# verses

text:
And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.


text:
But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father’s house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?’


text:
The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘Nevertheless, we have now turned back to you, so that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites, and become head over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’


text:
Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘If you bring me home again to fight with the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.’


text:
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘The Lord will be witness between us; we will surely do as you say.’


text:
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.


text:
Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, ‘What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?’


text:
The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, ‘Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.’


text:
and said to him: ‘Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites,


text:
but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.


text:
Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.


text:
Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived on the eastern side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.


text:
Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Let us pass through your land to our country.”


text:
But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel.


text:
Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.


text:
They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.


text:
So now the Lord, the God of Israel, has conquered the Amorites for the benefit of his people Israel. Do you intend to take their place?


text:
Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that the Lord our God has conquered for our benefit?


text:
Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?


text:
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?


text:
It is not I who have sinned against you, but you are the one who does me wrong by making war on me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites.’


text:
Jephthah’s Vow Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites.


text:
then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’


text:
So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand.


text:
He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighbourhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.


text:
Jephthah’s Daughter Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her.


text:
When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’


text:
She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’


text:
And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’


text:
‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.


text:
At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that


text:
for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.


text:
Intertribal Dissension The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!’


text:
Jephthah said to them, ‘My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.


text:
When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?’


text:
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, ‘You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites—in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.’


text:
Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, ‘Let me go over’, the men of Gilead would say to him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ When he said, ‘No’,


text:
they said to him, ‘Then say Shibboleth’, and he said, ‘Sibboleth’, for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.


text:
Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead.


text:
He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty young women from outside for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years.


text:
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel for eight years.


text:
Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.


text:
The Birth of Samson The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.


text:
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children.


text:
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.


text:
for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.’


text:
Then the woman came and told her husband, ‘A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name;


text:
but he said to me, “You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.”’


text:
Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, ‘O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.’


text:
God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.


text:
So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, ‘The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.’


text:
Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to this woman?’ And he said, ‘I am.’


text:
Then Manoah said, ‘Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?’


text:
She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.’


text:
The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt-offering, then offer it to the Lord.’ (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)


text:
Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true?’


text:
So Manoah took the kid with the grain-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders.


text:
When the flame went up towards heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.


text:
The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.


text:
But his wife said to him, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt-offering and a grain-offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.’


text:
Then he came up, and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’


text:
But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among your kin, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, because she pleases me.’


text:
His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord; for he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.


text:
Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When he came to the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion roared at him.


text:
The spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one might tear apart a kid. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.


text:
After a while he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.


text:
He scraped it out into his hands, and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.


text:
His father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there as the young men were accustomed to do.


text:
Samson said to them, ‘Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.


text:
But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.’ So they said to him, ‘Ask your riddle; let us hear it.’


text:
He said to them, ‘Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.’ But for three days they could not explain the riddle.


text:
On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Coax your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?’


text:
So Samson’s wife wept before him, saying, ‘You hate me; you do not really love me. You have asked a riddle of my people, but you have not explained it to me.’ He said to her, ‘Look, I have not told my father or my mother. Why should I tell you?’


text:
She wept before him for the seven days that their feast lasted; and because she nagged him, on the seventh day he told her. Then she explained the riddle to her people.


text:
The men of the town said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, ‘What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?’ And he said to them, ‘If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.’


text:
Then the spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men of the town, took their spoil, and gave the festal garments to those who had explained the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house.


text:
Samson Defeats the Philistines After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, ‘I want to go into my wife’s room.’ But her father would not allow him to go in.


text:
Her father said, ‘I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?’


text:
So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took some torches; and he turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.


text:
When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.


text:
Then the Philistines asked, ‘Who has done this?’ And they said, ‘Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson’s wife and given her to his companion.’ So the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father.


text:
Samson said to them, ‘If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you.’


text:
He struck them down hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.


text:
The men of Judah said, ‘Why have you come up against us?’ They said, ‘We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.’


text:
Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and they said to Samson, ‘Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then have you done to us?’ He replied, ‘As they did to me, so I have done to them.’


text:
They said to him, ‘We have come down to bind you, so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.’ Samson answered them, ‘Swear to me that you yourselves will not attack me.’


text:
They said to him, ‘No, we will only bind you and give you into their hands; we will not kill you.’ So they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.


text:
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.


text:
Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men.


text:
And Samson said, ‘With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.’


text:
By then he was very thirsty, and he called on the Lord, saying, ‘You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant. Am I now to die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?’


text:
So God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came from it. When he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore it was named En-hakkore, which is at Lehi to this day.


text:
The Gazites were told, ‘Samson has come here.’ So they encircled the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, ‘Let us wait until the light of the morning; then we will kill him.’


text:
But Samson lay only until midnight. Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.


text:
The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, ‘Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’


text:
So Delilah said to Samson, ‘Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you.’


text:
Samson said to her, ‘If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that are not dried out, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.’


text:
Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them.


text:
While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fibre snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.


text:
Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you could be bound.’


text:
He said to her, ‘If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.’


text:
So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ (The men lying in wait were in an inner chamber.) But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.


text:
Then Delilah said to Samson, ‘Until now you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me how you could be bound.’ He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like anyone else.’


text:
So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web, and made them tight with the pin. Then she said to him, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.


text:
Then she said to him, ‘How can you say, “I love you”, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me three times now and have not told me what makes your strength so great.’


text:
Finally, after she had nagged him with her words day after day, and pestered him, he was tired to death.


text:
So he told her his whole secret, and said to her, ‘A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be like anyone else.’


text:
When Delilah realized that he had told her his whole secret, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘This time come up, for he has told his whole secret to me.’ Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands.


text:
She let him fall asleep on her lap; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. He began to weaken, and his strength left him.


text:
Then she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ When he awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.


text:
So the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles; and he ground at the mill in the prison.


text:
Samson’s Death Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to rejoice; for they said, ‘Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.’


text:
When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, ‘Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.’


text:
And when their hearts were merry, they said, ‘Call Samson, and let him entertain us.’ So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. They made him stand between the pillars;


text:
and Samson said to the attendant who held him by the hand, ‘Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, so that I may lean against them.’


text:
Now the house was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson performed.


text:
Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘Lord God, remember me and strengthen me only this once, O God, so that with this one act of revenge I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.’


text:
And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other.


text:
Then Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines.’ He strained with all his might; and the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed during his life.


text:
Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel for twenty years.


text:
He said to his mother, ‘The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my hearing—that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you.’ And his mother said, ‘May my son be blessed by the Lord!’


text:
Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, ‘I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal.’


text:
So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah.


text:
This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.


text:
Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah. He was a Levite residing there.


text:
This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to live wherever he could find a place. He came to the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim to carry on his work.


text:
Micah said to him, ‘From where do you come?’ He replied, ‘I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to live wherever I can find a place.’


text:
Then Micah said to him, ‘Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your living.’


text:
Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because the Levite has become my priest.’


text:
The Migration of Dan In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself a territory to live in; for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel had been allotted to them.


text:
So the Danites sent five valiant men from the whole number of their clan, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, ‘Go, explore the land.’ When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they stayed there.


text:
While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, ‘Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?’


text:
Then they said to him, ‘Inquire of God that we may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed.’


text:
The five men went on, and when they came to Laish, they observed the people who were there living securely, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing on earth, and possessing wealth. Furthermore, they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with Aram.


text:
They said, ‘Come, let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land.


text:
When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is broad—God has indeed given it into your hands—a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.’


text:
and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim.


text:
Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land (that is, Laish) said to their comrades, ‘Do you know that in these buildings there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? Now therefore consider what you will do.’


text:
So they turned in that direction and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and greeted him.


text:
While the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate,


text:
the five men who had gone to spy out the land proceeded to enter and take the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim. The priest was standing by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.


text:
When the men went into Micah’s house and took the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim, the priest said to them, ‘What are you doing?’


text:
They said to him, ‘Keep quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one person, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?’


text:
Then the priest accepted the offer. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the people.


text:
So they resumed their journey, putting the little ones, the livestock, and the goods in front of them.


text:
When they were some distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the Danites.


text:
They shouted to the Danites, who turned around and said to Micah, ‘What is the matter that you come with such a company?’


text:
He replied, ‘You take my gods that I made, and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then can you ask me, “What is the matter?”’


text:
And the Danites said to him, ‘You had better not let your voice be heard among us or else hot-tempered fellows will attack you, and you will lose your life and the lives of your household.’


text:
Then the Danites went on their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.


text:
The Danites Settle in Laish The Danites, having taken what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, put them to the sword, and burned down the city.


text:
There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with Aram. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city, and lived in it.


text:
They named the city Dan, after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was formerly Laish.


text:
Then the Danites set up the idol for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.


text:
So they maintained as their own Micah’s idol that he had made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.


text:
The Levite’s Concubine In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite, residing in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.


text:
But his concubine became angry with him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for some four months.


text:
Then her husband set out after her, to speak tenderly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. When he reached her father’s house, the girl’s father saw him and came with joy to meet him.


text:
His father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him for three days; so they ate and drank, and he stayed there.


text:
On the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, ‘Fortify yourself with a bit of food, and after that you may go.’


text:
So the two men sat and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, ‘Why not spend the night and enjoy yourself?’


text:
On the fifth day he got up early in the morning to leave; and the girl’s father said, ‘Fortify yourself.’ So they lingered until the day declined, and the two of them ate and drank.


text:
When the man with his concubine and his servant got up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, ‘Look, the day has worn on until it is almost evening. Spend the night. See, the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early in the morning for your journey, and go home.’


text:
But the man would not spend the night; he got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him.


text:
When they were near Jebus, the day was far spent, and the servant said to his master, ‘Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and spend the night in it.’


text:
But his master said to him, ‘We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel; but we will continue on to Gibeah.’


text:
Then he said to his servant, ‘Come, let us try to reach one of these places, and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.’


text:
So they passed by and went on their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.


text:
They turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. He went in and sat down in the open square of the city, but no one took them in to spend the night.


text:
Then at evening there was an old man coming from his work in the field. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was residing in Gibeah. (The people of the place were Benjaminites.)


text:
When the old man looked up and saw the wayfarer in the open square of the city, he said, ‘Where are you going and where do you come from?’


text:
He answered him, ‘We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; and I am going to my home. Nobody has offered to take me in.


text:
We your servants have straw and fodder for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and the woman and the young man along with us. We need nothing more.’


text:
The old man said, ‘Peace be to you. I will care for all your wants; only do not spend the night in the square.’


text:
Gibeah’s Crime While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a depraved lot, surrounded the house, and started pounding on the door. They said to the old man, the master of the house, ‘Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may have intercourse with him.’


text:
And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, ‘No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Since this man is my guest, do not do this vile thing.


text:
Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine; let me bring them out now. Ravish them and do whatever you want to them; but against this man do not do such a vile thing.’


text:
But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine, and put her out to them. They wantonly raped her, and abused her all through the night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.


text:
As morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.


text:
In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when he went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.


text:
‘Get up,’ he said to her, ‘we are going.’ But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out for his home.


text:
When he had entered his house, he took a knife, and grasping his concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.


text:
Then he commanded the men whom he sent, saying, ‘Thus shall you say to all the Israelites, “Has such a thing ever happened since the day that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it, take counsel, and speak out.”’


text:
The Other Tribes Attack Benjamin Then all the Israelites came out, from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled in one body before the Lord at Mizpah.


text:
The chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot-soldiers bearing arms.


text:
(Now the Benjaminites heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites said, ‘Tell us, how did this criminal act come about?’


text:
The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, ‘I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.


text:
The lords of Gibeah rose up against me, and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she died.


text:
Then I took my concubine and cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the whole extent of Israel’s territory; for they have committed a vile outrage in Israel.


text:
All the people got up as one, saying, ‘We will not any of us go to our tents, nor will any of us return to our houses.


text:
We will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the troops, who are going to repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgrace that they have done in Israel.’


text:
The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, ‘What crime is this that has been committed among you?


text:
Now then, hand over those scoundrels in Gibeah, so that we may put them to death, and purge the evil from Israel.’ But the Benjaminites would not listen to their kinsfolk, the Israelites.


text:
The Benjaminites came together out of the towns to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the Israelites.


text:
On that day the Benjaminites mustered twenty-six thousand armed men from their towns, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah.


text:
Of all this force, there were seven hundred picked men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair, and not miss.


text:
And the Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand armed men, all of them warriors.


text:
The Israelites proceeded to go up to Bethel, where they inquired of God, ‘Which of us shall go up first to battle against the Benjaminites?’ And the Lord answered, ‘Judah shall go up first.’


text:
The Israelites went out to battle against Benjamin; and the Israelites drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah.


text:
The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah, and struck down on that day twenty-two thousand of the Israelites.


text:
The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until the evening; and they inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall we again draw near to battle against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites?’ And the Lord said, ‘Go up against them.’


text:
The Israelites took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day.


text:
Benjamin moved out against them from Gibeah the second day, and struck down eighteen thousand of the Israelites, all of them armed men.


text:
Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went back to Bethel and wept, sitting there before the Lord; they fasted that day until evening. Then they offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices of well-being before the Lord.


text:
And the Israelites inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,


text:
and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, ‘Shall we go out once more to battle against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites, or shall we desist?’ The Lord answered, ‘Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.’


text:
Then the Israelites went up against the Benjaminites on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as before.


text:
When the Benjaminites went out against the army, they were drawn away from the city. As before they began to inflict casualties on the troops, along the main roads, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, as well as in the open country, killing about thirty men of Israel.


text:
The Benjaminites thought, ‘They are being routed before us, as previously.’ But the Israelites said, ‘Let us retreat and draw them away from the city towards the roads.’


text:
The main body of the Israelites drew back its battle line to Baal-tamar, while those Israelites who were in ambush rushed out of their place west of Geba.


text:
There came against Gibeah ten thousand picked men out of all Israel, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was close upon them.


text:
The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel; and the Israelites destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day, all of them armed.


text:
Then the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated. The Israelites gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted to the troops in ambush that they had stationed against Gibeah.


text:
Now the agreement between the main body of Israel and the men in ambush was that when they sent up a cloud of smoke out of the city


text:
the main body of Israel should turn in battle. But Benjamin had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites, killing about thirty of them; so they thought, ‘Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.’


text:
But when the cloud, a column of smoke, began to rise out of the city, the Benjaminites looked behind them—and there was the whole city going up in smoke towards the sky!


text:
Then the main body of Israel turned, and the Benjaminites were dismayed, for they saw that disaster was close upon them.


text:
Therefore they turned away from the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the city were slaughtering them in between.


text:
Cutting down the Benjaminites, they pursued them from Nohah and trod them down as far as a place east of Gibeah.


text:
When they turned and fled towards the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, five thousand of them were cut down on the main roads, and they were pursued as far as Gidom, and two thousand of them were slain.


text:
So all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty-five thousand arms-bearing men, all of them courageous fighters.


text:
But six hundred turned and fled towards the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and remained at the rock of Rimmon for four months.


text:
Meanwhile, the Israelites turned back against the Benjaminites, and put them to the sword—the city, the people, the animals, and all that remained. Also the remaining towns they set on fire.


text:
The Benjaminites Saved from Extinction Now the Israelites had sworn at Mizpah, ‘No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.’


text:
And the people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.


text:
They said, ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, why has it come to pass that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?’


text:
On the next day, the people got up early, and built an altar there, and offered burnt-offerings and sacrifices of well-being.


text:
Then the Israelites said, ‘Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?’ For a solemn oath had been taken concerning whoever did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah, saying, ‘That one shall be put to death.’


text:
But the Israelites had compassion for Benjamin their kin, and said, ‘One tribe is cut off from Israel this day.


text:
What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters as wives?’


text:
Then they said, ‘Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?’ It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly.


text:
For when the roll was called among the people, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.


text:
So the congregation sent twelve thousand soldiers there and commanded them, ‘Go, put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, including the women and the little ones.


text:
This is what you shall do; every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.’


text:
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man and brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.


text:
Then the whole congregation sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.


text:
Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they did not suffice for them.


text:
So the elders of the congregation said, ‘What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since there are no women left in Benjamin?’


text:
And they said, ‘There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, in order that a tribe may not be blotted out from Israel.


text:
Yet we cannot give any of our daughters to them as wives.’ For the Israelites had sworn, ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.’


text:
So they said, ‘Look, the yearly festival of the Lord is taking place at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.’


text:
and watch; when the young women of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and each of you carry off a wife for himself from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.


text:
Then if their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, “Be generous and allow us to have them; because we did not capture in battle a wife for each man. But neither did you incur guilt by giving your daughters to them.”’


text:
The Benjaminites did so; they took wives for each of them from the dancers whom they abducted. Then they went and returned to their territory, and rebuilt the towns, and lived in them.


text:
So the Israelites departed from there at that time by tribes and families, and they went out from there to their own territories.


text:
Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons.


text:
The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.


text:
These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years,


text:
Naomi and Her Moabite Daughters-in-Law Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food.


text:
So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah.


text:
But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.


text:
The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.’ Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud.


text:
But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?


text:
Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons,


text:
would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’


text:
So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’


text:
But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.


text:
Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!’


text:
So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’


text:
She said to them, ‘Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.


text:
I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?’


text:
So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.


text:
Ruth Meets Boaz Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.


text:
And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favour.’ She said to her, ‘Go, my daughter.’


text:
So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.


text:
Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, ‘The Lord be with you.’ They answered, ‘The Lord bless you.’


text:
Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, ‘To whom does this young woman belong?’


text:
The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, ‘She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.


text:
She said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.” So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.’


text:
Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.


text:
Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.’


text:
Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, ‘Why have I found favour in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?’


text:
But Boaz answered her, ‘All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.


text:
May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!’


text:
Then she said, ‘May I continue to find favour in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.’


text:
At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.’ So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.


text:
When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, ‘Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her.


text:
You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.’


text:
So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.


text:
She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied.


text:
Her mother-in-law said to her, ‘Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.’ So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, ‘The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.’


text:
Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!’ Naomi also said to her, ‘The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.’


text:
Then Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He even said to me, “Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.”’


text:
Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, ‘It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.’


text:
So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law.


text:
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing-Floor Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ‘My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you.


text:
Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing-floor.


text:
Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing-floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.


text:
When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.’


text:
When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came quietly and uncovered his feet, and lay down.


text:
He said, ‘Who are you?’ And she answered, ‘I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.’


text:
He said, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.


text:
And now, my daughter, do not be afraid; I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman.


text:
But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I.


text:
Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do so. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning.’


text:
So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, ‘It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.’


text:
Then he said, ‘Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.’ So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city.


text:
She came to her mother-in-law, who said, ‘How did things go with you, my daughter?’ Then she told her all that the man had done for her,


text:
saying, ‘He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, “Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”’


text:
She replied, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.’


text:
The Marriage of Boaz and Ruth No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, ‘Come over, friend; sit down here.’ And he went over and sat down.


text:
He then said to the next-of-kin, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech.


text:
So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.’ So he said, ‘I will redeem it.’


text:
Then Boaz said, ‘The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.’


text:
At this, the next-of-kin said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’


text:
Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, one party took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel.


text:
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, ‘Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon.


text:
I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.’


text:
Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem;


text:
and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’


text:
The Genealogy of David So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son.


text:
Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel!


text:
He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.’


text:
The women of the neighbourhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.


text:
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.


