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Saul Anointed by Samuel

10 Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that the Lord has anointed you^[a] to be ruler of his people. ² When you leave me today, two men will be at Rachel’s grave on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ve found the donkeys you went looking for. Your father no longer cares about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He keeps asking, “What can I do to find my son?”’ ³ Keep going until you come to the oak tree at Tabor. There you will find three men on their way to worship God at Bethel: One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a full wineskin. ⁴ They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you should accept from them. ⁵ After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines have a military post. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets prophesying as they come from the worship site. They will be led by men playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. ⁶ Then the Lord’s Spirit will come over you. You will be a different person while you prophesy with them. ⁷ When these signs happen to you, do what you must, because God is with you. ⁸ Go ahead of me to Gilgal. Then I will come to sacrifice burnt offerings and make fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to tell you what to do.”

Saul’s Anointing Confirmed by Signs

⁹ When Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s attitude. That day all these signs happened. ¹⁰ When Saul came to the hill, a group of prophets came to meet him, and God’s Spirit came over him. He prophesied with them. ¹¹ When all who had known him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets?” ¹² But a man from that place asked, “But who’s the chief prophet?” So it became a proverb: “Is Saul one of the prophets?” ¹³ And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the worship site.

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?”

Saul answered, “To look for the donkeys, and when we couldn’t find them, we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

¹⁶ “He assured us the donkeys had been found,” Saul answered his uncle. But Saul didn’t tell him what Samuel said about his becoming king.

The Lord Chooses Saul

¹⁷ Samuel called the people to come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I brought Israel out of Egypt and rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kings who were oppressing you. ¹⁹ But now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and distresses. You said, ‘No! Place a king over us.’ Now then, stand in front of the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”

²⁰ When Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ When he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by families, the family of Matri was chosen. Then Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. They looked for him but couldn’t find him. ²² They asked the Lord again, “Has he arrived here yet?”

The Lord answered, “He’s hiding among the baggage.”

²³ They ran and got him from there. As he stood among the people, he was a head taller than everyone else. ²⁴ Samuel asked the people, “Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”

Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained the laws concerning kingship to the people. He wrote the laws on a scroll, which he placed in front of the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people back to their homes. ²⁶ Saul also went home to Gibeah. With him went some soldiers whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ However, some good-for-nothing people asked, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and wouldn’t bring him presents, but he didn’t respond.

Saul Defeats Ammon

11 King Nahash of Ammon was severely oppressing the tribes of Gad and Reuben. He would poke out everyone’s right eye and allow no one to rescue Israel. There was no one among the Israelites east of the Jordan River whose right eye King Nahash of Ammon had not poked out. However, seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and gone to Jabesh Gilead. About a month later^[b] Nahash the Ammonite blockaded Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we’ll serve you.”

² Nahash the Ammonite responded, “I’ll make a treaty with you on this one condition: I’ll poke out everyone’s right eye and bring disgrace on all Israel.”

³ The leaders of Jabesh told him, “Give us seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. And if there’s no one to save us, we’ll surrender to you.”

⁴ The messengers came to Saul’s town, Gibeah. When they told the people the news, the people cried loudly. ⁵ Just then Saul was coming from the field behind some oxen. “Why are these people crying?” Saul asked. So they told him the news about the men of Jabesh. ⁶ When he heard this news, God’s Spirit came over him, and he became very angry. ⁷ Saul took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the territory of Israel with the following message: “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t follow Saul and Samuel into battle.” So the people became terrified by the Lord, and they came out united behind Saul. ⁸ When Saul counted them at Bezek, there were 300,000 troops from Israel and 30,000 troops from Judah. ⁹ They told the messengers who had come, “This is what you are to say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun gets hot, you will be rescued.’” When the men of Jabesh received the message, they were overjoyed.

¹⁰ They said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we’ll surrender to you, and you may do to us whatever you think is right.”

¹¹ The next day Saul arranged the army in three divisions. They came into the Ammonite camp during the morning hours and continued to defeat the Ammonites until it got hot that day. The survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people asked Samuel, “Who said that Saul shouldn’t rule us? Let us have them, and we’ll kill them.”

¹³ But Saul said, “No one will be killed today, because today the Lord saved Israel.”

¹⁴ Samuel told the troops, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and there acknowledge Saul’s kingship.” ¹⁵ Then all the troops went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence, they confirmed Saul as their king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all of Israel’s soldiers celebrated.

⁴³ Jesus responded, “Stop criticizing me! ⁴⁴ People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them to me. I will bring these people back to life on the last day. ⁴⁵ The prophets wrote, ‘God will teach everyone.’ Those who do what they have learned from the Father come to me. ⁴⁶ I’m saying that no one has seen the Father. Only the one who is from God has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ I can guarantee this truth: Every believer has eternal life.

