Bible in 90 Days

¹³ They told him, “We promise we’ll only tie you up and hand you over to them. We certainly won’t kill you.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him back from the cliff.

¹⁴ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines met him with shouts ⌞of triumph⌟. But the Lord’s Spirit came over him. The ropes on his arms became like strings burned in a fire, and those on his hands snapped.

¹⁵ Samson found the jawbone from a donkey that had just died. He picked it up and killed 1,000 men with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ When he finished saying this, he threw the jawbone away. He called that place Ramath Lehi [Jawbone Hill].

¹⁸ Samson was very thirsty. So he called out to the Lord and said, “You have given me this great victory. But now I’ll die from thirst and fall into the power of godless men.”

¹⁹ So God split open the hollow place at Lehi, and water gushed out. Samson drank some water. Then he was refreshed and revived. So he called the place En Hakkore [Spring of the One Who Calls Out]. It is still there at Lehi today.

²⁰ Samson judged Israel for 20 years during the time of the Philistines.

16 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and slept with her. ² The people of Gaza were told, “Samson’s here!” So they surrounded the place and waited all night at the city gate to ambush him. They were quiet all night. They thought, “We’ll kill him at dawn.”

³ But Samson was in bed ⌞with the prostitute⌟ only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors, door posts, and bar of the city gate and pulled them out. He carried them on his shoulders to the top of the hill facing Hebron.

Samson and Delilah

⁴ After ⌞leaving Gaza⌟, he fell in love with a woman in the Sorek Valley. Her name was Delilah. ⁵ The Philistine rulers came to her and said, “Trick him, and find out what makes him so strong. Find out how we can overpower him. We want to tie him up in order to torture him. Each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong. How can you be tied up so that someone could torture you?”

⁷ Samson told her, “If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that are not dried out, I will be like any other man.”

⁸ The Philistine rulers brought her seven new bowstrings that were not dried out. She tied Samson up with them. ⁹ Some men were hiding in the bedroom waiting for her ⌞to tie him up⌟. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson snapped the bowstrings as a thread snaps when it touches fire. So no one found out why he was so strong.

¹⁰ Delilah told Samson, “Look, you’re making fun of me by telling me lies. Now, tell me how you can be tied up.”

¹¹ Samson told her, “If someone ties me up tightly with new ropes that have never been used, I will be like any other man.”

¹² So Delilah took some new ropes and tied him up with them. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Some men were in her bedroom waiting to ambush him. But Samson tore the ropes off his arms as though they were strings.

¹³ Delilah told Samson, “You’re still making fun of me by telling me lies. Tell me how you can be tied up.”

Samson replied, “Just weave the seven braids of my hair with the other threads in the loom.”

¹⁴ So Delilah tied his braids to the loom shuttle. Then she said to him, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” But Samson woke up and tore his braids and the threads out of the loom shuttle.

¹⁵ Delilah said to Samson, “How can you say that you love me when your heart isn’t mine? You’ve made fun of me three times now, but you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong.”

¹⁶ Every day she made his life miserable with her questions. She pestered him until he wished he were dead. ¹⁷ Finally, he told her the truth. He told her, “Because I’m a Nazirite, no one has ever cut the hair on my head. I was dedicated to God before I was born. If my hair is ever shaved off, my strength will leave me. Then I’ll be like any other man.”

¹⁸ When Delilah realized that he had told her everything, she sent a message to the Philistine rulers, “Come here once more.” (She did this because Samson had told her everything.) So the Philistine rulers arrived with the money in their hands.

¹⁹ Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap. She called for a man to shave off his seven braids. Then she began to torture him because his strength had left him. ²⁰ She said, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson woke up. He thought, “I’ll get out of this as usual and shake myself free.” (He didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.) ²¹ The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there.

²² But his hair started to grow back as soon as it was shaved off.

²³ Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, “Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” ²⁴ When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said,

²⁵ When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, “Call Samson in to entertain us.”

Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns. ²⁶ Samson told the young man who was leading him by the hand, “Let me rest. Let me touch the columns on which the building stands so that I can lean against them.” ²⁷ The building was filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there. On the roof there were about three thousand men and women who watched Samson entertain them.

