Summary Verses 21:1 The Lord sends three years of famine because of Saul. 21:9 The Gibeonites take vengeance on Saul and hang seven of his sons. 21:15 Four great battles David fought against the Philistines. 22:2 David after his victories gives God the glory. 22:8 The anger of God toward the wicked. 23:1 The last words of David. 23:6 The wicked shall be plucked up like thorns. 23:8 Recounting David’s mighty men, their names and deeds. 23:15 He desired water, and would not drink it.
1st Samuel Chapter 21 21:1 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” 21:2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 21:3 “Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.” 21:4 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.” 21:5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was sanctified in the vessel this day.” 21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away. 21:7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul. 21:8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” 21:9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.” 21:10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 21:11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” 21:12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 21:13 So he changed his behavior before them, feigned madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 21:14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 21:15 “Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
1st Samuel Chapter 22 22:1 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 22:2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him. 22:3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 22:4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 22:5 Now the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. 22:6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered-now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him- 22:7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 22:8 “All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.” 22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 22:10 “And he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” 22:11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. 22:12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 22:13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?” 22:14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? 22:15 “Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.” 22:16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house” 22:17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. 22:18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. 22:19 Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep-with the edge of the sword. 22:20 Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 22:21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. 22:22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 22:23 “Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”
1st Samuel Chapter 23 23:1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.” 23:2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.” 23:3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 23:4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again. And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 23:5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 23:6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand. 23:7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 23:8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 23:9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 23:11 “Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 23:12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.” 23:13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition. 23:14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 23:15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 23:16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 23:17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 23:18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house. 23:19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 23:20 “Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.” 23:21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. 23:22 “Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23:23 “See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.” 23:24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 23:25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 23:26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them. 23:27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hasten and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land” 23:28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape. 23:29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.
Summary Verses 18:1 The brotherhood of Jonathan and David. 18:8 Saul envies David for the praise he received from the people. 18:11 Saul would have slain David if he could. 18:17 Saul promises his daughter Merab to David; but gives him Michal instead. 18:27 David delivers Saul two-hundred foreskins of the Philistines. 18:29 Saul fears David knowing that the Lord is with Him. 19:2 Jonathan declares to David the wicked intentions of Saul to kill him. 19:11 David’s wife Michal saves him. 19:18 David goes to Samuel. 19:23 The spirit of prophecy comes on Saul. 20:2 Jonathan swears to inform David of his father’s plans against him. 20:3 Jonathan and David renew the pact between them. 20:33 Saul throws a spear at his son Jonathan. 20:38 Jonathan sends David a signal using arrows.
1st Samuel Chapter 18 18:1 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 18:2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 18:4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. 18:5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants. 18:6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. 18:7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” 18:8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” 18:9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward. 18:10 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. 18:11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall” But David escaped his presence twice. 18:12 Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul. 18:13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 18:14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. 18:15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. 18:17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18:18 So David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 18:19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife. 18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 18:21 So Saul said, “I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, “You shall be my son-in-law today.” 18:22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Communicate with David secretly, and say, ‘Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king’s son-in-law.'” 18:23 So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” 18:24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, “In this manner David spoke.” 18:25 Then Saul said, “Thus you shall say to David: ‘The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.'” But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 18:26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the days had not expired; 18:27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. 18:28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; 18:29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually. 18:30 Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.