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


text:
Now this man used to go up year by year from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.


text:
On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters;


text:
So it went on year after year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.


text:
Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’


text:
After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.


text:
She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.’


text:
Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk.


text:
But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.


text:
Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.’


text:
And she said, ‘Let your servant find favour in your sight.’ Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.


text:
They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.


text:
In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’


text:
The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow.


text:
But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, ‘As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there for ever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.’


text:
Her husband Elkanah said to her, ‘Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him; only—may the Lord establish his word.’ So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him.


text:
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young.


text:
And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord.


text:
Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.’ She left him there for the Lord.


text:
Hannah’s Prayer Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory.


text:
Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.


text:
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.


text:
He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honour. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world.


text:
‘He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail.


text:
The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed.’


text:
Eli’s Wicked Sons Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the boy remained to minister to the Lord, in the presence of the priest Eli.


text:
or for the duties of the priests to the people. When anyone offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,


text:
and he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.


text:
Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, ‘Give meat for the priest to roast; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.’


text:
And if the man said to him, ‘Let them burn the fat first, and then take whatever you wish’, he would say, ‘No, you must give it now; if not, I will take it by force.’


text:
Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord; for they treated the offerings of the Lord with contempt.


text:
His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.


text:
Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, ‘May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord’; and then they would return to their home.


text:
And the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.


text:
Prophecy against Eli’s Household Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


text:
He said to them, ‘Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.


text:
If one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord; but if someone sins against the Lord, who can make intercession?’ But they would not listen to the voice of their father; for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.


text:
Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favour with the Lord and with the people.


text:
A man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus the Lord has said, “I revealed myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slaves to the house of Pharaoh.


text:
I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel.


text:
Why then look with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honour your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?”


text:
Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: “I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me for ever”; but now the Lord declares: “Far be it from me; for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt.


text:
See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age.


text:
Then in distress you will look with greedy eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel; and no one in your family shall ever live to old age.


text:
The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his eyes and grieve his heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.


text:
The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day.


text:
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one for ever.


text:
Everyone who is left in your family shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’


text:
Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.


text:
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;


text:
the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.


text:
and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down.


text:
The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’


text:
The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.


text:
Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.


text:
Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’


text:
Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.


text:
On that day I will fulfil against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.


text:
For I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.


text:
Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.’


text:
Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.


text:
Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’


text:
So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.’


text:
The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.


text:
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. The Ark of God Captured In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel, and Israel went out to battle against them; they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.


text:
The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.


text:
When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.’


text:
So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.


text:
When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.


text:
When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, ‘What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,


text:
the Philistines were afraid; for they said, ‘Gods have come into the camp.’ They also said, ‘Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.


text:
Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.


text:
Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.’


text:
So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot-soldiers.


text:
Death of Eli A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.


text:
When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.


text:
When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, ‘What is this uproar?’ Then the man came quickly and told Eli.


text:
The man said to Eli, ‘I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.’ He said, ‘How did it go, my son?’


text:
The messenger replied, ‘Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.’


text:
When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backwards from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.


text:
Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth; for her labour pains overwhelmed her.


text:
As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.’ But she did not answer or give heed.


text:
She named the child Ichabod, meaning, ‘The glory has departed from Israel’, because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.


text:
The Philistines and the Ark When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod;


text:
then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon.


text:
When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.


text:
But when they rose early on the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.


text:
This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.


text:
The hand of the Lord was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and struck them with tumours, both in Ashdod and in its territory.


text:
And when the inhabitants of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us; for his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.’


text:
So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?’ The inhabitants of Gath replied, ‘Let the ark of God be moved on to us.’ So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath.


text:
But after they had brought it to Gath, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic; he struck the inhabitants of the city, both young and old, so that tumours broke out on them.


text:
So they sent the ark of the God of Israel to Ekron. But when the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, ‘Why have they brought across to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people?’


text:
They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, ‘Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.’ For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there;


text:
The Ark Returned to Israel The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines for seven months.


text:
Then the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, ‘What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us what we should send with it to its place.’


text:
They said, ‘If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt-offering. Then you will be healed and will be ransomed; will not his hand then turn from you?’


text:
And they said, ‘What is the guilt-offering that we should return to him?’ They answered, ‘Five gold tumours and five gold mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords.


text:
So you must make images of your tumours and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand on you and your gods and your land.


text:
Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made fools of them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?


text:
Now then, get ready a new cart and two milch-cows that have never borne a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.


text:
Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt-offering. Then send it off, and let it go on its way.


text:
And watch; if it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.’


text:
The men did so; they took two milch-cows and yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.


text:
They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the box with the gold mice and the images of their tumours.


text:
The cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.


text:
Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they went with rejoicing to meet it.


text:
The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh, and stopped there. A large stone was there; so they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt-offering to the Lord.


text:
The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was beside it, in which were the gold objects, and set them upon the large stone. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and presented sacrifices on that day to the Lord.


text:
These are the gold tumours, which the Philistines returned as a guilt-offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;


text:
also the gold mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone, beside which they set down the ark of the Lord, is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.


text:
The Ark at Kiriath-jearim The descendants of Jeconiah did not rejoice with the people of Beth-shemesh when they greeted the ark of the Lord; and he killed seventy men of them. The people mourned because the Lord had made a great slaughter among the people.


text:
Then the people of Beth-shemesh said, ‘Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom shall he go so that we may be rid of him?’


text:
So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, ‘The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.’


text:
7 And the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord, and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They consecrated his son, Eleazar, to have charge of the ark of the Lord.


text:
From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.


text:
Samuel as Judge Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’


text:
So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and said, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.


text:
When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it they were afraid of the Philistines.


text:
The people of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.’


text:
So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt-offering to the Lord; Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.


text:
As Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel; but the Lord thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion; and they were routed before Israel.


text:
And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as beyond Beth-car.


text:
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’


text:
So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.


text:
The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.


text:
He went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all these places.


text:
Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there; he administered justice there to Israel, and built there an altar to the Lord.


text:
The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba.


text:
Yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.


text:
and said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’


text:
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord,


text:
and the Lord 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 from being king over them.


text:
Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you.


text:
Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’


text:
He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;


text:
and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.


text:
He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers.


text:
He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers.


text:
He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work.


text:
And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’


text:
Israel’s Request for a King Granted But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us,


text:
so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’


text:
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and set a king over them.’ Samuel then said to the people of Israel, ‘Each of you return home.’


text:
Saul Chosen to Be King There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.


text:
He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.


text:
Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, ‘Take one of the boys with you; go and look for the donkeys.’


text:
He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.


text:
When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the boy who was with him, ‘Let us turn back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about us.’


text:
But he said to him, ‘There is a man of God in this town; he is a man held in honour. Whatever he says always comes true. Let us go there now; perhaps he will tell us about the journey on which we have set out.’


text:
Then Saul replied to the boy, ‘But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have we?’


text:
The boy answered Saul again, ‘Here, I have with me a quarter-shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way.’


text:
(Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)


text:
As they went up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water, and said to them, ‘Is the seer here?’


text:
They answered, ‘Yes, there he is just ahead of you. Hurry; he has come just now to the town, because the people have a sacrifice today at the shrine.


text:
As soon as you enter the town, you will find him, before he goes up to the shrine to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterwards those eat who are invited. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.’


text:
So they went up to the town. As they were entering the town, they saw Samuel coming out towards them on his way up to the shrine.


text:
‘Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me.’


text:
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ‘Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people.’


text:
Then Saul approached Samuel inside the gate, and said, ‘Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?’


text:
Samuel answered Saul, ‘I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.


text:
As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, give no further thought to them, for they have been found. And on whom is all Israel’s desire fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?’


text:
Saul answered, ‘I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?’


text:
Then Samuel took Saul and his servant-boy and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, of whom there were about thirty.


text:
The cook took up the thigh and what went with it and set them before Saul. Samuel said, ‘See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; for it is set before you at the appointed time, so that you might eat with the guests.’ So Saul ate with Samuel that day.


text:
When they came down from the shrine into the town, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.


text:
Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul upon the roof, ‘Get up, so that I may send you on your way.’ Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.


text:
Samuel Anoints Saul As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the boy to go on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.’


text:
10 Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he said, ‘The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage:


text:
When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, “The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has stopped worrying about them and is worrying about you, saying: What shall I do about my son?”


text:
Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.


text:
After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, at the place where the Philistine garrison is; there, as you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy.


text:
Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.


text:
And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt-offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. For seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.’


text:
Saul Prophesies As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day.


text:
When they were going from there to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed him, and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them.


text:
When all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, ‘What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?’


text:
A man of the place answered, ‘And who is their father?’ Therefore it became a proverb, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’


text:
Saul’s uncle said to him and to the boy, ‘Where did you go?’ And he replied, ‘To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.’


text:
Saul said to his uncle, ‘He told us that the donkeys had been found.’ But about the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.


text:
and said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.”


text:
But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, “No! but set a king over us.” Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’


text:
He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.


text:
So they inquired again of the Lord, ‘Did the man come here?’ and the Lord said, ‘See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.’


text:
Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them.


text:
Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ And all the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!’


text:
Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes.


text:
But some worthless fellows said, ‘How can this man save us?’ They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.


text:
Saul Defeats the Ammonites About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ‘Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.’


text:
But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, ‘On this condition I will make a treaty with you, namely that I gouge out everyone’s right eye, and thus put disgrace upon all Israel.’


text:
The elders of Jabesh said to him, ‘Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.’


text:
When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the hearing of the people; and all the people wept aloud.


text:
Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen; and Saul said, ‘What is the matter with the people, that they are weeping?’ So they told him the message from the inhabitants of Jabesh.


text:
And the spirit of God came upon Saul in power when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.


text:
He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by messengers, saying, ‘Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!’ Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one.


text:
When he mustered them at Bezek, those from Israel were three hundred thousand, and those from Judah seventy thousand.


text:
They said to the messengers who had come, ‘Thus shall you say to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead: “Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.”’ When the messengers came and told the inhabitants of Jabesh, they rejoiced.


text:
So the inhabitants of Jabesh said, ‘Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.’


text:
The next day Saul put the people in three companies. At the morning watch they came into the camp and cut down the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.


text:
The people said to Samuel, ‘Who is it that said, “Shall Saul reign over us?” Give them to us so that we may put them to death.’


text:
But Saul said, ‘No one shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought deliverance to Israel.’


text:
So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.


text:
Samuel’s Farewell Address Samuel said to all Israel, ‘I have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over you.


text:
See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and grey, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day.


text:
Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.’


text:
He said to them, ‘The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.’ And they said, ‘He is witness.’


text:
Samuel said to the people, ‘The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt.


text:
Now therefore take your stand, so that I may enter into judgement with you before the Lord, and I will declare to you all the saving deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your ancestors.


text:
When Jacob went into Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your ancestors cried to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your ancestors out of Egypt, and settled them in this place.


text:
But they forgot the Lord their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of King Jabin of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.


text:
Then they cried to the Lord, and said, “We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baals and the Astartes; but now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.”


text:
And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samson, and rescued you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.


text:
But when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, “No, but a king shall reign over us”, though the Lord your God was your king.


text:
See, here is the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; see, the Lord has set a king over you.


text:
If you will fear the Lord and serve him and heed his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well;


text:
but if you will not heed the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.


text:
Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves.’


text:
So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.


text:
All the people said to Samuel, ‘Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves.’


text:
And Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;


text:
For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.


text:
Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.


text:
Only fear the Lord, and serve him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.


text:
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice Saul was . . . years old when he began to reign; and he reigned for . . . and two years over Israel.


text:
Saul chose three thousand out of Israel; two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin; the rest of the people he sent home to their tents.


text:
Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba; and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, ‘Let the Hebrews hear!’


text:
When all Israel heard that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines, the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.


text:
The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.


text:
When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns.


text:
Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.


text:
He waited for seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul.


text:
So Saul said, ‘Bring the burnt-offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being.’ And he offered the burnt-offering.


text:
As soon as he had finished offering the burnt-offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him.


text:
Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ Saul replied, ‘When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash,


text:
I said, “Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favour of the Lord”; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt-offering.’


text:
Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for ever,


text:
but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.’


text:
And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal towards Gibeah of Benjamin. Preparations for Battle Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.


text:
Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash.


text:
And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned towards Ophrah, to the land of Shual,


text:
another company turned towards Beth-horon, and another company turned towards the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim towards the wilderness.


text:
Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, ‘The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves’;


text:
so all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their ploughshares, mattocks, axes, or sickles;


text:
The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the ploughshares and for the mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.


text:
So on the day of the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.


text:
Jonathan Surprises and Routs the Philistines Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.


text:
14 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.’ But he did not tell his father.


text:
Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is at Migron; the troops that were with him were about six hundred men,


text:
along with Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, carrying an ephod. Now the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.


text:
In the pass, by which Jonathan tried to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on one side and a rocky crag on the other; the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.


text:
Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armour, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will act for us; for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.’


text:
His armour-bearer said to him, ‘Do all that your mind inclines to. I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine.’


text:
If they say to us, “Wait until we come to you”, then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.


text:
But if they say, “Come up to us”, then we will go up; for the Lord has given them into our hand. That will be the sign for us.’


text:
So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, ‘Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.’


text:
The men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armour-bearer, saying, ‘Come up to us, and we will show you something.’ Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, ‘Come up after me; for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.’


text:
Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armour-bearer following after him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armour-bearer, coming after him, killed them.


text:
In that first slaughter Jonathan and his armour-bearer killed about twenty men within an area about half a furrow long in an acre of land.


text:
There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.


text:
Then Saul said to the troops that were with him, ‘Call the roll and see who has gone from us.’ When they had called the roll, Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not there.


text:
Saul said to Ahijah, ‘Bring the ark of God here.’ For at that time the ark of God went with the Israelites.


text:
While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more; and Saul said to the priest, ‘Withdraw your hand.’


text:
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and every sword was against the other, so that there was very great confusion.


text:
Now the Hebrews who previously had been with the Philistines and had gone up with them into the camp turned and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.


text:
Likewise, when all the Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed closely after them in the battle.


text:
So the Lord gave Israel the victory that day. The battle passed beyond Beth-aven, and the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men. The battle spread out over the hill country of Ephraim.


text:
Saul’s Rash Oath Now Saul committed a very rash act on that day. He had laid an oath on the troops, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food before it is evening and I have been avenged on my enemies.’ So none of the troops tasted food.


text:
When the troops came upon the honeycomb, the honey was dripping out; but they did not put their hands to their mouths, for they feared the oath.


text:
But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the troops with the oath; so he extended the staff that was in his hand, and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened.