²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord, “Almighty Lord, please remember me! God, give me strength just one more time! Let me get even with the Philistines for at least one of my two eyes.” ²⁹ Samson felt the two middle columns on which the building stood. With his right hand on one column and his left on the other, he pushed hard against them. ³⁰ “Let me die with the Philistines,” he said. With that, he pushed with all his might, and the building fell on the rulers and everyone in it. So he killed more Philistines when he died than he had when he was alive.

³¹ Then his relatives and his father’s whole family went to Gaza. They took Samson and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah.

Samson had judged Israel for 20 years.

Micah’s Idolatry

17 There was a man named Micah from the mountain region of Ephraim. ² He told his mother, “You were upset about the 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you. I even heard you put a curse on them. Here’s the silver. I took it!”

His mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son!”

³ So Micah gave the 1,100 pieces of silver back to his mother. Then his mother said, “I dedicate this silver to the Lord for my son’s benefit. I want to make a carved idol and a metal idol. So now I’m giving the silver back to you.”

⁴ When Micah returned the silver to his mother, she took 200 pieces of the silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made a carved idol and a metal idol. Both were placed in Micah’s home. ⁵ Micah owned a shrine. He also made an ephod ^[a] and household idols. He ordained one of his sons to be his priest. ⁶ In those days Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right.

⁷ There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. (Bethlehem belongs to the family of Judah.) He was a Levite but was living in Bethlehem. ⁸ This man left Bethlehem in Judah to live wherever he could find ⌞a place⌟. He came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim to carry on his work.

⁹ Micah asked him, “Where do you come from?”

The man told him, “I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I’m going to live wherever I can find ⌞a place⌟.”

¹⁰ Micah told him, “Stay with me! Be a father and a priest to me. I’ll give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your room and board.”

The Levite accepted the offer ¹¹ and agreed to live with Micah. The young man became like one of Micah’s sons. ¹² Micah ordained the Levite. So the young man became his priest and a part of his family.

¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me. I have a Levite for my priest.”

Micah Brings Idolatry to the Tribe of Dan

18 In those days Israel didn’t have a king. And in those days the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to live. Up to that time they had not received land as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel as they should have. ² So all the families of Dan sent out five qualified men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were sent to spy throughout the land and explore it. They were told, “Go and explore the land!”

They came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim. They spent the night there. ³ While they were at Micah’s house, they recognized the young Levite’s voice. So they stopped to ask him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

⁴ The Levite told them what Micah had done for him and added, “Micah hired me, so I became his priest.”

⁵ They said to him, “Please find out from God if our journey will be successful.”

⁶ The priest told them, “Go in peace. The Lord approves of your journey.”

⁷ The five men left there and came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived without a care. These people were like the people of Sidon. They were peaceful and secure. There was no one around who threatened to take away their property by force. They were far from the people of Sidon and totally independent.

⁸ The men went back to their relatives in Zorah and Eshtaol. Their relatives asked them, “What did you find?”

⁹ They replied, “Get up, let’s attack Laish. We saw the land. It’s very good!

“Don’t just sit there! Go at once and take the land. ¹⁰ When you get there, you will come to a secure people. The land is wide open to you. God will hand it over to you. It’s a place where you will have everything you could want.”

¹¹ So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol armed for war. ¹² They camped at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place just west of Kiriath Jearim is still called Mahaneh Dan [The Camp of Dan] today. ¹³ From there they marched to the mountains of Ephraim as far as Micah’s house. ¹⁴ Then the five men who had gone to spy throughout the land around Laish spoke up. They said to the other men of Dan, “Do you know that there’s an ephod, a carved idol, a metal idol, and household idols in these houses? What do you think we should do?”

¹⁵ So they stopped and entered Micah’s house and greeted the young Levite. ¹⁶ The 600 armed men from Dan stood at the entrance to the city. ¹⁷ The five men who had gone to spy throughout the land went inside. They took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol. The priest stood at the entrance to the city with the 600 armed men. ¹⁸ When these men entered Micah’s house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ They told him, “Keep quiet! Don’t say a word! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man’s house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?”

²⁰ The priest was content. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol and went with the people. ²¹ When they left, they put their children, livestock, and property in front of them.

²² When they had already gone some distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors were called together to help him catch up to the people of Dan. ²³ They shouted at them. But the people of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s your problem? Why did you call your neighbors together to attack us?”

