Bible in 90 Days

¹³ The men from Judah said, “We agree. We will just tie you up and give you to the Philistines. We will not kill you.” So they tied Samson with two new ropes. Then they led him up from the cave in the rock. ¹⁴ When Samson came to the place named Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him. They were shouting for joy. Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Samson and gave him great power. The ropes on him became weak like strings that had been burned. They fell off his hands! ¹⁵ Samson found a jawbone of a donkey that had just died. He took it and killed 1,000 men with it!

¹⁶ Then Samson said,

¹⁷ When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. So that place was named Ramath Lehi.^[a]

¹⁸ Samson was very thirsty. So he cried out to the Lord. He said, “I am your servant. You gave me this great victory. Do I have to die of thirst now? Do I have to be captured by people who are not circumcised?” ¹⁹ Then God opened up a hole in the ground at Lehi, and water came out. When Samson drank that water, he felt better. He felt strong again. So he named that spring Caller’s Spring. It is still there in Lehi to this day.

²⁰ So Samson judged Israel for 20 years. That was in the days of the Philistines.

Samson Goes to the City of Gaza

16 One day Samson went to Gaza. He saw a prostitute there. He went in to spend the night with her. ² Someone told the people of Gaza, “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the place and hid and waited for him. Remaining very quiet, they stayed near the city gate all night. They said to each other, “When dawn comes, we will kill Samson!”

³ But Samson only stayed with the prostitute until midnight. Then he got up and took hold of the doors and the two posts of the city gate. He tore them loose, along with the bar. Then he put them on his shoulders. And he carried them to the top of the hill that faces the city of Hebron!

Samson and Delilah

⁴ After this, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah. She lived in the Valley of Sorek. ⁵ The kings of the Philistines went to Delilah. They said, “Try to find out what makes Samson so strong. Try to trick him into telling you. Find out how we could capture him and tie him up. Then we will be able to control him. If you do this, each one of us will give you 28 pounds of silver.”

⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me why you are so strong. How could someone tie you up and take control of you?”

⁷ Samson answered, “Someone would have to tie me up. He would have to use seven new bowstrings that have not been dried. If he did that, I would be as weak as any other man.”

⁸ Then the kings of the Philistines brought seven new bowstrings to Delilah. They had not been dried. She tied Samson with them. ⁹ Some men were hiding in another room. Delilah said to Samson, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!” But Samson easily broke the bowstrings. They broke like pieces of string burned in a fire. So the Philistines did not find out the secret of Samson’s strength.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You’ve made me look foolish. You lied to me. Please tell me. How could someone tie you up?”

¹¹ Samson said, “They would have to tie me with new ropes that have not been used before. Then I would become as weak as any other man.”

¹² So Delilah took new ropes and tied Samson. Some men were hiding in another room. Then she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!” But he broke the ropes as easily as if they were threads.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now, you have made me look foolish. You have lied to me. Tell me how someone could tie you up.”

He said, “Use the loom.^[b] Weave the seven braids of my hair into the cloth. Tighten it with a pin. Then I will become as weak as any other man.”

Then Samson went to sleep. So Delilah wove the seven braids of his hair into the cloth. ¹⁴ Then she fastened it with a pin.

Again she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!” Samson woke up and pulled up the pin and the loom with the cloth.

¹⁵ Then Delilah said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t even trust me? This is the third time you have made me look foolish. You haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” ¹⁶ She kept bothering Samson about his secret day after day. He became so tired of it he felt he was going to die!

¹⁷ So he told her everything. He said, “I have never had my hair cut. I have been set apart to God as a Nazirite since I was born. If someone shaved my head, then I would lose my strength. I would become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸ Delilah saw that he had told her everything sincerely. So she sent a message to the kings of the Philistines. She said, “Come back one more time. He has told me everything.” So the kings of the Philistines came back to Delilah. They brought the silver they had promised to give her. ¹⁹ Delilah got Samson to go to sleep. He was lying in her lap. Then she called in a man to shave off the seven braids of Samson’s hair. In this way she began to make him weak. And Samson’s strength left him.