1st Samuel Chapter 19 19:1 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted greatly in David. 19:2 So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. 19:3 “And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you.” 19:4 Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. 19:5 “For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?” 19:6 So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.” 19:7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past. 19:8 And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. 19:9 Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand. 19:10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night. 19:11 Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 19:12 So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. 19:13 And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats’ hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. 19:14 So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 19:15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 19:16 And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats’ hair for his head. 19:17 Then Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go Why should I kill you?'” 19:18 So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. 19:19 Now it was told Saul, saying, “Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah” 19:20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 19:21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 19:22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 19:23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 19:24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
1st Samuel Chapter 20 20:1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 20:2 So Jonathan said to him, “By no means You shall not die Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so” 20:3 Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 20:4 So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.” 20:5 And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. 20:6 “If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ 20:7 “If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, then be sure that evil is determined by him. 20:8 “Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 20:9 But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?” 20:10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?” 20:11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field. 20:12 Then Jonathan said to David: “The Lord God of Israel is witness When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, 20:13 “may the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. 20:14 “And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; 20:15 “but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 20:16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.” 20:17 Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 20:19 “And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. 20:20 “Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target; 20:21 “and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’-then, as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. 20:22 “But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’-go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. 20:23 “And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the Lord be between you and me forever.” 20:24 Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. 20:25 Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. 20:26 Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean.” 20:27 And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?” 20:28 So Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. 20:29 “And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.” 20:30 Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 20:31 “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” 20:32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” 20:33 Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. 20:34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully. 20:35 And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. 20:36 Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 20:37 When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 20:38 And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. 20:39 But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. 20:40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.” 20:41 As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. 20:42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
Summary Verses 15:3 Saul is commanded to slay Amalek. 15:9 Saul defies God and spares king Agag and the best of the livestock. 15:19 Samuel reproves Saul for disobeying God. 15:28 Saul is rejected by God and his kingdom is given to another. 15:33 Samuel kills Agag as the Lord commanded. 16:1 Samuel is reproved by God and sent to anoint David king of Israel. 16:7 God looks at the heart of a man, not his outward appearance. 16:13 The Spirit of the Lord comes upon David. 16:14 A wicked and evil spirit is sent upon Saul. 16:19 Saul sends for David to help him. 17:1 The Philistines make war against Israel. 17:10 Goliath defies Israel. 17:17 David is sent by his father to check on his brothers. 17:34 David displays strength and boldness. 17:47 The Lord saves not by the sword or the spear. 17:50 David kills Goliath and the Philistines flee.
1st Samuel Chapter 15 15:1 Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. 15:2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 15:3 ‘Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'” 15:4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 15:5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. 15:6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 15:7 And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 15:8 He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. 15:10 Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 15:11 “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. 15:12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.” 15:13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 15:14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15:15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak on.” 15:17 So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 15:18 “Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 15:19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?” 15:20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 15:21 “But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 15:22 Then Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 15:25 “Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 15:26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 15:27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 15:28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 15:29 “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” 15:30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 15:31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord. 15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 15:33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 15:35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
1st Samuel Chapter 16 16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” 16:2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 16:3 “Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” 16:4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 16:5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 16:6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 16:8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 16:12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one” 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 16:14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 16:15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16:16 “Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” 16:17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 16:18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” 16:19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 16:20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 16:21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 16:22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 16:23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
1st Samuel Chapter 17 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 17:3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 17:5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 17:6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 17:7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 17:8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 17:9 “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 17:10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 17:12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 17:13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 17:14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 17:15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 17:16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening. 17:17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 17:18 “And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 17:19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 17:21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 17:22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 17:23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 17:25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.” 17:26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 17:27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” 17:28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 17:29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 17:30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did. 17:31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 17:32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 17:33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 17:35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 17:36 “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 17:37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you” 17:38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 17:39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 17:41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 17:43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field” 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 17:46 “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 17:47 “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” 17:48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 17:49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 17:51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 17:52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 17:53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. 17:55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 17:56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.” 17:57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 17:58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Summary Verses 13:3 The Philistines are defeated by Saul and his son Jonathan. 13:13 Saul disobeys God again and as a result Samuel shows him he shall no longer have the kingdom. 13:19 The Philistines rule over the Israelites. 14:14 Jonathan and his armor bearer put the Philistines to flight. 14:24 Saul binds the people by a stupid oath, they cannot eat till evening. 14:32 Because of his oath the people eat meat mingled with blood. 14:38 Saul because of his foolish oath tries to put his son Jonathan to death. 14:45 The people deliver Jonathan from Saul’s foolishness.