²⁴ Micah answered, “You’ve taken away the gods I made as well as my priest. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s your problem?’ ”

²⁵ The people of Dan replied, “Don’t make another sound, or some violent men will attack you. Then you and your family will lose your lives.” ²⁶ The people of Dan went on their way. Micah saw they were stronger than he was, so he turned around and went home.

²⁷ The people of Dan took what Micah had made and the man who had become his priest and went to the city of Laish. They attacked a peaceful and secure people, killed them all with swords, and burned their city. ²⁸ There was no one to rescue them because their city was far from Sidon and totally independent. The city was in the valley that belonged to Beth Rehob. The people of Dan rebuilt the city and lived in it. ²⁹ They named the city Dan in honor of their ancestor Dan, Israel’s son. Originally, the city was called Laish.

³⁰ The people of Dan set up the carved idol for themselves. Jonathan (son of Gershom and grandson of Moses) and his descendants were priests for Dan’s tribe until the people living in that land were taken captive. ³¹ So they set up for themselves the carved idol Micah had made. It stayed there the whole time the house of God was at Shiloh.

Sexual Immorality

19 In those days when Israel didn’t have a king, there was a Levite who lived in a remote area in the mountains of Ephraim. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine.^{[b] 2} But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went to her father’s home, to Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, ³ her husband went to persuade her to come back home. He took along his servant and two donkeys.

She took her husband into her father’s house. Her father was thrilled to see him. ⁴ He made the Levite stay there with him, celebrating for three days.

⁵ On the fourth day they got up early in the morning to leave, but the woman’s father told his son-in-law, “Eat something to keep up your strength and then you can go.” ⁶ So they both sat down and ate and drank together. The woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Why don’t you spend the night and enjoy yourself?” ⁷ When the Levite started to leave, his father-in-law urged him to stay another night, so he did.

⁸ On the morning of the fifth day, the Levite got up early to leave. The woman’s father said, “Eat something to keep up your strength!” So they spent the time eating until late afternoon. ⁹ The Levite started to leave with his concubine and his servant. But his father-in-law said to him, “It’s already evening. Please stay another night. It’s too late ⌞to leave⌟ now. Stay here, and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can start out early to go home.” ¹⁰ But the Levite refused to spend another night.

He left and traveled as far as Jebus (now called Jerusalem). He had with him two saddled donkeys and his concubine. ¹¹ By the time they were near Jebus, it was very late in the day. The Levite’s servant said to him, “Let’s go spend the night in Jebus.”

¹² The Levite told him, “We’ll never go into a city of foreigners. They’re not Israelites. We’ll go on to Gibeah.” ¹³ He told his servant, “Let’s go someplace else. We’ll spend the night either at Gibeah or Ramah.”

¹⁴ So they went on. It was sunset by the time they arrived at Gibeah. (Gibeah belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.) ¹⁵ They went to spend the night there. The Levite entered Gibeah and sat down in the city square, because no one offered to take them home for the night.

¹⁶ That evening an old man came into the city from his work in the fields. He was from the mountain region of Ephraim but lived in Gibeah. The other people who lived there were from the tribe of Benjamin. ¹⁷ He saw the traveler in the city square. So the old man asked, “Where do you come from? And where are you going?”

¹⁸ The Levite replied, “We’re on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the mountains of Ephraim. That’s where I’m from. I had gone to Bethlehem in Judah. Now I’m going to the Lord’s house, but no one has offered to take me into his home. ¹⁹ We have straw and fodder for our donkeys. I even have bread and wine for myself, the woman, and my servant. We have everything we need.”

²⁰ Then the old man said, “Welcome! Let me take care of your needs. Just don’t spend the night in the city square.” ²¹ So he took the Levite to his house and fed the donkeys. After they washed, they ate and drank.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, some worthless men from the city surrounded the house and pounded on the door. They told the old man, the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so that we can have sex with him.”

²³ The owner went out to them. He told them, “No, my friends! Please don’t do anything so evil! This man is a guest in my home. Don’t do such a godless thing! ²⁴ Here, let me bring out my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. Rape them, and do with them whatever you want. Just don’t do such a godless thing to this man.”

