So they said, "Behold, there is the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebo'nah."

And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto them, else would ye now be guilty.

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

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 Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

(Now the man's name was Elimelech, his wife was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there.

Now as she and her two daughters-in-law began to leave the place where she had been living to return to the land of Judah,

May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the house of your new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly.

And they said unto her, Nay, but we will return with thee unto thy people.

But Naomi replied, "Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands!

Go back, my daughters, and go on your way; I am so old now that I may not have another husband. If I said, I have hopes, if I had a husband tonight, and might have sons,

Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.

So they continued on until they reached Bethlehem. Now when the two of them arrived in Bethlehem, the entire town got excited at the news of their arrival and they asked one another, "Can this be Naomi?"

So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. (Now they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.)

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a man of great wealth and influence, from the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

So Ruth went and gathered grain in the fields behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Now when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he told the harvesters, "The LORD be with you." "May the LORD bless you!" they replied.

And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

And Boaz said to Ruth, "{Listen carefully}, my daughter, go no longer to glean in another field. Moreover, do not leave from this one, but {stay close} with my young women.

Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and said unto him, "How is that I have found grace in thine eyes, to know me, seeing I am an alien?"

And Boaz answered and said to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband was fully told to me. [How] you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and you went to a people that you did not know {before}.

And Boaz saith to her, 'At meal-time come nigh hither, and thou hast eaten of the bread, and dipped thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sitteth at the side of the reapers, and he reacheth to her roasted corn, and she eateth, and is satisfied, and leaveth.

And when she was risen up to gather, Boaz said to the young men, saying, "Let her gather the ears that remain and do her no despite.

And let some heads of grain be pulled out of what has been corded up, and dropped for her to take, and let no sharp word be said to her.

Then said her mother-in-law unto her, "Where gatheredst thou today? And where wroughtest thou? Blessed be he that knew thee." And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought and said, "The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz."

And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.

And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, It is better, my daughter, for you to go out with his servant-girls, so that no danger may come to you in another field.

Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek for you security that [things] may be good for you?

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.

And it will be in his lying down, and know thou the place where he shall lie down there, and go in and uncover from his feet, and lie down; and he will announce to thee what thou shalt do.

Now when Boaz had taken meat and drink, and his heart was glad, he went to take his rest at the end of the mass of grain; then she came softly and, uncovering his feet, went to rest.

Now in the middle of the night, the man awaking from his sleep in fear, and lifting himself up, saw a woman stretched at his feet.

Then he said, “May the Lord bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor.

And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good. Let him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lie down until morning.”

And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.

He will be a giver of new life to you, and your comforter when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who, in her love for you, is better than seven sons, has given birth to him.

The neighbor women named him, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. Now he became the father of Jesse -- David's father!

Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

Now this man used to go up from his town {year by year} to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh, {where} the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, [were] priests to Yahweh.

But to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children.

(Now her rival wife would provoke her severely in order to upset her because Yahweh had closed her womb.)

And year by year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she kept on attacking her, so that Hannah gave herself up to weeping and would take no food.

Then her husband Elkanah said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? and why are you taking no food? why is your heart troubled? am I not more to you than ten sons?

So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.

Now while she was a long time in prayer before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.

Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

Don't consider your servant a wicked woman, for until now I have spoken from my deep pain and anguish."

And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.

Now the time came when Hannah, being with child, gave birth to a son; and she gave him the name Samuel, Because, she said, I made a prayer to the Lord for him.

Then when she had done so, she took him with her, with a three-year old ox and an ephah of meal and a skin full of wine, and took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh: now the child was still very young.

I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” Then he bowed in worship to the Lord there.

Hannah prayed and said,“My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord;
My horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord,
My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

There is none holy like Jehovah, For there is none save Thee, And there is no rock like our God.

Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

They that were full have hired themselves out for bread; and the hungry are so no more: Even the barren beareth seven, and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. Now the boy was serving Yahweh {in the presence of} Eli the priest.

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.

Now the priests would always treat the people in the following way: Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice, while the meat was boiling, the priest's attendant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

And more than this, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was making the offering, Give me some of the flesh to be cooked for the priest; he has no taste for meat cooked in water, but would have you give it uncooked.

And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

And the sin of these young men was very great before the Lord; for they gave no honour to the Lord's offerings.

Now Samuel [was] serving before Yahweh, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress.

If one man does wrong to another, God will be his judge: but if a man's sin is against the Lord, who will take up his cause? But they gave no attention to the voice of their father, for it was the Lord's purpose to send destruction on them.

But the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: "Thus says Yahweh: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh?

Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Look, days [are] coming when I will cut off your {strength} and the {strength} of the house of your ancestor {so that no one in your house will live to old age}.

You will see distress in the place of worship, in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.

And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see),

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he restrained them not.

So I have made an oath to the family of Eli that no offering of meat or of meal which they may make will ever take away the sin of his family.

And he will say, What the word he spake to thee? not now shalt thou hide from me: so will God do to thee, and so will he add, if thou shalt hide from me a word of all the word which he spake to thee.

And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.

So the army sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

Now when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh arrived at the camp, all Israel {let out a loud shout} so that the earth shook.

And Philisteim will hear the voice of the shout, and they will say, What the voice of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? and they knew that the ark of Jehovah came into the camp.

Show some courage and be men, Philistines! Otherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you. Now be men and fight!”

Now a man [from the tribe] of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head [as signs of mourning over the disaster].

When he came, {there was} Eli sitting on his chair {by the side of the road} watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. Now the man had come {to give his report} in the city, and all the city cried out.

Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.

Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, and was about to give birth; so when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her [labor] pains began.