²⁰ Then she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are about to capture you!”

He woke up and thought, “I’ll get loose as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

²¹ Then the Philistines captured Samson. They tore out his eyes. And they took him down to Gaza. They put bronze chains on him. They put him in prison and made him grind grain. ²² But his hair began to grow again.

Samson Dies

²³ The kings of the Philistines gathered to celebrate. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us Samson our enemy.” ²⁴ When they saw him, they praised their god. They said,

²⁵ The people were having a good time at the celebration. They said, “Bring Samson out to perform for us.” So they brought Samson from the prison. He performed for them. They made him stand between the pillars of the temple of Dagon. ²⁶ A servant was holding his hand. Samson said to him, “Let me feel the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to lean against them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was full of men and women. All the kings of the Philistines were there. There were about 3,000 men and women on the roof.^[c] They watched Samson perform. ²⁸ Then Samson prayed to the Lord. He said, “Lord God, remember me. God, please give me strength one more time. Let me pay these Philistines back for putting out my two eyes!” ²⁹ Then Samson held the two center pillars of the temple. These two pillars supported the whole temple. He braced himself between the two pillars. His right hand was on one, and his left hand was on the other. ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with these Philistines!” Then he pushed as hard as he could. And the temple fell on the kings and all the people in it. So Samson killed more of the Philistines when he died than when he was alive.

³¹ Samson’s brothers and his whole family went down to get his body. They brought him back and buried him in the tomb of Manoah, his father. That tomb is between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson was a judge for the people of Israel for 20 years.

Micah’s Idols

17 There was a man named Micah. He lived in the mountains of Ephraim. ² He said to his mother, “You remember the 28 pounds of silver that were taken from you. I heard you say a curse about it. I have the silver with me. I took it.”

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

³ Micah gave the 28 pounds of silver to his mother. Then she said, “I will give this silver to the Lord. I will have my son make a carved idol and an idol of melted silver. So I will give the silver back to you.”

⁴ So he gave the silver back to his mother. She took about 5 pounds of the silver and gave it to a silversmith. He used it to make a carved idol and an idol of melted silver. The idols were put in Micah’s house. ⁵ Micah had a temple for worshiping idols. He made a vest for a priest and some household idols. Then Micah chose one of his sons to be his priest. ⁶ At that time the Israelites did not have a king. So everyone did what he thought was right.

⁷ There was a young man who was a Levite.^[d] He was from the city of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. He had been living with the people of Judah. ⁸ He left Bethlehem to look for another place to live. On his way he came to Micah’s house. It was in the mountains of Ephraim. ⁹ Micah asked him, “Where have you come from?”

He answered, “I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I’m looking for a place to live.”

¹⁰ Then Micah said to him, “Live with me. Be my father and my priest. I will give you 4 ounces of silver each year. I will also give you clothes and food.” So the Levite went in. ¹¹ The young Levite agreed to live with Micah. He became like one of Micah’s own sons. ¹² Micah made him a priest. And he lived in Micah’s house. ¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know the Lord will be good to me. I know this because I have a Levite as my priest!”

Dan’s Family Captures Laish

18 At that time the Israelites did not have a king. The people of Dan were still looking for a land where they could live. They wanted a land of their own. The other tribes of Israel already had their own lands. But the Danites did not yet have their own land. ² So they chose five soldiers from all their family groups. These five men were from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They sent the men to spy out and explore the land. They were told, “Go, explore the land.”

So they came to the mountains of Ephraim. They came to Micah’s house, where they spent the night. ³ When they came near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite.^[e] So they stopped at Micah’s house. They asked the young Levite, “Who brought you to this place? What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

⁴ He told them what Micah had done for him. “He has hired me. I am his priest.”

