Naomi and Ruth

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name 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.

       Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

       When she heard in Moab that THE LORD had come to the aid of HIS people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With 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.

       Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May THE LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May THE LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."

       Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."

       But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me--even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons--would 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'S hand has gone out against me!"

       At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.

       "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

       But Ruth replied, "Don'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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May THE LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

       So 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, "Can this be Naomi?"

       "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because THE ALMIGHTY has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but THE LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? THE LORD has afflicted me; THE ALMIGHTY has brought misfortune upon me."

       So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

The Book of Ruth: chapter 1

Ruth Meets Boaz

   Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.

       And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor."

       Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

       Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "THE LORD be with you!"

       "THE LORD bless you!" they called back.

       Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"

       The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."

       So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."

       At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me--a foreigner?"

       Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband--how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May 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."

       "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant--though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."

       At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."

       When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."

       So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She 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.

       Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!"

       Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.

       "THE LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."

       Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "

       Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."

       So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

The Book of Ruth: chapter 2

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

   One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When 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."

       "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

       When 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. In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.

       "Who are you?" he asked.

       "I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer."

       "THE LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as THE LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."

       So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor."

       He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went back to town.

       When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?"

       Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, "He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.' "

       Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

The Book of Ruth: chapter 3

Boaz Marries Ruth

   Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.

       Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I 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 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."

       "I will redeem it," he said.

       Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."

       At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."

       (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.)

       So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.

       Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon'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 the town records. Today you are witnesses!"

       Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May THE LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring THE LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

The Book of Ruth: chapter 4, verses 1 - 12

The Genealogy of David

       So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and THE LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to THE LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He 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."

       Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

       This, then, is the family line of Perez:

   Perez was the father of Hezron,

   Hezron the father of Ram,

   Ram the father of Amminadab,

   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,

   Salmon the father of Boaz,

   Boaz the father of Obed,

   Obed the father of Jesse,

   and Jesse the father of David.

The Book of Ruth: chapter 4, verses 13 - 22

The Birth of Samuel

   There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite 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. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

       Year 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. Whenever 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. But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and THE LORD had closed her womb. And because THE LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This 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. Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

       Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of THE LORD'S temple. In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to THE LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD ALMIGHTY, if YOU will only look upon YOUR servant'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."

       As she kept on praying to THE LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

       "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "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. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

       Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may THE GOD OF ISRAEL grant you what you have asked of HIM."

       She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

       Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before THE LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and THE LORD remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked THE LORD for him."

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 1, verses 1 - 20

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

       When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to THE LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before THE LORD, and he will live there always."

       "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may THE LORD make good HIS word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

       After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of THE LORD at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to THE LORD. I prayed for this child, and THE LORD has granted me what I asked of HIM. So now I give him to THE LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to THE LORD." And he worshiped THE LORD there.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 1, verses 21 - 28

Hannah's Prayer

Then Hannah prayed and said:

       "My heart rejoices in THE LORD;

          in THE LORD my horn is lifted high.

       My mouth boasts over my enemies,

          for I delight in YOUR deliverance.

       "There is no one holy like THE LORD;

          there is no one besides YOU;

          there is no Rock like our GOD.

       "Do not keep talking so proudly

          or let your mouth speak such arrogance,

       for THE LORD is a GOD who knows,

          and by HIM deeds are weighed.

       "The bows of the warriors are broken,

          but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

       Those who were full hire themselves out for food,

          but those who were hungry hunger no more.

       She who was barren has borne seven children,

          but she who has had many sons pines away.

       "THE LORD brings death and makes alive;

          HE brings down to the grave and raises up.

       THE LORD sends poverty and wealth;

          HE humbles and HE exalts.

       HE raises the poor from the dust

          and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

       HE seats them with princes

          and has them inherit a throne of honor.

       "For the foundations of the earth are THE LORD'S;

          upon them HE has set the world.

       HE will guard the feet of HIS saints,

          but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

       "It is not by strength that one prevails;

          those who oppose THE LORD will be shattered.

       HE will thunder against them from heaven;

          THE LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

       "HE will give strength to HIS king

          and exalt the horn of HIS anointed."

       Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before THE LORD under Eli the priest.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 2, verses 1 - 11

Eli's Wicked Sons

       Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for THE LORD. Now it was the practice of the priests with the people that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice and while the meat was being boiled, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. He would plunge it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and the priest would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. But even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest some meat to roast; he won't accept boiled meat from you, but only raw."

