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

And there was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, and out of the kindreds of Judah: which young man was a Levite and sojourned there.

So the tribe of Dan sent from their families five valiant men of their number from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout the land and search through it. Following their orders, which were "Go and scout the land," they came to the mountainous region of Ephraim, arrived at Micah's home, and stayed there.

When they were near the house of Micah, hearing a voice which was not strange to them, that of the young Levite, they went out of their road to his place, and said to him, How did you come here? and what are you doing in this place? and why are you here?

And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

And the priest said to them, Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before Jehovah.

And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which is in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in any thing, possessing restraint, and they are far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with any man.

When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the land is large on both hands, for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which is in the land.'

And they went and pitched in Kiriathjearim in Judah. Wherefore the place is called Mahanahdan unto this day, which is on the back side of Kiriathjearim.

They stopped there, went inside the young Levite's house (which belonged to Micah), and asked him how he was doing.

And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

They have been far off from the house of Micah -- and the men who are in the houses which are near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,

And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?

And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.

And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any one. It was in the valley which belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city, and dwelt in it.

And called it Dan, after the name of Dan their father which was born unto Israel. Howbeit in very deed the name of the city was Laish at the beginning.

And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

which concubine played the whore in his house, and went away from him, unto her father's house to Bethlehem Judah, and there continued four months.

But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.

And his lord will say to him, We will not turn into a strange city which is not of the sons of Israel here; and we passed over even to Gibeah.

And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

And he said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of E'phraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; and I am going to my home; and nobody takes me into his house.

Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.

They doing good to their heart, and behold, the men of the city, men of the sons of Belial, encompassed the house, knocking upon the door; and they will say to the man, the lord of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man which came into thy house, and we will know him.

lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this foolish thing.'

And when he had come to his house, he got his knife, and took the woman, cutting her up bone by bone into twelve parts, which he sent through all Israel.

The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God's people, which numbered four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.

The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered and said, "I came to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.

So I took her, cutting her into parts which I sent through all the country of the heritage of Israel: for they have done an act of shame in Israel.

But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;

and we will take ten men of a hundred of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to bring food for the people, so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may do according to all the folly which they have done in Israel.

And the tribes of Israel send men among all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, 'What is this evil which hath been among you?

Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:

And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

And among all these folk were seven hundred left handed men, which every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss.

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

And the people, the men of Israel, will strengthen themselves, and they will add to prepare war in the place which they set in array in the first day.

And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.

So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.

Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.

So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.

The men of Israel turned again on the children of Benjamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the livestock, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.

And the people of Israel said, "Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?" For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah, saying, "He shall be put to death."

They asked, "Which one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?" And behold, no one came from Jabesh-gilead to the camp, to the assembly.

And this is the thing which ye do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, ye devote.'

And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.

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

And the children of Benjamin did even so: and took them wives according to the number of them of the dancers which they caught. And then they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built their cities and dwelt in them.

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

which took them wives of the nations of the Moabites: the one's name Orpah and the other's Ruth. And when they had dwelled there about a ten years,

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

And she went and came and gathered after the harvest men, and her chance was that part of the field pertained unto Boaz which was of the kindred of Elimelech.

Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

Then she said unto him, "Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord, for thou hast comforted me and hast spoken heartily unto thy maid, which yet cannot be like unto one of thy maids."

At lunchtime, Boaz invited her, "Come on over, have some food, and dip your bread in our oil and vinegar." So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he handed her some roasted grain, which she ate until she was satisfied. She kept what was left over.

So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

She took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.

And Ruth the Moabite said, "Also, he said to me, 'You shall stay close with the servants which are mine until they have finished all of the harvest which is mine.'"

Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, "It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field."

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, - My daughter! shall I not seek for thee a place of rest, in which it may be well with thee?

and it cometh to pass when he lieth down, that thou hast known the place where he lieth down, and hast gone in, and uncovered his feet, and lain down, -- and he doth declare to thee that which thou dost do.'

And now, my daughter, thou shalt not fear; all which thou shalt say, I will do to thee: for all the gate of my people will know that thou art a woman of power.

And he saith, 'Give the covering which is on thee, and keep hold on it;' and she keepeth hold on it, and he measureth six measures of barley, and layeth it on her; and he goeth into the city.

and she came in to her mother-in-law, which said, "What tidings my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done to her.

Then went Boaz unto the gate and sat him down there. And behold, the kinsman of which Boaz spake came by. Unto whom he said, "Come and sit down here, and called him by his name." And he turned in and sat down.

And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:

And Boaz will say to the old men and all the people, Ye are witnesses this day that I bought all which was to Elimelech, and all which was to Chilion and Mahlon, from the hand of Naomi.

And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.

And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.

And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.

So her women neighbors gave the child a nickname, which is "Naomi has a son!" They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

A certain man lived in Ramathaim-zophim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim. He was Jeroham's son Elkanah, the grandson of Elihu and grandson of Tohu, who was the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

which had two wives, the one called Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

And Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition which thou hast asked of him.

And so it was, when the days had come round during which Hannah was with child, that she bare a son, - and called his name Samuel, Because, of Yahweh, I asked him.

And Elkanah her husband saith to her, 'Do that which is good in thine eyes; abide till thy weaning him; only, Jehovah establish His word;' and the woman abideth and suckleth her son till she hath weaned him,

And they brought him before the LORD, and his father slaughtered the sacrifice, which he did annually for the LORD. And he brought the child. And they slaughtered the bull, and brought the child to Eli.

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

And I also lent him to Jehovah; all the days which he lives he is lent to Jehovah. And they will worship to Jehovah there.

And he struck into the fire-pan or into the boiler, or into the kettle, or into the pot; all which the fork will bring up the priest will take for himself. So they will do to all Israel coming there into Shiloh.

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home.

And he will say to them, Wherefore will ye do according to these words? which I heard very evil words of all this people.

Nay, my sons; for the report which I am hearing is not good causing the people of Jehovah to transgress. --

Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

And this shall be a sign to you, which shall come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day both of them shall die.

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

And for the third time the Lord said Samuel's name. And he got up and went to Eli and said, Here am I; for you certainly said my name. Then it was clear to Eli that the voice which had said the child's name was the Lord's.

And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.

For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, 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 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 Samuel declareth to him the whole of the words, and hath not hid from him; and he saith, 'It is Jehovah; that which is good in His eyes He doth.'

So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

insomuch that they which died not, were smitten with the hemorrhoids: so that the cry of the city went up to heaven.