⁵ They said to him, “Please ask God something for us. Will our search for a place to live be successful?”

⁶ The priest said to them, “Go in peace. The Lord is pleased with your journey.”

⁷ So the five men left. They came to the city of Laish. They saw that the people there lived in safety. They were like the people of Sidon. They lived in peace and were not afraid of others. They had plenty of everything. They lived a long way from the Sidonians. And they had no dealings with anyone else.

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

⁹ They answered, “We have seen the land. And it is very good. We should attack them. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t wait! Let’s go and take that land! ¹⁰ When you go, you will see there is plenty of land. There is plenty of everything! The people are not expecting an attack. Surely God has given that land to us!”

¹¹ So 600 men of Dan left Zorah and Eshtaol. They were ready for war. ¹² On their way they stopped near the city of Kiriath Jearim in Judah. They set up camp there. That is why the place is named Mahaneh Dan^[f] to this very day. It is west of Kiriath Jearim. ¹³ From there they traveled on to the mountains of Ephraim. Then they came to Micah’s house.

¹⁴ So the five men who had explored the land around Laish spoke. They said to their relatives, “There is a vest for a priest in one of these houses. And there are household gods in these houses. There are also a carved idol and an idol of melted silver in these houses. You know what to do.” ¹⁵ So they stopped at the Levite’s house. This was also Micah’s house. And they greeted the Levite. ¹⁶ The 600 men of Dan stood at the gate entrance. They wore their weapons of war. ¹⁷ The five spies went into the house. They took the carved idol, the vest for a priest, the household idols and the silver idol. The priest and the 600 men ready for war stood by the gate entrance.

¹⁸ When the spies went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the vest for a priest, the household idols and the silver idol, the priest asked them, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ They answered, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us. Be our father and our priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for the people in one man’s house? Or is it better for you to be a priest for a tribe and family group in Israel?” ²⁰ This made the Levite happy. So he took the vest for a priest, the household idols and the carved idol. And he went with the men of Dan. ²¹ They left Micah’s house. They put their little children, their animals and everything they owned in front of them.

²² The men of Dan went a long way from Micah’s house. Then the men who lived near Micah were called out. They chased the men of Dan and caught up with them. ²³ The men with Micah shouted at the men of Dan. The men of Dan turned around. They said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you? Why have you called out your men to fight?”

²⁴ Micah answered, “You took my idols! I made those idols. You have also taken my priest. What do I have left? How can you ask me, ‘What’s the matter?’”

²⁵ The men of Dan answered, “You should not argue with us. Some of our men have hot tempers. If you shout at us, they might attack you. You and your family might be killed.” ²⁶ Then the men of Dan went on their way. Micah knew they were too strong for him. So he turned and went back home.

²⁷ So the men of Dan took what Micah had made. They also took his priest and went on to Laish. They attacked those peaceful people. The people of Laish had not expected an attack. The men of Dan killed them with their swords. Then they burned the city. ²⁸ There was no one to save the people of Laish. They lived too far from Sidon. And they had no dealings with anyone else. Laish was in a valley near Beth Rehob.

The people of Dan rebuilt the city in that place. And they lived there. ²⁹ They changed the name of Laish to Dan. They named it after their ancestor Dan. He was one of the sons of Israel.

³⁰ The people of Dan set up the idols in the city of Dan. They made Jonathan son of Gershom their priest. Gershom was the son of Moses. Jonathan and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan. They served as priests until the Israelites were taken captive. ³¹ The people of Dan worshiped the idols Micah had made. They worshiped them as long as the Holy Tent of God was in Shiloh.

A Levite and His Servant

19 At that time the people of Israel did not have a king.

There was a Levite who lived in the faraway part of the mountains of Ephraim. He had taken a slave woman. She was from the city of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. ² But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father’s house. It was in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there for four months. ³ Then her husband went to ask her to come back to him. He took with him his servant and two donkeys. The Levite came to her father’s house. And she invited the Levite to come in. Her father was happy to see him. ⁴ The father-in-law, the young woman’s father, asked him to stay. So he stayed for three days. He ate, drank and slept there.

