For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

He came even to Lehi, and Philisteim shouted at his meeting: and the spirit of Jehovah will come suddenly upon him, and the cords which were upon his arms will be as flax which was burnt in fire, and his bands will melt from off his hands.

And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

Now she had men waiting secretly in the inner room; and she said to him, The Philistines are on you, Samson. And the cords were broken by him as a twist of thread is broken when touched by a flame. So the secret of his strength did not come to light.

And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

And opening all his heart to her, he said to her, My head has never been touched by a blade, for I have been separate to God from the day of my birth: if my hair is cut off, then my strength will go from me and I will become feeble, and will be like any other man.

And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

And there will be a man of mount Ephraim and his name Micah.

And there will be a youth from the House of Bread, of Judah, from the families of Judah, and he a Levite, and he sojourned there.

Then Micah said to him, Make your living-place with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year and your clothing and food.

And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

And it will be in those days, and no king in Israel; and it will be a man, a Levite, sojourning in the sides of mount Ephraim, and he will take to him a wife, a concubine, from the House of Bread, of Judah.

And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Ba'al-ta'mar; and the men of Israel who were in ambush rushed out of their place west of Geba.

And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.

If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we'll tell them "Be generous! Give them to us voluntarily, because we didn't take anyone to be a wife for the men of the tribe of Benjamin as a result of the battle. And you haven't incurred guilt by giving your daughters to them.'"

And it will be in the days of the judging of the judges, and there will be a famine in the land. And a man from the house of bread of Judah will go to sojourn in the field of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

And they two will go till they came to the house of bread. And it will be as they came to the house of bread, and all the city will be moved at them, and they will say, Is this Naomi?

And she will say, Shall I find favor in thine eyes, my lord? For thou didst comfort me, and that thou spakest to the heart of thy servant, and shall I not be as one of thy servants?

Now, in earlier times this was the way in Israel when property was taken over by a near relation, or when there was a change of owner. To make the exchange certain one man took off his shoe and gave it to the other; and this was a witness in Israel.

Then said all the people who were in the gate, and the elders - Witnesses!, - Yahweh grant the woman who is coming into thy house, to be as Rachel, and as Leah, which two of them did build the house of Israel. Do thou bravely, then, in Ephrathah, and proclaim thou a name in Bethlehem,

and let thy house be as the house of Pharez (whom Tamar bare to Judah), of the seed which Jehovah doth give to thee of this young woman.'

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.

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.

Do not take your servant to be a good-for-nothing woman: for my words have come from my stored-up sorrow and pain.

And it will be at the return of days Hannah will conceive and bear a son, and she will call his name Samuel, for of Jehovah I asked him.

And she will bring him up with her when she weaned him, with three bullocks and one ephah of flour, and a flask of wine; and she will bring him to the house of Jehovah in Shiloh, and the boy a youth.

And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to bear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor all the offerings made by fire by the {Israelites}.

Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.

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.

This will be the sign to you which shall come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them shall die.

And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Jehovah.

And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and came to a stop there by a great stone: and cutting up the wood of the cart they made a burned offering of the cows to the Lord.

And the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us,

And there will be a man of Benjamin, and his name Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorah, son of Aphiah, son of a man, a Jaminite, a man of strength.

He had a son named Saul, a specially good-looking young man; there was no one better-looking among the children of Israel: he was taller by a head than any other of the people.

And then Samuel took a box of oil and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, "The LORD hath anointed thee to be a captain over his inheritance.

After that, shalt thou come unto the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines, - and it shall be, as thou comest in thither into the city, thou shalt light upon a band of prophets, coming down from the high place, and, before them, a harp, and a timbrel, and a flute, and a lyre, they having been moved to prophesy.

Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into another man.

So they went quickly and made him come out; and when he took his place among the people, he was taller by a head than any of the people.

And the sons of Belial said, What shall this save us? And they will despise him and will not bring him a gift; and he will be as keeping silence.

But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and hath commanded him to be a captain over his people: because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee."

And Jonathan said to his young servant who had his arms, Come, let us go over to the armies of these men who have no circumcision: it may be that the Lord will give us help, for there is no limit to his power; the Lord is able to give salvation by a great army or by a small band.

But if they say, 'Come up against us,' we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand -- it will be a sign to us."

And there came to be a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people, the outposts and the spoilers, they too, trembled, - and the earth quaked, so it became a preternatural trembling.

Now, the men of Israel, were tired out on that day, - yet had Saul bound the people by an oath, saying - Cursed, be the man that eateth food until the evening, and I be avenged upon mine enemies. So none of the people had tasted food.

But the army said to Saul, "Should Jonathan, who won this great victory in Israel, die? May it never be! As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground! For it is with the help of God that he has acted today." So the army rescued Jonathan from death.

Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

And it will be as he finished to speak to Saul, and the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David, and Jonathan will love him as his soul.