1st Samuel Chapter 13 13:1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 13:2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. 13:3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear” 13:4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. 13:5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 13:7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 13:8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 13:9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 13:10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 13:11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 13:12 “then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 13:14 “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 13:15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men. 13:16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 13:17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned to the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 13:18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. 13:19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.” 13:20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; 13:21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads. 13:22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. 13:23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
1st Samuel Chapter 14 14:1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 14:2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. 14:3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 14:4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 14:5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah. 14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.” 14:7 So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” 14:8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. 14:9 “If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 14:10 “But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.” 14:11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” 14:12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 14:13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14:14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. 14:15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling. 14:16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there. 14:17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Now call the roll and see who has gone from us.” And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. 14:18 And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here” (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel). 14:19 Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 14:20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion. 14:21 Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 14:22 Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle. 14:23 So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven. 14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. 14:25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground. 14:26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 14:27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened. 14:28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.'” And the people were faint. 14:29 But Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 14:30 “How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?” 14:31 Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint. 14:32 And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood. 14:33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood” So he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day.” 14:34 And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring me here every man’s ox and every man’s sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.'” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there. 14:35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar that he built to the Lord. 14:36 Now Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 14:37 So Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day. 14:38 And Saul said, “Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today. 14:39 “For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not a man among all the people answered him. 14:40 Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 14:41 Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped. 14:42 And Saul said, “Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.” So Jonathan was taken. 14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die” 14:44 And Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.” 14:45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die. 14:46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place. 14:47 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them. 14:48 And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. 14:49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Jishui and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. 14:50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 14:51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 14:52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.
Summary Verses 7:1 The Ark is brought to Kiriath Jearim. 7:3 Samuel exhorts the people to forsake their sins and turn back to God. 7:10 The Philistines fight against Israel and are defeated. 7:16 Samuel judges the nation of Israel. 8:1 Samuel makes his sons judges over Israel, they do not follow in his foot steps. 8:5 The Israelites ask for a king. 8:11 Samuel declares to the people the authority and actions of a king. 8:19 Despite Samuel’s warning the people still demand a king over them and the Lord says yes. 9:3 Saul seeks his father’s donkey who is lost, his servant counsels him to ask Samuel. 9:9 During this time in Israel prophets were called seers. 9:15 The Lord reveals to Samuel Saul is coming and tells Samuel to anoint him king over Israel. 9:22 Samuel brings Saul to the feast.
1st Samuel Chapter 7 7:1 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. 7:2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. 7:3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 7:4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. 7:5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 7:6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. 7:7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 7:8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 7:9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 7:10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 7:11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 7:13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 7:14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 7:15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 7:16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 7:17 But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
1st Samuel Chapter 8 8:1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 8:2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 8:3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 8:5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 8:7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8:8 “According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day-with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods-so they are doing to you also. 8:9 “Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” 8:10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 8:11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 8:12 “He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 8:13 “He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 8:14 “And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 8:15 “He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 8:16 “And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 8:17 “He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 8:18 “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 8:20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. 8:22 So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”
1st Samuel Chapter 9 9:1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 9:2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 9:3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please, take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 9:4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. 9:5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.” 9:6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.” 9:7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 9:8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9:9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) 9:10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 9:11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 9:12 And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. 9:13 “As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” 9:14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. 9:15 Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 9:16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to me.” 9:17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” 9:18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” 9:19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 9:20 “But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 9:21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” 9:22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 9:23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.'” 9:24 So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 9:25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house. 9:26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel. 9:27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”
Summary Verses 3:1 There were no manifest visions from the Lord during the time of Eli. 3:4 The Lord calls Samuel three times. 3:11 The Lord showed Samuel what shall come upon Eli and his house. 3:18 Samuel declared what God told him to Eli. 4:1 Israel is overcome by the Philistines. 4:4 The Israelites bring the Ark into battle. 4:10 The Ark of the Lord is taken by the Philistines. 4:11 Eli and his children die. 4:19 The death of Eli’s son Phinehas and of Phinehas’s wife. 5:2 The Philistines bring the Ark of God into the house of Dagon. 5:2 The statue of Dagon falls before the Ark and breaks. 5:6 The Philistines of Ashdod are plagued. 5:8 The Philistines take the Ark into Gath then return it from there. 6:1 The Philistines place a gift offering into the Ark. 6:12 The Ark travels to Beth Shemesh. 6:17 The Philistines place Gold emerods into the Ark. 6:19 The men of Beth Shemesh are stricken for looking into the Ark.
