Month: May 2017

Eli’s Family Condemned

²² Now, Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to all Israel and that they were sleeping with the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he asked them, “Why are you doing such things? I hear about your wicked ways from all these people. ²⁴ Sons, the report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading isn’t good! ²⁵ If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?” But they wouldn’t listen to their father’s warning—the Lord wanted to kill them.

²⁶ The boy Samuel continued to grow and gained the favor of the Lord and the people.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were under Pharaoh’s control in Egypt. ²⁸ I chose one of your ancestors out of all the tribes of Israel to serve as my priest, to sacrifice burnt offerings on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod in my presence. And I gave your ancestors the right to keep portions of the sacrifices that the people of Israel burned on the altar. ²⁹ Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?

³⁰ “Therefore, the Lord God of Israel declares: I certainly thought that your family and your father’s family would always live in my presence.

“But now the Lord declares: I promise that I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be considered insignificant. ³¹ The time is coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that no one will grow old in your family. ³² You will see distress in my dwelling place. In spite of the good that I do for Israel, no one in your family will live to an old age. ³³ Any man in your family whom I do not remove from my altar will have his eyes fail, and he^[a] will be heartbroken. And all your descendants will die in the prime of life. ³⁴ What is going to happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you: Both of them will die on the same day. ³⁵ Then I will appoint a faithful priest to serve me. He will do everything I want him to do. I will give him faithful descendants, and he will always live as my anointed one. ³⁶ Then anyone who is left from your household will bow down in front of him to get a coin or a loaf of bread and say, ‘Please appoint me to one of the priestly classes so that I may eat a piece of bread.’”

The Lord Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel was serving the Lord under Eli. In those days a prophecy from the Lord was rare; visions were infrequent. ² One night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn’t see well. ³ The lamp in God’s temple^[b] hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was kept.

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”

“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back and lay down.

⁶ The Lord called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”

“I didn’t call you, son,” he responded. “Go back to bed.” ⁷ Samuel had no experience with the Lord, because the Lord’s word had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸ The Lord called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ “Go, lie down,” Eli told Samuel. “When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his room.

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am going to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. ¹² On that day I am going to do to Eli and his family everything I said from beginning to end. ¹³ I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God^[c]—but he didn’t try to stop them. ¹⁴ That is why I have taken an oath concerning Eli’s family line: No offering or sacrifice will ever be able to make peace for the sins that Eli’s family committed.”

¹⁵ Samuel remained in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.

¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel. “Samuel, my son!” he said.

“Here I am,” he responded.

¹⁷ “What did the Lord tell you?” he asked. “Please don’t hide anything from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.”

¹⁸ So Samuel told Eli everything.

Eli replied, “He is the Lord. May he do what he thinks is right.”

¹⁹ Samuel grew up. The Lord was with him and didn’t let any of his words go unfulfilled. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew Samuel was the Lord’s appointed prophet. ²¹ The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, since the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the Lord’s word. And Samuel spoke to all Israel.^[d]

The Army Sends for the Ark

4 Israel went to fight against the Philistines and camped near Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines organized their troops to meet Israel in battle. As the battle spread,^[e] the Philistines defeated Israel and killed about 4,000 soldiers in the field.

³ When the troops came back to the camp, the leaders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord used the Philistines to defeat us today? Let’s get the ark of the Lord’s promise from Shiloh so that he may be with us and save us from our enemies.” ⁴ The troops sent some men who brought back the ark of the promise of the Lord of Armies—who is enthroned over the angels.^[f] Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with God’s ark. ⁵ When the Lord’s ark came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth rang with echoes.

⁶ As the Philistines heard the noise, they asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?” The Philistines found out that the Lord’s ark had come into the camp. ⁷ Then they were frightened and said, “A god has come into their camp.” They also said, “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. ⁸ We’re in trouble now! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the desert. ⁹ Be strong, Philistines, and act like men, or else you will serve the Hebrews as they served you. Act like men and fight.”