Then Saul said to David, "Here [is] my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as [your] wife. Only be {a brave warrior} for me and fight the battles of Yahweh." For Saul thought, "My hand will not be against him, but let the hand of [the] Philistines be against him."

But David said to Saul, "Who [am] I, and [who are] my relatives, the clan of my father in Israel, that I should be a son-in-law to the king?"

And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.

And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

When his officials delivered this message to David, David decided it would be a good thing to become the king's son-in-law. Before the time was up,

Saul became even more afraid of him. Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on.

Then went he himself to Ramah, and when he came to a great well that is in Secu, he asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And they said, "See, they be at Naioth in Ramah."

But David took his oath again and said, Your father sees that I am dear to you; so he says to himself, Let Jonathan have no idea of this, for it will be a grief to him; but as the Lord is living, and as your soul is living, there is only a step between me and death.

If he says, It is well, your servant will be at peace: but if he is angry, then it will be clear to you that he has an evil purpose in mind against me.

As for the matter you and I have spoken about, the Lord will be a witness between you and me forever.”

In the morning Jonathan, accompanied by a servant, went out to the field for the appointment with David.

Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the Lord when we said: The Lord will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.” Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.

And he came to the flocks of the sheep by a wayside where was a cave. And Saul went in to cover his feet. And David and his men sat along by the sides of the cave.

And it will be as David finished speaking these words to Saul, and Saul will say, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul will lift up his voice and weep.

Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord [either] by the shedding of blood without cause or by {my lord taking matters into his own hands}. And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant."

For as surely as the LORD God of Israel lives, the one who restrained me from harming you indeed, had you not quickly come to meet me, by dawn there wouldn't be a single male left to Nabal."

And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a bondwoman to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

And Saul said to David, "Blessed art thou, my son David: for thou shalt be a doer and prevail." And so David went his way, and Saul turned to his place again.

And when Saul went for directions to the Lord, the Lord gave him no answer, by a dream or by the Urim or by the prophets.

And the woman said to him, But you have knowledge of what Saul has done, how he has put away out of the land those who have control of spirits and the users of secret arts: why would you, by a trick, put me in danger of death?

Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?

And Abner said to David, Now I will go, and make all Israel come to my lord the king, so that they may make an agreement with you, and your kingdom may be as wide as your heart's desire. Then David sent Abner away and he went in peace.

it doth stay on the head of Joab, and on all the house of his father, and there is not cut off from the house of Joab one having an issue, and leprous, and laying hold on a staff, and falling by a sword, and lacking bread.'

Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

So then, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, "I took you from the pasture {from following} the sheep to be a leader over my people, over Israel,

I will be a father to him, and he will be a son for me, whom I will punish when he does wrong, with a rod of men and with blows of the {human beings}.

And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, and to make himself a name, and to do for them great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thyself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?

And thou didst establish to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God.

And David said, Is there still anyone of Saul's family living, so that I may be a friend to him, because of Jonathan?

And the king said, Is there anyone of Saul's family still living, to whom I may be a friend in God's name? And Ziba said, There is a son of Jonathan, whose feet are damaged.

David said to him, "Don't be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. You will be a regular guest at my table."

You will cultivate the land for him -- you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce and it will be food for your master's grandson to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, will be a regular guest at my table." (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

And David said, I will be a friend to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father was a friend to me. So David sent his servants, to give him words of comfort on account of his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

And all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, will see that they were smitten before Israel, and they will be at peace with Israel, and serve them. And Aram will be afraid yet to save the sons of Ammon.

And it will be at the return of the year, at the time of the going forth of kings, and David will send Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they will destroy the sons of Ammon, and they will watch closely against Rabbah And David will dwell in Jerusalem.

And it will be at the time of the evening, and David will rise from off his bed, and will go upon the roof of the king's house: and he will see from the roof a woman washing herself; and the woman good of aspect exceedingly.

Then David said to the man, Go and say to Joab, Do not let this be a grief to you; for one man may come to his death by the sword like another: put up an even stronger fight against the town, and take it: and do you put heart into him.

And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

And her brother Absalom said to her, Has your brother Amnon been with you? but now, let there be an end to your crying, my sister: he is your brother, do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar went on living uncomforted in her brother's house.

The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he [was] not willing to go, but he blessed him.

But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked about. And behold, there came much people by a way that was behind his back along by a hill's side.

And it will be as he finished to speak, and behold, the king's sons came, and they will lift up their voice and weep: and the king and all his servants wept a very great weeping.

And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

For we will certainly die and are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not [simply] take away life, but devises plans so that the one who is banished is not driven away from Him.

Who will appoint me to be a judge in the land? When anyone arrived to file a legal complaint or other cause, he could approach me for justice and I would settle it!"

And all his servants passing by upon his hand; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came at his foot from Gath, passing by at the face of the king.

But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether dead or alive, there I will be as well!"

Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me:

but if you want to return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I [am] your servant, O king. I used to be a servant of your father, but from then and now I [will be] your servant,' then you can frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel for me.