Old/New Testament
7 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came, took the Ark of the Lord, and brought it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. Then they consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the Ark of the Lord. 2 So from that day the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim for a long time—twenty years. And the entire house of Israel deeply longed for the return of the Lord.
Samuel Leads Israel to Victory
3 Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, put away the foreign gods and the Ashtartes[a] from among you. Direct your hearts to the Lord and serve him only. Then he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
4 So the people of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtartes and served the Lord only. 5 Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
6 So Israel gathered together at Mizpah. They drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and they said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.”
Samuel acted as judge for the people of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered together at Mizpah, the serens of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the people of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines, 8 and the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out for us to the Lord our God, so that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 As Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to engage in battle with Israel, but on that day the Lord thundered against the Philistines with a loud roar and threw them into a panic, so they were struck down before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down until they arrived at a point below Beth Kar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named that place Ebenezer,[b] saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.”[c] 13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they no longer came into the territory of Israel. The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel. From Ekron all the way to Gath, Israel recovered the territory of those cities from the control of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 Each year he would travel in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places. 17 He then would return to Ramah, where his home was, and he would also judge Israel there. He also built an altar to the Lord there.
Israel’s Request for a King
8 When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They served as judges in Beersheba. 3 His sons did not follow in his footsteps. Instead, they turned aside to seek dishonest gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons are not walking in your ways. Now appoint a king for us so that he can judge[d] us like all the other nations.” 6 But in Samuel’s eyes, their request to receive a king to judge them looked evil, so Samuel prayed to the Lord.
7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding everything they have said to you, because it is not you whom they have rejected. I am the one they have rejected as king over them. 8 This is just like all the actions they have taken from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, right up to this present day. They have forsaken me and served other gods, and now they are also acting the same way toward you. 9 So now listen to them. Nevertheless, warn them strongly and show them what the king who reigns over them will do.”
10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people, who had asked him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who reigns over you will do. He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and with his teams of horses,[e] and they will have to run ahead of his chariots. 12 He will make them serve as commanders of a thousand soldiers and as commanders of fifty. He will assign some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest. He will assign some to make his weapons and the trappings[f] for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to serve as perfume makers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even the best of them, and give them to his officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards, and he will give it to the members of his court and to his officials. 16 He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men,[g] and your donkeys, and he will use them to do his work. 17 He will take a tenth from your flocks, and you will become his servants. 18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”
19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel. Instead they said, “No, we want to have a king over us, 20 so that we also can be like all the nations, and our king can judge us and lead us out to fight our battles.”
21 Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them, and appoint a king for them.”
So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go home to your own city.”
Saul Is Anointed as King
9 From the tribe of Benjamin there was a man whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a strong warrior and influential person.[h] 2 He had a son named Saul, who was an impressive young man. Among the men of Israel there was not a better man than Saul. He was a head taller than all the people.
3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish were lost, so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of our young men with you, and go look for the donkeys.” 4 So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. Then they traveled through the land of Sha’alim[i] but found nothing. Then he traveled through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find the donkeys.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the young man who was with him, “Come on. Let’s go back. If we don’t, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”
6 But the young man said to him, “Wait! In this city there is a man of God, who is highly regarded. Everything he says actually comes true. So let’s go there. Maybe he can tell us which way we should go.”
7 Then Saul said to his young man, “If we go, what should we bring for the man? Look, the bread in our bags is used up, and we do not have a gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?”
8 The young man responded to Saul, “Look here. I have a quarter of a shekel[j] of silver in my hand. I will give that to the man of God to tell us which way we should go.”
9 (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because the man who is now called a prophet used to be called a seer.)
10 So Saul said to his servant, “Good advice. Come on! Let’s go!” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the ascent to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, “Is the seer here?”
12 They answered them, “Yes, he is. He is there just ahead of you. Hurry! He has just come into the city today, because the people are presenting a sacrifice today at the high place. 13 As soon as you come into the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, since the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, those who have been invited will eat. So go up, right now, for this is the time for you to find him.”
14 So they went up to the city. Just as they were coming into the city, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way to the high place.
15 Now the Lord had revealed this to Samuel the day before Saul came. He had told him, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him to be leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I am looking out for my people, because their cry for help has come to me.”
17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “There, that is the man I was talking about! He will exercise authority over my people.”
18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up to the high place ahead of me, because you and your men are to eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and I will tell you everything that is on your heart. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be concerned about them, because they have been found. For who is it that all Israel desires? Isn’t it you and your father’s entire house?”
21 Saul answered, “But I am just a Benjaminite from the smallest of the tribes of Israel. And my family is the least important of all the families in the tribe of Benjamin. So why do you speak to me like this?”
22 Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the dining hall. He seated them at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty men.
23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, the one I told you to set aside.” 24 So the cook picked up the thigh and all the meat that was on it and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Look here, this has been reserved for you! Set it before you and eat, because ever since I said, ‘I have invited the people,’ it has been kept for you for the appointed time.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they had come down from the high place and gone into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the flat roof of the house. 26 They got up early, about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and the two of them, Saul and Samuel, went outside together. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the young man to go on ahead of us.” So the young man went on ahead. Then Samuel said, “You stay here, so that I can tell you God’s message.”
Jesus Is the Christ
18 One time when Jesus was praying alone and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 They answered, “‘John the Baptist,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others say, ‘one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’”
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 He gave them a strict command not to tell this to anyone. 22 He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law. He must be killed and be raised on the third day.”
Take Up the Cross
23 Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 After all, what will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world, but destroys himself or is lost? 26 In fact, whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. 27 I am telling you the truth: There are some standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after he said these words, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 Just then, two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him! 31 They appeared in glory and were talking about his departure,[a] which he was going to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they were completely awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not realize what he was saying.
34 While he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them. They were afraid as they went into the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love.[b] Listen to him!” 36 After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. They kept this secret and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.