²⁵ But the men refused to listen to him. So the Levite grabbed his concubine and forced her outside. They had sex with her and abused her all night until morning. They let her go when the sun was coming up. ²⁶ At daybreak, the woman came to the door of the house where her husband was and collapsed. She was still there when it became light.

²⁷ Her husband got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and was about to leave. His wife (that is, his concubine) was lying at the door of the house with her hands on the doorstep. ²⁸ The Levite said to her, “Get up! Let’s go!” But she did not answer. So he put her on the donkey and left for home.

²⁹ When he arrived home, he got a knife. He took his concubine and cut her limb from limb into 12 pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territories of Israel.

³⁰ Everyone who saw it said, “Never has such a thing happened or been seen from the time the people of Israel came out of Egypt until today. Think about it! Form a plan, and speak out!”

Israel Slaughters the Tribe of Benjamin

20 All the people of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from Gilead came to Mizpah. The congregation stood united in the presence of the Lord. ² The leaders of all Israel’s tribes took their places in the congregation of God’s people. There were 400,000 foot soldiers with swords. ³ The people of Benjamin heard that Israel had come to Mizpah.

The people of Israel said, “Tell us how such an evil thing could happen.”

⁴ The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered, “My concubine ^[c] and I went to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. ⁵ The citizens of Gibeah came to attack me. They surrounded the house ⌞where I was staying⌟ that night. They intended to kill me, but instead, they raped my concubine until she died. ⁶ So I took my concubine and cut her into pieces. Then I sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel. I did this because the citizens of Gibeah did this perverted and godless thing in Israel. ⁷ All you people of Israel, tell me what you think. Give me your advice right now!”

⁸ All the people stood united, saying, “None of us will go to his tent or return to his house. ⁹ This is what we’ll do to Gibeah. We’ll decide by lot who should attack it. ¹⁰ We’ll take one-tenth ^[d] of all the men from the tribes of Israel to get supplies for the troops. When the troops go to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin they can punish the citizens of Gibeah for the godless thing they did in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the men of Israel assembled. They stood united against the city.

¹² The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin. They asked, “How could such an evil thing happen among you? ¹³ Now hand over those worthless men in Gibeah. We must put them to death to rid ourselves of this kind of evil in Israel.”

But the men of Benjamin refused to listen to the men of Israel. ¹⁴ So the men of Benjamin went from their towns and assembled at Gibeah to go to war with the men of Israel. ¹⁵ That day 26,000 men armed with swords came from Benjamin’s cities and organized for battle along with 700 of Gibeah’s best men. ¹⁶ Out of all these troops, the best 700 were left-handed. Each could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

¹⁷ The men of Israel (Benjamin not included) totaled 400,000 soldiers armed with swords.

¹⁸ The men of Israel went to Bethel. They asked God, “Who will go first to fight Benjamin?”

The Lord answered, “Judah will go first.”

¹⁹ The Israelites got up early in the morning and camped at Gibeah. ²⁰ So the men of Israel went to war with the men of Benjamin. The Israelites formed their battle line facing Gibeah. ²¹ That day the men of Benjamin came out from Gibeah. They slaughtered 22,000 of Israel’s men.

²² But Israel’s troops got reinforcements. They formed their battle line where they had formed it on the first day. ²³ The Israelites went and cried in the presence of the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin?”

The Lord answered, “Go fight them!”

²⁴ On the second day the Israelite troops advanced against Benjamin. ²⁵ Benjamin went out from Gibeah to meet them. This time they slaughtered 18,000 men from Israel who were armed with swords. ²⁶ Then all the men of Israel and all the troops went to Bethel. They sat there and cried in the presence of the Lord and fasted that day until evening. Then they sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.

²⁷ In those days the ark of God’s promise was at Bethel. ²⁸ (Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, served in front of it.) So the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Should we continue to wage war against our close relatives, the men of Benjamin? Or should we stop?”

The Lord answered, “Go! Tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”

²⁹ Then Israel placed troops in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰ On the third day the men of Israel went to fight the men of Benjamin. They formed their battle line facing Gibeah as they did before. ³¹ The men of Benjamin went out to attack Israel’s troops and were led away from the city. They started to inflict casualties as before. They killed about 30 men from Israel in the open country and on the roads to Bethel and Gibeah. ³² The men of Benjamin shouted, “They’re defeated as before!”

