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 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">The Israelites Punish the Benjamites</div><div class="p"> 1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God&#8217;s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords. 3(The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, &#8220;Tell us how this awful thing happened.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, &#8220;I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel&#8217;s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel. 7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8All the men rose up together as one, saying, &#8220;None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9But now this is what we&#8217;ll do to Gibeah: We&#8217;ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. 10We&#8217;ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah#20:10 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts Geba, a variant of Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.&#8221; 11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.</div><div class="p"> 12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, &#8220;What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. 16Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.</div><div class="p"> 17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.</div><div class="p"> 18The Israelites went up to Bethel#20:18 Or to the house of God; also in verse 26 and inquired of God. They said, &#8220;Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord replied, &#8220;Judah shall go first.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, &#8220;Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord answered, &#8220;Go up against them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.</div><div class="p"> 26Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. 27And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, &#8220;Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The Lord responded, &#8220;Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. 30They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads&#8212;the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. 32While the Benjamites were saying, &#8220;We are defeating them as before,&#8221; the Israelites were saying, &#8220;Let&#8217;s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west#20:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. of Gibeah.#20:33 Hebrew Geba, a variant of Gibeah 34Then ten thousand of Israel&#8217;s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. 35The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.</div><div class="p">Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. 37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. 38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39and then the Israelites would counterattack.</div><div class="p">The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, &#8220;We are defeating them as in the first battle.&#8221; 40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. 41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. 42So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily#20:43 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. 45As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.</div><div class="p"> 46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.</div>
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 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Wives for the Benjamites</div><div class="p"> 1The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: &#8220;Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2The people went to Bethel,#21:2 Or to the house of God where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3&#8220;Lord, God of Israel,&#8221; they cried, &#8220;why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.</div><div class="p"> 5Then the Israelites asked, &#8220;Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord?&#8221; For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah was to be put to death.</div><div class="p"> 6Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. &#8220;Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,&#8221; they said. 7&#8220;How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?&#8221; 8Then they asked, &#8220;Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?&#8221; They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. 9For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.</div><div class="p"> 10So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11&#8220;This is what you are to do,&#8221; they said. &#8220;Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.&#8221; 12They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.</div><div class="p"> 13Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. 14So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.</div><div class="p"> 15The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16And the elders of the assembly said, &#8220;With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,&#8221; they said, &#8220;so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18We can&#8217;t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: &#8216;Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.&#8217; 19But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, &#8220;Go and hide in the vineyards 21and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. 22When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, &#8216;Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.</div><div class="p"> 24At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.</div><div class="p"> 25In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.</div>
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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons</div><div class="p"> 1In the days when the judges ruled,#1:1 Traditionally judged there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2The man&#8217;s name was Elimelek, his wife&#8217;s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.</div><div class="p"> 3Now Elimelek, Naomi&#8217;s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.</div><div class="s1">Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem</div><div class="p"> 6When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.</div><div class="p"> 8Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, &#8220;Go back, each of you, to your mother&#8217;s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10and said to her, &#8220;We will go back with you to your people.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11But Naomi said, &#8220;Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me&#8212;even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons&#8212; 13would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord&#8217;s hand has turned against me!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;Look,&#8221; said Naomi, &#8220;your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16But Ruth replied, &#8220;Don&#8217;t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.&#8221; 18When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.</div><div class="p"> 19So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, &#8220;Can this be Naomi?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;Don&#8217;t call me Naomi,#1:20 Naomi means pleasant.&#8221; she told them. &#8220;Call me Mara,#1:20 Mara means bitter. because the Almighty#1:20 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 21 has made my life very bitter. 21I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted#1:21 Or has testified against me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field</div><div class="p"> 1Now Naomi had a relative on her husband&#8217;s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.</div><div class="p"> 2And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, &#8220;Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Naomi said to her, &#8220;Go ahead, my daughter.&#8221; 3So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.</div><div class="p"> 4Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, &#8220;The Lord be with you!&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;The Lord bless you!&#8221; they answered.</div><div class="p"> 5Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, &#8220;Who does that young woman belong to?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6The overseer replied, &#8220;She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7She said, &#8216;Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.&#8217; She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8So Boaz said to Ruth, &#8220;My daughter, listen to me. Don&#8217;t go and glean in another field and don&#8217;t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, &#8220;Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me&#8212;a foreigner?