⁴⁸ “I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert and died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes from heaven so that whoever eats it won’t die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread I will give to bring life to the world is my flesh.”

⁵² The Jews began to quarrel with each other. They said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you. ⁵⁴ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will bring them back to life on the last day. ⁵⁵ My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. ⁵⁷ The Father who has life sent me, and I live because of the Father. So those who feed on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came from heaven. It is not like the bread your ancestors ate. They eventually died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ Jesus said this while he was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum. ⁶⁰ When many of Jesus’ disciples heard him, they said, “What he says is hard to accept. Who wants to listen to him anymore?”

⁶¹ Jesus was aware that his disciples were criticizing his message. So Jesus asked them, “Did what I say make you lose faith? ⁶² What if you see the Son of Man go where he was before? ⁶³ Life is spiritual. Your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life. The words that I have spoken to you are spiritual. They are life. ⁶⁴ But some of you don’t believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning those who wouldn’t believe and the one who would betray him. ⁶⁵ So he added, “That is why I told you that people cannot come to me unless the Father provides the way.”

⁶⁶ Jesus’ speech made many of his disciples go back to the lives they had led before they followed Jesus. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Do you want to leave me too?”

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Jesus, “Lord, to what person could we go? Your words give eternal life. ⁶⁹ Besides, we believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

⁷⁰ Jesus replied, “I chose all twelve of you. Yet, one of you is a devil.” ⁷¹ Jesus meant Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. Judas, who was one of the twelve apostles, would later betray Jesus.

BOOK FIVE

(Psalms 107–150)

Psalm 107

Psalm 108^[a]

A song; a psalm by David.

Israel Rejects the Lord as King

8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn son was Joel; the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³ The sons didn’t follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice.

⁴ Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.”

⁶ But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. ⁸ They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. ⁹ Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.”

¹⁰ Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything the Lord had said. ¹¹ Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king:

He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots.

¹² He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots.

¹³ He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake.

¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials.

¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials.

¹⁶ He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle,^[a] and your donkeys for his own use.

¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks.

In addition, you will be his servants.

¹⁸ “When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. The Lord will not answer you when that day comes.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! ²⁰ Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out to war, and fight our battles.”

²¹ When Samuel heard everything the people had to say, he reported it privately to the Lord. ²² The Lord told him, “Listen to them, and give them a king.”

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go back to your own cities.”

Saul Searches for His Father’s Donkeys

9 There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was a son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, and great-grandson of Becorath, whose father was Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a powerful man. ² He had a son named Saul, a handsome, young man. No man in Israel was more handsome than Saul. He stood a head taller than everyone else.

³ When some donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, Kish told Saul, “Take one of the servants with you, and go look for the donkeys.”

⁴ They went through the mountains of Ephraim and the region of Shalisha without finding the donkeys. Then Saul and his servant went through the region of Shaalim, but the donkeys weren’t there. The men went through the territory of Benjamin but still didn’t find them. ⁵ When they came to the territory of Zuph, Saul told his servant who was with him, “Let’s go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about us instead.”

Saul Seeks Samuel’s Advice

⁶ The servant responded, “There’s a man of God in this city, a highly respected man. Everything he says is sure to happen. Let’s go there. Maybe he’ll tell us which way we should go.”

⁷ “If we go,” Saul asked his servant, “what could we bring the man since the food in our sacks is gone? There’s no present we can bring the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸ The servant again answered Saul, “Look, here! I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. I’ll give it to the man of God. Then he’ll tell us where to find the donkeys.”

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a person went to ask God a question, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because a person we now call a prophet used to be called a seer.)

¹⁰ Saul told his servant, “That’s a good idea! Come on, let’s go.” They went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they were going up the hill to the city, they met girls coming out to get water. They asked the girls, “Is the seer here?”

¹² The girls answered, “He’s there ahead of you. Hurry! He just went into the city today since the people are offering a sacrifice on the worship site. ¹³ As you go into the city, you can find him before he goes to the worship site to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, since he blesses the sacrifice. Then those who are invited may eat. Go. You should be able to find him now.”

¹⁴ So Saul and his servant went to the city. As they entered it, Samuel was coming toward them on his way to the worship site. ¹⁵ Now, the Lord had revealed the following message to Samuel one day before Saul came: ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the territory of Benjamin. Anoint him to be ruler of my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines because I’ve seen my people’s suffering and their cry has come to me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel noticed Saul, the Lord told him, “There’s the man I told you about. This man will govern my people.”

¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel inside the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹ Samuel replied, “I’m the seer. Go ahead of me to the worship site. You will eat with me today. In the morning I’ll let you go after I tell you all that’s on your mind. ²⁰ Don’t trouble yourself about the donkeys that were lost three days ago because they’ve been found. Who will have all that is desirable in Israel? Won’t it be you and your father’s family?”

²¹ Saul replied, “I am a man from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe of Israel. My family is the most insignificant of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. So why are you saying such things to me?”

²² Samuel brought Saul and his servant to the banquet hall and had them sit at the head of the guests—about 30 people. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring me the portion of the sacrificial meat that I gave you and told you to put aside.” ²⁴ So the cook picked up the leg and thigh^[b] and laid it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This was kept in order to be laid in front of you. Eat it. When I invited people to the feast, I set it aside for you.”^[c] Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ Then they left the worship site for the city. They spread blankets on the roof for Saul, and he slept there.^[d]

²⁶ At dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up! It’s time for me to send you away.” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside. ²⁷ As they were going toward the city limits, Samuel told Saul, “Have the servant go ahead of you.” (He went ahead.) “But you stay here, and I will tell you God’s word.”

Jesus Is the Bread of Life

²² On the next day the people were still on the other side of the sea. They noticed that only one boat was there and that Jesus had not stepped into that boat with his disciples. The disciples had gone away without him. ²³ Other boats from Tiberias arrived near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. ²⁴ When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into these boats and went to the city of Capernaum to look for Jesus. ²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus replied to them, “I can guarantee this truth: You’re not looking for me because you saw miracles. You are looking for me because you ate as much of those loaves as you wanted. ²⁷ Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”

²⁸ The people asked Jesus, “What does God want us to do?”

²⁹ Jesus replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.”

³⁰ The people asked him, “What miracle are you going to perform so that we can see it and believe in you? What are you going to do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

³² Jesus said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ God’s bread is the man who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time.”

³⁵ Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty. ³⁶ I’ve told you that you have seen me. However, you don’t believe in me. ³⁷ Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me. ³⁸ I haven’t come from heaven to do what I want to do. I’ve come to do what the one who sent me wants me to do. ³⁹ The one who sent me doesn’t want me to lose any of those he gave me. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day. ⁴⁰ My Father wants all those who see the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day.”

⁴¹ The Jews began to criticize Jesus for saying, “I am the bread that came from heaven.” ⁴² They asked, “Isn’t this man Jesus, Joseph’s son? Don’t we know his father and mother? How can he say now, ‘I came from heaven’?”

Wise Ways to Live

The Ark in Philistia

5 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² They brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. ³ Early the next day the people of Ashdod saw that Dagon had fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But the next morning they saw that Dagon had again fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. Dagon’s head and his two hands were cut off and were lying on the temple’s threshold. The rest of Dagon’s body was intact. ^{[a] 5} This is why the priests of Dagon and everyone else who comes into Dagon’s temple in Ashdod still don’t step on the temple’s threshold.

⁶ The Lord dealt harshly with the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them by striking the people in the vicinity of Ashdod with tumors. ⁷ When the people of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because their God is dealing harshly with us and our god Dagon.” ⁸ The people of Ashdod called together all the Philistine rulers. “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” they asked.

“The ark of the God of Israel must be taken to Gath,” the rulers said.^[b] So the people took the ark of the God of Israel there.

⁹ But after they had moved it,^[c] the Lord threw the city into a great panic: He struck all the important and unimportant people in the city, and they were covered with tumors. ¹⁰ So the people of Gath sent the ark of God to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They brought the ark of the God of Israel here to kill us.” ¹¹ They called together all the Philistine rulers. “Send the ark of the God of Israel away,” they said. “Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us or our people.” There was a fear of death throughout the city, where God dealt with them very harshly. ¹² The people who didn’t die were struck with tumors. So the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Is Returned to Israel

6 The ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months ² when the Philistines called for priests and people skilled in explaining omens. The Philistines asked, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how to return it to its proper place.”

³ The priests answered, “If you’re returning the ark of the God of Israel, don’t send it away empty, but by all means return it to its proper place with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why he would not turn his anger away from you.”

⁴ The Philistines asked, “What kind of guilt offering should we give him?”

The priests answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice for the five Philistine rulers because all of you and your rulers suffer from the same plague. ⁵ Make models of your tumors and your mice which are destroying the country, and give glory to the God of Israel. Maybe he will no longer be so hard on you, your gods, and your country. ⁶ Why should you be as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? After he toyed with the Egyptians, didn’t they send the Israelites on their way? ⁷ Now get a new cart ready for two dairy cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart. Take their calves away, and leave them in their stall. ⁸ Take the ark of the Lord, and put it on the cart. Put the gold objects which you’re giving him as a guilt offering in a box beside the ark. Send the cart on its way, ⁹ but then watch where it goes. If it goes up the road to its own country toward Beth Shemesh, then this disaster is the Lord’s doing. But if not, we’ll know it wasn’t his hand that struck us, but what happened to us was an accident.”