⁵ On the fourth day they got up early in the morning. The Levite was getting ready to leave. But the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself by eating something. Then you may go.” ⁶ So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. After that, the father said to him, “Please stay tonight. Relax and enjoy yourself.” ⁷ When the man got up to go, his father-in-law asked him to stay. So he stayed again that night. ⁸ On the fifth day the man got up early in the morning to leave. The woman’s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait until this afternoon.” So the two men ate together.

⁹ Then the Levite, his slave woman and his servant got up to leave. His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said, “It’s almost night. The day is almost gone. So spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow morning you may get up early and go on your way home.” ¹⁰ But the Levite did not want to stay another night. He took his two saddled donkeys and his slave woman. He traveled toward the city of Jebus. (Jebus is another name for Jerusalem.)

¹¹ The day was almost over. They were near Jebus. So the servant said to his master, “Let’s stop at this city. It’s the city of the Jebusite people. Let’s spend the night here.”

¹² But his master said, “No. We won’t go inside a strange city. Those people are not Israelites. We will go on to the city of Gibeah.” ¹³ Then he said, “Come on. Let’s try to make it to Gibeah or Ramah. We can spend the night in one of those cities.” ¹⁴ So they went on. And the sun went down as they came near Gibeah. Gibeah belongs to the tribe of Benjamin. ¹⁵ So they stopped there to spend the night. They came to the public square in the middle of the city and sat down. But no one invited them home to spend the night.

¹⁶ That evening an old man came into the city from his work in the fields. His home was in the mountains of Ephraim. But now he was living in Gibeah. (The men of Gibeah were from the tribe of Benjamin.) ¹⁷ He saw the traveler, the Levite, in the public square. He asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”

¹⁸ The Levite answered, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah. We’re going to my home. I’m from a faraway part of the mountains of Ephraim. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah. Now I am going to the Holy Tent of the Lord. No one has invited me to stay in his house. ¹⁹ We already have straw and food for our donkeys. There is bread and wine for me, the young woman and my servant. We don’t need anything.”

²⁰ The old man said, “You are welcome to stay at my house. Let me give you anything you need. But don’t spend the night in the public square.” ²¹ So the old man took the Levite into his house. He fed their donkeys, and they washed their feet. Then he gave them something to eat and drink.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, some wicked men of the city surrounded the house. They beat on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house. They said, “Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to force him to have physical relations with us.”

²³ The owner of the house went outside. And he said to them, “No, my friends. Don’t be so evil. This man is a guest in my house. Don’t do this terrible thing! ²⁴ Look, here is my daughter. She is a virgin. And here is the man’s slave woman. I will bring them out to you now. Do anything you want with them. But don’t do such a terrible thing to this man.”

²⁵ But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his slave woman and sent her outside to them. They raped her. They treated her very badly all night long. Then, at dawn, they let her go. ²⁶ She came back to the house where her master was staying. She fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

²⁷ In the morning the Levite got up. He opened the door of the house. He went outside to go on his way. But there lay his slave woman. She had fallen down at the doorway of the house. Her hands were on the doorsill. ²⁸ Then the Levite said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But she did not answer. So he put her on his donkey and went home.

²⁹ When the Levite got home, he took a knife and cut his slave woman into 12 parts. Then he sent a part to each of the areas where the people of Israel lived. ³⁰ Everyone who saw this said, “Nothing like this has ever happened before. It has never happened since the people of Israel came out of Egypt. Think about it. Tell us what to do.”

The War Between Israel and Benjamin

20 So all the Israelites joined together. They came to stand before the Lord in the city of Mizpah. They came from as far away as the cities of Dan and Beersheba.^[g] Even the Israelites from the land of Gilead were there. ² The leaders of all the tribes of Israel were there. They took their places in the meeting of the people of God. There were 400,000 soldiers with swords. ³ (The people of Benjamin heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said to the Levite, “Tell us how this evil thing happened.”

