And the sons of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that did not come up with the congregation to Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters for wives?

And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to Mizpeh to Jehovah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

And Benjamin came again at that time. And they gave them wives whom they had saved alive, of the women of Jabesh-gilead. And yet so they were not enough for them.

And they said, There must be an inheritance for those of Benjamin who have escaped, so that a tribe may not be destroyed out of Israel.

However, we may not give them wives of our daughters. For the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.

And it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, we will say to them, Be favorable to them for our sakes, because we did not reserve each man a wife in the war. For if you did not give to them at this time, you would be guilty.

would you wait for them until they were grown? Will you shut yourselves up, not to have a husband? No, my daughters, for it makes me very sad for your sakes that the hand of Jehovah has gone out against me.

And Ruth said, Do not beg me to leave you, to return from following after you. For where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

And she said to them, Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

And Boaz said to Ruth, Do you not hear, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field, neither go away from here, but stay here close by my maidens.

Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men that they shall not touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

And Boaz answered and said to her, It has been fully shown to me all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, And you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before now.

Then she said, Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me; for you have spoken kindly to your handmaid, though I am not like one of your handmaidens.

And when she had risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not rebuke her.

And also let fall of the handfuls on purpose for her, and leave them so that she may glean them, and do not rebuke her.

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

And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, Good, my daughter. You go out with his maidens so that they do not fall upon you in any other field.

And her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you so that it may be well with you?

And now, is not Boaz of our kindred, he with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshing-floor.

Therefore wash yourself, and anoint yourself, and put your clothing upon you, and go down to the floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

And he said, Blessed be you of Jehovah, my daughter. You have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, in that you did not follow young men, whether poor or rich.

And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do to you all that you ask. For all the city of my people knows that you are a woman of virtue.

Stay tonight, and it shall be in the morning, if he will redeem you, well; he will redeem. And if he does not delight to redeem you, as Jehovah lives, then I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.

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

And she said, These six measures of barley he gave to me. For he said to me, Do not go empty to your mother-in-law.

And she said, Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall. For the man will not rest until he has finished the thing today.

And I said I will tell it in your ear, saying, Buy it before those who live here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem it. But if you will not redeem, tell me so that I may know. For there is none to redeem besides you. And I am after you. And he said, I will redeem.

And also Ruth of Moab, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day.

And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, so that his name may be famous in Israel.

And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Jehovah, so she provoked her. And she wept and did not eat.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?

And she vowed a vow and said, O, Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your handmaid and remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. And Eli thought she had become drunk.

Do not count your handmaid for a daughter of wickedness, for out of the abundance of my meditation and grief I have spoken until now.

But Hannah did not go up. For she said to her husband, Until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him so that he may appear before Jehovah and stay there forever.

And the sons of Eli were sons of Belial. They did not know Jehovah.

Yea, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest. For he will not have boiled flesh from you, but raw!

And if any man said to him, Let them not fail to burn the fat at once, and then take as your soul desires, then he would answer him, No! But you shall give now! And if not, I will take it by force.

If one man sins against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sins against Jehovah, who shall plead for him? But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because Jehovah desired to kill them.

And you shall see an adversary in My house, in all the good which he does with Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

And that man of yours whom I shall not cut off from My altar, shall be left in order to make your eyes fail, and to grieve your heart. And all the increase of your house shall die young men.

And it happened at that time, when Eli was lying down in his place, and his eyes began to become dim so that he could not see.

And the lamp of God had not gone out. And Samuel was lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was.

And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I. For you called me. And he said, I did not call. Go and lie down again. And he went to lie down.

And Jehovah called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here am I, for you called me. And he answered, I did not call, my son. Go back, lie down.

And Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, and the Word of Jehovah had not yet been revealed to him.

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.

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.

And he said, What is the word which He has said to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide a thing from me of all the words that He said to you.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God has come into the camp, And they said, Woe to us! For there has not been a thing like this before.

Be strong and fight like men, O, Philistines, so that you may not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men and fight!

And Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set so that he could not see.

And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, Do not fear, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer, nor set her heart.

And the men of Ashdod saw that it was so. And they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us. For His hand is sore upon us and upon Dagon our god.

And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again 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.

And the men that did not die were stricken with the hemorrhoids. And the cry of the city went up to the heavens.

And they said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty. For you shall certainly send a guilt offering to him. Then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.

And why do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had worked wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and did they not depart?

And watch. If it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us.

And the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, going along the highway, lowing as they went. And they did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease from crying to Jehovah our God for us, so that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

And the Philistines were beaten, and they did not come any more into the border of Israel. And the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

And his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after ill gain and took bribes and perverted judgment.

And they said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

And Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to 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.

And you shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

And he had a son named Saul, a young and handsome one. And there was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he, being taller than any of the people from his shoulder and upward.

And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, and nothing there. And he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.

As you come to the city, you shall immediately find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he blesses the feast. Afterwards those who have been invited eat. And now go up, for about this time you shall find him.

And as to the asses which were lost to you three days ago, do not set your mind on them. For they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father's house?

And Saul answered and said, Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak so to me?

And Samuel took a vial of oil and poured on his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because Jehovah has anointed you for a leader over His inheritance?

And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But he did not tell him of the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel spoke.

When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they looked for him, but he could not be found.

And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man.

And it was so on the next day, Saul put the people in three companies, and they came into the middle of the army at the morning watch. And they killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And the ones who remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day, for today Jehovah has worked salvation in Israel.

And they said, You have not defrauded us nor oppressed us, neither have you taken from any man's hand.

And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

If you will fear Jehovah, and serve Him, and listen to His voice, and not rebel against the command of Jehovah, then both you and also the king who reigns over you shall continue following Jehovah your God.

But if you will not listen to the voice of Jehovah, but rebel against the command of Jehovah, then the hand of Jehovah shall be against you as it was against your fathers.

Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call to Jehovah, and He shall send thunder and rain, so that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, that which you have done in the sight of Jehovah, in asking a king for you.

And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for your servants to Jehovah your God, so that we will not die. For we have added evil to all our sins, to ask a king for us.

And Samuel said to the people, Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness. Yet do not turn aside from following Jehovah, but serve Jehovah with all your heart.

And do not turn aside to go after vanities, which cannot profit nor deliver. For they are vain.

For Jehovah will not forsake His people for His great name's sake, because it has pleased Jehovah to make you His people.

And he waited seven days, according to the set time with Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. And the people were scattered from him.

And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and you did not come in the days appointed, and the Philistines gathered themselves at Michmash,

and I said, The Philistines will come down now on me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to Jehovah. And I forced myself and offered a burnt offering.

And Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of Jehovah your God, which He commanded you. For now Jehovah would have established your kingdom on Israel forever.

But now your kingdom shall not stand. Jehovah has sought Him a man after His own heart, and Jehovah has appointed him to be leader over His people, because you have not kept what Jehovah commanded you.

And the day came that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, Come and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison which is on the other side. But he did not tell his father.

And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, Jehovah's priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone.

If they say this to us, Stand still until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and will not go up to them.

And Saul said to the people with him, Number now and see who is gone from us. And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.

But Jonathan did not hear when his father made the people swear. And he put forth the end of the rod in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth. And his eyes were lightened.

How much more if the people had happened to eat freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? For would not there have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?

And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, Let each one bring his ox here, and each man his sheep, and kill them here, and eat. And do not sin against Jehovah in eating with the blood. And each man of all the people brought his ox in his hand that night, and killed them there.

And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do all that seems good to you. Then the priest said, Let us draw near here to God.