But the men of Israel had said, “Let’s flee in order to lead them from the city to the roads.” ³³ So the men of Israel left their positions. They formed their battle line at Baal Tamar. Meanwhile, those waiting in ambush rushed from their position to the west of Gibeah. ³⁴ Then 10,000 of Israel’s best men attacked Gibeah. The battle was fierce. But Benjamin’s men didn’t realize their own evil was about to overtake them. ³⁵ So the Lord defeated them in front of Israel. On that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men from Benjamin who were armed with swords. ³⁶ Then the men of Benjamin realized they were defeated.

The Israelites had allowed the men of Benjamin to take back some ground. The Israelites relied on those waiting in ambush near Gibeah. ³⁷ The men in ambush quickly charged toward Gibeah. They spread out in the city and killed everyone. ³⁸ The men of Israel had arranged with those waiting in ambush that they would make a big column of smoke rise from the city as a signal. ³⁹ Then the men of Israel would turn around in the battle.

The men of Benjamin had already killed about 30 men of Israel. They even said, “Israel is completely defeated, just like in the first battle.”

⁴⁰ But when the column of smoke started to rise from the city, the men of Benjamin turned around and saw the whole city going up in smoke. ⁴¹ Then the men of Israel turned around, and the men of Benjamin panicked. They realized that their evil had overtaken them. ⁴² They turned in front of Israel toward the road to the desert. But the battle caught up with the men of Benjamin. Israel slaughtered whoever came out of the cities on the road to the desert. ⁴³ They closed in on the men of Benjamin and pursued them without stopping. They overtook them east of Gibeah. ⁴⁴ There were 18,000 experienced men from Benjamin who died in battle. ⁴⁵ The others turned and fled into the desert to Rimmon Rock. But the men of Israel killed 5,000 more on the roads. They caught up with another 2,000 and killed them near Gidom. ⁴⁶ In all, 25,000 men from Benjamin who were armed with swords were killed that day. They were all experienced men.

⁴⁷ But 600 men turned and fled into the desert to Rimmon Rock. They stayed at Rimmon Rock for four months.

⁴⁸ Then the men of Israel went back to attack the rest of the territory of Benjamin. They killed all the people and cattle they found in every city. They also burned down every city they came to.

Israel Provides Wives for the Surviving Men of Benjamin

21 The men of Israel had taken this oath in Mizpah: “None of us will ever let our daughters marry anyone from Benjamin.”

² The people went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. They cried very loudly, ³ “Lord God of Israel, why has this happened among us? Why should one tribe be missing today in Israel?”

⁴ The next day the people got up early. They built an altar there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. ⁵ The people asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not take part in the assembly in the presence of the Lord?” They had taken a solemn oath that whoever had not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah must be put to death.

⁶ The people of Israel felt sorry for their close relatives, the men of Benjamin. They said, “Today one tribe has been excluded from Israel. ⁷ What will we do to provide wives for the men who are left? We swore to the Lord that we would not let any of our daughters marry them.” ⁸ Then they asked, “Is there any family from Israel that did not come into the presence of the Lord at Mizpah?” No one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the assembly in the camp. ⁹ So they questioned the people, and there was no one there from Jabesh Gilead.

¹⁰ The congregation sent 12,000 soldiers. They ordered them, “Go and kill the people of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and children. ¹¹ These are your directions: Claim every female who has gone to bed with a man, and claim every male. Claim them for the Lord by destroying them.”

¹² Among the people of Jabesh Gilead they found 400 unmarried women who had never gone to bed with a man. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole congregation sent messengers to the men of Benjamin at Rimmon Rock and offered them peace. ¹⁴ So the men of Benjamin came back at that time. These men were given the women from Jabesh Gilead who had been kept alive. However, the congregation had not found enough women for all of them.

¹⁵ The congregation felt sorry for the people of Benjamin because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶ The leaders of the congregation asked, “What should we do to provide wives for the men who are left, since the women in Benjamin have been killed?”

¹⁷ Some said, “Benjamin’s men who survived must be allowed to have families. No tribe of Israel should be wiped out. ¹⁸ However, we can’t give them any of our daughters as wives. The people of Israel have taken an oath that whoever gives wives to the men of Benjamin is under a curse.”