⁴ So the husband of the murdered woman answered: “My slave woman and I came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. ⁵ During the night the men of Gibeah came after me. They surrounded the house and wanted to kill me. They raped my slave woman. And she died! ⁶ So I took her and cut her into parts. Then I sent one part to each area of Israel’s land. I did it because the people of Benjamin have done this wicked and terrible thing in Israel. ⁷ Now, all you men of Israel, speak up. Tell what you have decided we should do.”

⁸ Then all the people stood up at the same time. They said, “None of us will go home. Not one of us will go back to his house! ⁹ Now this is what we will do to Gibeah. We will throw lots so that God can show us what to do. ¹⁰ We will choose 10 men from each 100 men. They will be from all the tribes of Israel. And we will choose 100 men from each 1,000. We will choose 1,000 men from each 10,000. These men will find supplies for the army. Then the army will go to the city of Gibeah of Benjamin. They will repay those people for the terrible thing they have done in Israel.” ¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered against the city. They all agreed about what they were doing.

¹² The tribes of Israel sent men to all the family groups of Benjamin with a message. They said, “What is this evil thing some of your men have done? ¹³ Give up the evil men in Gibeah so that we can put them to death. We must remove this evil from Israel.”

But the Benjaminites would not listen to their relatives, the people of Israel. ¹⁴ The Benjaminites left their own cities and met at Gibeah. They went to fight against the Israelites. ¹⁵ In only one day the Benjaminites got 26,000 soldiers together. These soldiers were trained with swords. They also had 700 chosen men from Gibeah. ¹⁶ Seven hundred of these trained soldiers were left-handed. Each of these left-handed soldiers could sling a stone at a hair and not miss!

¹⁷ The Israelites, except for the Benjaminites, gathered 400,000 fighting men. These 400,000 men used swords and were trained soldiers.

¹⁸ The Israelites went up to the city of Bethel. They asked God, “Which tribe shall be first to attack the Benjaminites?”

The Lord answered, “Judah shall go first.”

¹⁹ The next morning the Israelites got up. They made a camp near Gibeah. ²⁰ Then the men of Israel went out to fight the Benjaminites. The Israelites got into battle position at Gibeah. ²¹ Then the Benjaminites came out of Gibeah. They killed 22,000 Israelites during the battle that day. ^22-23 The Israelites went before the Lord. They cried until evening. They asked the Lord, “Shall we go to fight our relatives, the Benjaminites, again?”

The Lord answered, “Go up and fight them.” The men of Israel encouraged each other. So they took the same battle positions they had taken the first day.

²⁴ The Israelites brought their battle lines against the Benjaminites the second day. ²⁵ The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah to attack the Israelites. This time, the Benjaminites killed 18,000 Israelites. All of these Israelites had been trained with swords.

²⁶ Then the Israelites went up to Bethel. There they sat down and cried to the Lord. They went without food all day until evening. They also brought burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. ²⁷ The Israelites asked the Lord a question. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant with God was there at Bethel. ²⁸ A priest named Phinehas served before the Ark of the Covenant. He was the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron.) The people of Israel asked, “Shall we again go to fight against our relatives the Benjaminites? Or shall we stop fighting?”

The Lord answered, “Go, because tomorrow I will help you defeat them.”

²⁹ Then the Israelites hid some men all around Gibeah. ³⁰ They went to fight against the Benjaminites at Gibeah on the third day. They got into position for battle, as they had done before. ³¹ Then the Benjaminites came out of the city to fight them. The Israelites backed up and led the Benjaminites away from the city. The Benjaminites began to kill some of the Israelites as they had done before. About 30 men from Israel were killed. Some of them were killed in the fields and some on the roads. One road led to Bethel. Another road led to Gibeah.