       If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned up first, and then take whatever you want," the servant would then answer, "No, hand it over now; if you don't, I'll take it by force."

       This sin of the young men was very great in THE LORD'S sight, for they were treating THE LORD'S offering with contempt.

       But Samuel was ministering before THE LORD--a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each 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. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "May THE LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to THE LORD." Then they would go home. And THE LORD was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of THE LORD.

       Now 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. So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among THE LORD'S people. If a man sins against another man, GOD may mediate for him; but if a man sins against THE LORD, who will intercede for him?" His sons, however, did not listen to their father's rebuke, for it was THE LORD'S will to put them to death.

       And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with THE LORD and with men.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 2, verses 12 - 26

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

       Now a man of GOD came to Eli and said to him, "This is what THE LORD says: 'Did I not clearly reveal MYSELF to your father's house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your father 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 father's house all the offerings made with fire by the Israelites. Why do you 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?'

       "Therefore THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before ME forever.' But now THE LORD declares: 'Far be it from ME! Those who honor ME I will honor, but those who despise ME will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line and you will see distress in MY dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. Every one of you that I do not cut off from MY altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

       " 'And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you--they will both die on the same day. I 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 house, and he will minister before MY anointed one always. Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a crust of bread and plead, "Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat." ' "

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 2, verses 27 - 36

THE LORD Calls Samuel

       The boy Samuel ministered before THE LORD under Eli. In those days the word of THE LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

      One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of GOD had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of THE LORD, where the ark of GOD was. Then THE LORD called Samuel.

       Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."

       But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

       Again THE LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."

       "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

       Now Samuel did not yet know THE LORD: The word of THE LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

       THE LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."

       Then Eli realized that THE LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if HE calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for YOUR servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

       THE LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"

       Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

       And THE LORD said to Samuel: "See, I AM about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.' "

       Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of THE LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son."

       Samuel answered, "Here I am."

       "What was it HE said to you?" Eli asked. "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." So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "HE is THE LORD; let HIM do what is good in HIS eyes."

       THE LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of THE LORD. THE LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there HE revealed HIMSELF to Samuel through HIS word.

And Samuel's word came to all Israel.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 3, verses 1 - 21 & chapter 4, verse 1

The Philistines Capture the Ark

       Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. The 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. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did THE LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of THE LORD'S covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

       So 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's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of GOD.

       When the ark of THE LORD'S covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?"

       When they learned that the ark of THE LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! 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 desert. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!"

       So 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. The ark of GOD was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 4, verses 1 - 11

Death of Eli

       That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head. When 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.

       Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?"

       The man hurried over to Eli, who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see. He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day."

       Eli asked, "What happened, my son?"

       The man who brought the news replied, "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."

       When 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 heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

       His 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. As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention.

       She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"--because of the capture of the ark of GOD and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of GOD has been captured."

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 4, verses 12 - 22

The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron

       After the Philistines had captured the ark of GOD, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When 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. But 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. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

       THE LORD'S hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; HE brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors. When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL must not stay here with us, because HIS hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god." So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked them, "What shall we do with the ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL?"

       They answered, "Have the ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL moved to Gath." So they moved the ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL.

       But after they had moved it, THE LORD'S hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic. HE afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with a outbreak of tumors. So they sent the ark of GOD to Ekron.

       As the ark of GOD was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL around to us to kill us and our people." So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people." For death had filled the city with panic; GOD'S hand was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 5

The Ark Returned to Israel

       When the ark of THE LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, "What shall we do with the ark of THE LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place."

       They answered, "If you return the ark of THE GOD OF ISRAEL, do not send it away empty, but 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."

       The Philistines asked, "What guilt offering should we send to HIM?"

       They replied, "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. Make models of the tumors and of the rats that are destroying the country, and pay honor to Israel's GOD. Perhaps HE will lift HIS hand from you and your gods and your land. Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When he treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

       "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. Take 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, but 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 and that it happened to us by chance."

       So they did this. They took two such cows and hitched them to the cart and penned up their calves. They 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. Then 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.

       Now 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. The 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. The 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. The five rulers of the Philistines saw all this and then returned that same day to Ekron.

       These are the gold tumors the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to THE LORD--one each for Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. And the number of the gold rats was according to the number of Philistine towns belonging to the five rulers--the fortified towns with their country villages. The large rock, on which they set the ark of THE LORD, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

       But GOD struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of THE LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow THE LORD had dealt them, and the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of THE LORD, this holy GOD? To whom will the ark go up from here?"