text:
Then one of the soldiers said, ‘Your father strictly charged the troops with an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food this day.” And so the troops are faint.’


text:
Then Jonathan said, ‘My father has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.


text:
How much better if today the troops had eaten freely of the spoil taken from their enemies; for now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.’


text:
After they had struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon, the troops were very faint;


text:
so the troops flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the troops ate them with the blood.


text:
Then it was reported to Saul, ‘Look, the troops are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ And he said, ‘You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone before me here.’


text:
Saul said, ‘Disperse yourselves among the troops, and say to them, “Let all bring their oxen or their sheep, and slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.”’ So all of the troops brought their oxen with them that night, and slaughtered them there.


text:
Jonathan in Danger of Death Then Saul said, ‘Let us go down after the Philistines by night and despoil them until the morning light; let us not leave one of them.’ They said, ‘Do whatever seems good to you.’ But the priest said, ‘Let us draw near to God here.’


text:
So Saul inquired of God, ‘Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?’ But he did not answer him that day.


text:
Saul said, ‘Come here, all you leaders of the people; and let us find out how this sin has arisen today.


text:
For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall surely die!’ But there was no one among all the people who answered him.


text:
He said to all Israel, ‘You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.’ The people said to Saul, ‘Do what seems good to you.’


text:
Then Saul said, ‘O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.’ And Jonathan and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the people were cleared.


text:
Then Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ Jonathan told him, ‘I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand; here I am, I will die.’


text:
Then the people said to Saul, ‘Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great victory in Israel? Perish the thought! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground; for he has worked with God today.’ So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he did not die.


text:
Saul’s Continuing Wars When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; wherever he turned he routed them.


text:
He did valiantly, and struck down the Amalekites, and rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.


text:
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger, Michal.


text:
The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle;


text:
There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any strong or valiant warrior, he took him into his service.


text:
Saul Defeats the Amalekites but Spares Their King Samuel said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.


text:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.


text:
Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”’


text:
So Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot-soldiers, and ten thousand soldiers of Judah.


text:
Saul said to the Kenites, ‘Go! Leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.’ So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.


text:
He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.


text:
Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.


text:
‘I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands.’ Samuel was angry; and he cried out to the Lord all night.


text:
Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, ‘Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal.’


text:
When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord.’


text:
But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?’


text:
Saul said, ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.’


text:
Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ He replied, ‘Speak.’


text:
Samuel said, ‘Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.


text:
And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, “Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.”


text:
Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?’


text:
Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.


text:
But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’


text:
And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.


text:
For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.’


text:
Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.


text:
Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.’


text:
And Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbour of yours, who is better than you.


text:
Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.’


text:
Then Saul said, ‘I have sinned; yet honour me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.’


text:
Then Samuel said, ‘Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.’ And Agag came to him haltingly. Agag said, ‘Surely this is the bitterness of death.’


text:
But Samuel said, ‘As your sword has made women childless, so your mother shall be childless among women.’ And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.


text:
Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.


text:
Samuel Anoints David The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’


text:
Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.”


text:
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’


text:
Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’


text:
He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.


text:
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’


text:
But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’


text:
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’


text:
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’


text:
Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’


text:
He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’


text:
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.


text:
David Plays the Lyre for Saul Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.


text:
Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skilful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.’


text:
One of the young men answered, ‘I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilful in playing, a man of valour, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.’


text:
Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul.


text:
And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armour-bearer.


text:
And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.


text:
David and Goliath Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.


text:
Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines.


text:
The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.


text:
And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.


text:
He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.


text:
The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.


text:
He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.


text:
If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’


text:
And the Philistine said, ‘Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.’


text:
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.


text:
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.


text:
The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.


text:
Jesse said to his son David, ‘Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers;


text:
also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.’


text:
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.


text:
David rose early in the morning, left someone in charge of the sheep, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry.


text:
David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers.


text:
As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.


text:
The Israelites said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.’


text:
David said to the men who stood by him, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’


text:
His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, ‘Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.’


text:
He turned away from him towards another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.


text:
David said to Saul, ‘Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’


text:
Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’


text:
But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock,


text:
I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.


text:
Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’


text:
David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!’


text:
Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.


text:
David strapped Saul’s sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.’ So David removed them.


text:
Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.


text:
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.


text:
The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.


text:
The Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.’


text:
But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.


text:
This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,


text:
and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.’


text:
When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine.


text:
David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.


text:
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.


text:
Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.


text:
The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.


text:
David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.


text:
When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, ‘Abner, whose son is this young man?’ Abner said, ‘As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.’


text:
On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.


text:
Saul said to him, ‘Whose son are you, young man?’ And David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.’


text:
Jonathan’s Covenant with David When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.


text:
Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armour, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.


text:
David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.


text:
As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.


text:
And the women sang to one another as they made merry, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’


text:
Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, ‘They have ascribed to David tens of thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?’


text:
Saul Tries to Kill David The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;


text:
and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.’ But David eluded him twice.


text:
So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army.


text:
David Marries Michal Then Saul said to David, ‘Here is my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.’ For Saul thought, ‘I will not raise a hand against him; let the Philistines deal with him.’


text:
David said to Saul, ‘Who am I and who are my kinsfolk, my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?’


text:
But at the time when Saul’s daughter Merab should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.


text:
Saul thought, ‘Let me give her to him that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.’ Therefore Saul said to David a second time, ‘You shall now be my son-in-law.’


text:
Saul commanded his servants, ‘Speak to David in private and say, “See, the king is delighted with you, and all his servants love you; now then, become the king’s son-in-law.”’


text:
So Saul’s servants reported these words to David in private. And David said, ‘Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man and of no repute?’


text:
Then Saul said, ‘Thus shall you say to David, “The king desires no marriage present except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged on the king’s enemies.”’ Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.


text:
When his servants told David these words, David was well pleased to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired,


text:
David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.


text:
Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle; and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very great.


text:
Jonathan Intercedes for David Saul spoke to his son Jonathan and to all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David.


text:
Jonathan told David, ‘My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself.


text:
I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.’


text:
Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, ‘The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you;


text:
for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?’


text:
So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.


text:
Michal Helps David Escape from Saul Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them, so that they fled before him.


text:
Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music.


text:
Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night.


text:
Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told him, ‘If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.’


text:
Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats’ hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes.


text:
Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, ‘Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.’


text:
Saul said to Michal, ‘Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?’ Michal answered Saul, ‘He said to me, “Let me go; why should I kill you?”’


text:
David Joins Samuel in Ramah Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.


text:
Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy.


text:
When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also fell into a frenzy.


text:
Then he himself went to Ramah. He came to the great well that is in Secu; he asked, ‘Where are Samuel and David?’ And someone said, ‘They are at Naioth in Ramah.’


text:
He went there, towards Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon him. As he was going, he fell into a prophetic frenzy, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.


text:
He too stripped off his clothes, and he too fell into a frenzy before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore it is said, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’


text:
The Friendship of David and Jonathan David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came before Jonathan and said, ‘What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin against your father that he is trying to take my life?’


text:
He said to him, ‘Perish the thought! You shall not die. My father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me; and why should my father hide this from me? Never!’


text:
But David also swore, ‘Your father knows well that you like me; and he thinks, “Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.” But truly, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.’


text:
David said to Jonathan, ‘Tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at the meal; but let me go, so that I may hide in the field until the third evening.


text:
If your father misses me at all, then say, “David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.”


text:
If he says, “Good!” it will be well with your servant; but if he is angry, then know that evil has been determined by him.


text:
Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?’


text:
Jonathan said, ‘Far be it from you! If I knew that it was decided by my father that evil should come upon you, would I not tell you?’


text:
Jonathan replied to David, ‘Come, let us go out into the field.’ So they both went out into the field.


text:
Jonathan said to David, ‘By the Lord, the God of Israel! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or on the third day, if he is well disposed towards David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?


text:
But if my father intends to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, so that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.


text:
never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.’


text:
Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the Lord seek out the enemies of David.’


text:
Jonathan said to him, ‘Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, because your place will be empty.


text:
On the day after tomorrow, you shall go a long way down; go to the place where you hid yourself earlier, and remain beside the stone there.


text:
Then I will send the boy, saying, “Go, find the arrows.” If I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on this side of you, collect them”, then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.


text:
But if I say to the young man, “Look, the arrows are beyond you”, then go; for the Lord has sent you away.


text:
As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness between you and me for ever.’


text:
The king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood, while Abner sat by Saul’s side; but David’s place was empty.


text:
Saul did not say anything that day; for he thought, ‘Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean.’


text:
But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to his son Jonathan, ‘Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast, either yesterday or today?’


text:
he said, “Let me go; for our family is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favour in your sight, let me get away, and see my brothers.” For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.’


text:
Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan. He said to him, ‘You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?


text:
For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.’


text:
But Saul threw his spear at him to strike him; so Jonathan knew that it was the decision of his father to put David to death.


text:
Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, and because his father had disgraced him.


text:
In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him was a little boy.


text:
He said to the boy, ‘Run and find the arrows that I shoot.’ As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.


text:
When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called after the boy and said, ‘Is the arrow not beyond you?’


text:
Jonathan called after the boy, ‘Hurry, be quick, do not linger.’ So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master.


text:
As soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He bowed three times, and they kissed each other, and wept with each other; David wept the more.


text:
Then Jonathan said to David, ‘Go in peace, since both of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, “The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, for ever.”’ He got up and left; and Jonathan went into the city.


text:
David and the Holy Bread David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, ‘Why are you alone, and no one with you?’


text:
David said to the priest Ahimelech, ‘The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, “No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.” I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.


text:
The priest answered David, ‘I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.’


text:
David answered the priest, ‘Indeed, women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?’


text:
So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.


text:
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.


text:
David said to Ahimelech, ‘Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.’


text:
The priest said, ‘The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one.’ David said, ‘There is none like it; give it to me.’


text:
The servants of Achish said to him, ‘Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands”?’


text:
So he changed his behaviour before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.


text:
Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?’


text:
David and His Followers at Adullam David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; when his brothers and all his father’s house heard of it, they went down there to him.


text:
Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Those who were with him numbered about four hundred.


text:
David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. He said to the king of Moab, ‘Please let my father and mother come to you, until I know what God will do for me.’


text:
He left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.


text:
Then the prophet Gad said to David, ‘Do not remain in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah.’ So David left, and went into the forest of Hereth.


text:
Saul Slaughters the Priests Saul heard that David and those who were with him had been located. Saul was sitting at Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.


text:
Saul said to his servants who stood around him, ‘Hear now, you Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?


text:
Is that why all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today.’


text:
Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s servants, answered, ‘I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub;


text:
he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.’


text:
The king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob; and all of them came to the king.


text:
Saul said to him, ‘Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today?’


text:
Then Ahimelech answered the king, ‘Who among all your servants is so faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law, and is quick to do your bidding, and is honoured in your house.


text:
Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? By no means! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any member of my father’s house; for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.’


text:
The king said to the guard who stood around him, ‘Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David; they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me.’ But the servants of the king would not raise their hand to attack the priests of the Lord.


text:
Then the king said to Doeg, ‘You, Doeg, turn and attack the priests.’ Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen ephod.


text:
Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword.


text:
David said to Abiathar, ‘I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the lives of all your father’s house.


text:
Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me.’


text:
David Saves the City of Keilah Now they told David, ‘The Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing-floors.’


text:
David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines?’ The Lord said to David, ‘Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’


text:
But David’s men said to him, ‘Look, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?’


text:
Then David inquired of the Lord again. The Lord answered him, ‘Yes, go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into your hand.’


text:
So David and his men went to Keilah, fought with the Philistines, brought away their livestock, and dealt them a heavy defeat. Thus David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.


text:
Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, ‘God has given him into my hand; for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.’


text:
When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, ‘Bring the ephod here.’


text:
David said, ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account.


text:
And now, will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant.’ The Lord said, ‘He will come down.’


text:
Then David said, ‘Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?’ The Lord said, ‘They will surrender you.’


text:
Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition.


text:
David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the Lord did not give him into his hand.


text:
David Eludes Saul in the Wilderness David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh when he learned that Saul had come out to seek his life.


text:
Saul’s son Jonathan set out and came to David at Horesh; there he strengthened his hand through the Lord.


text:
He said to him, ‘Do not be afraid; for the hand of my father Saul shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my father Saul also knows that this is so.’


text:
Then the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.


text:
Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, ‘David is hiding among us in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon.


text:
Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so; and our part will be to surrender him into the king’s hand.’


text:
Go and make sure once more; find out exactly where he is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning.


text:
Look around and learn all the hiding-places where he lurks, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.’


text:
So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon.


text:
Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon.


text:
Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.


text:
Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, ‘Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.’


text:
So Saul stopped pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape.


text:
David Spares Saul’s Life When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, ‘David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.’


text:
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.


text:
He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.


text:
The men of David said to him, ‘Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, “I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.”’ Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak.


text:
He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’


text:
So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.


text:
Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord the king!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.


text:
This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, “I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.”


text:
See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life.


text:
May the Lord judge between me and you! May the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.


text:
As the ancient proverb says, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness”; but my hand shall not be against you.


text:
May the Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.’


text:
When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ Saul lifted up his voice and wept.


text:
He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.


text:
Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands.


text:
For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.


text:
Now I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.


text:
Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father’s house.’


text:
Death of Samuel Now Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.


text:
David and the Wife of Nabal There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.


text:
Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite.


text:
So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, ‘Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.


text:
Thus you shall salute him: “Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.


text:
I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel.


text:
Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favour in your sight; for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.”’


text:
When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited.


text:
But Nabal answered David’s servants, ‘Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters.


text:
Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?’


text:
David said to his men, ‘Every man strap on his sword!’ And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.


text:
But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, ‘David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them.


text:
Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them;


text:
Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him.’


text:
Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys


text:
and said to her young men, ‘Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you.’ But she did not tell her husband Nabal.


text:
As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down towards her; and she met them.


text:
Now David had said, ‘Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good.


text:
God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave as much as one male of all who belong to him.’


text:
When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, and fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground.


text:
She fell at his feet and said, ‘Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.


text:
My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.


text:
‘Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from blood-guilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal.


text:
And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.


text:
Please forgive the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in you as long as you live.


text:
If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.


text:
When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel,


text:
my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.’


text:
Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from blood-guilt and from avenging myself by my own hand!


text:
For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal as much as one male.’


text:
Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, ‘Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition.’


text:
Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light.


text:
In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him; he became like a stone.


text:
When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal’s insult to me, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evildoing of Nabal upon his own head.’ Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife.


text:
When David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, ‘David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.’


text:
She rose and bowed down, with her face to the ground, and said, ‘Your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.’


text:
Abigail got up hurriedly and rode away on a donkey; her five maids attended her. She went after the messengers of David and became his wife.


text:
David Spares Saul’s Life a Second Time Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, ‘David is in hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon.’


text:
So Saul rose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, with three thousand chosen men of Israel, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.


text:
Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon beside the road. But David remained in the wilderness. When he learned that Saul had come after him into the wilderness,


text:
Then David set out and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.


text:
Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, ‘Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?’ Abishai said, ‘I will go down with you.’


text:
So David and Abishai went to the army by night; there Saul lay sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the army lay around him.


text:
Abishai said to David, ‘God has given your enemy into your hand today; now therefore let me pin him to the ground with one stroke of the spear; I will not strike him twice.’


text:
But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him; for who can raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?’


text:
David said, ‘As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him down; or his day will come to die; or he will go down into battle and perish.


text:
The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed; but now take the spear that is at his head, and the water-jar, and let us go.’


text:
So David took the spear that was at Saul’s head and the water-jar, and they went away. No one saw it, or knew it, nor did anyone awake; for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.


text:
Then David went over to the other side, and stood on top of a hill far away, with a great distance between them.


text:
David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, saying, ‘Abner! Will you not answer?’ Then Abner replied, ‘Who are you that calls to the king?’


text:
David said to Abner, ‘Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king.


text:
This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. See now, where is the king’s spear, or the water-jar that was at his head?’


text:
Saul recognized David’s voice, and said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ David said, ‘It is my voice, my lord, O king.’


text:
And he added, ‘Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What guilt is on my hands?


text:
Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering; but if it is mortals, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out today from my share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, “Go, serve other gods.”


text:
Now, therefore, do not let my blood fall to the ground, away from the presence of the Lord; for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.’


text:
Then Saul said, ‘I have done wrong; come back, my son David, for I will never harm you again, because my life was precious in your sight today; I have been a fool, and have made a great mistake.’


text:
The Lord rewards everyone for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord gave you into my hand today, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.


text:
As your life was precious today in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he rescue me from all tribulation.’


text:
Then Saul said to David, ‘Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.’ So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.


text:
David Serves King Achish of Gath David said in his heart, ‘I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.’


text:
So David set out and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath.


text:
David stayed with Achish at Gath, he and his troops, every man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail of Carmel, Nabal’s widow.


text:
Then David said to Achish, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, so that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?’


text:
So that day Achish gave him Ziklag; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.