1st Samuel Chapter 3 3:1 Then the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3:3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 3:4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am” 3:5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. 3:6 Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 3:7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.) 3:8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 3:9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 3:10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel Samuel” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 3:11 Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 3:12 “In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 3:13 “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. 3:14 “And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 3:15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 3:16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son” And he answered, “Here I am.” 3:17 And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” 3:18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.” 3:19 So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 3:20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. 3:21 Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
1st Samuel Chapter 4 4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 4:2 Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 4:3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 4:5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. 4:6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 4:7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp” And they said, “Woe to us For such a thing has never happened before. 4:8 “Woe to us Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 4:9 “Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight” 4:10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 4:11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 4:12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 4:13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. 4:14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli. 4:15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. 4:16 Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.” And he said, “What happened, my son?” 4:17 So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.” 4:18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 4:19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. 4:20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she regard it. 4:21 Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 4:22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
1st Samuel Chapter 5 5:1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 5:2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the temple of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 5:3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 5:4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it. 5:5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 5:6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 5:7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 5:8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 5:9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them. 5:10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people” 5:11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 5:12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1st Samuel Chapter 6 6:1 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 6:2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.” 6:3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.” 6:4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords. 6:5 “Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 6:6 “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart? 6:7 “Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. 6:8 “Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. 6:9 “And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us- it happened to us by chance.” 6:10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 6:11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. 6:12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh. 6:13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 6:14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 6:15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. 6:16 So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 6:17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 6:18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. 6:19 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. 6:20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” 6:21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”
Summary Verses 4:1 Boaz secures the position of kinsman redeemer. 4:7 Display of an ancient custom in Israel. 4:10 Boaz marries Ruth, they have a son named Obed who was the father of Jesse who was the father of David. 4:18 The generation of Perez. 1:1 The genealogy of Elkanah the father of Samuel. 1:2 His two wives. 1:5 Hannah was barren and prayed to the Lord for a child. 1:15 Hannah’s answer to Eli. 1:20 Samuel is born to Hannah and Elkanah. 1:24 Hannah dedicates Samuel to the Lord. 2:1 The song of Hannah. 2:12 The sons of Eli are wicked. 2:13 The new custom of the Priests. 2:18 Samuel ministers before the Lord. 2:20 Eli blesses Elkanah and Hannah. 2:23 Eli reproves his sons, they do not heed his rebuke. 2:27 God sends a prophet to Eli. 2:31 Eli’s house is cursed because of his sons.
Ruth Chapter 4 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. 4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 4:3 Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4:4 “And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.'” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 4:5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.” 4:6 And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 4:7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. 4:8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 4:9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 4:10 “Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” 4:11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 4:12 “May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.” 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 4:14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel 4:15 “And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 4:16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 4:17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 4:18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 4:19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 4:20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 4:21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 4:22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
1st Samuel Chapter 1 1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 1:2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 1:3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. 1:4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 1:5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. 1:6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. 1:7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. 1:8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 1:9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. 1:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. 1:11 Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” 1:12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. 1:13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 1:14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you” 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. 1:16 “Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” 1:17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” 1:18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. 1:19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 1:20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.” 1:21 Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 1:22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.” 1:23 And Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 1:24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. 1:25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. 1:26 And she said, “O my lord As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. 1:27 “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 1:28 “Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.