The Ark Captured

¹⁰ The Philistines fought and defeated Israel. Every Israelite soldier fled to his tent. It was a major defeat in which 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers died. ¹¹ The ark of God was captured. Both of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front line of the battle. He went to Shiloh that day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. ^{[g] 13} When he arrived, Eli was sitting on a chair beside the road, watching. He was worried about the ark of God. The man went into the city to tell the news. The whole city cried out. ¹⁴ Hearing the cry, Eli asked, “What is this commotion?” So the man went quickly to tell Eli the news. ¹⁵ (Eli was 98 years old, and his eyesight had failed so that he couldn’t see.)

¹⁶ The man told Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from the front line today.”

“What happened, son?” Eli asked.

¹⁷ “Israel fled from the Philistines,” the messenger answered. “Our troops suffered heavy casualties. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸ When the messenger mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from his chair backwards toward the gate. He broke his neck, and he died. (The man was old and heavy.) He had judged^[h] Israel for 40 years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor prematurely and gave birth to a son. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women helping her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer or pay attention.

²¹ She called the boy Ichabod [No Glory], saying, “Israel’s glory is gone,” because the ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and her husband died. ²² “Israel’s glory is gone because the ark of God has been captured,” she said.

²⁴ I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life.

²⁵ “I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live. ²⁶ The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too.

²⁷ “He has also given the Son authority to pass judgment because he is the Son of Man. ^{[a] 28} Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice, ²⁹ and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged. ³⁰ I can’t do anything on my own. As I listen to the Father, I make my judgments. My judgments are right because I don’t try to do what I want but what the one who sent me wants.

³¹ “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say isn’t true. ³² Someone else testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. ³³ You sent people to John the Baptizer, and he testified to the truth. ³⁴ But I don’t depend on human testimony. I’m telling you this to save you. ³⁵ John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light. For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light. ³⁶ But I have something that testifies more favorably on my behalf than John’s testimony. The tasks that the Father gave me to carry out, these tasks which I perform, testify on my behalf. They prove that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ The Father who sent me testifies on my behalf. You have never heard his voice, and you have never seen his form. ³⁸ So you don’t have the Father’s message within you, because you don’t believe in the person he has sent. ³⁹ You study the Scriptures in detail because you think you have the source of eternal life in them. These Scriptures testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰ Yet, you don’t want to come to me to get eternal life.

⁴¹ “I don’t accept praise from humans. ⁴² But I know what kind of people you are. You don’t have any love for God. ⁴³ I have come with the authority my Father has given me, but you don’t accept me. If someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and don’t look for the praise that comes from the only God?

⁴⁵ “Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you. ⁴⁶ If you really believed Moses, you would believe me. Moses wrote about me. ⁴⁷ If you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how will you ever believe what I say?”

Psalm 106

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. ³ Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the Lord.

⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Because the Lord had made her unable to have children, her rival Peninnah tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable. ⁷ This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven’t you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Though she was resentful, she prayed to the Lord while she cried. ¹¹ She made this vow, “Lord of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head.” ¹² While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ She was praying silently. Her voice couldn’t be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long are you going to stay drunk?” Eli asked her. “Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah responded, “No sir. I’m not drunk. I’m depressed. I’m pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I’ve been troubled and tormented.”

¹⁷ Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request.”

¹⁸ “May you continue to be kind to me,” she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.^[a]

¹⁹ Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

Samuel’s Childhood

²¹ To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord. ²² But Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “I’ll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I’ll bring him and present him to the Lord, and he’ll stay there permanently.”

²³ “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Wait until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord keep his word.” The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull,^[b] half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh while the boy was still a child.

²⁵ Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ “Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed out loud,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy Samuel served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

¹² Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. ¹³ Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. ¹⁵ But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”

¹⁶ If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

¹⁸ Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was already wearing a linen ephod. ^{[d] 19} His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

²¹ The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant five times and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

² Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. ³ Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. ^{[a] 5} One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. ⁶ Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” ⁹ The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁰ So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

¹¹ The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

¹² The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

¹⁵ The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

¹⁶ The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁷ Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

¹⁸ His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. ²¹ In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

²² “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son ²³ so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. ³ Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the Lord.

⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Because the Lord had made her unable to have children, her rival Peninnah tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable. ⁷ This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven’t you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Though she was resentful, she prayed to the Lord while she cried. ¹¹ She made this vow, “Lord of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head.” ¹² While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ She was praying silently. Her voice couldn’t be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long are you going to stay drunk?” Eli asked her. “Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah responded, “No sir. I’m not drunk. I’m depressed. I’m pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I’ve been troubled and tormented.”