text:
Now David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for these were the landed settlements from Telam on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt.


text:
David struck the land, leaving neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing, and came back to Achish.


text:
When Achish asked, ‘Against whom have you made a raid today?’ David would say, ‘Against the Negeb of Judah’, or ‘Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites’, or ‘Against the Negeb of the Kenites.’


text:
David left neither man nor woman alive to be brought back to Gath, thinking, ‘They might tell about us, and say, “David has done so and so.”’ Such was his practice all the time he lived in the country of the Philistines.


text:
Achish trusted David, thinking, ‘He has made himself utterly abhorrent to his people Israel; therefore he shall always be my servant.’


text:
In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, ‘You know, of course, that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.’


text:
David said to Achish, ‘Very well, then you shall know what your servant can do.’ Achish said to David, ‘Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.’


text:
Saul Consults a Medium Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. Saul had expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land.


text:
The Philistines assembled, and came and encamped at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa.


text:
When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.


text:
Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.’ His servants said to him, ‘There is a medium at Endor.’


text:
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went there, he and two men with him. They came to the woman by night. And he said, ‘Consult a spirit for me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you.’


text:
The woman said to him, ‘Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?’


text:
But Saul swore to her by the Lord, ‘As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.’


text:
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, ‘Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!’


text:
The king said to her, ‘Have no fear; what do you see?’ The woman said to Saul, ‘I see a divine being coming up out of the ground.’


text:
He said to her, ‘What is his appearance?’ She said, ‘An old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe.’ So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.


text:
Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ Saul answered, ‘I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have summoned you to tell me what I should do.’


text:
The Lord has done to you just as he spoke by me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbour David.


text:
Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you today.


text:
Moreover, the Lord will give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.’


text:
Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.


text:
The woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, ‘Your servant has listened to you; I have taken my life in my hand, and have listened to what you have said to me.


text:
Now therefore, you also listen to your servant; let me set a morsel of bread before you. Eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.’


text:
He refused, and said, ‘I will not eat.’ But his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he listened to their words. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.


text:
Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house. She quickly slaughtered it, and she took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened cakes.


text:
The Philistines Reject David Now the Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, while the Israelites were encamped by the fountain that is in Jezreel.


text:
As the lords of the Philistines were marching on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish,


text:
the commanders of the Philistines said, ‘What are these Hebrews doing here?’ Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, ‘Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years? Since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.’


text:
But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him; and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, ‘Send the man back, so that he may return to the place that you have assigned to him; he shall not go down with us to battle, or else he may become an adversary to us in the battle. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here?


text:
Is this not David, of whom they sing to one another in dances, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands”?’


text:
Then Achish called David and said to him, ‘As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign; for I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me until today. Nevertheless the lords do not approve of you.


text:
David said to Achish, ‘But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?’


text:
Achish replied to David, ‘I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, “He shall not go up with us to the battle.”


text:
Now then rise early in the morning, you and the servants of your lord who came with you, and go to the place that I appointed for you. As for the evil report, do not take it to heart, for you have done well before me. Start early in the morning, and leave as soon as you have light.’


text:
So David set out with his men early in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. But the Philistines went up to Jezreel.


text:
David Avenges the Destruction of Ziklag Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag, burned it down,


text:
and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great; they killed none of them, but carried them off, and went on their way.


text:
When David and his men came to the city, they found it burnt down, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.


text:
Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep.


text:
David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.


text:
David was in great danger; for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit for their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.


text:
David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, ‘Bring me the ephod.’ So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.


text:
David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?’ He answered him, ‘Pursue; for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.’


text:
So David set out, he and the six hundred men who were with him. They came to the Wadi Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.


text:
But David went on with the pursuit, he and four hundred men; two hundred stayed behind, too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor.


text:
In the open country they found an Egyptian, and brought him to David. They gave him bread and he ate; they gave him water to drink;


text:
they also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins. When he had eaten, his spirit revived; for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.


text:
Then David said to him, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you from?’ He said, ‘I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite. My master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.


text:
We had made a raid on the Negeb of the Cherethites and on that which belongs to Judah and on the Negeb of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag down.’


text:
David said to him, ‘Will you take me down to this raiding party?’ He said, ‘Swear to me by God that you will not kill me, or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.’


text:
When he had taken him down, they were spread out all over the ground, eating and drinking and dancing, because of the great amount of spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.


text:
David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.


text:
Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David brought back everything.


text:
David also captured all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other cattle; people said, ‘This is David’s spoil.’


text:
Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. When David drew near to the people he saluted them.


text:
Then all the corrupt and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, ‘Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may take his wife and children, and leave.’


text:
But David said, ‘You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us; he has preserved us and handed over to us the raiding party that attacked us.


text:
Who would listen to you in this matter? For the share of the one who goes down into the battle shall be the same as the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.’


text:
From that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel; it continues to the present day.


text:
When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord’;


text:
The Death of Saul and His Sons Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell on Mount Gilboa.


text:
The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.


text:
Then Saul said to his armour-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me.’ But his armour-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.


text:
When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their towns and fled; and the Philistines came and occupied them.


text:
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.


text:
They cut off his head, stripped off his armour, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the houses of their idols and to the people.


text:
all the valiant men set out, travelled all night long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to Jabesh and burned them there.


text:
Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.


text:
David Mourns for Saul and Jonathan After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.


text:
On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance.


text:
David said to him, ‘Where have you come from?’ He said to him, ‘I have escaped from the camp of Israel.’


text:
David said to him, ‘How did things go? Tell me!’ He answered, ‘The army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died.’


text:
Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?’


text:
The young man reporting to him said, ‘I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him.


text:
He said to me, “Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.”


text:
So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.’


text:
They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.


text:
David said to the young man who had reported to him, ‘Where do you come from?’ He answered, ‘I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.’


text:
Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Come here and strike him down.’ So he struck him down and he died.


text:
David said to him, ‘Your blood be on your head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, “I have killed the Lord’s anointed.”’


text:
(He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:


text:
Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.


text:
You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.


text:
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, nor the sword of Saul return empty.


text:
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.


text:
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.


text:
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.


text:
David Anointed King of Judah After this David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?’ The Lord said to him, ‘Go up.’ David said, ‘To which shall I go up?’ He said, ‘To Hebron.’


text:
So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.


text:
David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron.


text:
Then the people of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, ‘It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul’,


text:
David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him!


text:
Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done this thing.


text:
Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.’


text:
Ishbaal King of Israel But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbaal son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim.


text:
Ishbaal, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David.


text:
The Battle of Gibeon Abner son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbaal son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.


text:
Joab son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one side of the pool, while the other sat on the other side of the pool.


text:
Abner said to Joab, ‘Let the young men come forward and have a contest before us.’ Joab said, ‘Let them come forward.’


text:
So they came forward and were counted as they passed by, twelve for Benjamin and Ishbaal son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.


text:
Each grasped his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.


text:
The battle was very fierce that day; and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten by the servants of David.


text:
The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.


text:
Abner said to him, ‘Turn to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men, and take his spoil.’ But Asahel would not turn away from following him.


text:
Abner said again to Asahel, ‘Turn away from following me; why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I show my face to your brother Joab?’


text:
But he refused to turn away. So Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. He fell there, and died where he lay. And all those who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.


text:
But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. As the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.


text:
The Benjaminites rallied around Abner and formed a single band; they took their stand on the top of a hill.


text:
Then Abner called to Joab, ‘Is the sword to keep devouring for ever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you order your people to turn from the pursuit of their kinsmen?’


text:
Joab said, ‘As God lives, if you had not spoken, the people would have continued to pursue their kinsmen, not stopping until morning.’


text:
Joab sounded the trumpet and all the people stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or engaged in battle any further.


text:
Abner and his men travelled all that night through the Arabah; they crossed the Jordan, and, marching the whole forenoon, they came to Mahanaim.


text:
Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel.


text:
They took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.


text:
Abner Defects to David There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.


text:
his second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;


text:
While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.


text:
Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal said to Abner, ‘Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?’


text:
The words of Ishbaal made Abner very angry; he said, ‘Am I a dog’s head for Judah? Today I keep showing loyalty to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me now with a crime concerning this woman.


text:
So may God do to Abner and so may he add to it! For just what the Lord has sworn to David, that will I accomplish for him,


text:
to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.’


text:
Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron, saying, ‘To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and I will give you my support to bring all Israel over to you.’


text:
He said, ‘Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall never appear in my presence unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to see me.’


text:
Then David sent messengers to Saul’s son Ishbaal, saying, ‘Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.’


text:
But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, ‘Go back home!’ So he went back.


text:
Abner sent word to the elders of Israel, saying, ‘For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you.


text:
Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies.’


text:
Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin were ready to do.


text:
When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.


text:
Abner said to David, ‘Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.’ So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.


text:
Abner Is Killed by Joab Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace.


text:
When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, ‘Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace.’


text:
Then Joab went to the king and said, ‘What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away?


text:
You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing.’


text:
When Joab came out from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it.


text:
When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab’s brother.


text:
Afterwards, when David heard of it, he said, ‘I and my kingdom are for ever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner son of Ner.


text:
May the guilt fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous, or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!’


text:
So Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.


text:
Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ‘Tear your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner.’ And King David followed the bier.


text:
They buried Abner at Hebron. The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.


text:
Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen.’ And all the people wept over him again.


text:
Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, saying, ‘So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!’


text:
All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did pleased all the people.


text:
So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.


text:
And the king said to his servants, ‘Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?


text:
Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!’


text:
Ishbaal Assassinated When Saul’s son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.


text:
Saul’s son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon, a Benjaminite from Beeroth—for Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin.


text:
Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled; and, in her haste to flee, it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.


text:
Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal, while he was taking his noonday rest.


text:
They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped.


text:
Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and travelled by way of the Arabah all night long.


text:
They brought the head of Ishbaal to David at Hebron and said to the king, ‘Here is the head of Ishbaal, son of Saul your enemy who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.’


text:
David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, ‘As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,


text:
when the one who told me, “See, Saul is dead”, thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news.


text:
How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?’


text:
So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.


text:
David Anointed King of All Israel Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, ‘Look, we are your bone and flesh.


text:
For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’


text:
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.


text:
At Hebron he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.


text:
Jerusalem Made Capital of the Combined Kingdom The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, ‘You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back’—thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’


text:
David had said on that day, ‘Whoever wishes to strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates.’ Therefore it is said, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.’


text:
David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inwards.


text:
King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters and masons who built David a house.


text:
David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.


text:
In Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives; and more sons and daughters were born to David.


text:
Philistine Attack Repulsed When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up in search of David; but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold.


text:
David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?’ The Lord said to David, ‘Go up; for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.’


text:
So David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. He said, ‘The Lord has burst forth against my enemies before me, like a bursting flood.’ Therefore that place is called Baal-perazim.


text:
When David inquired of the Lord, he said, ‘You shall not go up; go round to their rear, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees.


text:
When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.’


text:
David did just as the Lord had commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.


text:
David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.


text:
David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.


text:
They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart


text:
David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.


text:
When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it.


text:
The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.


text:
David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.


text:
So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.


text:
The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.


text:
It was told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing;


text:
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.


text:
As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.


text:
They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord.


text:
When David had finished offering the burnt-offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts,


text:
and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.


text:
David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, ‘How the king of Israel honoured himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ maids, as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!’


text:
David said to Michal, ‘It was before the Lord, who chose me in place of your father and all his household, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord, that I have danced before the Lord.


text:
I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in my own eyes; but by the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honour.’


text:
God’s Covenant with David Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,


text:
the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’


text:
I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.


text:
Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’


text:
Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;


text:
and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.


text:
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,


text:
from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.


text:
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.


text:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.


text:
But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.


text:
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.


text:
David’s Prayer Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?


text:
And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!


text:
Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it.


text:
Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.


text:
Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods?


text:
And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people for ever; and you, O Lord, became their God.


text:
And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it for ever; do as you have promised.


text:
Thus your name will be magnified for ever in the saying, “The Lord of hosts is God over Israel”; and the house of your servant David will be established before you.


text:
For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house”; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.


text:
And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant;


text:
now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue for ever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed for ever.’


text:
David’s Wars Some time afterwards, David attacked the Philistines and subdued them; David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.


text:
He also defeated the Moabites and, making them lie down on the ground, measured them off with a cord; he measured two lengths of cord for those who were to be put to death, and one length for those who were to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.


text:
David also struck down King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah, as he went to restore his monument at the river Euphrates.


text:
David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot-soldiers. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for a hundred chariots.


text:
When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans.


text:
Then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus; and the Arameans became servants to David and brought tribute. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.


text:
David took the gold shields that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.


text:
Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to greet him and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. Now Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. Joram brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze;


text:
these also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,


text:
from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah.


text:
David won a name for himself. When he returned, he killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.


text:
He put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.


text:
David’s Officers So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and equity to all his people.


text:
David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth David asked, ‘Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’


text:
Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, ‘Are you Ziba?’ And he said, ‘At your service!’


text:
The king said, ‘Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.’


text:
The king said to him, ‘Where is he?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.’


text:
Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, ‘Mephibosheth!’ He answered, ‘I am your servant.’


text:
David said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.’


text:
He did obeisance and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I am?’


text:
Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, ‘All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.


text:
You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.’ Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.


text:
Then Ziba said to the king, ‘According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.’ Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons.


text:
Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants.


text:
Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.


text:
The Ammonites and Arameans Are Defeated Some time afterwards the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him.


text:
David said, ‘I will deal loyally with Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father dealt loyally with me.’ So David sent envoys to console him concerning his father. When David’s envoys came into the land of the Ammonites,


text:
the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, ‘Do you really think that David is honouring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?’


text:
So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away.


text:
When David was told, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, ‘Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.’


text:
When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot-soldiers, as well as the king of Maacah, one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.


text:
The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate; but the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the open country.


text:
When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Arameans;


text:
the rest of his men he put in charge of his brother Abishai, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites.


text:
He said, ‘If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.


text:
Be strong, and let us be courageous for the sake of our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to him.’


text:
So Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle against the Arameans; and they fled before him.


text:
When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites, and came to Jerusalem.


text:
Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer at their head.


text:
When it was told to David, he gathered all Israel together, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought with him.


text:
The Arameans fled before Israel; and David killed of the Arameans seven hundred chariot teams and forty thousand horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there.


text:
When all the kings who were servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel, and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.


text:
David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.


text:
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.


text:
David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’


text:
So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house.


text:
Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house, and wash your feet.’ Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.


text:
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.


text:
When they told David, ‘Uriah did not go down to his house’, David said to Uriah, ‘You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?’


text:
Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.’


text:
Then David said to Uriah, ‘Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day,


text:
David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.


text:
David Has Uriah Killed In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.


text:
In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.’


text:
As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors.


text:
The men of the city came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well.


text:
and he instructed the messenger, ‘When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting,


text:
then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, “Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?


text:
Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?” then you shall say, “Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.”’


text:
The messenger said to David, ‘The men gained an advantage over us, and came out against us in the field; but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.


text:
Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead; and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’


text:
David said to the messenger, ‘Thus you shall say to Joab, “Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your attack on the city, and overthrow it.” And encourage him.’


text:
When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.


text:
Nathan Condemns David But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.


text:
but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.


text:
Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’


text:
Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die;


text:
Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul;


text:
I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more.


text:
Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.


text:
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.


text:
Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun.


text:
David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.


text:
Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.’


text:
Then Nathan went to his house. Bathsheba’s Child Dies The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill.


text:
David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground.


text:
The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.


text:
On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, ‘While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.’


text:
But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, ‘Is the child dead?’ They said, ‘He is dead.’


text:
Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Lord, and worshipped; he then went to his own house; and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate.


text:
Then his servants said to him, ‘What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but when the child died, you rose and ate food.’


text:
He said, ‘While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, “Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.”


text:
But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.’


text:
Solomon Is Born Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and went to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The Lord loved him,


text:
Joab sent messengers to David, and said, ‘I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the water city.


text:
Now, then, gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; or I myself will take the city, and it will be called by my name.’


text:
He took the crown of Milcom from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. He also brought forth the spoil of the city, a very great amount.


text:
He brought out the people who were in it, and set them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, or sent them to the brickworks. Thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.


text:
Amnon and Tamar Some time passed. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar; and David’s son Amnon fell in love with her.


text:
Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.


text:
But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah; and Jonadab was a very crafty man.


text:
He said to him, ‘O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?’ Amnon said to him, ‘I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.’


text:
Jonadab said to him, ‘Lie down on your bed, and pretend to be ill; and when your father comes to see you, say to him, “Let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, so that I may see it and eat it from her hand.”’


text:
So Amnon lay down, and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand.’


text:
Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, ‘Go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.’


text:
So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.


text:
Then she took the pan and set them out before him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, ‘Send out everyone from me.’ So everyone went out from him.


text:
Then Amnon said to Tamar, ‘Bring the food into the chamber, so that I may eat from your hand.’ So Tamar took the cakes she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.