1st Samuel Chapter 2 2:1 And Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2:2 “No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 2:3 “Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed. 2:4 “The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. 2:5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble. 2:6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. 2:7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them. 2:9 He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. “For by strength no man shall prevail. 2:10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.” 2:11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord. 2:13 And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. 2:14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 2:15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.” 2:16 And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” 2:17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord. 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod. 2:19 Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 2:20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home. 2:21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the Lord. 2:22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 2:23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 2:24 “No, my sons For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. 2:25 “If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them. 2:26 And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men. 2:27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 2:28 ‘Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 2:29 ‘Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ 2:30 “Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 2:31 ‘Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 2:32 ‘And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 2:33 ‘But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 2:34 ‘Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. 2:35 ‘Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever. 2:36 ‘And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.”‘”
Summary Verses 1:1 Elimelech takes his wife Naomi and their sons to Moab. 1:3 Elimelech and his sons die Moab. 1:19 Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem. 2:2 Ruth gleans corn in the field of Boaz. 2:8 Boaz shows Ruth gentleness and kindness. 3:1 Naomi gives Ruth counsel. 3:8 Ruth sleeps at Boaz’s feet. 3:12 Boaz acknowledges himself to be Ruth’s kinsman redeemer.
Ruth Chapter 1 1:1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 1:2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion-Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 1:3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 1:4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. 1:5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. 1:6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread. 1:7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 1:8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 1:9 “The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 1:10 And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.” 1:11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 1:12 “Turn back, my daughters, go-for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 1:13 “would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me” 1:14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 1:15 And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 1:16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 1:17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” 1:18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. 1:19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 1:20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 1:21 “I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” 1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth Chapter 2 2:1 There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2:2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 2:3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 2:4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you” 2:5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 2:6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 2:7 “And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.” 2:8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 2:9 “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 2:10 So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 2:11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 2:12 “The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” 2:13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.” 2:14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. 2:15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 2:16 “Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 2:18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. 2:19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 2:20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.” 2:21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” 2:22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.” 2:23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
Ruth Chapter 3 3:1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 3:2 “Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3:3 “Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 3:4 “Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” 3:5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” 3:6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 3:7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 3:8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 3:9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.” 3:10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 3:11 “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. 3:12 “Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 3:13 “Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you-good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives Lie down until morning.” 3:14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 3:15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 3:16 So when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 3:17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'” 3:18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
Summary Verses 20:1 The Israelites meet at Mizpah and the Levite speaks to the children of Israel. 20:13 The Israelites come up against Gibeah. 20:45 The Israelites fight against the men of Gibeah and are repelled twice. 20:46 The Israelites defeat the men of Gibeah. 21:1 The Israelites vow they will not let their daughters marry the men of Benjamin. 21:10 The slay them of Jabeth Glead and give their virgins to the men of Benjamin. 21:21 The Benjamites take the daughters of Shiloh.
Judges Chapter 20 20:1 So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the Lord at Mizpah. 20:2 And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword. 20:3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?” 20:4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine and I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night. 20:5 “And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died. 20:6 “So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel. 20:7 “Look All of you are children of Israel; give your advice and counsel here and now” 20:8 So all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house; 20:9 “but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up against it by lot. 20:10 “We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to make provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel.” 20:11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man. 20:12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? 20:13 “Now therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel. 20:14 Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel. 20:15 And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men. 20:16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. 20:17 Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war. 20:18 Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” The Lord said, “Judah first” 20:19 So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20:20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in battle array to fight against them at Gibeah. 20:21 Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. 20:22 And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. 20:23 Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.” 20:24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day. 20:25 And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword. 20:26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 20:27 So the children of Israel inquired of the Lord (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 20:28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” 20:29 Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah. 20:30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times. 20:31 So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 20:32 And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” 20:33 So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba. 20:34 And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. 20:35 The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword. 20:36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. 20:37 And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. 20:38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city, 20:39 whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 20:40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven. 20:41 And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. 20:42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst. 20:43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east. 20:44 And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. 20:45 Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them. 20:46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor. 20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 20:48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword-from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.