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Boaz replied, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband&#8212;how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant&#8212;though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14At mealtime Boaz said to her, &#8220;Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.&#8221;</div><div class="p">When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, &#8220;Let her gather among the sheaves and don&#8217;t reprimand her. 16Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don&#8217;t rebuke her.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.#2:17 That is, probably about 30 pounds or about 13 kilograms 18She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.</div><div class="p"> 19Her mother-in-law asked her, &#8220;Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. &#8220;The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,&#8221; she said.</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;The Lord bless him!&#8221; Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. &#8220;He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.&#8221; She added, &#8220;That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.#2:20 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55).&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then Ruth the Moabite said, &#8220;He even said to me, &#8216;Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, &#8220;It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else&#8217;s field you might be harmed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor</div><div class="p"> 1One day Ruth&#8217;s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, &#8220;My daughter, I must find a home#3:1 Hebrew find rest (see 1:9). for you, where you will be well provided for. 2Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don&#8217;t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;I will do whatever you say,&#8221; Ruth answered. 6So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.</div><div class="p"> 7When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned&#8212;and there was a woman lying at his feet!</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Who are you?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;I am your servant Ruth,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer#3:9 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 12 and 13. of our family.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;The Lord bless you, my daughter,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11And now, my daughter, don&#8217;t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. 12Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 13Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, &#8220;No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15He also said, &#8220;Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.&#8221; When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he#3:15 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac she went back to town.</div><div class="p"> 16When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, &#8220;How did it go, my daughter?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17and added, &#8220;He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, &#8216;Don&#8217;t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Then Naomi said, &#8220;Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Boaz Marries Ruth</div><div class="p"> 1Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer#4:1 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 3, 6, 8 and 14. he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, &#8220;Come over here, my friend, and sit down.&#8221; So he went over and sat down.</div><div class="p"> 2Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, &#8220;Sit here,&#8221; and they did so. 3Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, &#8220;Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you#4:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts he will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I will redeem it,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p"> 5Then Boaz said, &#8220;On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the#4:5 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew (see also Septuagint) Naomi and from Ruth the Moabite, you acquire the dead man&#8217;s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6At this, the guardian-redeemer said, &#8220;Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)</div><div class="p"> 8So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, &#8220;Buy it yourself.&#8221; And he removed his sandal.</div><div class="p"> 9Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, &#8220;Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon&#8217;s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, &#8220;We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Naomi Gains a Son</div><div class="p"> 13So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14The women said to Naomi: &#8220;Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17The women living there said, &#8220;Naomi has a son!&#8221; And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.</div><div class="s1">The Genealogy of David</div><div class="p"> 18This, then, is the family line of Perez:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="li1">Perez was the father of Hezron,</div><div class="li1"> 19Hezron the father of Ram,</div><div class="li1">Ram the father of Amminadab,</div><div class="li1"> 20Amminadab the father of Nahshon,</div><div class="li1">Nahshon the father of Salmon,#4:20 A few Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also verse 21 and Septuagint of 1 Chron. 2:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Salma</div><div class="li1"> 21Salmon the father of Boaz,</div><div class="li1">Boaz the father of Obed,</div><div class="li1"> 22Obed the father of Jesse,</div><div class="li1">and Jesse the father of David.</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="1SA.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">The Birth of Samuel</div><div class="p"> 1There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite#1:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 6:26-27,33-35; or from Ramathaim Zuphim. from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.</div><div class="p"> 3Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord. 4Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 6Because the Lord had closed Hannah&#8217;s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8Her husband Elkanah would say to her, &#8220;Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don&#8217;t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don&#8217;t I mean more to you than ten sons?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord&#8217;s house. 10In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11And she made a vow, saying, &#8220;Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant&#8217;s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14and said to her, &#8220;How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;Not so, my lord,&#8221; Hannah replied, &#8220;I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Eli answered, &#8220;Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18She said, &#8220;May your servant find favor in your eyes.&#8221; Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.</div><div class="p"> 19Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,#1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard by God. saying, &#8220;Because I asked the Lord for him.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Hannah Dedicates Samuel</div><div class="p"> 21When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, 22Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, &#8220;After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.&#8221;#1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite&#8212;all the days of his life.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23&#8220;Do what seems best to you,&#8221; her husband Elkanah told her. &#8220;Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his#1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your word.&#8221; So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.</div><div class="p"> 24After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,#1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls an ephah#1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26and she said to him, &#8220;Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.&#8221; And he worshiped the Lord there.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="1SA.