³² The Benjaminites said, “We are winning as before!”

But the Israelites said, “Let’s run. Let’s trick them into going farther away from their city and onto the roads.”

³³ All the men of Israel moved from their places. They got into battle positions at a place named Baal Tamar. Then the Israelites ran out from their hiding places west of Gibeah. ³⁴ Ten thousand of the best trained soldiers from the army of Israel attacked Gibeah. The battle was very hard. The Benjaminites did not know disaster was about to come to them. ³⁵ The Lord used the Israelites to defeat the Benjaminites. On that day the Israelites killed 25,100 Benjaminites. All these men were armed with swords. ³⁶ Then the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated.

The men of Israel had moved back. They backed up because they were depending on the surprise attack. They had set it up near Gibeah. ³⁷ The men in hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out and killed everyone in the city with their swords. ³⁸ Now the men of Israel had made a plan with the men in hiding. The men in the surprise attack were to send up a signal. It was to be a big cloud of smoke from the city. ³⁹ So the army of Israel turned around in the battle.

The Benjaminites had killed about 30 Israelites. They were saying, “We are winning, as in the first battle!” ⁴⁰ But then the big cloud of smoke began to rise from the city. The Benjaminites turned around and saw it. The whole city was full of smoke that went up into the sky. ⁴¹ Then the Israelites turned and began to fight. The Benjaminites were terrified. Now they knew that disaster was coming to them. ⁴² So the Benjaminites ran away from the Israelites. They ran toward the desert. But they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the cities killed them. ⁴³ They surrounded the Benjaminites and chased them. They caught them in the area east of Gibeah. ⁴⁴ So 18,000 brave and strong Benjaminite fighters were killed. ⁴⁵ The Benjaminites ran toward the desert. They ran to a place called the rock of Rimmon. But the Israelites killed 5,000 Benjaminites along the roads. They kept chasing them as far as a place named Gidom. And they killed 2,000 more Benjaminites there.

⁴⁶ On that day 25,000 Benjaminites were killed. All of them had fought bravely with swords. ⁴⁷ But 600 Benjaminites ran to the rock of Rimmon in the desert. They stayed there for four months. ⁴⁸ Then the men of Israel went back to the land of Benjamin. They killed the people in every city. They also killed the animals. They destroyed everything they could find. And they burned every city they found.

Wives for the Men of Benjamin

21 At Mizpah the men of Israel had made a promise. This was their promise: “Not one of us will let his daughter marry a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”

² The people went to the city of Bethel. There they sat before God until evening, crying loudly. ³ They said, “Lord, you are the God of Israel. Why has this terrible thing happened to us? Why has one tribe of Israel been taken away?”

⁴ Early the next day the people built an altar. They put burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God on it.

⁵ Then the Israelites asked, “Did any tribe of Israel not come here to meet with us before the Lord?” They asked this question because they had made a great promise. They had promised that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah would be killed.

⁶ The Israelites felt sorry for their relatives, the Benjaminites. They said, “Today one tribe has been separated from Israel. ⁷ We made a promise before the Lord. We will not allow our daughters to marry a Benjaminite. How can we make sure that the men of Benjamin will have wives?” ⁸ Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come here to Mizpah?” They found that no one from the city of Jabesh Gilead was there. ⁹ The people of Israel counted everyone, but no one from Jabesh Gilead was there.

¹⁰ So the whole group of Israelites sent 12,000 soldiers to Jabesh Gilead. They told the soldiers to kill the people in Jabesh Gilead with their swords. Even the women and children were to be killed.

¹¹ “This is what you must do: Kill every man in Jabesh Gilead. Also kill every woman who is not a virgin.” ¹² The soldiers found 400 young women in Jabesh Gilead who were virgins. They brought these women to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole group of Israelites sent a message to the men of Benjamin. They offered to make peace with them. The men of Benjamin were at the rock of Rimmon. ¹⁴ So the men of Benjamin came back at that time. The Israelites gave them the women from Jabesh Gilead who had not been killed. But there were not enough women for all of them.