Judges Chapter 21 21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 21:2 Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, 21:3 and said, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?” 21:4 So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 21:5 The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the Lord?” For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” 21:6 And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. 21:7 “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters as wives?” 21:8 And they said, “What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly. 21:9 For when the people were counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there. 21:10 So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children. 21:11 “And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” 21:12 So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 21:13 Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them. 21:14 So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them. 21:15 And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel. 21:16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” 21:17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. 21:18 “However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.'” 21:19 Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 21:20 Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, 21:21 “and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin. 21:22 “Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.'” 21:23 And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them. 21:24 So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance. 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Summary Verses 17:3 Micah’s mother according to her vow made to idols for her son. 17:5 Micah made his son a priest for his idols. 17:10 Micah later hired a Levite. 18:2 The children of Dan send out men to search the land. 18:11 Six hundred men of Dan come to Micah and take his idols and his priest. 18:27 The men of Dan destroy Laish. 18:28 They rebuild the city and practice idolatry. 19:1 A Levite’s wife forsakes her husband and becomes a harlot. 19:25 At Gibeah she is killed by ruthless men. 19:29 The Levite cut her into pieces and sent the pieces to the twelve tribes to show their evil.
Judges Chapter 17 17:1 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 17:2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears-here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my son” 17:3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 17:4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah. 17:5 The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. 17:7 Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. 17:8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 17:9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.” 17:10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 17:11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 17:12 So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 17:13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as priest”
Judges Chapter 18 18:1 In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in; for until that day their inheritance among the tribes of Israel had not fallen to them. 18:2 So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 18:3 While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?” 18:4 He said to them, “Thus and so Micah did for me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest.” 18:5 So they said to him, “Please inquire of God, that we may know whether the journey on which we go will be prosperous.” 18:6 And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The presence of the Lord be with you on your way.” 18:7 So the five men departed and went to Laish. They saw the people who were there, how they dwelt safely, in the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians, and they had no ties with anyone. 18:8 Then the spies came back to their brethren at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, “What is your report?” 18:9 So they said, “Arise, let us go up against them. For we have seen the land, and indeed it is very good. Would you do nothing? Do not hesitate to go, and enter to possess the land. 18:10 “When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth.” 18:11 And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. 18:12 Then they went up and encamped in Kirjath Jearim in Judah. (Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. There it is, west of Kirjath Jearim.) 18:13 And they passed from there to the mountains of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. 18:14 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brethren, “Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a molded image? Now therefore, consider what you should do.” 18:15 So they turned aside there, and came to the house of the young Levite man-to the house of Micah-and greeted him. 18:16 The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. 18:17 Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up. Entering there, they took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image. The priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were armed with weapons of war. 18:18 When these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molded image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 18:19 And they said to him, “Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us; be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the household of one man, or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” 18:20 So the priest’s heart was glad; and he took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image, and took his place among the people. 18:21 Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them. 18:22 When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan. 18:23 And they called out to the children of Dan. So they turned around and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you have gathered such a company?” 18:24 So he said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What ails you?'” 18:25 And the children of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household” 18:26 Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. 18:27 So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 18:28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there. 18:29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish. 18:30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 18:31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Judges Chapter 19 19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 19:2 But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. 19:3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. 19:4 Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there. 19:5 Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.” 19:6 So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” 19:7 And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again. 19:8 Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate. 19:9 And when the man stood to depart-he and his concubine and his servant-his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.” 19:10 However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came to opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him. 19:11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.” 19:12 But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.” 19:13 So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.” 19:14 And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 19:15 They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night. 19:16 Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites. 19:17 And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” 19:18 So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of the Lord. But there is no one who will take me into his house, 19:19 “although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.” 19:20 And the old man said, “Peace be with you However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.” 19:21 So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 19:22 As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally” 19:23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren I beg you, do not act so wickedly Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. 19:24 “Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing” 19:25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go. 19:26 Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light. 19:27 When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. 19:28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place. 19:29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 19:30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up”
