, Go in peace. The way in which you go is before (under the eye of) the Lord.

⁷ Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they dwelt securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and feeling safe; and there was no magistrate in the land, who might put them to shame in anything or injure them; and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

⁸ The five men came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, What do you say?

⁹ They said, Arise, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very fertile. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go and enter in and possess the land.

¹⁰ When you go, you will come to people [feeling] safe and secure. The land is broad [widely extended on all sides]; and God has given it into your hands—a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth.

¹¹ And there went from there of the tribe of the Danites, out of Zorah and Eshtaol, 600 men armed with weapons of war.

¹² And they went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan [camp of Dan] to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.

¹³ And they passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish said to their brethren, Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, teraphim, a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do.

¹⁵ And they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and saluted him.

¹⁶ Now the 600 Danites with their weapons of war stood at Micah’s gate.

¹⁷ And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered the house and took the graven image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.

¹⁸ And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing?

¹⁹ And they said to him, Be still, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and family in Israel?

²⁰ And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

²¹ So they turned and departed and put the little ones, the cattle, and the baggage in front of them.

²² When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were Micah’s near neighbors were called out and overtook the Danites.

²³ They shouted to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, What ails you, that you come with such a company?

²⁴ And he said, You take away my gods which I made and the priest, and go away; and what have I left? How can you say to me, What ails you?

²⁵ And the men of Dan said to him, Let not your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you and you lose your life with the lives of your household.

²⁶ And the Danites went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

²⁷ And they took the things which Micah had made, and his priest, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and feeling secure, and they smote them with the sword and burned the city.

²⁸ And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no business with anyone. It was in the valley which belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and dwelt in it.

²⁹ They named the city Dan, after Dan their forefather who was born to Israel; however, the name of the city was Laish at first.

³⁰ And the Danites set up the graven image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

³¹ So they set them up Micah’s graven image which he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

19 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was living temporarily in the most remote part of the hill district of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine [of inferior status than a wife] from Bethlehem in Judah.

² And his concubine was untrue to him and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem of Judah and stayed there the space of four months.

³ Then her husband arose and went after her to speak kindly to her [to her heart] and to bring her back, having with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house, and when her father saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

⁴ And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, [insistently] detained him, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank, and he lodged there.

⁵ On the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and the [Levite] prepared to leave, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread and afterward go your way.

⁶ So both men sat down and ate and drank together, and the girl’s father said to the man, Consent to stay all night and let your heart be merry.

⁷ And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again.

⁸ And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the girl’s father said, Strengthen your heart and tarry until toward evening. So they ate, both of them.

⁹ And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, I pray you stay all night. Behold, now the day grows to an end, lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow get early on your way and go home.

¹⁰ But the man would not stay that night; so he rose up and departed and came opposite to Jebus, which is Jerusalem. With him were two saddled donkeys [and his servant] and his concubine.

¹¹ When they were near Jebus, it was late, and the servant said to his master, Come I pray, and let us turn into this Jebusite city and lodge in it.

¹² His master said to him, We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.

¹³ And he said to his servant, Come and let us go to one of these places and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.

¹⁴ So they passed on and went their way, and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin,

¹⁵ And they turned aside there to go in and lodge at Gibeah. And the Levite went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no man took them into his house to spend the night.

¹⁶ And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. He was from the hill country of Ephraim but was living temporarily in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites.

¹⁷ And when he looked up, he saw the wayfarer in the city square, and the old man said, Where are you going? And from where did you come?

¹⁸ The Levite replied, We are passing from Bethlehem of Judah to the rear side of the hill country of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem of Judah, but I am [now] going [home] to the house of the Lord [where I serve], and there is no man who receives me into his house.

¹⁹ Yet we have both straw and provender for our donkeys and bread and wine also for me, your handmaid, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.

²⁰ And the old man said, Peace be to you, but leave all your wants to me; only do not lodge in the street.