text:
But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, ‘Come, lie with me, my sister.’


text:
She answered him, ‘No, my brother, do not force me; for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do anything so vile!


text:
As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the scoundrels in Israel. Now therefore, I beg you, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.’


text:
Then Amnon was seized with a very great loathing for her; indeed, his loathing was even greater than the lust he had felt for her. Amnon said to her, ‘Get out!’


text:
But she said to him, ‘No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.’ But he would not listen to her.


text:
He called the young man who served him and said, ‘Put this woman out of my presence, and bolt the door after her.’


text:
(Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in earlier times.) So his servant put her out, and bolted the door after her.


text:
But Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore the long robe that she was wearing; she put her hand on her head, and went away, crying aloud as she went.


text:
Her brother Absalom said to her, ‘Has Amnon your brother been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother; do not take this to heart.’ So Tamar remained, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house.


text:
When King David heard of all these things, he became very angry, but he would not punish his son Amnon, because he loved him, for he was his firstborn.


text:
But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had raped his sister Tamar.


text:
Absalom Avenges the Violation of His Sister After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.


text:
Absalom came to the king, and said, ‘Your servant has sheepshearers; will the king and his servants please go with your servant?’


text:
But the king said to Absalom, ‘No, my son, let us not all go, or else we will be burdensome to you.’ He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing.


text:
Then Absalom said, ‘If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.’ The king said to him, ‘Why should he go with you?’


text:
But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. Absalom made a feast like a king’s feast.


text:
Then Absalom commanded his servants, ‘Watch when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, “Strike Amnon”, then kill him. Do not be afraid; have I not myself commanded you? Be courageous and valiant.’


text:
So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons rose, and each mounted his mule and fled.


text:
While they were on the way, the report came to David that Absalom had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left.


text:
The king rose, tore his garments, and lay on the ground; and all his servants who were standing by tore their garments.


text:
But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, ‘Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men the king’s sons; Amnon alone is dead. This has been determined by Absalom from the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar.


text:
Now therefore, do not let my lord the king take it to heart, as if all the king’s sons were dead; for Amnon alone is dead.’


text:
But Absalom fled. When the young man who kept watch looked up, he saw many people coming from the Horonaim road by the side of the mountain.


text:
Jonadab said to the king, ‘See, the king’s sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.’


text:
As soon as he had finished speaking, the king’s sons arrived, and raised their voices and wept; and the king and all his servants also wept very bitterly.


text:
But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son day after day.


text:
And the heart of the king went out, yearning for Absalom; for he was now consoled over the death of Amnon.


text:
Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He said to her, ‘Pretend to be in mourning; put on mourning garments, do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.


text:
When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, ‘Help, O king!’


text:
Your servant had two sons, and they fought with one another in the field; there was no one to part them, and one struck the other and killed him.


text:
Now the whole family has risen against your servant. They say, “Give up the man who struck his brother, so that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he murdered, even if we destroy the heir as well.” Thus they would quench my one remaining ember, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth.’


text:
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, ‘On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father’s house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.’


text:
The king said, ‘If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me, and he shall never touch you again.’


text:
Then she said, ‘Please, may the king keep the Lord your God in mind, so that the avenger of blood may kill no more, and my son not be destroyed.’ He said, ‘As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground.’


text:
The woman said, ‘Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again.


text:
We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. But God will not take away a life; he will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished for ever from his presence.


text:
Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid; your servant thought, “I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.


text:
For the king will hear, and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would cut both me and my son off from the heritage of God.”


text:
Your servant thought, “The word of my lord the king will set me at rest”; for my lord the king is like the angel of God, discerning good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!’


text:
Then the king answered the woman, ‘Do not withhold from me anything I ask you.’ The woman said, ‘Let my lord the king speak.’


text:
The king said, ‘Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?’ The woman answered and said, ‘As surely as you live, my lord the king, one cannot turn right or left from anything that my lord the king has said. For it was your servant Joab who commanded me; it was he who put all these words into the mouth of your servant.


text:
In order to change the course of affairs your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God to know all things that are on the earth.’


text:
Joab prostrated himself with his face to the ground and did obeisance, and blessed the king; and Joab said, ‘Today your servant knows that I have found favour in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.’


text:
The king said, ‘Let him go to his own house; he is not to come into my presence.’ So Absalom went to his own house, and did not come into the king’s presence.


text:
David Forgives Absalom Now in all Israel there was no one to be praised so much for his beauty as Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.


text:
When he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.


text:
There were born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a beautiful woman.


text:
Then Absalom sent for Joab to send him to the king; but Joab would not come to him. He sent a second time, but Joab would not come.


text:
Then he said to his servants, ‘Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.’ So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.


text:
Then Joab rose and went to Absalom at his house, and said to him, ‘Why have your servants set my field on fire?’


text:
Absalom answered Joab, ‘Look, I sent word to you: Come here, that I may send you to the king with the question, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now let me go into the king’s presence; if there is guilt in me, let him kill me!’


text:
Then Joab went to the king and told him; and he summoned Absalom. So he came to the king and prostrated himself with his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.


text:
Absalom Usurps the Throne After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him.


text:
Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the road into the gate; and when anyone brought a suit before the king for judgement, Absalom would call out and say, ‘From what city are you?’ When the person said, ‘Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel’,


text:
Absalom would say, ‘See, your claims are good and right; but there is no one deputed by the king to hear you.’


text:
Absalom said moreover, ‘If only I were judge in the land! Then all who had a suit or cause might come to me, and I would give them justice.’


text:
Whenever people came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of them, and kiss them.


text:
Thus Absalom did to every Israelite who came to the king for judgement; so Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel.


text:
At the end of four years Absalom said to the king, ‘Please let me go to Hebron and pay the vow that I have made to the Lord.


text:
For your servant made a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram: If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’


text:
But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ‘As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then shout: Absalom has become king at Hebron!’


text:
Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom; they were invited guests, and they went in their innocence, knowing nothing of the matter.


text:
While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city Giloh. The conspiracy grew in strength, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.


text:
David Flees from Jerusalem A messenger came to David, saying, ‘The hearts of the Israelites have gone after Absalom.’


text:
Then David said to all his officials who were with him at Jerusalem, ‘Get up! Let us flee, or there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Hurry, or he will soon overtake us, and bring disaster down upon us, and attack the city with the edge of the sword.’


text:
The king’s officials said to the king, ‘Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king decides.’


text:
So the king left, followed by all his household, except ten concubines whom he left behind to look after the house.


text:
All his officials passed by him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king.


text:
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why are you also coming with us? Go back, and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner, and also an exile from your home.


text:
You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your kinsfolk with you; and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.’


text:
But Ittai answered the king, ‘As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.’


text:
David said to Ittai, ‘Go then, march on.’ So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.


text:
The whole country wept aloud as all the people passed by; the king crossed the Wadi Kidron, and all the people moved on towards the wilderness.


text:
Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, until the people had all passed out of the city.


text:
Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and the place where it remains.


text:
The king also said to the priest Zadok, ‘Look, go back to the city in peace, you and Abiathar, with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar.


text:
But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.


text:
David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, ‘O Lord, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.’


text:
Hushai Becomes David’s Spy When David came to the summit, where God was worshipped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head.


text:
But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, “I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant”, then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.


text:
The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.


text:
Their two sons are with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan; and by them you shall report to me everything you hear.’


text:
David’s Adversaries When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, carrying two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred bunches of raisins, one hundred of summer fruits, and one skin of wine.


text:
The king said to Ziba, ‘Why have you brought these?’ Ziba answered, ‘The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those to drink who faint in the wilderness.’


text:
The king said, ‘And where is your master’s son?’ Ziba said to the king, ‘He remains in Jerusalem; for he said, “Today the house of Israel will give me back my grandfather’s kingdom.”’


text:
Then the king said to Ziba, ‘All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.’ Ziba said, ‘I do obeisance; let me find favour in your sight, my lord the king.’


text:
Shimei Curses David When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out whose name was Shimei son of Gera; he came out cursing.


text:
He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; now all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left.


text:
The Lord has avenged on all of you the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, disaster has overtaken you; for you are a man of blood.’


text:
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, ‘Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.’


text:
But the king said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, “Curse David”, who then shall say, “Why have you done so?”’


text:
David said to Abishai and to all his servants, ‘My own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord has bidden him.


text:
It may be that the Lord will look on my distress, and the Lord will repay me with good for this cursing of me today.’


text:
So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, throwing stones and flinging dust at him.


text:
The king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan; and there he refreshed himself.


text:
The Counsel of Ahithophel Now Absalom and all the Israelites came to Jerusalem; Ahithophel was with him.


text:
When Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, ‘Long live the king! Long live the king!’


text:
Hushai said to Absalom, ‘No; but the one whom the Lord and this people and all the Israelites have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.


text:
Moreover, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? Just as I have served your father, so I will serve you.’


text:
Ahithophel said to Absalom, ‘Go in to your father’s concubines, the ones he has left to look after the house; and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.’


text:
So they pitched a tent for Absalom upon the roof; and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.


text:
Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the oracle of God; so all the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.


text:
Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, ‘Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight.


text:
I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged, and throw him into a panic; and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,


text:
and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.’


text:
The Counsel of Hushai Then Absalom said, ‘Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear too what he has to say.’


text:
When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, ‘This is what Ahithophel has said; shall we do as he advises? If not, you tell us.’


text:
Hushai continued, ‘You know that your father and his men are warriors, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the troops.


text:
Even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits, or in some other place. And when some of our troops fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, “There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.”


text:
Then even the valiant warrior, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear; for all Israel knows that your father is a warrior, and that those who are with him are valiant warriors.


text:
But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beer-sheba, like the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.


text:
So we shall come upon him in whatever place he may be found, and we shall light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and he will not survive, nor will any of those with him.


text:
If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.’


text:
Absalom and all the men of Israel said, ‘The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.’ For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring ruin on Absalom.


text:
Hushai Warns David to Escape Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, ‘Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and so I have counselled.


text:
Therefore send quickly and tell David, “Do not lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over; otherwise the king and all the people who are with him will be swallowed up.”’


text:
Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel; a servant-girl used to go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David; for they could not risk being seen entering the city.


text:
But a boy saw them, and told Absalom; so both of them went away quickly, and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard; and they went down into it.


text:
The man’s wife took a covering, stretched it over the well’s mouth, and spread out grain on it; and nothing was known of it.


text:
When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, ‘Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?’ The woman said to them, ‘They have crossed over the brook of water.’ And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.


text:
After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, ‘Go and cross the water quickly; for thus and so has Ahithophel counselled against you.’


text:
So David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan; by daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.


text:
When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order, and hanged himself; he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.


text:
Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.


text:
When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim


text:
honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, ‘The troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.’


text:
The Defeat and Death of Absalom Then David mustered the men who were with him, and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.


text:
And David divided the army into three groups: one-third under the command of Joab, one-third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one-third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the men, ‘I myself will also go out with you.’


text:
But the men said, ‘You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.’


text:
The king said to them, ‘Whatever seems best to you I will do.’ So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.


text:
The king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.’ And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.


text:
So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.


text:
The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.


text:
The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.


text:
Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.


text:
Joab said to the man who told him, ‘What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.’


text:
But the man said to Joab, ‘Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying: For my sake protect the young man Absalom!


text:
On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.’


text:
Joab said, ‘I will not waste time like this with you.’ He took three spears in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Absalom, while he was still alive in the oak.


text:
Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the troops.


text:
They took Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites fled to their homes.


text:
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, ‘I have no son to keep my name in remembrance’; he called the pillar by his own name. It is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.


text:
David Hears of Absalom’s Death Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, ‘Let me run, and carry tidings to the king that the Lord has delivered him from the power of his enemies.’


text:
Joab said to him, ‘You are not to carry tidings today; you may carry tidings another day, but today you shall not do so, because the king’s son is dead.’


text:
Then Joab said to a Cushite, ‘Go, tell the king what you have seen.’ The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran.


text:
Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab, ‘Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.’ And Joab said, ‘Why will you run, my son, seeing that you have no reward for the tidings?’


text:
‘Come what may,’ he said, ‘I will run.’ So he said to him, ‘Run.’ Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.


text:
Now David was sitting between the two gates. The sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he looked up, he saw a man running alone.


text:
The sentinel shouted and told the king. The king said, ‘If he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.’ He kept coming, and drew near.


text:
Then the sentinel saw another man running; and the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, ‘See, another man running alone!’ The king said, ‘He also is bringing tidings.’


text:
The sentinel said, ‘I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.’ The king said, ‘He is a good man, and comes with good tidings.’


text:
Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, ‘All is well!’ He prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground, and said, ‘Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.’


text:
The king said, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ Ahimaaz answered, ‘When Joab sent your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.’


text:
Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, ‘Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.’


text:
The king said to the Cushite, ‘Is it well with the young man Absalom?’ The Cushite answered, ‘May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.’


text:
David Mourns for Absalom The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’


text:
So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops; for the troops heard that day, ‘The king is grieving for his son.’


text:
The troops stole into the city that day as soldiers steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle.


text:
The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, ‘O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!’


text:
Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, ‘Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your officers who have saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines,


text:
for love of those who hate you and for hatred of those who love you. You have made it clear today that commanders and officers are nothing to you; for I perceive that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.


text:
So go out at once and speak kindly to your servants; for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night; and this will be worse for you than any disaster that has come upon you from your youth until now.’


text:
Then the king got up and took his seat in the gate. The troops were all told, ‘See, the king is sitting in the gate’; and all the troops came before the king. David Recalled to Jerusalem Meanwhile, all the Israelites had fled to their homes.


text:
All the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, ‘The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and saved us from the hand of the Philistines; and now he has fled out of the land because of Absalom.


text:
But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?’


text:
King David sent this message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, ‘Say to the elders of Judah, “Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house? The talk of all Israel has come to the king.


text:
You are my kin, you are my bone and my flesh; why then should you be the last to bring back the king?”


text:
And say to Amasa, “Are you not my bone and my flesh? So may God do to me, and more, if you are not the commander of my army from now on, in place of Joab.”’


text:
Amasa swayed the hearts of all the people of Judah as one, and they sent word to the king, ‘Return, both you and all your servants.’


text:
So the king came back to the Jordan; and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring him over the Jordan.


text:
Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the people of Judah to meet King David;


text:
with him were a thousand people from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king,


text:
while the crossing was taking place, to bring over the king’s household, and to do his pleasure. David’s Mercy to Shimei Shimei son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was about to cross the Jordan,


text:
and said to the king, ‘May my lord not hold me guilty or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem; may the king not bear it in mind.


text:
For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, see, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.’


text:
Abishai son of Zeruiah answered, ‘Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?’


text:
But David said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should today become an adversary to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?’


text:
David and Mephibosheth Meet Mephibosheth grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet, or trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes, from the day the king left until the day he came back in safety.


text:
When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, ‘Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?’


text:
He answered, ‘My lord, O king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said to him, “Saddle a donkey for me, so that I may ride on it and go with the king.” For your servant is lame.


text:
He has slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like the angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you.


text:
For all my father’s house were doomed to death before my lord the king; but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to appeal to the king?’


text:
The king said to him, ‘Why speak any more of your affairs? I have decided: you and Ziba shall divide the land.’


text:
Mephibosheth said to the king, ‘Let him take it all, since my lord the king has arrived home safely.’


text:
David’s Kindness to Barzillai Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; he went on with the king to the Jordan, to escort him over the Jordan.


text:
Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.


text:
The king said to Barzillai, ‘Come over with me, and I will provide for you in Jerusalem at my side.’


text:
But Barzillai said to the king, ‘How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?


text:
Today I am eighty years old; can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king?


text:
Your servant will go a little way over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king recompense me with such a reward?


text:
Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own town, near the graves of my father and my mother. But here is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do for him whatever seems good to you.’


text:
The king answered, ‘Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you; and all that you desire of me I will do for you.’


text:
Then all the people crossed over the Jordan, and the king crossed over; the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his own home.


text:
The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; all the people of Judah, and also half the people of Israel, brought the king on his way.


text:
Then all the people of Israel came to the king, and said to him, ‘Why have our kindred the people of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?’


text:
All the people of Judah answered the people of Israel, ‘Because the king is near of kin to us. Why then are you angry over this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense? Or has he given us any gift?’


text:
But the people of Israel answered the people of Judah, ‘We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you. Why then did you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?’ But the words of the people of Judah were fiercer than the words of the people of Israel.


text:
The Rebellion of Sheba Now a scoundrel named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and cried out, ‘We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! Everyone to your tents, O Israel!’


text:
So all the people of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba son of Bichri; but the people of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.


text:
David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to look after the house, and put them in a house under guard, and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.


text:
Then the king said to Amasa, ‘Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.’


text:
David said to Abishai, ‘Now Sheba son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities for himself, and escape from us.’


text:
Joab’s men went out after him, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.