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Hannah&#8217;s Prayer</div><div class="p"> 1Then Hannah prayed and said:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;My heart rejoices in the Lord;</div><div class="q2">in the Lord my horn#2:1 Horn here symbolizes strength; also in verse 10. is lifted high.</div><div class="q1">My mouth boasts over my enemies,</div><div class="q2">for I delight in your deliverance.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2&#8220;There is no one holy like the Lord;</div><div class="q2">there is no one besides you;</div><div class="q2">there is no Rock like our God.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3&#8220;Do not keep talking so proudly</div><div class="q2">or let your mouth speak such arrogance,</div><div class="q1">for the Lord is a God who knows,</div><div class="q2">and by him deeds are weighed.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 4&#8220;The bows of the warriors are broken,</div><div class="q2">but those who stumbled are armed with strength.</div><div class="q1"> 5Those who were full hire themselves out for food,</div><div class="q2">but those who were hungry are hungry no more.</div><div class="q1">She who was barren has borne seven children,</div><div class="q2">but she who has had many sons pines away.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6&#8220;The Lord brings death and makes alive;</div><div class="q2">he brings down to the grave and raises up.</div><div class="q1"> 7The Lord sends poverty and wealth;</div><div class="q2">he humbles and he exalts.</div><div class="q1"> 8He raises the poor from the dust</div><div class="q2">and lifts the needy from the ash heap;</div><div class="q1">he seats them with princes</div><div class="q2">and has them inherit a throne of honor.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;For the foundations of the earth are the Lord&#8217;s;</div><div class="q2">on them he has set the world.</div><div class="q1"> 9He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,</div><div class="q2">but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;It is not by strength that one prevails;</div><div class="q2"> 10those who oppose the Lord will be broken.</div><div class="q1">The Most High will thunder from heaven;</div><div class="q2">the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">&#8220;He will give strength to his king</div><div class="q2">and exalt the horn of his anointed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.</div><div class="s1">Eli&#8217;s Wicked Sons</div><div class="p"> 12Eli&#8217;s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord. 13Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest&#8217;s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled 14and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15But even before the fat was burned, the priest&#8217;s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, &#8220;Give the priest some meat to roast; he won&#8217;t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16If the person said to him, &#8220;Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,&#8221; the servant would answer, &#8220;No, hand it over now; if you don&#8217;t, I&#8217;ll take it by force.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord&#8217;s sight, for they#2:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text people were treating the Lord&#8217;s offering with contempt.</div><div class="p"> 18But Samuel was ministering before the Lord&#8212;a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, &#8220;May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to#2:20 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text and asked from the Lord.&#8221; Then they would go home. 21And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 22Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23So he said to them, &#8220;Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord&#8217;s people is not good. 25If one person sins against another, God#2:25 Or the judges may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?&#8221; His sons, however, did not listen to their father&#8217;s rebuke, for it was the Lord&#8217;s will to put them to death.</div><div class="p"> 26And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.</div><div class="s1">Prophecy Against the House of Eli</div><div class="p"> 27Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor&#8217;s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor&#8217;s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites. 29Why do you#2:29 The Hebrew is plural. scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 30&#8220;Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: &#8216;I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.&#8217; But now the Lord declares: &#8216;Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. 31The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, 32and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age. 33Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.</div><div class="p"> 34&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you&#8212;they will both die on the same day. 35I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. 36Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, &#8220;Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="1SA.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">The Lord Calls Samuel</div><div class="p"> 1The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.</div><div class="p"> 2One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called Samuel.</div><div class="p">Samuel answered, &#8220;Here I am.&#8221; 5And he ran to Eli and said, &#8220;Here I am; you called me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But Eli said, &#8220;I did not call; go back and lie down.&#8221; So he went and lay down.</div><div class="p"> 6Again the Lord called, &#8220;Samuel!&#8221; And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, &#8220;Here I am; you called me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;My son,&#8221; Eli said, &#8220;I did not call; go back and lie down.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.</div><div class="p"> 8A third time the Lord called, &#8220;Samuel!&#8221; And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, &#8220;Here I am; you called me.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9So Eli told Samuel, &#8220;Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, &#8216;Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; So Samuel went and lay down in his place.</div><div class="p"> 10The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, &#8220;Samuel! Samuel!&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then Samuel said, &#8220;Speak, for your servant is listening.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11And the Lord said to Samuel: &#8220;See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family&#8212;from beginning to end. 13For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,#3:13 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible and he failed to restrain them. 14Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, &#8216;The guilt of Eli&#8217;s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16but Eli called him and said, &#8220;Samuel, my son.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Samuel answered, &#8220;Here I am.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;What was it he said to you?&#8221; Eli asked. &#8220;Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.&#8221; 18So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, &#8220;He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel&#8217;s words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="1SA.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="p"> 1And Samuel&#8217;s word came to all Israel.</div><div class="s1">The Philistines Capture the Ark</div><div class="p">Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 2The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. 3When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, &#8220;Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord&#8217;s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli&#8217;s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.</div><div class="p"> 5When the ark of the Lord&#8217;s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. 6Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, &#8220;What&#8217;s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?&#8221;</div><div class="p">When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid. &#8220;A god has#4:7 Or &#8220;Gods have (see Septuagint) come into the camp,&#8221; they said. &#8220;Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. 8We&#8217;re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11The ark of God was captured, and Eli&#8217;s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.