²¹ So he brought him into his house and gave provender to the donkeys. And the guests washed their feet and ate and drank.

²² Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, beset the house round about, beat on the door, and said to the master of the house, the old man, Bring forth the man who came to your house, that we may have intercourse with him.

²³ And the man, the master of the house, went out and said to them, No, my kinsmen, I pray you, do not act so wickedly; seeing that this man is my guest, do not do this [wicked] folly.

²⁴ Behold, here are my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine; them I will bring out now; debase them and do with them what seems good to you, but to this man do not so vile a thing.

²⁵ But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and forced her forth to them, and they had intercourse with her and abused her all the night until morning. And when the dawn began to break, they let her go.

²⁶ At daybreak the woman came and fell down and lay at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.

²⁷ And her master rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way; and behold, his concubine had fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

²⁸ And he said to her, Up, and let us be going. But there was no answer [for she was dead]. Then he put her [body] upon the donkey, and the man rose up and went home.

²⁹ And when he came into his house, he took a knife, and took hold of his dead concubine and divided her [body] limb by limb into twelve pieces and sent her [body] throughout all the territory of Israel.

³⁰ And all who saw it said, There was no such deed done or seen from the day that the Israelites came up out of the land of Egypt to this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak [your minds].

20 Then all the Israelites came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah, from Dan even to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead.

² And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot who drew the sword.

³ (Now the Benjamites [among whom the vile tragedy occurred] heard that the [other] Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) There the Israelites asked, How did this wickedness happen?

⁴ And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, replied, I came to Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.

⁵ And the men of Gibeah rose against me and beset the house round about me by night; they meant to kill me and they raped my concubine, and she is dead.

⁶ And I took my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and [wicked] folly in Israel.

⁷ Behold, you Israelites, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.

⁸ And all the people arose as one man, saying, Not any of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his home.

⁹ But now this we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it,

¹⁰ And we will take ten men of 100 throughout all the tribes of Israel, and 100 of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000, to bring provisions for the men, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin they may do to them according to all the [wicked] folly which they have committed in Israel.

¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.

¹² And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that has been done among you?

¹³ Now therefore, give up the men [involved], the base fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and put away evil from Israel. But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their kinsmen the Israelites.

¹⁴ But the Benjamites out of the cities assembled at Gibeah to go out to battle against the other Israelites.

¹⁵ And the Benjamites mustered out of their cities at that time 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men.

¹⁶ Among all these were 700 chosen left-handed men; every one could sling stones at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷ And the men of Israel, other than Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.

¹⁸ The Israelites arose and went up to the house of God [Bethel] and asked counsel of God and said, Which of us shall take the lead to battle against the Benjamites? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first.

¹⁹ Then the Israelites rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.

²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin and set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.

²¹ The Benjamites came forth out of Gibeah and felled to the ground that day 22,000 men of the Israelites.

²² But the people, the men of Israel, took courage and strengthened themselves and again set their battle line in the same place where they formed it the first day.

²³ And the Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening and asked of the Lord, Shall we go up again to battle against our brethren the Benjamites? And the Lord said, Go up against them.

²⁴ So the Israelites came near against the Benjamites the second day.

²⁵ And Benjamin went forth out of Gibeah against them the second day and felled to the ground the Israelites again, 18,000 men, all of whom were swordsmen.

²⁶ Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up and came to the house of God [Bethel] and wept; and they sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

²⁷ And the Israelites inquired of the Lord—for the ark of the covenant of God was there [at Bethel] in those days,

²⁸ And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days—saying, Shall we yet again go out to battle against our brethren the Benjamites or shall we quit? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.

²⁹ So Israel set men in ambush round about Gibeah.

³⁰ And the Israelites went up against the Benjamites on the third day and set themselves in array against Gibeah as at other times.

³¹ And the Benjamites went out against their army and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill some of the people as at other times, in the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country—about thirty men of Israel.

³² And the Benjamites said, They are routed before us as at first. But the Israelites said, Let us flee and draw them from the city to the highways.