text:
When they were at the large stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened at his waist; as he went forward it fell out.


text:
Joab said to Amasa, ‘Is it well with you, my brother?’ And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.


text:
But Amasa did not notice the sword in Joab’s hand; Joab struck him in the belly so that his entrails poured out on the ground, and he died. He did not strike a second blow. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.


text:
And one of Joab’s men took his stand by Amasa, and said, ‘Whoever favours Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.’


text:
Amasa lay wallowing in his blood on the highway, and the man saw that all the people were stopping. Since he saw that all who came by him were stopping, he carried Amasa from the highway into a field, and threw a garment over him.


text:
Once he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.


text:
Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah; and all the Bichrites assembled, and followed him inside.


text:
Joab’s forces came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah; they threw up a siege-ramp against the city, and it stood against the rampart. Joab’s forces were battering the wall to break it down.


text:
Then a wise woman called from the city, ‘Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, “Come here, I want to speak to you.”’


text:
He came near her; and the woman said, ‘Are you Joab?’ He answered, ‘I am.’ Then she said to him, ‘Listen to the words of your servant.’ He answered, ‘I am listening.’


text:
Then she said, ‘They used to say in the old days, “Let them inquire at Abel”; and so they would settle a matter.


text:
I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel; you seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel; why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord?’


text:
That is not the case! But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David; give him up alone, and I will withdraw from the city.’ The woman said to Joab, ‘His head shall be thrown over the wall to you.’


text:
Then the woman went to all the people with her wise plan. And they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, and all went to their homes, while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.


text:
Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;


text:
David Avenges the Gibeonites Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, ‘There is blood-guilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.’


text:
So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)


text:
David said to the Gibeonites, ‘What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?’


text:
The Gibeonites said to him, ‘It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel.’ He said, ‘What do you say that I should do for you?’


text:
They said to the king, ‘The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel—


text:
let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord.’ The king said, ‘I will hand them over.’


text:
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul.


text:
The king took the two sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite;


text:
he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they impaled them on the mountain before the Lord. The seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.


text:
Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it on a rock for herself, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell on them from the heavens; she did not allow the birds of the air to come on the bodies by day, or the wild animals by night.


text:
David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the people of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.


text:
He brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who had been impaled.


text:
They buried the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish; they did all that the king commanded. After that, God heeded supplications for the land.


text:
Exploits of David’s Men The Philistines went to war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants. They fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary.


text:
Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was fitted out with new weapons, said he would kill David.


text:
But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, ‘You shall not go out with us to battle any longer, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.’


text:
After this a battle took place with the Philistines, at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants.


text:
Then there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.


text:
There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great size, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; he too was descended from the giants.


text:
These four were descended from the giants in Gath; they fell by the hands of David and his servants.


text:
David’s Song of Thanksgiving David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.


text:
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my saviour; you save me from violence.


text:
In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.


text:
Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.


text:
Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.


text:
Then the channels of the sea were seen, the foundations of the world were laid bare at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.


text:
The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.


text:
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.


text:
This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.


text:
I beat them fine like the dust of the earth, I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.


text:
You delivered me from strife with the peoples; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.


text:
who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above my adversaries, you delivered me from the violent.


text:
He is a tower of salvation for his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants for ever.


text:
The Last Words of David Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favourite of the Strong One of Israel:


text:
The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God,


text:
is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.


text:
Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?


text:
But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand;


text:
to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.


text:
David’s Mighty Men These are the names of the warriors whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the Three; he wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.


text:
Next to him among the three warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. The Israelites withdrew,


text:
but he stood his ground. He struck down the Philistines until his arm grew weary, though his hand clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. Then the people came back to him—but only to strip the dead.


text:
Next to him was Shammah son of Agee, the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the army fled from the Philistines.


text:
But he took his stand in the middle of the plot, defended it, and killed the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.


text:
Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.


text:
David said longingly, ‘O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!’


text:
Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord,


text:
for he said, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?’ Therefore he would not drink it. The three warriors did these things.


text:
Now Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Thirty. With his spear he fought against three hundred men and killed them, and won a name beside the Three.


text:
He was the most renowned of the Thirty, and became their commander; but he did not attain to the Three.


text:
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant warrior from Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.


text:
And he killed an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but Benaiah went against him with a staff, snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.


text:
He was renowned among the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.


text:
David’s Census of Israel and Judah Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.’


text:
So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, who were with him, ‘Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people, so that I may know how many there are.’


text:
But Joab said to the king, ‘May the Lord your God increase the number of the people a hundredfold, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this?’


text:
But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to take a census of the people of Israel.


text:
They crossed the Jordan, and began from Aroer and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, towards Gad and on to Jazer.


text:
Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites; and they came to Dan, and from Dan they went round to Sidon,


text:
and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beer-sheba.


text:
So when they had gone through all the land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.


text:
Joab reported to the king the number of those who had been recorded: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand soldiers able to draw the sword, and those of Judah were five hundred thousand.


text:
Judgement on David’s Sin But afterwards, David was stricken to the heart because he had numbered the people. David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.’


text:
‘Go and say to David: Thus says the Lord: Three things I offer you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.’


text:
So Gad came to David and told him; he asked him, ‘Shall three years of famine come to you on your land? Or will you flee for three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.’


text:
Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into human hands.’


text:
So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from that morning until the appointed time; and seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba.


text:
But when the angel stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented concerning the evil, and said to the angel who was bringing destruction among the people, ‘It is enough; now stay your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was then by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.


text:
When David saw the angel who was destroying the people, he said to the Lord, ‘I alone have sinned, and I alone have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.’


text:
David’s Altar on the Threshing-Floor That day Gad came to David and said to him, ‘Go up and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.’


text:
When Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming towards him; and Araunah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.


text:
Araunah said, ‘Why has my lord the king come to his servant?’ David said, ‘To buy the threshing-floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be averted from the people.’


text:
Then Araunah said to David, ‘Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt-offering, and the threshing-sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.


text:
All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.’ And Araunah said to the king, ‘May the Lord your God respond favourably to you.’


text:
But the king said to Araunah, ‘No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt-offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.’ So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.


text:
David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being. So the Lord answered his supplication for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.


text:
The Struggle for the Succession King David was old and advanced in years; and although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.


text:
So his servants said to him, ‘Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king, and let her wait on the king, and be his attendant; let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may be warm.’


text:
So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.


text:
The girl was very beautiful. She became the king’s attendant and served him, but the king did not know her sexually.


text:
Now Adonijah son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, ‘I will be king’; he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.


text:
His father had never at any time displeased him by asking, ‘Why have you done that?’ He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.


text:
But the priest Zadok, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the prophet Nathan, and Shimei, and Rei, and David’s own warriors did not side with Adonijah.


text:
Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatted cattle by the stone Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah,


text:
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, ‘Have you not heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has become king and our lord David does not know it?


text:
Now therefore come, let me give you advice, so that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.


text:
Go in at once to King David, and say to him, “Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne? Why then is Adonijah king?”


text:
Then while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.’


text:
So Bathsheba went to the king in his room. The king was very old; Abishag the Shunammite was attending the king.


text:
She said to him, ‘My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying: Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne.


text:
He has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the children of the king, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the commander of the army; but your servant Solomon he has not invited.


text:
But you, my lord the king—the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.


text:
Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, that my son Solomon and I will be counted offenders.’


text:
The king was told, ‘Here is the prophet Nathan.’ When he came in before the king, he did obeisance to the king, with his face to the ground.


text:
Nathan said, ‘My lord the king, have you said, “Adonijah shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne”?


text:
For today he has gone down and has sacrificed oxen, fatted cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s children, Joab the commander of the army, and the priest Abiathar, who are now eating and drinking before him, and saying, “Long live King Adonijah!”


text:
But he did not invite me, your servant, and the priest Zadok, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon.


text:
Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not let your servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?’


text:
The Accession of Solomon King David answered, ‘Summon Bathsheba to me.’ So she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king.


text:
as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, “Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne in my place”, so will I do this day.’


text:
Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, ‘May my lord King David live for ever!’


text:
King David said, ‘Summon to me the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.’ When they came before the king,


text:
the king said to them, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.


text:
There let the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, “Long live King Solomon!”


text:
You shall go up following him. Let him enter and sit on my throne; he shall be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.’


text:
Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, ‘Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so ordain.


text:
As the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.’


text:
So the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and led him to Gihon.


text:
There the priest Zadok took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, ‘Long live King Solomon!’


text:
And all the people went up following him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth quaked at their noise.


text:
Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished feasting. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, ‘Why is the city in an uproar?’


text:
While he was still speaking, Jonathan son of the priest Abiathar arrived. Adonijah said, ‘Come in, for you are a worthy man and surely you bring good news.’


text:
the king has sent with him the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they had him ride on the king’s mule;


text:
the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you heard.


text:
Moreover, the king’s servants came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, “May God make the name of Solomon more famous than yours, and make his throne greater than your throne.” The king bowed in worship on the bed


text:
and went on to pray thus, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who today has granted one of my offspring to sit on my throne and permitted me to witness it.”’


text:
Solomon was informed, ‘Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; see, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, “Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.”’


text:
So Solomon responded, ‘If he proves to be a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.’


text:
Then King Solomon sent to have him brought down from the altar. He came to do obeisance to King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, ‘Go home.’


text:
David’s Instruction to Solomon When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying:


text:
and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.


text:
Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: “If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.”


text:
‘Moreover, you know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner son of Ner, and Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered, retaliating in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist, and on the sandals on his feet.


text:
Deal loyally, however, with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table; for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from your brother Absalom.


text:
There is also with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a terrible curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim; but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, “I will not put you to death with the sword.”


text:
Therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man; you will know what you ought to do to him, and you must bring his grey head down with blood to Sheol.’


text:
The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned for seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.


text:
Solomon Consolidates His Reign Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably.’


text:
He said, ‘You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to reign; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the Lord.


text:
He said, ‘Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.’


text:
So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.


text:
Then she said, ‘I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me.’ And the king said to her, ‘Make your request, my mother; for I will not refuse you.’


text:
King Solomon answered his mother, ‘And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom as well! For he is my elder brother; ask not only for him but also for the priest Abiathar and for Joab son of Zeruiah!’


text:
Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, ‘So may God do to me, and more also, for Adonijah has devised this scheme at the risk of his life!


text:
Now therefore as the Lord lives, who has established me and placed me on the throne of my father David, and who has made me a house as he promised, today Adonijah shall be put to death.’


text:
The king said to the priest Abiathar, ‘Go to Anathoth, to your estate; for you deserve death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you shared in all the hardships my father endured.’


text:
So Solomon banished Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.


text:
When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah though he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and grasped the horns of the altar.


text:
When it was told King Solomon, ‘Joab has fled to the tent of the Lord and now is beside the altar’, Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, ‘Go, strike him down.’


text:
So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, ‘The king commands, “Come out.”’ But he said, ‘No, I will die here.’ Then Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, ‘Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.’


text:
The king replied to him, ‘Do as he has said, strike him down and bury him; and thus take away from me and from my father’s house the guilt for the blood that Joab shed without cause.


text:
The Lord will bring back his bloody deeds on his own head, because, without the knowledge of my father David, he attacked and killed with the sword two men more righteous and better than himself, Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.


text:
So shall their blood come back on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants for ever; but to David, and to his descendants, and to his house, and to his throne, there shall be peace from the Lord for evermore.’


text:
Then Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck him down and killed him; and he was buried at his own house near the wilderness.


text:
The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king put the priest Zadok in the place of Abiathar.


text:
Then the king sent and summoned Shimei, and said to him, ‘Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there, and do not go out from there to any place whatever.


text:
For on the day you go out, and cross the Wadi Kidron, know for certain that you shall die; your blood shall be on your own head.’


text:
And Shimei said to the king, ‘The sentence is fair; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.’ So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.


text:
But it happened at the end of three years that two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. When it was told Shimei, ‘Your slaves are in Gath’,


text:
Shimei arose and saddled a donkey, and went to Achish in Gath, to search for his slaves; Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.


text:
the king sent and summoned Shimei, and said to him, ‘Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and solemnly adjure you, saying, “Know for certain that on the day you go out and go to any place whatever, you shall die”? And you said to me, “The sentence is fair; I accept.”


text:
The king also said to Shimei, ‘You know in your own heart all the evil that you did to my father David; so the Lord will bring back your evil on your own head.


text:
But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever.’


text:
Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.


text:
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt; he took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.


text:
The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.


text:
Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places.


text:
The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt-offerings on that altar.


text:
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I should give you.’


text:
And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.


text:
And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.


text:
And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.


text:
Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’


text:
God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,


text:
I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.


text:
I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honour all your life; no other king shall compare with you.


text:
If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.’


text:
Then Solomon awoke; it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem, where he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He offered up burnt-offerings and offerings of well-being, and provided a feast for all his servants.


text:
Solomon’s Wisdom in Judgement Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.


text:
One woman said, ‘Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.


text:
Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house.


text:
She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast.


text:
When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.’


text:
But the other woman said, ‘No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.’ The first said, ‘No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.’ So they argued before the king.


text:
Then the king said, ‘One says, “This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead”; while the other says, “Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.”’


text:
But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—‘Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!’ The other said, ‘It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.’


text:
All Israel heard of the judgement that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.


text:
Solomon had twelve officials over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year.


text:
Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;


text:
Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);


text:
Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan. And there was one official in the land of Judah.


text:
Magnificence of Solomon’s Rule Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy.


text:
Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.


text:
ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.


text:
For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates; and he had peace on all sides.


text:
During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all of them under their vines and fig trees.


text:
Those officials supplied provisions for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month; they let nothing be lacking.


text:
They also brought to the required place barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds, each according to his charge.


text:
Fame of Solomon’s Wisdom God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment, and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore,


text:
so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.


text:
He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.


text:
He would speak of trees, from the cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish.


text:
People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.


text:
Preparations and Materials for the Temple Now King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend to David.


text:
‘You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.


text:
So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.”


text:
Therefore command that cedars from the Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.’


text:
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, ‘Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.’


text:
Hiram sent word to Solomon, ‘I have heard the message that you have sent to me; I will fulfil all your needs in the matter of cedar and cypress timber.


text:
My servants shall bring it down to the sea from the Lebanon; I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away. And you shall meet my needs by providing food for my household.’


text:
Solomon in turn gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty cors of fine oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.


text:
So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and the two of them made a treaty.


text:
He sent them to the Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they would be a month in the Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the forced labour.


text:
besides Solomon’s three thousand three hundred supervisors who were over the work, having charge of the people who did the work.


text:
At the king’s command, they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones.


text:
So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites did the stonecutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.


text:
Solomon Builds the Temple In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.


text:
The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.


text:
The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits wide, across the width of the house. Its depth was ten cubits in front of the house.


text:
He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary; and he made side chambers all round.


text:
The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle one was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for round the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.


text:
The house was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the temple while it was being built.


text:
The entrance for the middle story was on the south side of the house: one went up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.


text:
He built the structure against the whole house, each story five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.


text:
‘Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, obey my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will establish my promise with you, which I made to your father David.


text:
He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.


text:
He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the most holy place.


text:
The cedar within the house had carvings of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, no stone was seen.


text:
The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.


text:
The interior of the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high; he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar.


text:
Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, then he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.


text:
Next he overlaid the whole house with gold, in order that the whole house might be perfect; even the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.


text:
The Furnishings of the Temple In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.


text:
Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.


text:
He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house; the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one was touching one wall, and a wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; their other wings towards the centre of the house were touching wing to wing.


text:
He carved the walls of the house all round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.


text:
For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.


text:
He covered the two doors of olive wood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.


text:
and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.


text:
He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, overlaying them with gold evenly applied upon the carved work.


text:
In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.


text:
Solomon’s Palace and Other Buildings Solomon was building his own house for thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.


text:
He built the House of the Forest of the Lebanon one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.


text:
All the doorways and doorposts had four-sided frames, opposite, facing each other in the three rows.


text:
He made the Hall of Pillars fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them.


text:
He made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgement, the Hall of Justice, covered with cedar from floor to floor.


text:
His own house where he would reside, in the other court behind the hall, was of the same construction. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken in marriage.


text:
All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, from the foundation to the coping, and from outside to the great court.


text:
The great court had three courses of dressed stone to one layer of cedar beams all round; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord, and the vestibule of the house.


text:
He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, whose father, a man of Tyre, had been an artisan in bronze; he was full of skill, intelligence, and knowledge in working bronze. He came to King Solomon, and did all his work.


text:
He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one, and a cord of twelve cubits would encircle it; the second pillar was the same.


text:
He also made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.


text:
There were nets of chequer-work with wreaths of chain-work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars; seven for one capital, and seven for the other capital.


text:
He made the columns with two rows round each lattice-work to cover the capitals that were above the pomegranates; he did the same with the other capital.


text:
Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits high.


text:
The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection that was beside the lattice-work; there were two hundred pomegranates in rows all round; and so with the other capital.