¹⁰ The people did this. They took two dairy cows, hitched them to a cart, and shut the calves in the stall. ¹¹ They put the ark of the Lord and the box containing the gold mice and the models of their hemorrhoids on the cart. ¹² The cows went straight up the road to Beth Shemesh. Continually mooing, they stayed on the road and didn’t turn right or left. The rulers of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ The people of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed. ¹⁴ The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there by a large rock. The people chopped up the wood of the cart and sacrificed the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ (The Levites had already taken down from the cart the ark of the Lord and the box which contained the gold objects and put them on the large rock.) The people of Beth Shemesh presented burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord that day. ¹⁶ After the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they went back to Ekron that same day.

¹⁷ The gold hemorrhoids which the Philistines sent as a guilt offering to the Lord were for the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. ¹⁸ And the number of gold mice was the same as the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers, including walled cities and farm villages. The large rock on which they put the ark of the Lord is a witness.^[d] It is still there today in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ God struck down some of the people from Beth Shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the Lord. He struck down 70 people.^[e] The people mourned because the Lord struck them with such a great blow. ²⁰ The people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to which people will he go when he leaves us?” ²¹ They sent messengers to the people living at Kiriath Jearim to say, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord. Come and take it back with you.”

7 The men of Kiriath Jearim came to take the Lord’s ark and brought it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. They gave Abinadab’s son Eleazar the holy occupation of guarding the Lord’s ark.

Israel Admits It Has Sinned

² A long time passed after the ark came to stay at Kiriath Jearim. For 20 years the entire nation of Israel mournfully sought the Lord.

³ Samuel told the entire nation of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord wholeheartedly, get rid of the foreign gods you have, including the statues of the goddess Astarte. Make a commitment to the Lord, and serve only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

⁴ So the Israelites got rid of the statues of Baal and Astarte and served only the Lord.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all the Israelites together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So the Israelites gathered together at Mizpah. They drew some water, poured it out in front of the Lord, and fasted that day. They confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged Israel in Mizpah.

The Philistines Defeated

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the Philistine rulers came to attack Israel. The Israelites heard about the Philistine plan and were afraid of them. ⁸ The Israelites said to Samuel, “Don’t turn a deaf ear to us! Don’t stop crying to the Lord our God for us! Ask him to save us from the Philistines!”

⁹ Then Samuel took a lamb, one still feeding on milk, and sacrificed it as a burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines came to fight against Israel. On that day the Lord thundered loudly at the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel. ¹¹ Israel’s soldiers left Mizpah, pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as Beth Car.

¹² Then Samuel took a rock and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer [Rock of Help] and said, “Until now the Lord has helped us.”

¹³ The power of the Philistines was crushed, so they didn’t come into Israel’s territory again. The Lord restrained the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴ The cities between Ekron and Gath which the Philistines took from Israel were returned to Israel. And Israel recovered the territory controlled by these cities from the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel as long as he lived. ¹⁶ Every year he went around to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah in order to judge Israel in all those places. ¹⁷ Then he would return home to Ramah. There, too, he judged Israel. And in Ramah he built an altar to the Lord.

Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand^(A)

6 Jesus later crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or the Sea of Tiberias). ² A large crowd followed him because they saw the miracles that he performed for the sick. ³ Jesus went up a mountain and sat with his disciples. ⁴ The time for the Jewish Passover festival was near.

⁵ As Jesus saw a large crowd coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ Jesus asked this question to test him. He already knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered, “We would need about a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

⁸ One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, ⁹ “A boy who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fish is here. But they won’t go very far for so many people.”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.”

The people had plenty of grass to sit on. (There were about 5,000 men in the crowd.)

¹¹ Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to the people who were sitting there. He did the same thing with the fish. All the people ate as much as they wanted.

¹² When the people were full, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather the leftover pieces so that nothing will be wasted.” ¹³ The disciples gathered the leftover pieces of bread and filled twelve baskets.

¹⁴ When the people saw the miracle Jesus performed, they said, “This man is certainly the prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus realized that the people intended to take him by force and make him king. So he returned to the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(B)

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went to the sea. ¹⁷ They got into a boat and started to cross the sea to the city of Capernaum. By this time it was dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A strong wind started to blow and stir up the sea.

¹⁹ After they had rowed three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they became terrified.

²⁰ Jesus told them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”

²¹ So they were willing to help Jesus into the boat. Immediately, the boat reached the shore where they were going.

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

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)