³³ And all the men of Israel rose out of their places and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar, and the men of Israel in ambush rushed out of their place in the meadow of Geba.

³⁴ And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard; but the Benjamites did not know disaster was close upon them.

³⁵ And the Lord overcame Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites destroyed of the Benjamites that day 25,100 men, all of whom were swordsmen.

³⁶ So the Benjamites saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to the Benjamites, because they trusted in the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.

³⁷ And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah, and the liers-in-wait moved out and smote all the city with the sword.

³⁸ Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke arise from the city,

³⁹ The men of Israel should all turn back in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to smite and kill some of the men of Israel, about thirty persons. They said, Surely they are falling before us as in the first battle.

⁴⁰ But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the heavens.

⁴¹ When the men of Israel turned back again, the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that disaster had come upon them.

⁴² Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel and fled toward the wilderness, but the battle followed close behind and overtook them; and the inhabitants of the cities destroyed those [Benjamites] who came through them in their midst.

⁴³ They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and overtook and trod them down at their resting-place as far as opposite Gibeah toward the east.

⁴⁴ And there fell 18,000 men of Benjamin, all of them men of valor.

⁴⁵ And [the Benjamites] turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel picked off on the highways 5,000 men of them; they pursued hard after them to Gidom and slew 2,000 more of them.

⁴⁶ So that all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor.

⁴⁷ But 600 men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock Rimmon and remained at the rock Rimmon four months.

⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned back against the Benjamites and smote them with the sword, men and beasts and all that they found. Also they set on fire all the towns to which they came.

21 Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, None of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.

² And the Israelites came to the house of God [Bethel] and sat there until evening before God and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.^(C)

³ And they said, O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?

⁴ And next morning the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵ And the Israelites said, Which among all the tribes of Israel did not come up with the assembly to the Lord? For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely die.

⁶ And the Israelites changed their purpose [and had compassion] for the Benjamites their kinsmen and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel today.

⁷ What shall we do for wives for those who are left, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters as wives?

⁸ And they said, Which one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord? And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.

⁹ For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the citizens of Jabesh-gilead was there.

¹⁰ And the congregation sent there 12,000 of the bravest men, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword, also the women and the little ones.

¹¹ And this is what you shall do; utterly destroy every male and every woman who is not a virgin.

¹² And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins, who had known no man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³ And the whole congregation sent word to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon and invited them to be friendly with them.

¹⁴ And Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; and yet there were not enough for them.

¹⁵ And the people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin are destroyed?

¹⁷ And they said, There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe shall not be wiped out of Israel.

¹⁸ But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, for the Israelites have sworn, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

¹⁹ So they said, Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and south of Lebonah.

²⁰ So they commanded the Benjamites, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

²¹ And watch; if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and catch every man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.

²² And when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, we will say to them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we did not reserve a wife for each of them in battle, neither did you give wives to them, for that would have made you guilty [of breaking your oath].

²³ And the Benjamites did so and took wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off; then they went and returned to their inheritance and repaired the towns and dwelt in them.

²⁴ And the Israelites left there then, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

²⁵ In those days ^[a]there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem of Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons.

² The man’s name was Elimelech and his wife’s name was Naomi and his two sons were named Mahlon [invalid] and Chilion [pining]; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. They went to the country of Moab and continued there.

³ But Elimelech, who Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.

⁴ And they took wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They dwelt there about ten years;

⁵ And Mahlon and Chilion died also, both of them, so the woman was bereft of her two sons and her husband.

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in Moab how the Lord had visited His people in giving them food.

⁷ So she left the place where she was, her two daughters-in-law with her, and they started on the way back to Judah.

⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.

⁹ The Lord grant that you may find a home and rest, each in the house of her husband! Then she kissed them and they wept aloud.

¹⁰ And they said to her, No, we will return with you to your people.

¹¹ But Naomi said, Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that may become your husbands?