text:
He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the south and called it Jachin; and he set up the pillar on the north and called it Boaz.


text:
Then he made the cast sea; it was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would encircle it completely.


text:
Under its brim were panels all round it, each of ten cubits, surrounding the sea; there were two rows of panels, cast when it was cast.


text:
It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the sea was set on them. The hindquarters of each were towards the inside.


text:
Its thickness was a handbreadth; its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held two thousand baths.


text:
He also made the ten stands of bronze; each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.


text:
on the borders that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of bevelled work.


text:
Each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze; at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each.


text:
Its opening was within the crown whose height was one cubit; its opening was round, as a pedestal is made; it was a cubit and a half wide. At its opening there were carvings; its borders were four-sided, not round.


text:
The four wheels were underneath the borders; the axles of the wheels were in the stands; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.


text:
The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.


text:
There were four supports at the four corners of each stand; the supports were of one piece with the stands.


text:
On the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; on the top of the stand, its stays and its borders were of one piece with it.


text:
On the surfaces of its stays and on its borders he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, where each had space, with wreaths all round.


text:
In this way he made the ten stands; all of them were cast alike, with the same size and the same form.


text:
He made ten basins of bronze; each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits; there was a basin for each of the ten stands.


text:
He set five of the stands on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house; he set the sea on the south-east corner of the house.


text:
Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:


text:
the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, the two lattice-works to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;


text:
the four hundred pomegranates for the two lattice-works, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice-work, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;


text:
The pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze.


text:
Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not determined.


text:
So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence,


text:
the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, in front of the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;


text:
the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and firepans, of pure gold; the sockets for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple, of gold.


text:
Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.


text:
Dedication of the Temple Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.


text:
All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.


text:
So they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up.


text:
King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.


text:
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.


text:
For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles.


text:
The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day.


text:
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt.


text:
so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.


text:
Solomon’s Speech Then the king turned round and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood.


text:
He said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David, saying,


text:
“Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any of the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.”


text:
nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.”


text:
Now the Lord has upheld the promise that he made; for I have risen in the place of my father David; I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.


text:
There I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.’


text:
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven.


text:
He said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart,


text:
the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand.


text:
Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, “There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.”


text:
Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.


text:
‘But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!


text:
Have regard to your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today;


text:
that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there”, that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays towards this place.


text:
Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling-place; heed and forgive.


text:
‘If someone sins against a neighbour and is given an oath to swear, and comes and swears before your altar in this house,


text:
then hear in heaven, and act, and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing their conduct on their own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding them according to their righteousness.


text:
‘When your people Israel, having sinned against you, are defeated before an enemy but turn again to you, confess your name, pray, and plead with you in this house,


text:
then hear in heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them again to the land that you gave to their ancestors.


text:
‘When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and then they pray towards this place, confess your name, and turn from their sin, because you punish them,


text:
then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and grant rain on your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.


text:
‘If there is famine in the land, if there is plague, blight, mildew, locust, or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in any of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is;


text:
whatever prayer, whatever plea there is from any individual or from all your people Israel, all knowing the afflictions of their own hearts so that they stretch out their hands towards this house;


text:
then hear in heaven your dwelling-place, forgive, act, and render to all whose hearts you know—according to all their ways, for only you know what is in every human heart—


text:
‘Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name


text:
—for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays towards this house,


text:
then hear in heaven your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.


text:
‘If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord towards the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,


text:
‘If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;


text:
and if they come to their senses in the land to which they have been taken captive, and repent, and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, “We have sinned, and have done wrong; we have acted wickedly”;


text:
if they repent with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies, who took them captive, and pray to you towards their land, which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name;


text:
and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you; and grant them compassion in the sight of their captors, so that they may have compassion on them


text:
(for they are your people and heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron-smelter).


text:
Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant, and to the plea of your people Israel, listening to them whenever they call to you.


text:
For you have separated them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be your heritage, just as you promised through Moses, your servant, when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Lord God.’


text:
Solomon Blesses the Assembly Now when Solomon finished offering all this prayer and this plea to the Lord, he arose from facing the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched towards heaven;


text:
‘Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel according to all that he promised; not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke through his servant Moses.


text:
but incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors.


text:
Let these words of mine, with which I pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires;


text:
Therefore devote yourselves completely to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.’


text:
Solomon Offers Sacrifices Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.


text:
Solomon offered as sacrifices of well-being to the Lord twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.


text:
The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered the burnt-offerings and the grain-offerings and the fat pieces of the sacrifices of well-being, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt-offerings and the grain-offerings and the fat pieces of the sacrifices of well-being.


text:
So Solomon held the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a great assembly, people from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt—before the Lord our God, for seven days.


text:
On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and in good spirits because of all the goodness that the Lord had shown to his servant David and to his people Israel.


text:
God Appears Again to Solomon When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build,


text:
The Lord said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you made before me; I have consecrated this house that you have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.


text:
As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my ordinances,


text:
then I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised your father David, saying, “There shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.”


text:
‘If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,


text:
then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a taunt among all peoples.


text:
This house will become a heap of ruins; everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?”


text:
Then they will say, “Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshipping them and serving them; therefore the Lord has brought this disaster upon them.”’


text:
At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house,


text:
King Hiram of Tyre having supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.


text:
But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him.


text:
Therefore he said, ‘What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?’ So they are called the land of Cabul to this day.


text:
Other Acts of Solomon This is the account of the forced labour that King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the Lord and his own house, the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer


text:
(Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it down, had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife;


text:
as well as all of Solomon’s storage cities, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build, in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.


text:
All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel—


text:
their descendants who were still left in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely—these Solomon conscripted for slave labour, and so they are to this day.


text:
But of the Israelites Solomon made no slaves; they were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, and the commanders of his chariotry and cavalry.


text:
These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who had charge of the people who carried on the work.


text:
But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her; then he built the Millo.


text:
Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt-offerings and sacrifices of well-being on the altar that he built for the Lord, offering incense before the Lord. So he completed the house.


text:
Solomon’s Commercial Activity King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.


text:
Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon.


text:
They went to Ophir, and imported from there four hundred and twenty talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.


text:
Visit of the Queen of Sheba When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions.


text:
She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.


text:
Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.


text:
the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt-offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.


text:
So she said to the king, ‘The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom,


text:
but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard.


text:
Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom!


text:
Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.’


text:
Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.


text:
Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood and precious stones.


text:
From the almug wood the king made supports for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.


text:
Meanwhile, King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desire that she expressed, as well as what he gave her out of Solomon’s royal bounty. Then she returned to her own land, with her servants.


text:
besides that which came from the traders and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land.


text:
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each large shield.


text:
He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.


text:
The throne had six steps. The top of the throne was rounded in the back, and on each side of the seat were arm rests and two lions standing beside the arm rests,


text:
while twelve lions were standing, one on each end of a step, on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made in any kingdom.


text:
All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver—it was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.


text:
For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.


text:
Every one of them brought a present, objects of silver and gold, garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.


text:
Solomon gathered together chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.


text:
The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as numerous as the sycomores of the Shephelah.


text:
Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price.


text:
A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.


text:
Solomon’s Errors King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,


text:
from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the Israelites, ‘You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you; for they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods;’ Solomon clung to these in love.


text:
Among his wives were seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.


text:
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.


text:
For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.


text:
So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not completely follow the Lord, as his father David had done.


text:
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.


text:
Then the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,


text:
and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord commanded.


text:
Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.


text:
Yet for the sake of your father David I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.


text:
I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.’


text:
Adversaries of Solomon Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal house in Edom.


text:
For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the dead, he killed every male in Edom


text:
(for Joab and all Israel remained there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom);


text:
but Hadad fled to Egypt with some Edomites who were servants of his father. He was a young boy at that time.


text:
They set out from Midian and came to Paran; they took people with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land.


text:
Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him his sister-in-law for a wife, the sister of Queen Tahpenes.


text:
The sister of Tahpenes gave birth by him to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the children of Pharaoh.


text:
When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, ‘Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.’


text:
But Pharaoh said to him, ‘What do you lack with me that you now seek to go to your own country?’ And he said, ‘No, do let me go.’


text:
God raised up another adversary against Solomon, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah.


text:
He gathered followers around him and became leader of a marauding band, after the slaughter by David; they went to Damascus, settled there, and made him king in Damascus.


text:
He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, making trouble as Hadad did; he despised Israel and reigned over Aram.


text:
Jeroboam’s Rebellion Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, rebelled against the king.


text:
The following was the reason he rebelled against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.


text:
The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labour of the house of Joseph.


text:
About that time, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open country


text:
He then said to Jeroboam: Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes.


text:
One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.


text:
This is because he has forsaken me, worshipped Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as his father David did.


text:
Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom away from him but will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David whom I chose and who did keep my commandments and my statutes;


text:
Yet to his son I will give one tribe, so that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.


text:
I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires; you shall be king over Israel.


text:
If you will listen to all that I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you, and will build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.


text:
Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam promptly fled to Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, and remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon.


text:
Death of Solomon Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did as well as his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?


text:
Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.


text:
The Northern Tribes Secede Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.


text:
When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt.


text:
And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam,


text:
‘Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you.’


text:
Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, ‘How do you advise me to answer this people?’


text:
They answered him, ‘If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants for ever.’


text:
But he disregarded the advice that the older men gave him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him.


text:
He said to them, ‘What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, “Lighten the yoke that your father put on us”?’


text:
The young men who had grown up with him said to him, ‘Thus you should say to this people who spoke to you, “Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it for us”; thus you should say to them, “My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.


text:
Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”’


text:
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had said, ‘Come to me again on the third day.’


text:
and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’


text:
So the king did not listen to the people, because it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfil his word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.


text:
When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, ‘What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David.’ So Israel went away to their tents.


text:
When King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labour, all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam then hurriedly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.


text:
First Dynasty: Jeroboam Reigns over Israel When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone.


text:
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen troops to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.


text:
Say to King Rehoboam of Judah, son of Solomon, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people,


text:
‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your kindred the people of Israel. Let everyone go home, for this thing is from me.’ So they heeded the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.


text:
Jeroboam’s Golden Calves Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and resided there; he went out from there and built Penuel.


text:
If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.’


text:
So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, ‘You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’


text:
And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one at Bethel and before the other as far as Dan.


text:
He also made houses on high places, and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not Levites.


text:
Jeroboam appointed a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the festival that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; so he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.


text:
He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he alone had prescribed; he appointed a festival for the people of Israel, and he went up to the altar to offer incense.


text:
A Man of God from Judah While Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer incense, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel


text:
and proclaimed against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, ‘O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: “A son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.”’


text:
He gave a sign the same day, saying, ‘This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: “The altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.”’


text:
When the king heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, ‘Seize him!’ But the hand that he stretched out against him withered so that he could not draw it back to himself.


text:
The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.


text:
The king said to the man of God, ‘Entreat now the favour of the Lord your God, and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.’ So the man of God entreated the Lord; and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as it was before.


text:
But the man of God said to the king, ‘If you give me half your kingdom, I will not go in with you; nor will I eat food or drink water in this place.


text:
For thus I was commanded by the word of the Lord: You shall not eat food, or drink water, or return by the way that you came.’


text:
Now there lived an old prophet in Bethel. One of his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also that he had spoken to the king, they told to their father.


text:
Their father said to them, ‘Which way did he go?’ And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone.


text:
Then he said to his sons, ‘Saddle a donkey for me.’ So they saddled a donkey for him, and he mounted it.


text:
He went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak tree. He said to him, ‘Are you the man of God who came from Judah?’ He answered, ‘I am.’


text:
But he said, ‘I cannot return with you, or go in with you; nor will I eat food or drink water with you in this place;


text:
for it was said to me by the word of the Lord: You shall not eat food or drink water there, or return by the way that you came.’


text:
Then the other said to him, ‘I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord: Bring him back with you into your house so that he may eat food and drink water.’ But he was deceiving him.


text:
As they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back;


text:
and he proclaimed to the man of God who came from Judah, ‘Thus says the Lord: Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment that the Lord your God commanded you,


text:
but have come back and have eaten food and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no food, and drink no water”, your body shall not come to your ancestral tomb.’


text:
After the man of God had eaten food and had drunk, they saddled for him a donkey belonging to the prophet who had brought him back.


text:
Then as he went away, a lion met him on the road and killed him. His body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.


text:
People passed by and saw the body thrown in the road, with the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the town where the old prophet lived.


text:
When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, ‘It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.’


text:
and he went and found the body thrown in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey.


text:
The prophet took up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to the city, to mourn and to bury him.


text:
After he had buried him, he said to his sons, ‘When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.


text:
For the saying that he proclaimed by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.’


text:
Even after this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people; any who wanted to be priests he consecrated for the high places.


text:
This matter became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.


text:
Jeroboam said to his wife, ‘Go, disguise yourself, so that it will not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; for the prophet Ahijah is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people.


text:
Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what shall happen to the child.’


text:
Jeroboam’s wife did so; she set out and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.


text:
But the Lord said to Ahijah, ‘The wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her.’ When she came, she pretended to be another woman.


text:
But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, ‘Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with heavy tidings for you.


text:
Go, tell Jeroboam, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because I exalted you from among the people, made you leader over my people Israel,


text:
and tore the kingdom away from the house of David to give it to you; yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my sight,


text:
but you have done evil above all those who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods, and cast images, provoking me to anger, and have thrust me behind your back;


text:
therefore, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free, in Israel and will consume the house of Jeroboam, just as one burns up dung until it is all gone.


text:
Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dogs shall eat; and anyone who dies in the open country, the birds of the air shall eat; for the Lord has spoken.”


text:
All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him; for he alone of Jeroboam’s family shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.


text:
Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today, even now!


text:
‘The Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; he will root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their ancestors, and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their sacred poles, provoking the Lord to anger.


text:
He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and which he caused Israel to commit.’


text:
Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and went away, and she came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.


text:
All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant the prophet Ahijah.


text:
Death of Jeroboam Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, are written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.


text:
The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; then he slept with his ancestors, and his son Nadab succeeded him.


text:
Rehoboam Reigns over Judah Now Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.


text:
Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their ancestors had done.


text:
For they also built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree;


text:
there were also male temple prostitutes in the land. They committed all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.


text:
he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made;


text:
so King Rehoboam made shields of bronze instead, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.


text:
As often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?


text:
Rehoboam slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. His son Abijam succeeded him.


text:
Abijam Reigns over Judah: Idolatry and War Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah.


text:
He committed all the sins that his father did before him; his heart was not true to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David.


text:
Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem;


text:
because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.


text:
The rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.


text:
Abijam slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Then his son Asa succeeded him.


text:
Asa Reigns over Judah In the twentieth year of King Jeroboam of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah;


text:
He put away the male temple prostitutes out of the land, and removed all the idols that his ancestors had made.


text:
He also removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for Asherah; Asa cut down her image and burned it at the Wadi Kidron.


text:
But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was true to the Lord all his days.


text:
He brought into the house of the Lord the votive gifts of his father and his own votive gifts—silver, gold, and utensils.


text:
Alliance with Aram against Israel There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel all their days.


text:
King Baasha of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to King Asa of Judah.


text:
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and gave them into the hands of his servants. King Asa sent them to King Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion of Aram, who resided in Damascus, saying,


text:
‘Let there be an alliance between me and you, like that between my father and your father: I am sending you a present of silver and gold; go, break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel, so that he may withdraw from me.’


text:
Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.


text:
Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah; none was exempt: they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building; with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.


text:
Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his power, all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet.


text:
Then Asa slept with his ancestors, and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his father David; his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him.


text:
Nadab Reigns over Israel Nadab son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of King Asa of Judah; he reigned over Israel for two years.


text:
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of his ancestor and in the sin that he caused Israel to commit.


text:
Baasha son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.


text:
As soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam; he left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite—


text:
because of the sins of Jeroboam that he committed and that he caused Israel to commit, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Second Dynasty: Baasha Reigns over Israel In the third year of King Asa of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah; he reigned for twenty-four years.


text:
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin that he caused Israel to commit.


text:
‘Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins,


text:
therefore, I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat.


text:
Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat.’