¹⁷ Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request.”

¹⁸ “May you continue to be kind to me,” she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.^[a]

¹⁹ Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

Samuel’s Childhood

²¹ To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord. ²² But Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “I’ll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I’ll bring him and present him to the Lord, and he’ll stay there permanently.”

²³ “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Wait until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord keep his word.” The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull,^[b] half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh while the boy was still a child.

²⁵ Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ “Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed out loud,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy Samuel served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

¹² Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. ¹³ Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. ¹⁵ But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”

¹⁶ If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

¹⁸ Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was already wearing a linen ephod. ^{[d] 19} His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

²¹ The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant five times and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

² Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. ³ Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. ^{[a] 5} One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. ⁶ Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” ⁹ The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁰ So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

¹¹ The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

¹² The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

¹⁵ The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

¹⁶ The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁷ Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

¹⁸ His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. ²¹ In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

²² “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son ²³ so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. ³ Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the Lord.

⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Because the Lord had made her unable to have children, her rival Peninnah tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable. ⁷ This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven’t you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Though she was resentful, she prayed to the Lord while she cried. ¹¹ She made this vow, “Lord of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head.” ¹² While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ She was praying silently. Her voice couldn’t be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long are you going to stay drunk?” Eli asked her. “Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah responded, “No sir. I’m not drunk. I’m depressed. I’m pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I’ve been troubled and tormented.”

¹⁷ Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request.”

¹⁸ “May you continue to be kind to me,” she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.^[a]

¹⁹ Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

Samuel’s Childhood

²¹ To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord. ²² But Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “I’ll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I’ll bring him and present him to the Lord, and he’ll stay there permanently.”

²³ “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Wait until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord keep his word.” The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull,^[b] half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh while the boy was still a child.

²⁵ Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ “Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed out loud,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy Samuel served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

¹² Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. ¹³ Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. ¹⁵ But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”

¹⁶ If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

¹⁸ Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was already wearing a linen ephod. ^{[d] 19} His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

²¹ The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant five times and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

² Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. ³ Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. ^{[a] 5} One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. ⁶ Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” ⁹ The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁰ So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

¹¹ The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

¹² The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

¹⁵ The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

¹⁶ The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁷ Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

¹⁸ His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. ²¹ In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

²² “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son ²³ so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

Ruth and Boaz Meet

2 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side named Boaz. He was a prominent man of noble character^(A) from Elimelech’s family.

² Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain^(B) behind someone who allows me to?”

Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³ So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened^(C) to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.

⁴ Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.”^(D)

“The Lord bless you,”^(E) they replied.

⁵ Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶ The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷ She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has remained from early morning until now, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”^[a]

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.^[b] Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. ⁹ See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you?^[c] When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

¹⁰ She bowed with her face to the ground^(F) and said to him, “Why are you so kind to notice me, although I am a foreigner?”

¹¹ Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. ¹² May the Lord reward you for what you have done,^(G) and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”^(H)

¹³ “My lord,” she said, “you have been so kind to me, for you have comforted and encouraged^[d] your slave, although I am not like one of your female servants.”

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.

¹⁵ When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her even gather grain among the bundles, and don’t humiliate her. ¹⁶ Pull out some stalks from the bundles for her and leave them for her to gather. Don’t rebuke her.” ¹⁷ So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about 26 quarts^[e] of barley. ¹⁸ She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. Then she brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her.

¹⁹ Then her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather barley today, and where did you work? May the Lord bless the man who noticed you.”^(I)

Ruth told her mother-in-law about the men she had worked with and said, “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.”

²⁰ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord,^(J) who has not forsaken his^[f] kindness to the living or the dead.”^(K) Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.”^(L)

²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished all of my harvest.’”