</div><div class="s1">Death of Eli</div><div class="p"> 12That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.</div><div class="p"> 14Eli heard the outcry and asked, &#8220;What is the meaning of this uproar?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The man hurried over to Eli, 15who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. 16He told Eli, &#8220;I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Eli asked, &#8220;What happened, my son?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17The man who brought the news replied, &#8220;Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led#4:18 Traditionally judged Israel forty years.</div><div class="p"> 19His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 20As she was dying, the women attending her said, &#8220;Don&#8217;t despair; you have given birth to a son.&#8221; But she did not respond or pay any attention.</div><div class="p"> 21She named the boy Ichabod,#4:21 Ichabod means no glory. saying, &#8220;The Glory has departed from Israel&#8221;&#8212;because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, &#8220;The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="1SA.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron</div><div class="p"> 1After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then they carried the ark into Dagon&#8217;s temple and set it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 5That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon&#8217;s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.</div><div class="p"> 6The Lord&#8217;s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors.#5:6 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate tumors. And rats appeared in their land, and there was death and destruction throughout the city 7When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, &#8220;The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.&#8221; 8So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, &#8220;What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?&#8221;</div><div class="p">They answered, &#8220;Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.&#8221; So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 9But after they had moved it, the Lord&#8217;s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.#5:9 Or with tumors in the groin (see Septuagint) 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.</div><div class="p">As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, &#8220;They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.&#8221; 11So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, &#8220;Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it#5:11 Or he will kill us and our people.&#8221; For death had filled the city with panic; God&#8217;s hand was very heavy on it. 12Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="1SA.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">The Ark Returned to Israel</div><div class="p"> 1When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, &#8220;What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3They answered, &#8220;If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4The Philistines asked, &#8220;What guilt offering should we send to him?&#8221;</div><div class="p">They replied, &#8220;Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. 5Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and give glory to Israel&#8217;s god. Perhaps he will lift his hand from you and your gods and your land. 6Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When Israel&#8217;s god dealt harshly with them, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;Now then, get a new cart ready, with two cows that have calved and have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. 8Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to him as a guilt offering. Send it on its way, 9but keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. 11They placed the ark of the Lord on the cart and along with it the chest containing the gold rats and the models of the tumors. 12Then the cows went straight up toward Beth Shemesh, keeping on the road and lowing all the way; they did not turn to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth Shemesh.</div><div class="p"> 13Now the people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting their wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight. 14The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and there it stopped beside a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15The Levites took down the ark of the Lord, together with the chest containing the gold objects, and placed them on the large rock. On that day the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 16The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.</div><div class="p"> 17These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord&#8212;one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. 18And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers&#8212;the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock on which the Levites set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.</div><div class="p"> 19But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy#6:19 A few Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint 50,070 of them to death because they looked into the ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. 20And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, &#8220;Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, &#8220;The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to your town.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="1SA.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="nb"> 1So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab&#8217;s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. 2The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time&#8212;twenty years in all.</div><div class="s1">Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah</div><div class="p">Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 3So Samuel said to all the Israelites, &#8220;If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.&#8221; 4So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.</div><div class="p"> 5Then Samuel said, &#8220;Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.&#8221; 6When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, &#8220;We have sinned against the Lord.&#8221; Now Samuel was serving as leader#7:6 Traditionally judge; also in verse 15 of Israel at Mizpah.</div><div class="p"> 7When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8They said to Samuel, &#8220;Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.&#8221; 9Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel&#8217;s behalf, and the Lord answered him.</div><div class="p"> 10While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.</div><div class="p"> 12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,#7:12 Ebenezer means stone of help. saying, &#8220;Thus far the Lord has helped us.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel&#8217;s territory. Throughout Samuel&#8217;s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. 14The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.</div><div class="p"> 15Samuel continued as Israel&#8217;s leader all the days of his life. 16From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1SA">
 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="1SA.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">Israel Asks for a King</div><div class="p"> 1When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel&#8217;s leaders.#8:1 Traditionally judges 2The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.</div><div class="p"> 4So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5They said to him, &#8220;You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead#8:5 Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20 us, such as all the other nations have.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6But when they said, &#8220;Give us a king to lead us,&#8221; this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7And the Lord told him: &#8220;Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, &#8220;This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle#8:16 Septuagint; Hebrew young men and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19But the people refused to listen to Samuel. &#8220;No!&#8221; they said. &#8220;We want a king over us. 20Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22The Lord answered, &#8220;Listen to them and give them a king.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then Samuel said to the Israelites, &#8220;Everyone go back to your own town.&#8221;</div>
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