And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.

And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. And they began to smite and kill of the people as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah, in

And the sons of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first. But the sons of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.

And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons, for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle.

They enclosed the Benjamites round about, [and] chased them, [and] trod them down at [their] resting-place, as far as opposite Gibeah toward the sunrise.

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin to wife.

And the sons of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that did not come up in the assembly to LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him who did not come up to LORD to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be

And the sons of Israel regretted for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

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

And this is the thing that ye shall do: Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that has lain by man.

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known man by laying with him, and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

And they said, Behold, there is a feast of LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

And it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, Grant them graciously to us, because we took not for each man [of them] his wife in battle, neither did ye give them to them, e

And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house. LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

So those two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they came to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and [the women] said, Is this Naomi?

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

Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

And the servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabite damsel who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou have come to take refuge.

Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, because thou have comforted me, and because thou have spoken kindly to thy handmaid, though I be not as one of thy handmaidens.

And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of LORD 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, one of our near kinsmen.

And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they not meet thee in any other field.

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

And he said, Blessed be thou of LORD, my daughter. Thou have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou did not follow young men, whether poor or rich.

And now it is TRUE that I am a near kinsman. However there is a kinsman nearer than I.

And he said, Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it. And she held it, and he measured six [measures] of barley, and laid it on her, and he went into the city.

And I thought to disclose it to thee, saying, Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou will redeem it, redeem it, but if thou will not redeem it, then tell me that I may know, for there is none

And he shall be to thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loves thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, has borne him.

And the women, her neighbors, gave it 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.

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

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

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before LORD, that Eli noticed her mouth.

And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by thee here, praying to LORD.

Therefore also I have granted him to LORD; as long as he lives he is granted to LORD. And he worshipped LORD there.

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults in LORD. My horn is exalted in LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation.

There is none holy as LORD, for there is none besides thee, neither is there any rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly. Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth, for LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

And if the man said to him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desires, then he would say, No, but thou shall give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.

No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear. Ye make LORD's people to transgress.

And I will raise up for me a faithful priest who shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build for him a sure house, and he shall walk before my anointed forever.

And it shall come to pass, that everyone who is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices that I may eat a morse

And LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant hears.

And he said, What is the thing that [LORD] has spoken to thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to thee.

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is LORD. Let him do what seems him good.

And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out o

And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What is the meaning of the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of LORD came into the camp.

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 such a thing heretofore.

Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness.

Be strong, and strengthen yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight.

And he who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. And thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.

And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is hard upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people.

They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it not kill us and our people. For there was a deadly dis

And the Philistines called for the priests and the psychics, saying, What shall we do with the ark of LORD? Show us with what we shall sent it to its place.

And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return for him a trespass-offering. Then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.

Why then do ye harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?

And watch. If it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then he has done to us this great evil, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.

And the cows took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went behind them to the border

And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before LORD, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up from us?

And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, but LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten down before

Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, LORD has helped us to now.

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

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to LORD.

But the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel. And they said, No, but we will have a king over us

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.

Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

And he had a son whose name was Saul, a young man and fine looking. And there was not among the sons of Israel a man better looking than he. From his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people.

When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the donkeys, and be anxious for us.

And he said to him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey on which we go.

Then Saul said to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What have we?

And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer, for he who is now called a Prophet was formerly called a Seer.)

Then Saul said to his servant, Well said. Come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.

As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the seer here?

And they answered them, and said, He is. Behold, [he is] before thee. Make haste now, for he has come today into the city, for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place.

As soon as ye have come into the city, ye shall straightaway 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 sacrifice, [and] afterwards those who are bidden e

And they went up to the city. [And] as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.

And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for ye shall eat with me today. And in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart.

And as for thy donkeys that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them, for they are found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for thee, and for all thy father's house?

As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou still first, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.

Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that LORD has anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance?

After that thou shall come to the hill of God where is the garrison of the Philistines. And it shall come to pass, when thou have come there to the city, that thou shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with

And let it be, when these signs have come to thee, that thou do as occasion shall serve thee, for God is with thee.

And it came to pass, when all who knew him formerly saw, that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

And a man from the same place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

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

but ye have this day rejected your God who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses, and ye have said to him, No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before LORD by your tribes, and by y

Therefore they asked of LORD further, Is there yet a man to come here? And LORD answered, Behold, he has hid himself among the baggage.

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, Live, O king!

And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah, and mighty men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.

But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel, and then, if there be none to save us, we will come out to thee.

And they said to the messengers who came, Thus ye shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have deliverance. And the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.

Therefore the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and ye shall do with us all that seems good to you.

And the people said to Samuel, Who is he who said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death.

Then Samuel said to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.