¹⁹ Others said, “Every year the Lord’s festival is held at Shiloh. Shiloh is north of Bethel, east of the highway going from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” ²⁰ So they told the men of Benjamin, “Hide in the vineyards and ²¹ watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, come out of the vineyards. Each of you catch a woman from Shiloh to be your wife. Then go back to the territory of Benjamin. ²² When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we’ll tell them, ‘Have pity on them, since we didn’t provide a wife for each man in the battle. You won’t be guilty because you didn’t give them the wives yourselves.’ ”

²³ The men of Benjamin did just that. They captured the number of wives they needed from the women who were dancing and went home. So they rebuilt their cities and lived in them.

²⁴ At that time the people of Israel left. Each man went to his tribe and family. They all went home.

²⁵ In those days Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right.

The Move to Moab and Tragedy

1 In the days when the judges were ruling, there was a famine in the land. A man from Bethlehem in Judah went with his wife and two sons to live for a while in the country of Moab. ² The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of their two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were descendants of Ephrathah from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. They went to the country of Moab and lived there.

³ Now, Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left alone with her two sons. ⁴ Each son married a woman from Moab. One son married a woman named Orpah, and the other son married a woman named Ruth. They lived there for about ten years. ⁵ Then both Mahlon and Chilion died as well. So Naomi was left alone, without her two sons or her husband.

Departure from Moab

⁶ Naomi and her daughters-in-law started on the way back from the country of Moab. (While they were still in Moab she heard that the Lord had come to help his people and give them food. ⁷ So she left the place where she had been living, and her two daughters-in-law went with her.) They began to walk back along the road to the territory of Judah.

Naomi’s Appeal to Her Daughters-in-Law

⁸ Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back! Each of you should go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord be as kind to you as you were to me and to our loved ones who have died. ⁹ May the Lord repay each of you so that you may find security in a home with a husband.”

When she kissed them goodbye, they began to cry loudly. ¹⁰ They said to her, “We are going back with you to your people.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “Go back, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I have any more sons in my womb who could be your husbands? ¹² Go back, my daughters. Go, because I am too old to get married again. If I said that I still have hope. … And if I had a husband tonight. … And even if I gave birth to sons, ¹³ would you wait until they grew up and stay single just for them? No, my daughters. My bitterness is much worse than yours because the Lord has sent me so much trouble.”

¹⁴ They began to cry loudly again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth held on to her tightly. ¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Go back with your sister-in-law.”

¹⁶ But Ruth answered, “Don’t force me to leave you. Don’t make me turn back from following you. Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Wherever you die, I will die, and I will be buried there with you. May the Lord strike me down if anything but death separates you and me!”

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she ended the conversation.

Naomi Arrives in Bethlehem

¹⁹ So both of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about them. “This can’t be Naomi, can it?” the women asked.

²⁰ She answered them, “Don’t call me Naomi [Sweet]. Call me Mara [Bitter] because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi when the Lord has tormented me and the Almighty has done evil to me?”

²² When Naomi came back from the country of Moab, Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, came along with her. They happened to enter Bethlehem just when the barley harvest began.

Ruth Gathers Grain in the Field of Boaz

2 Naomi had a relative. He was from Elimelech’s side of the family. He was a man of outstanding character named Boaz.

² Ruth, who was from Moab, said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field of anyone who will be kind to me. There I will gather the grain left behind by the reapers.”

Naomi told her, “Go, my daughter.”

³ So Ruth went. She entered a field and gathered the grain left behind by the reapers. Now it happened that she ended up in the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family.

⁴ Just then, Boaz was coming from Bethlehem, and he said to his reapers, “May the Lord be with all of you!”

They answered him, “May the Lord bless you!”

⁵ Boaz asked the young man in charge of his reapers, “Who is this young woman?”

⁶ The young man answered, “She’s a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ She said, ‘Please let me gather grain. I will only gather among the bundles behind the reapers.’ So she came here and has been on her feet from daybreak until now. She just sat down this minute in the shelter.”

Boaz Speaks with Ruth

⁸ Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go in any other field to gather grain, and don’t even leave this one. Stay here with my young women. ⁹ Watch where my men are reaping, and follow the young women in that field. I have ordered my young men not to touch you. When you’re thirsty, go to the jars and drink some of the water that the young men have drawn.”