       Then they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of THE LORD. Come down and take it up to your place." So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of THE LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of THE LORD.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 6 & chapter 7, verse 1

Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah

       It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after THE LORD. And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "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." So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served THE LORD only.

       Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with THE LORD for you." When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before THE LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against THE LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah.

       When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to THE LORD our GOD for us, that HE may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to THE LORD. He cried out to THE LORD on Israel's behalf, and THE LORD answered him.

       While 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. The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car.

       Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has THE LORD helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.

       Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of THE LORD was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

       Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And he built an altar there to THE LORD.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 7, verses 2 - 17

Israel Asks for a King

       When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

       So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

       But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to THE LORD. And THE LORD told him: "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. As 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. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

       Samuel told all the words of THE LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some 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. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and THE LORD will not answer you in that day."

       But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

       When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before THE LORD. THE LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

       Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 8

Samuel Anoints Saul

       There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites--a head taller than any of the others.

       Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys." So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.

       When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."

       But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of GOD; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."

       Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of GOD. What do we have?"

       The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of GOD so that he will tell us what way to take." (Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of GOD, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)

       "Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So they set out for the town where the man of GOD was.

       As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water, and they asked them, "Is the seer here?"

       "He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time."

       They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.

       Now the day before Saul came, THE LORD had revealed this to Samuel: "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over MY people Israel; he will deliver MY people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon MY people, for their cry has reached ME."

       When Samuel caught sight of Saul, THE LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern MY people."

       Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"

       "I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

       Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"

       Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited--about thirty in number. Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside."

       So the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, "Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time I said, 'I have invited guests.' " And Saul dined with Samuel that day.

       After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. They rose about daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will send you on your way." When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us"--and the servant did so--"but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from GOD."

       Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not THE LORD anointed you leader over HIS inheritance? When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?" '

       "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to GOD at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

       "After that you will go to Gibeah of GOD, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for GOD is with you.

       "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do."

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 9 & chapter 10, verses 1 - 8

Saul Made King

       As Saul turned to leave Samuel, GOD changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; THE SPIRIT OF GOD came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

       A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.

       Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have you been?"

       "Looking for the donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel."

       Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."

       Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

       Samuel summoned the people of Israel to THE LORD at Mizpah and said to them, "This is what THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' But you have now rejected your GOD, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, 'No, set a king over us.' So now present yourselves before THE LORD by your tribes and clans."

       When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of THE LORD, "Has the man come here yet?"

       And THE LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

       They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man THE LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people."

       Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

       Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before THE LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own home.

       Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts GOD had touched. But some trouble-makers said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 10, verses 9 - 27

Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh

       Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you."

       But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel."

       The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you."

      When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

       When Saul heard their words, THE SPIRIT OF GOD came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers through-out Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of THE LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

       They told the messengers who had come, "Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.' " When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated. They said to the Ammonites, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you."

       The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 11, verses 1 - 11

Saul Confirmed as King

       The people then said to Samuel, "Who was it that asked, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring these men to us and we will put them to death."

       But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day THE LORD has rescued Israel."

       Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship." So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of THE LORD. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before THE LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 11, verses 12  - 15

Samuel's Farewell Speech

       Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to Everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of THE LORD and HIS anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."

       "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."

       Samuel said to them, "THE LORD is witness against you, and also HIS anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand."

       "HE is witness," they said.

       Then Samuel said to the people, "It is THE LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before THE LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by THE LORD for you and your fathers.

       "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to THE LORD for help, and THE LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

       "But they forgot THE LORD their GOD; so HE sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. They cried out to THE LORD and said, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken THE LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve YOU.' Then THE LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and HE delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.

       "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though THE LORD your GOD was your KING. Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, THE LORD has set a king over you. If you fear THE LORD and serve and obey HIM and do not rebel against HIS commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow THE LORD your GOD--good! But if you do not obey THE LORD, and if you rebel against HIS commands, HIS hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

       "Now then, stand still and see this great thing THE LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon THE LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of THE LORD when you asked for a king."

       Then Samuel called upon THE LORD, and that same day THE LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of THE LORD and of Samuel.

       The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to THE LORD your GOD for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

       "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from THE LORD, but serve THE LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of HIS great name THE LORD will not reject HIS people, because THE LORD was pleased to make you HIS own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against THE LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear THE LORD and serve HIM faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things HE has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

The Book of 1 Samuel: chapter 12