¹² Turn back, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband tonight and should bear sons,

¹³ Would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; it is far more bitter for me than for you that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.

¹⁴ Then they wept aloud again; and Orpah ^[b]kissed her mother-in-law [good-bye], but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.

¹⁶ And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. ^[c]Your people shall be my people and your God my God.

¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said no more.

¹⁹ So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred about them, and said, Is this Naomi?

²⁰ And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

²¹ I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?

²² So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

2 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

² And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. Naomi said to her, Go, my daughter.

³ And [Ruth] went and gleaned in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴ And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you! And they answered him, The Lord bless you!

⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose maiden is this?

⁶ And the servant set over the reapers answered, She is the Moabitish girl who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

⁷ And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued from early morning until now, except when she rested a little in the house.

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maidens.

⁹ Watch which field they reap, and follow them. Have I not charged the young men not to molest you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.

¹⁰ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner?

¹¹ And Boaz said to her, I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people unknown to you before.

¹² The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge!

¹³ Then she said, Let me find favor in your sight, my lord. For you have comforted me and have spoken to the heart of your maidservant, though I am not as one of your maidservants.

¹⁴ And at mealtime Boaz said to her, Come here and eat of the bread and dip your morsel in the sour wine [mixed with oil]. And she sat beside the reapers; and he passed her some parched grain, and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left [for Naomi].

¹⁵ And when she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.

¹⁶ And let fall some handfuls for her on purpose and let them lie there for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned. It was about an ephah of barley.

¹⁸ And she took it up and went into the town; she showed her mother-in-law what she had gleaned, and she also brought forth and gave her the food she had reserved after she was satisfied.

¹⁹ And her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you. So [Ruth] told [her], The name of him with whom I worked today is Boaz.

²⁰ And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord who has not ceased his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is a near relative of ours, one who has the right to redeem us.^(D)

²¹ And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Stay close to my young men until they have harvested my entire crop.

²² And Naomi said to Ruth, It is good, my daughter, for you to go out with his maidens, lest in any other field you be molested.

²³ So she kept close to the maidens of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, My daughter, shall I not seek rest or a home for you, that you may prosper?

² And now is not Boaz, with whose maidens you were, our relative? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

³ Wash and anoint yourself therefore, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

⁴ But when he lies down, notice the place where he lies; then go and uncover his feet and lie down. And he will tell you what to do.

⁵ And Ruth said to her, All that you say to me I will do.

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had told her.

⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then [Ruth] came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

⁸ At midnight the man was startled, and he turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!

⁹ And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth your maidservant. Spread your wing [of protection] over your maidservant, for you are a next of kin.

¹⁰ And he said, Blessed be you of the Lord, my daughter. For you have made this last loving-kindness greater than the former, for you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

¹¹ And now, my daughter, fear not. I will do for you all you require, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of strength (worth, bravery, capability).

¹² It is true that I am your near kinsman; however, there is a kinsman nearer than I.

¹³ Remain tonight, and in the morning if he will perform for you the part of a kinsman, good; let him do it. But if he will not do the part of a kinsman for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will do the part of a kinsman for you. Lie down until the morning.

¹⁴ And she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another; for he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.

¹⁵ Also he said, Bring the mantle you are wearing and hold it. So [Ruth] held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and laid it on her. And she went into the town.

¹⁶ And when she came home, her mother-in-law said, How have you fared, my daughter? And Ruth told her all that the man had done for her.

¹⁷ And she said, He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said to me, Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.

¹⁸ Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he finishes the matter today.

4 Then Boaz went up to the city’s gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken came by. He said to him, Ho! Turn aside and sit down here. So he turned aside and sat down.

² And Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit down here. And they sat down.

³ And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has returned from the country of Moab, has sold the parcel of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.

⁴ And I thought to let you hear of it, saying, Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then say so, that I may know; for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I am [next of kin] after you. And he said, I will redeem it.

⁵ Then Boaz said, The day you buy the field of Naomi, you must buy also Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the dead man, to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance.