¹⁰ Ruth immediately bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so helpful? Why are you paying attention to me? I’m only a foreigner.”

¹¹ Boaz answered her, “People have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband died. They told me how you left your father and mother and the country where you were born. They also told me how you came to people that you didn’t know before. ¹² May the Lord reward you for what you have done! May you receive a rich reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose protection you have come for shelter.”

¹³ Ruth replied, “Sir, may your kindness to me continue. You have comforted me and reassured me, and I’m not even one of your own servants.”

¹⁴ When it was time to eat, Boaz told her, “Come here. Have some bread, and dip it into the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.

¹⁵ When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her gather grain even among the bundles. Don’t give her any problems. ¹⁶ Even pull some grain out of the bundles and leave it for her to gather. Don’t give her a hard time about it.”

Ruth and Naomi Talk about Boaz

¹⁷ So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the grain from its husks. She had about half a bushel of barley. ¹⁸ She picked it up and went into the town, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also took out what she had left over from lunch and gave it to Naomi.

¹⁹ Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? Just where did you work? May the man who paid attention to you be blessed.”

So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the person with whom she worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”

²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the Lord bless him. The Lord hasn’t stopped being kind to people—living or dead.” Then Naomi told her, “That man is a relative of ours. He is a close relative, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”

²¹ Ruth, who was from Moab, told her, “He also said to me, ‘Stay with my younger workers until they have finished the harvest.’ ”

²² Naomi told her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It’s a good idea, my daughter, that you go out to the fields with his young women. If you go to someone else’s field, you may be molested.”

²³ So Ruth stayed with the young women who were working for Boaz. She gathered grain until both the barley harvest and the wheat harvest ended. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law.

Naomi’s Plan for Ruth’s Marriage

3 Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you? ² Isn’t Boaz, whose young women you’ve been working with, our relative? He will be separating the barley from its husks on the threshing floor ^[e] tonight. ³ Freshen up, put on some perfume, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. Don’t let him know that you’re there until he’s finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying. Then uncover his feet, and lie down there. He will make it clear what you must do.”

⁵ Ruth answered her, “I will do whatever you say.”

Ruth at the Feet of Boaz

⁶ Ruth went to the threshing floor and did exactly as her mother-in-law had directed her. ⁷ Boaz had eaten and drunk to his heart’s content, so he went and lay at the edge of a pile of grain. Then she went over to him secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

⁸ At midnight the man was shivering. When he turned over, he was surprised to see a woman lying at his feet. ⁹ “Who are you?” he asked.

She answered, “I am Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me because you are a close relative who can take care of me.”

¹⁰ Boaz replied, “May the Lord bless you, my daughter. This last kindness—that you didn’t go after the younger men, whether rich or poor—is better than the first. ¹¹ Don’t be afraid, my daughter. I will do whatever you say. The whole town knows that you are a woman who has strength of character. ¹² It is true that I am a close relative of yours, but there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ Stay here tonight. In the morning if he will agree to take care of you, that is good. He can take care of you. But if he does not wish to take care of you, then, I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, I will take care of you myself. Lie down until morning.”

Ruth Returns to Bethlehem

¹⁴ So Ruth lay at his feet until morning. Then she got up early before anyone could be recognized. At that moment Boaz thought to himself, “I hope that no one will ever know that this woman came to the threshing floor.”

¹⁵ Then Boaz told Ruth, “Stretch out the cape you’re wearing and hold it tight.” So she held it tight while he measured out six measures of barley. Then he placed it on her ⌞back⌟ and went into the town.

¹⁶ When Ruth returned, her mother-in-law Naomi asked, “How did things go, my daughter?”

Ruth told Naomi everything the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley and told me not to come back to you empty-handed.”

¹⁸ Naomi replied, “Stay here, my daughter, until you know how it turns out. The man won’t rest unless he settles this matter today.”

Boaz Assumes Responsibility for Ruth

4 Boaz went to the city gate and sat there. Just then, the relative about whom he had spoken was passing by. Boaz said, “Please come over here and sit, my friend.” So the man came over and sat down.

² Then Boaz chose ten men who were leaders of that city and said, “Sit here.” So they also sat down.