²² So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work^[g] with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.” ²³ Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s female servants and gathered grain until the barley and the wheat harvests were finished.^(M) And she lived with^[h] her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Appeal to Boaz

3 Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of? ² Now isn’t Boaz our relative?^(N) Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³ Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”

⁵ So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.”^{[i] 6} She went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷ After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits,^[j] he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley. Then she went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! ⁹ So he asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Ruth, your slave,” she replied. “Spread your cloak^[k] over me,^(O) for you are a family redeemer.”^(P)

¹⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord bless you,^(Q) my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before,^[l] because you have not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹ Now don’t be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you say,^[m] since all the people in my town^[n] know that you are a woman of noble character.^{(R) 12} Yes, it is true that I am a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer closer than I am. ¹³ Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good.^(S) Let him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives,^(T) I will. Now lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark.^[o] Then Boaz said, “Don’t let it be known that a^[p] woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ And he told Ruth, “Bring the shawl you’re wearing and hold it out.” When she held it out, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl, and she^[q] went into the town.

¹⁶ She went to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who asked her, “How did it go,^[r] my daughter?”

Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he said,^[s] ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

¹⁸ Naomi said, “My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest unless he resolves this today.”

Ruth and Boaz Marry

4 Boaz went to the gate of the town^(U) and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz called him by name and said, “Come^[t] over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. ² Then Boaz took 10 men of the town’s elders^(V) and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. ³ He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling a piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech.^{(W) 4} I thought I should inform you:^[u] Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you do^[v] not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.”

“I want to redeem it,” he answered.

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire^[w] Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”^(X)

⁶ The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

⁷ At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal^(Y) and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.

⁸ So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”

⁹ Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”

¹¹ The elders and all the people who were at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah,^(Z) who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. ¹² May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah,^(AA) because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons,^(AB) has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. ¹⁷ The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed.^[x] He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

David’s Genealogy from Judah’s Son

¹⁸ Now this is the genealogy of Perez:

A Galilean Welcome

⁴³ After two days He left there for Galilee.^{(A) 44} Jesus Himself testified^(B) that a prophet has no honor in his own country.^{(C) 45} When^(D) they entered Galilee, the Galileans^(E) welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem^(F) during the festival.^(G) For they also had gone to the festival.

The Second Sign: Healing an Official’s Son

⁴⁶ Then He went again to Cana^(H) of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.^{(I) 47} When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea^(J) into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.

⁴⁸ Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders,^(K) you will not believe.”^(L)

⁴⁹ “Sir,”^(M) the official said to Him, “come down before my boy dies!”

⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what^[a] Jesus said to him and departed.

⁵¹ While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. ⁵² He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at seven in the morning^[b] the fever left him,” they answered. ⁵³ The father^(N) realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” Then he himself believed, along with his whole household.

⁵⁴ This, therefore, was the second sign^(O) Jesus performed after He came from Judea to Galilee.^(P)

Ruth and Boaz Meet

2 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side named Boaz. He was a prominent man of noble character^(A) from Elimelech’s family.

² Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain^(B) behind someone who allows me to?”

Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³ So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened^(C) to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.

⁴ Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.”^(D)

“The Lord bless you,”^(E) they replied.

⁵ Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?”

⁶ The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷ She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has remained from early morning until now, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”^[a]

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.^[b] Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. ⁹ See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you?^[c] When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.”

¹⁰ She bowed with her face to the ground^(F) and said to him, “Why are you so kind to notice me, although I am a foreigner?”

¹¹ Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. ¹² May the Lord reward you for what you have done,^(G) and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”^(H)

¹³ “My lord,” she said, “you have been so kind to me, for you have comforted and encouraged^[d] your slave, although I am not like one of your female servants.”

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over.

¹⁵ When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her even gather grain among the bundles, and don’t humiliate her. ¹⁶ Pull out some stalks from the bundles for her and leave them for her to gather. Don’t rebuke her.” ¹⁷ So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about 26 quarts^[e] of barley. ¹⁸ She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. Then she brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her.

¹⁹ Then her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather barley today, and where did you work? May the Lord bless the man who noticed you.”^(I)

Ruth told her mother-in-law about the men she had worked with and said, “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.”

²⁰ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord,^(J) who has not forsaken his^[f] kindness to the living or the dead.”^(K) Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.”^(L)

²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished all of my harvest.’”

²² So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work^[g] with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.” ²³ Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s female servants and gathered grain until the barley and the wheat harvests were finished.^(M) And she lived with^[h] her mother-in-law.