⁶ And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest [by marrying a Moabitess] I endanger my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.^(E)

⁷ Now formerly in Israel this was the custom concerning redeeming and exchanging. To confirm a transaction, a man pulled off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the way of attesting in Israel.

⁸ Therefore, when the kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself, he pulled off his sandal.

⁹ And Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s from the hand of Naomi.

¹⁰ Also Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his birthplace. You are witnesses this day.

¹¹ And all the people at the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the household of Israel. May you do worthily and get wealth (power) in Ephratah and be famous in Bethlehem.

¹² And let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord caused her to conceive, and she bore a son.

¹⁴ And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, Who has not left you this day without a close kinsman, and may his name be famous in Israel.

¹⁵ And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher and supporter in your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse.

¹⁷ And her neighbor women gave him a name, saying, A son is born to Naomi. They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David [the ancestor of Jesus Christ].

¹⁸ Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,

¹⁹ Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab,

²⁰ Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon,

²¹ Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed,

²² Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David [the ancestor of Jesus Christ].

1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, named Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

² He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ This man went from his city year by year to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were the Lord’s priests.

⁴ When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give to Peninnah his wife and all her sons and daughters portions [of the sacrificial meat].

⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children.

⁶ [This embarrassed and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless.

⁷ So it was year after year; whenever Hannah went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah provoked her, so she wept and did not eat.

⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you cry? And why do you not eat? And why are you grieving? Am I not more to you than ten sons?

⁹ So Hannah rose after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside a post of the temple (tent) of the Lord.

¹⁰ And [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly.

¹¹ She vowed, saying, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and [earnestly] remember, and not forget Your handmaid but will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all his life; no razor shall touch his head.

¹² And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth.

¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you.

¹⁵ But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.^(F)

¹⁶ Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.

¹⁷ Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.

¹⁸ Hannah said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So [she] went her way and ate, her countenance no longer sad.

¹⁹ The family rose early the next morning, worshiped before the Lord, and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and in due time bore a son and named him Samuel [heard of God], Because, she said, I have asked him of the Lord.

²¹ And Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.

²² But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there as long as he lives.

²³ Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems best to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish His word. So Hannah remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

²⁴ When she had ^[d]weaned him, she took him with her, with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin bottle of wine [to pour over the burnt offering for a sweet odor], and brought Samuel to the Lord’s house in Shiloh. The child was growing.

²⁵ Then they slew the bull, and brought the child to Eli.

²⁶ Hannah said, Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here praying to the Lord.

²⁷ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted my petition made to Him.

²⁸ Therefore I have given him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is given to the Lord. And they worshiped the Lord there.

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 ^[e]His king (King) and exalt the power of His anointed (Anointed ^[f]His Christ).^(G)

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 And if the man said to him, Let them burn the fat first, and then you may take as much as you want, the priest’s servant would say, No! Give it to me now or I will take it by force.

¹⁷ So the sin of the [two] young men was very great before the Lord, for they despised the offering of the Lord.

¹⁸ But Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.

¹⁹ Moreover, his mother made him a little robe and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰ And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, May the Lord give you children by this woman for the gift she asked for and gave to the Lord. Then they would go to their own home.

²¹ And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

²² Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

²³ And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.

²⁴ No, my sons; it is no good report which I hear the Lord’s people spreading abroad.

²⁵ If one man wrongs another, God will mediate for him; but if a man wrongs the Lord, who shall intercede for him? Yet they did not listen to their father, for it was the Lord’s will to slay them.

²⁶ Now the boy Samuel grew and was in favor both with the Lord and with men.

²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus has the Lord said: I plainly revealed Myself to the house of your father [forefather Aaron] when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house.

²⁸ Moreover, I selected him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer on My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me. And I gave [from then on] to the house of your father [forefather] all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.

²⁹ Why then do you kick [trample upon, treat with contempt] My sacrifice and My offering which I commanded, and honor your sons above Me by fattening yourselves upon the choicest part of every offering of My people Israel?