¹⁵ The people of Israel felt sorry for the Benjaminites. This was because the Lord had separated the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶ The elders of the Israelites spoke. They said, “The women of Benjamin have been killed. Where can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are still alive? ¹⁷ These men must have children to continue their families. This is so a tribe in Israel will not die out. ¹⁸ But we cannot allow our daughters to marry them. We have made this promise: ‘Anyone who gives a wife to a man of Benjamin is cursed.’ ¹⁹ We have an idea! There is a yearly festival of the Lord at Shiloh. Shiloh is north of the city of Bethel. It is east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. And it is south of the city of Lebonah.”

²⁰ So the elders told the men of Benjamin about their idea. They said, “Go and hide in the vineyards. ²¹ Watch for the young women from Shiloh to come out. They will come to join the dancing. Then run out from the vineyards. Each of you take one of the young Shiloh women and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² The fathers or brothers of those young women will come to us. They will complain, but we will say: ‘Be kind to the men of Benjamin. We did not get wives for Benjamin during the war. And you did not give the women to the men from Benjamin. So you are not guilty.’”

²³ So that is what the Benjaminites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them. They took them away and married them. Then they went back to the land God had given them. They rebuilt their cities and lived there.

²⁴ Then the Israelites went home. They went to their own tribes and family groups. They went to their own land that God had given them.

²⁵ In those days the Israelites did not have a king. Everyone did what he thought was right.

The Story of a Girl from Moab

1 ^1-2 Long ago the judges^[h] ruled Israel. During their rule, there was a time in the land when there was not enough food to eat. A man named Elimelech left Bethlehem in Judah and moved to the country of Moab. He took his wife and his two sons with him. His wife was named Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Kilion. These people were from the Ephrathah district around Bethlehem in Judah. The family traveled to Moab and lived there.

³ Later, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died. So only Naomi and her two sons were left. ⁴ These sons married women from Moab. The name of one wife was Orpah. The name of the other wife was Ruth. Naomi and her sons lived in Moab about ten years. ⁵ Then Mahlon and Kilion also died. So Naomi was left alone without her husband or her two sons.

⁶ While Naomi was in Moab, she heard that the Lord had taken care of his people. He had given food to them in Judah. So Naomi got ready to leave Moab and go back home. The wives of Naomi’s sons also got ready to go with her. ⁷ So they left the place where they had lived. And they started back on the way to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back home. Each of you go to your own mother’s house. You have been very kind to me and to my sons who are now dead. I hope the Lord will also be kind to you in the same way. ⁹ I hope the Lord will give you another home and a new husband.”

Then Naomi kissed the women. And they began to cry out loud. ¹⁰ Her daughters-in-law said to her, “No. We will go with you to your people.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “My daughters, go back to your own homes. Why do you want to go with me? I cannot give birth to more sons to give you new husbands. ¹² So go back to your own homes. I am too old to have another husband. But even if I had another husband tonight and if I had more sons, it wouldn’t help! ¹³ Would you wait until the babies were grown into men? Would you live for so many years without husbands? Don’t do this thing. My life is much too sad for you to share. This is because the Lord is against me!”

¹⁴ The women cried together again. Then Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye, but Ruth held on to her.

¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her own people and her own gods. Go back with her.”

Ruth Stays with Naomi

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Don’t ask me to leave you! Don’t beg me not to follow you! Every place you go, I will go. Every place you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. ¹⁷ And where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me terribly if I do not keep this promise: Only death will separate us.”

¹⁸ Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her. So Naomi stopped arguing with her. ¹⁹ Naomi and Ruth went on until they came to the town of Bethlehem. When the two women entered Bethlehem, all the people became very excited. The women of the town said, “Is this Naomi?”