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his power, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because he destroyed it.


text:
Elah Reigns over Israel In the twenty-sixth year of King Asa of Judah, Elah son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah; he reigned for two years.


text:
But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the palace at Tirzah,


text:
Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, and succeeded him.


text:
When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he killed all the house of Baasha; he did not leave him a single male of his kindred or his friends.


text:
Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke against Baasha by the prophet Jehu—


text:
because of all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah that they committed, and that they caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Third Dynasty: Zimri Reigns over Israel In the twenty-seventh year of King Asa of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines,


text:
and the troops who were encamped heard it said, ‘Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king’; therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.


text:
When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house; he burned down the king’s house over himself with fire, and died—


text:
because of the sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for the sin that he committed, causing Israel to sin.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Fourth Dynasty: Omri Reigns over Israel Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts; half of the people followed Tibni son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.


text:
But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri became king.


text:
In the thirty-first year of King Asa of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel; he reigned for twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.


text:
Samaria the New Capital He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; he fortified the hill, and called the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.


text:
For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in the sins that he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the power that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Ahab Reigns over Israel In the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah, Ahab son of Omri began to reign over Israel; Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years.


text:
Ahab Marries Jezebel and Worships Baal And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took as his wife Jezebel daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.


text:
Ahab also made a sacred pole. Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than had all the kings of Israel who were before him.


text:
In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua son of Nun.


text:
Elijah Predicts a Drought Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.’


text:
‘Go from here and turn eastwards, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.


text:
So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.


text:
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi.


text:
‘Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.’


text:
So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.’


text:
But she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’


text:
Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.


text:
For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’


text:
The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.


text:
Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.


text:
She then said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’


text:
But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed.


text:
He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?’


text:
Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’


text:
The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.


text:
Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’


text:
So the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.’


text:
Elijah’s Message to Ahab After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, ‘Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth.’


text:
when Jezebel was killing off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, hid them fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)


text:
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, ‘Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.’


text:
So they divided the land between them to pass through it; Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.


text:
As Obadiah was on the way, Elijah met him; Obadiah recognized him, fell on his face, and said, ‘Is it you, my lord Elijah?’


text:
As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my lord has not sent to seek you; and when they would say, “He is not here”, he would require an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you.


text:
As soon as I have gone from you, the spirit of the Lord will carry you I know not where; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have revered the Lord from my youth.


text:
Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets fifty to a cave, and provided them with bread and water?


text:
Elijah said, ‘As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.’


text:
He answered, ‘I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father’s house, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.


text:
Now therefore have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.’


text:
Elijah’s Triumph over the Priests of Baal So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel.


text:
Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ The people did not answer him a word.


text:
Then Elijah said to the people, ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred and fifty.


text:
Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it.


text:
Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.’ All the people answered, ‘Well spoken!’


text:
Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.’


text:
So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, ‘O Baal, answer us!’ But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made.


text:
At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’


text:
Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them.


text:
As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.


text:
Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come closer to me’; and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down;


text:
Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name’;


text:
with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed.


text:
Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, ‘Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt-offering and on the wood.’


text:
Then he said, ‘Do it a second time’; and they did it a second time. Again he said, ‘Do it a third time’; and they did it a third time,


text:
At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding.


text:
Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.’


text:
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt-offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.


text:
When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, ‘The Lord indeed is God; the Lord indeed is God.’


text:
Elijah said to them, ‘Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.’ Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there.


text:
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees.


text:
He said to his servant, ‘Go up now, look towards the sea.’ He went up and looked, and said, ‘There is nothing.’ Then he said, ‘Go again seven times.’


text:
At the seventh time he said, ‘Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.’ Then he said, ‘Go and say to Ahab, “Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.”’


text:
In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel.


text:
But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.


text:
Elijah Flees from Jezebel Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.


text:
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’


text:
Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.


text:
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’


text:
Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’


text:
He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.


text:
The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’


text:
He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.


text:
At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’


text:
He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’


text:
Elijah Meets God at Horeb He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;


text:
and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.


text:
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’


text:
Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.


text:
Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.


text:
Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.


text:
Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’


text:
Elisha Becomes Elijah’s Disciple So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was ploughing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him.


text:
He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ Then Elijah said to him, ‘Go back again; for what have I done to you?’


text:
He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.


text:
Ahab’s Wars with the Arameans King Ben-hadad of Aram gathered all his army together; thirty-two kings were with him, along with horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria, laid siege to it, and attacked it.


text:
Then he sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel, and said to him: ‘Thus says Ben-hadad:


text:
The messengers came again and said: ‘Thus says Ben-hadad: I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and gold, your wives and children”;


text:
nevertheless, I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants, and lay hands on whatever pleases them, and take it away.’


text:
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, ‘Look now! See how this man is seeking trouble; for he sent to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold; and I did not refuse him.’


text:
So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, ‘Tell my lord the king: All that you first demanded of your servant I will do; but this thing I cannot do.’ The messengers left and brought him word again.


text:
Ben-hadad sent to him and said, ‘The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will provide a handful for each of the people who follow me.’


text:
The king of Israel answered, ‘Tell him: One who puts on armour should not brag like one who takes it off.’


text:
When Ben-hadad heard this message—now he had been drinking with the kings in the booths—he said to his men, ‘Take your positions!’ And they took their positions against the city.


text:
Prophetic Opposition to Ahab Then a certain prophet came up to King Ahab of Israel and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Look, I will give it into your hand today; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’


text:
Ahab said, ‘By whom?’ He said, ‘Thus says the Lord, By the young men who serve the district governors.’ Then he said, ‘Who shall begin the battle?’ He answered, ‘You.’


text:
Then he mustered the young men who served the district governors, two hundred and thirty-two; after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.


text:
They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings allied with him.


text:
The young men who served the district governors went out first. Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, and they reported to him, ‘Men have come out from Samaria.’


text:
He said, ‘If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.’


text:
But these had already come out of the city: the young men who served the district governors, and the army that followed them.


text:
Each killed his man; the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.


text:
The king of Israel went out, attacked the horses and chariots, and defeated the Arameans with a great slaughter.


text:
Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, ‘Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do; for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.’


text:
The Arameans Are Defeated The servants of the king of Aram said to him, ‘Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.


text:
and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.’ He heeded their voice, and did so.


text:
After the Israelites had been mustered and provisioned, they went out to engage them; the people of Israel encamped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the country.


text:
A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: Because the Arameans have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys”, therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’


text:
They encamped opposite one another for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle began; the Israelites killed one hundred thousand Aramean foot-soldiers in one day.


text:
The rest fled into the city of Aphek; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men that were left. Ben-hadad also fled, and entered the city to hide.


text:
His servants said to him, ‘Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.’


text:
So they tied sackcloth around their waists, put ropes on their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, ‘Your servant Ben-hadad says, “Please let me live.”’ And he said, ‘Is he still alive? He is my brother.’


text:
Now the men were watching for an omen; they quickly took it up from him and said, ‘Yes, Ben-hadad is your brother.’ Then he said, ‘Go and bring him.’ So Ben-hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot.


text:
Ben-hadad said to him, ‘I will restore the towns that my father took from your father; and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.’ The king of Israel responded, ‘I will let you go on those terms.’ So he made a treaty with him and let him go.


text:
A Prophet Condemns Ahab At the command of the Lord a certain member of a company of prophets said to another, ‘Strike me!’ But the man refused to strike him.


text:
Then he said to him, ‘Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.’ And when he had left him, a lion met him and killed him.


text:
Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king along the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.


text:
As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, ‘Your servant went out into the thick of the battle; then a soldier turned and brought a man to me, and said, “Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.”


text:
While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.’ The king of Israel said to him, ‘So shall your judgement be; you yourself have decided it.’


text:
Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.


text:
Then he said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Because you have let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.”’


text:
Naboth’s Vineyard Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.


text:
And Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.’


text:
Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, ‘I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.’ He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat.


text:
He said to her, ‘Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, “Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it”; but he answered, “I will not give you my vineyard.”’


text:
His wife Jezebel said to him, ‘Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.’


text:
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.


text:
seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him to death.’


text:
The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them,


text:
The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, ‘Naboth cursed God and the king.’ So they took him outside the city, and stoned him to death.


text:
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, ‘Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.’


text:
As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.


text:
Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession.


text:
You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?’ You shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.’


text:
Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Have you found me, O my enemy?’ He answered, ‘I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord,


text:
I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel;


text:
and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.


text:
Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air shall eat.’


text:
(Indeed, there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel.


text:
He acted most abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.)


text:
When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.


text:
‘Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster on his house.’


text:
The king of Israel said to his servants, ‘Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?’


text:
He said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?’ Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, ‘I am as you are; my people are your people, my horses are your horses.’


text:
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred of them, and said to them, ‘Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?’ They said, ‘Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.’


text:
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favourable about me, but only disaster.’ Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let the king not say such a thing.’


text:
Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing-floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.


text:
Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, ‘Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’


text:
All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, ‘Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.’


text:
Micaiah Predicts Failure The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, ‘Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favourable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favourably.’


text:
When he had come to the king, the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?’ He answered him, ‘Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.’


text:
But the king said to him, ‘How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?’


text:
Then Micaiah said, ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, “These have no master; let each one go home in peace.”’


text:
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favourable about me, but only disaster?’


text:
Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him.


text:
And the Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” Then one said one thing, and another said another,


text:
“How?” the Lord asked him. He replied, “I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” Then the Lord said, “You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.”


text:
So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.’


text:
Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, ‘Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?’


text:
The king of Israel then ordered, ‘Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,


text:
and say, “Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.”’


text:
Micaiah said, ‘If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.’ And he said, ‘Hear, you peoples, all of you!’


text:
Defeat and Death of Ahab So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.


text:
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.’ So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.


text:
Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, ‘Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.’


text:
When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, ‘It is surely the king of Israel.’ So they turned to fight against him; and Jehoshaphat cried out.


text:
When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.


text:
But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck the king of Israel between the scale-armour and the breastplate; so he said to the driver of his chariot, ‘Turn around, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.’


text:
The battle grew hot that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans, until at evening he died; the blood from the wound had flowed into the bottom of the chariot.


text:
Then about sunset a shout went through the army, ‘Every man to his city, and every man to his country!’


text:
They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Jehoshaphat Reigns over Judah Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab of Israel.


text:
Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.


text:
He walked in all the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord; yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his power that he showed, and how he waged war, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?


text:
The remnant of the male temple prostitutes who were still in the land from the days of his father Asa, he exterminated.


text:
Jehoshaphat made ships of the Tarshish type to go to Ophir for gold; but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.


text:
Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Let my servants go with your servants in the ships’, but Jehoshaphat was not willing.


text:
Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his father David; his son Jehoram succeeded him.


text:
Ahaziah Reigns over Israel Ahaziah son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah; he reigned for two years over Israel.


text:
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.


text:
He served Baal and worshipped him; he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.


text:
Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay injured; so he sent messengers, telling them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.’


text:
But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, ‘Get up, go to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?”


text:
Now therefore, thus says the Lord, “You shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.”’ So Elijah went.


text:
They answered him, ‘There came a man to meet us, who said to us, “Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but shall surely die.”’


text:
They answered him, ‘A hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist.’ He said, ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’


text:
Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, ‘O man of God, the king says, “Come down.”’


text:
But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.’ Then fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.


text:
Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up and said to him, ‘O man of God, this is the king’s order: Come down quickly!’


text:
But Elijah answered them, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.’ Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.


text:
Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. So the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and entreated him, ‘O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight.


text:
Look, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.’


text:
Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So he set out and went down with him to the king,


text:
and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron,—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not leave the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.’


text:
Death of Ahaziah So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. His brother Jehoram succeeded him as king in the second year of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.


text:
Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?


text:
Elijah Ascends to Heaven Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.


text:
Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel.


text:
The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’


text:
Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho.


text:
The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’


text:
Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on.


text:
Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.


text:
Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.


text:
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’


text:
He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’


text:
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.


text:
Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.


text:
Elisha Succeeds Elijah He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.


text:
He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.


text:
When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.


text:
They said to him, ‘See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.’ He responded, ‘No, do not send them.’


text:
But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, ‘Send them.’ So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him.


text:
When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, ‘Did I not say to you, Do not go?’


text:
Elisha Performs Miracles Now the people of the city said to Elisha, ‘The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.’


text:
Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.’


text:
He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, ‘Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!’


text:
When he turned round and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.


text:
Jehoram Reigns over Israel In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria; he reigned for twelve years.


text:
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he removed the pillar of Baal that his father had made.


text:
Nevertheless he clung to the sin of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit; he did not depart from it.


text:
War with Moab Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder, who used to deliver to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.


text:
As he went he sent word to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, ‘The king of Moab has rebelled against me; will you go with me to battle against Moab?’ He answered, ‘I will; I am with you, my people are your people, my horses are your horses.’


text:
Then he asked, ‘By which way shall we march?’ Jehoram answered, ‘By the way of the wilderness of Edom.’


text:
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out; and when they had made a roundabout march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that were with them.


text:
Then the king of Israel said, ‘Alas! The Lord has summoned us, three kings, only to be handed over to Moab.’


text:
But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?’ Then one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, ‘Elisha son of Shaphat, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah, is here.’


text:
Jehoshaphat said, ‘The word of the Lord is with him.’ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.


text:
Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘What have I to do with you? Go to your father’s prophets or to your mother’s.’ But the king of Israel said to him, ‘No; it is the Lord who has summoned us, three kings, only to be handed over to Moab.’


text:
Elisha said, ‘As the Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not that I have regard for King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would give you neither a look nor a glance.


text:
But get me a musician.’ And then, while the musician was playing, the power of the Lord came on him.


text:
For thus says the Lord, “You shall see neither wind nor rain, but the wadi shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your cattle, and your animals.”


text:
You shall conquer every fortified city and every choice city; every good tree you shall fell, all springs of water you shall stop up, and every good piece of land you shall ruin with stones.’


text:
The next day, about the time of the morning offering, suddenly water began to flow from the direction of Edom, until the country was filled with water.


text:
When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armour, from the youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at the frontier.


text:
When they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood.


text:
They said, ‘This is blood; the kings must have fought together, and killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoil!’


text:
But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked the Moabites, who fled before them; as they entered Moab they continued the attack.


text:
The cities they overturned, and on every good piece of land everyone threw a stone, until it was covered; every spring of water they stopped up, and every good tree they felled. Only at Kir-hareseth did the stone walls remain, until the slingers surrounded and attacked it.


text:
When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom; but they could not.


text:
Then he took his firstborn son who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt-offering on the wall. And great wrath came upon Israel, so they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.


text:
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.’


text:
Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?’ She answered, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.’


text:
Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.’


text:
So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring.


text:
When the vessels were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ But he said to her, ‘There are no more.’ Then the oil stopped flowing.


text:
She came and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.’


text:
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal.


text:
She said to her husband, ‘Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy man of God.


text:
Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.’


text:
He said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Call the Shunammite woman.’ When he had called her, she stood before him.


text:
He said to him, ‘Say to her, Since you have taken all this trouble for us, what may be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ She answered, ‘I live among my own people.’


text:
He said, ‘What then may be done for her?’ Gehazi answered, ‘Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.’


text:
He said, ‘At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.’ She replied, ‘No, my lord, O man of God; do not deceive your servant.’


text:
He complained to his father, ‘Oh, my head, my head!’ The father said to his servant, ‘Carry him to his mother.’


text:
Then she called to her husband, and said, ‘Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.’


text:
He said, ‘Why go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.’ She said, ‘It will be all right.’


text:
Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, ‘Urge the animal on; do not hold back for me unless I tell you.’


text:
So she set out, and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, ‘Look, there is the Shunammite woman;


text:
run at once to meet her, and say to her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’ She answered, ‘It is all right.’


text:
When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away. But the man of God said, ‘Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.’


text:
He said to Gehazi, ‘Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone greets you, do not answer; and lay my staff on the face of the child.’


text:
Then the mother of the child said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you.’ So he rose up and followed her.


text:
Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. He came back to meet him and told him, ‘The child has not awakened.’


text:
Then he got up on the bed and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and while he lay bent over him, the flesh of the child became warm.


text:
He got down, walked once to and fro in the room, then got up again and bent over him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.


text:
Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, ‘Call the Shunammite woman.’ So he called her. When she came to him, he said, ‘Take your son.’


text:
Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the company of prophets was sitting before him, he said to his servant, ‘Put the large pot on, and make some stew for the company of prophets.’


text:
One of them went out into the field to gather herbs; he found a wild vine and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were.


text:
They served some for the men to eat. But while they were eating the stew, they cried out, ‘O man of God, there is death in the pot!’ They could not eat it.


text:
He said, ‘Then bring some flour.’ He threw it into the pot, and said, ‘Serve the people and let them eat.’ And there was nothing harmful in the pot.


text:
Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat.’


text:
But his servant said, ‘How can I set this before a hundred people?’ So he repeated, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, “They shall eat and have some left.”’


text:
The Healing of Naaman Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.


text:
Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.


text:
She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’


text:
And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’ He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments.


text:
He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’


text:
When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’


text:
But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’


text:
Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’


text:
But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!


text:
Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage.


text:
But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’


text:
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.


text:
Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.’


text:
But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!’ He urged him to accept, but he refused.


text:
Then Naaman said, ‘If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt-offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.


text:
But may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count.’


text:
Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, ‘My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something out of him.’


text:
So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he jumped down from the chariot to meet him and said, ‘Is everything all right?’


text:
He replied, ‘Yes, but my master has sent me to say, “Two members of a company of prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim; please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.”’


text:
Naaman said, ‘Please accept two talents.’ He urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi.


text:
When he came to the citadel, he took the bags from them, and stored them inside; he dismissed the men, and they left.