Ruth’s Appeal to Boaz

3 Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of? ² Now isn’t Boaz our relative?^(N) Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³ Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”

⁵ So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.”^{[i] 6} She went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷ After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits,^[j] he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley. Then she went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! ⁹ So he asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Ruth, your slave,” she replied. “Spread your cloak^[k] over me,^(O) for you are a family redeemer.”^(P)

¹⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord bless you,^(Q) my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before,^[l] because you have not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹ Now don’t be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you say,^[m] since all the people in my town^[n] know that you are a woman of noble character.^{(R) 12} Yes, it is true that I am a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer closer than I am. ¹³ Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good.^(S) Let him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives,^(T) I will. Now lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark.^[o] Then Boaz said, “Don’t let it be known that a^[p] woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ And he told Ruth, “Bring the shawl you’re wearing and hold it out.” When she held it out, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl, and she^[q] went into the town.

¹⁶ She went to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who asked her, “How did it go,^[r] my daughter?”

Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he said,^[s] ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

¹⁸ Naomi said, “My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest unless he resolves this today.”

Ruth and Boaz Marry

4 Boaz went to the gate of the town^(U) and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz called him by name and said, “Come^[t] over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. ² Then Boaz took 10 men of the town’s elders^(V) and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. ³ He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, is selling a piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech.^{(W) 4} I thought I should inform you:^[u] Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do so. But if you do^[v] not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.”

“I want to redeem it,” he answered.

⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire^[w] Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”^(X)

⁶ The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

⁷ At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal^(Y) and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.

⁸ So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”

⁹ Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”

¹¹ The elders and all the people who were at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah,^(Z) who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. ¹² May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah,^(AA) because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons,^(AB) has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. ¹⁷ The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed.^[x] He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

David’s Genealogy from Judah’s Son

¹⁸ Now this is the genealogy of Perez:

A Galilean Welcome

⁴³ After two days He left there for Galilee.^{(A) 44} Jesus Himself testified^(B) that a prophet has no honor in his own country.^{(C) 45} When^(D) they entered Galilee, the Galileans^(E) welcomed Him because they had seen everything He did in Jerusalem^(F) during the festival.^(G) For they also had gone to the festival.

The Second Sign: Healing an Official’s Son

⁴⁶ Then He went again to Cana^(H) of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. There was a certain royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum.^{(I) 47} When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea^(J) into Galilee, he went to Him and pleaded with Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.

⁴⁸ Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders,^(K) you will not believe.”^(L)

⁴⁹ “Sir,”^(M) the official said to Him, “come down before my boy dies!”

⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus told him, “your son will live.” The man believed what^[a] Jesus said to him and departed.

⁵¹ While he was still going down, his slaves met him saying that his boy was alive. ⁵² He asked them at what time he got better. “Yesterday at seven in the morning^[b] the fever left him,” they answered. ⁵³ The father^(N) realized this was the very hour at which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” Then he himself believed, along with his whole household.

⁵⁴ This, therefore, was the second sign^(O) Jesus performed after He came from Judea to Galilee.^(P)

Brides for Benjamin

21 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter to a Benjaminite in marriage.”^{(A) 2} So the people went to Bethel and sat there before God^(B) until evening. They wept loudly and bitterly, ³ and cried out, “Why, Lord God of Israel, has it occurred^[a] that one tribe is missing in Israel today?” ⁴ The next day the people got up early, built an altar there,^(C) and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. ⁵ The Israelites asked, “Who of all the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord with the assembly?” For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the Lord at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.

⁶ But the Israelites had compassion on their brothers, the Benjaminites, and said, “Today a tribe has been cut off from Israel. ⁷ What should we do about wives for the survivors? We’ve sworn to the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.” ⁸ They asked, “Which city among the tribes of Israel didn’t come to the Lord at Mizpah?” It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly. ⁹ For when the people were counted, no one was there from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.

¹⁰ The congregation sent 12,000 brave warriors^[b] there and commanded them: “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword,^(D) including women and children. ¹¹ This is what you should do: Completely destroy every male, as well as every female who has slept with a man.” ¹² They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young women, who had not had sexual relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³ The whole congregation sent a message of peace^(E) to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon. ¹⁴ Benjamin returned at that time, and Israel gave them the women they had kept alive from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough for them.