³ Boaz said to the man, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the field that belonged to our relative Elimelech. ⁴ So I said that I would inform you. Buy it in the presence of these men sitting here and in the presence of the leaders of our people. If you wish to buy back the property, you can buy back the property. But if you do not wish to buy back the property, tell me. Then I will know that I am next in line because there is no other relative except me.”

The man said, “I’ll buy back the property.”

⁵ Boaz continued, “When you buy the field from Naomi, you will also assume responsibility for the Moabite Ruth, the dead man’s widow. This keeps the inheritance in the dead man’s name.”

⁶ The man replied, “In that case I cannot assume responsibility for her. If I did, I would ruin my inheritance. Take all my rights to buy back the property for yourself, because I cannot assume that responsibility.”

⁷ (This is the way it used to be in Israel concerning buying back property and exchanging goods: In order to make every matter legal, a man would take off his sandal and give it to the other man. This was the way a contract was publicly approved in Israel.) ⁸ So when the man said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he took off his sandal.

⁹ Then Boaz said to the leaders and to all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ In addition, I have bought as my wife the Moabite Ruth, Mahlon’s widow, to keep the inheritance in the dead man’s name. In this way the dead man’s name will not be cut off from his relatives or from the public records. Today you are witnesses.”

¹¹ All the people who were at the gate, including the leaders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this wife, who is coming into your home, like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built our family of Israel. So show your strength of character in Ephrathah and make a name for yourself in Bethlehem. ¹² Also, from the descendant whom the Lord will give you from this young woman, may your family become like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave birth to for Judah.”

Ruth Gives Birth to David’s Ancestor

¹³ Then Boaz took Ruth home, and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord gave her the ability to become pregnant. So she gave birth to a son.

¹⁴ The women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has remembered today to give you someone who will take care of you. The child’s name will be famous in Israel. ¹⁵ He will bring you a new life and support you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law who loves you is better to you than seven sons, because she has given birth.”

¹⁶ Naomi took the child, held him on her lap, and became his guardian.

¹⁷ The women in the neighborhood said, “Naomi has a son.” So they gave him the name Obed.

He became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David.

The Ancestry of David

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. ³ Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the Lord.

⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Because the Lord had made her unable to have children, her rival ⌞Peninnah⌟ tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable. ⁷ This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven’t you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Though she was resentful, she prayed to the Lord while she cried. ¹¹ She made this vow, “Lord of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head.” ¹² While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ She was praying silently. Her voice couldn’t be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long are you going to stay drunk?” Eli asked her. “Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah responded, “No sir. I’m not drunk. I’m depressed. I’m pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I’ve been troubled and tormented.”

¹⁷ Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request.”

¹⁸ “May you continue to be kind to me,” she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.

¹⁹ Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

Samuel’s Childhood

²¹ To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord. ²² But Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “I’ll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I’ll bring him and present him to the Lord, and he’ll stay there permanently.”

²³ “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Wait until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord keep his word.” The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull,^[f] half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh while the boy was ⌞still⌟ a child.

²⁵ Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ “Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed out loud,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy ⌞Samuel⌟ served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

¹² Eli’s sons, ⌞Hophni and Phinehas,⌟ were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. ¹³ Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up ⌞from the pot⌟ belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there ⌞to sacrifice⌟. ¹⁵ But ⌞in the case of Eli’s sons,⌟ even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”

¹⁶ If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

¹⁸ Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was ⌞already⌟ wearing a linen ephod.^{[h] 19} His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

²¹ The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant ⌞five times⌟ and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Eli’s Family Condemned

²² Now, Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to all Israel and that they were sleeping with the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he asked them, “Why are you doing such things? I hear about your wicked ways from all these people. ²⁴ Sons, the report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading isn’t good! ²⁵ If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?” But they wouldn’t listen to their father’s warning—the Lord wanted to kill them.

²⁶ The boy Samuel continued to grow and gained the favor of the Lord and the people.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were under Pharaoh’s control in Egypt. ²⁸ I chose ⌞one of your ancestors⌟ out of all the tribes of Israel to serve as my priest, to sacrifice burnt offerings on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod in my presence. And I gave your ancestors the right to keep portions of the sacrifices that the people of Israel burned on the altar. ²⁹ Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?