¹⁵ The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made this gap in the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶ The elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” ¹⁷ They said, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. ¹⁸ But we can’t give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed.” ¹⁹ They also said, “Look, there’s an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh,^(F) which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

²⁰ Then they commanded the Benjaminites: “Go and hide in the vineyards. ²¹ Watch, and when you see the young women of Shiloh come out to perform the dances,^(G) each of you leave the vineyards and catch a wife for yourself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn’t actually give the women to them, so^[c] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.’”

²³ The Benjaminites did this and took the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities,^(H) and lived in them. ²⁴ At that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and family. Each returned from there to his own inheritance.

²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel;^(I) everyone did whatever he wanted.^[d]

Naomi’s Family in Moab

1 During the time^[e] of the judges,^(J) there was a famine in the land.^(K) A man left Bethlehem^[f](L) in Judah with his wife and two sons to live in the land of Moab for a while. ² The man’s name was Elimelech,^[g] and his wife’s name was Naomi.^[h] The names of his two sons were Mahlon^[i] and Chilion.^[j] They were Ephrathites^(M) from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the land of Moab and settled there. ³ Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.

Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi

⁶ She and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to His people’s need by providing them food.^{(N) 7} She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.

⁸ She said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home.^(O) May the Lord show faithful love to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. ⁹ May the Lord enable each of you to find security^(P) in the house of your new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.

¹⁰ “No,” they said to her. “We will go with you to your people.”

¹¹ But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons^[k] who could become your husbands?^{(Q) 12} Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, ¹³ would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying?^[l] No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share,^[m] because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.”^{(R) 14} Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. ¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god.^[n](S) Follow your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶ But Ruth replied:

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to persuade her.

¹⁹ The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival^[p](U) and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,”^[q] she answered,^[r] “for the Almighty^(V) has made me very bitter.^{(W) 21} I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.^(X) Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has pronounced judgment on^[s] me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²² So Naomi came back from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.^(Y)

⁴ He had to travel through Samaria,^{(A) 5} so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property^[a] that Jacob^(B) had given his son Joseph.^{(C) 6} Jacob’s well^(D) was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening.^[b]

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water.^(E)

“Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, ⁸ for His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

⁹ “How is it that You, a Jew,^(F) ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan^(G) woman?” she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with^[c] Samaritans.^[d]

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God,^(H) and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”^(I)

¹¹ “Sir,”^(J) said the woman, “You don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do You get this ‘living water’? ¹² You aren’t greater than our father Jacob,^(K) are You? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”

¹³ Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. ¹⁴ But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever!^(L) In fact, the water I will give him will become a well^[e](M) of water springing up within him for eternal life.”^(N)

¹⁵ “Sir,” the woman said to Him, “give me this water so I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”

¹⁶ “Go call your husband,” He told her, “and come back here.”

¹⁷ “I don’t have a husband,” she answered.

“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. ¹⁸ “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,^[f](O) yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”^(P)

²¹ Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans^[g] worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.^{(Q) 23} But an hour is coming, and is now here,^(R) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. ²⁴ God is spirit,^(S) and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”^(T)

²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah^[h](U) is coming” (who is called Christ^(V)). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ “I am He,”^(W) Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.”

The Ripened Harvest

²⁷ Just then His disciples arrived, and they were amazed that He was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do You want?” or “Why are You talking with her?”

²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the men, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?”^{(X) 30} They left the town and made their way to Him.^(Y)

³¹ In the meantime the disciples kept urging Him, “Rabbi,^(Z) eat something.”

³² But He said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

³³ The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought Him something to eat?”

³⁴ “My food is to do the will of Him^(AA) who sent Me^(AB) and to finish His work,”^(AC) Jesus told them. ³⁵ “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open^[i] your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready^[j] for harvest. ³⁶ The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life,^(AD) so the sower and reaper can rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’^{(AE) 38} I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from^[k] their labor.”

The Savior of the World

³⁹ Now many Samaritans^(AF) from that town believed in Him because of what the woman said^[l] when she testified,^(AG) “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him,^(AH) they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹ Many more believed because of what He said.^{[m] 42} And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior^(AI) of the world.”^[n]

Psalm 105

God’s Faithfulness to His People