²⁰ But Naomi told the people, “Don’t call me Naomi.^[i] Call me Mara,^[j] because God All-Powerful has made my life very sad. ²¹ When I left, I had all I wanted. But now, the Lord has brought me home with nothing. So why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has spoken against me? God All-Powerful has given me much trouble.”

²² So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, the woman from Moab, came back from Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 Now there was a rich man living in Bethlehem whose name was Boaz. Boaz was one of Naomi’s close relatives from Elimelech’s family.

² One day Ruth, the woman from Moab, said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields. Maybe someone will be kind and let me gather the grain he leaves in his field.”

Naomi said, “Go, my daughter.”

³ So Ruth went to the fields. She followed the workers who were cutting the grain. And she gathered the grain that they had left. It just so happened that the field belonged to Boaz. He was a close relative from Elimelech’s family.

⁴ When Boaz came from Bethlehem, he spoke to his workers: “The Lord be with you!”

And the workers answered, “May the Lord bless you!”

⁵ Then Boaz spoke to his servant who was in charge of the workers. He asked, “Whose girl is that?”

⁶ The servant answered, “She is the Moabite woman who came with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷ She said, ‘Please let me follow the workers and gather the grain that they leave on the ground.’ She came and has remained here. From morning until just now, she has stopped only a few moments to rest in the shelter.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay here in my field to gather grain for yourself. Do not go to any other person’s field. Continue following behind my women workers. ⁹ Watch to see which fields they go to and follow them. I have warned the young men not to bother you. When you are thirsty, you may go and drink. Take water from the water jugs that the servants have filled.”

¹⁰ Then Ruth bowed low with her face to the ground. She said to Boaz, “I am a stranger. Why have you been so kind to notice me?”

¹¹ Boaz answered her, “I know about all the help you have given to Naomi, your mother-in-law. You helped her even after your husband died. You left your father and mother and your own country. You came to this nation where you did not know anyone. ¹² The Lord will reward you for all you have done. You will be paid in full by the Lord, the God of Israel. You have come to him as a little bird finds shelter under the wings of its mother.”

¹³ Then Ruth said, “You are very kind to me, sir. You have said kind words to me, your servant. You have given me hope. And I am not even good enough to be one of your servants.”

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz told Ruth, “Come here! Eat some of our bread. Here, dip your bread in our vinegar.”

So Ruth sat down with the workers. Boaz gave her some roasted grain. Ruth ate until she was full, and there was some food left over. ¹⁵ Ruth rose and went back to work. Then Boaz told his servants, “Let her gather even around the bundles of grain. Don’t tell her to go away. ¹⁶ Drop some full heads of grain for her. Let her gather that grain, and don’t tell her to stop.”

¹⁷ So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Then she separated the grain from the chaff. There was about one-half bushel of barley. ¹⁸ Ruth carried the grain into town. And her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also gave her the food that was left over from lunch.

¹⁹ Naomi asked her, “Where did you gather all this grain today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you!”

Ruth told her about whose field she had worked in. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”

²⁰ Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “The Lord bless him! The Lord still continues to be kind to all people—the living and the dead!” Then Naomi told Ruth, “Boaz is one of our close relatives,^[k] one who will take care of us.”

²¹ Then Ruth said, “Boaz also told me to come back and continue working. He said, ‘Keep close by my servants until they have finished the harvest.’”

²² Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good for you to continue working with his women servants. If you work in another field, someone might hurt you.” ²³ So Ruth continued working closely with the women servants of Boaz. She gathered grain until the barley harvest was finished. She also worked there through the end of the wheat harvest. And Ruth continued to live with Naomi, her mother-in-law.

Naomi’s Plan

3 Then Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a suitable home for you. That would be good for you. ² Now Boaz is our close relative.^[l] You worked with his women servants. Tonight he will be working at the threshing floor. ³ Go wash yourself and put on perfume. Change your clothes, and go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let him see you until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ Then he will lie down. Watch him so you will know the place where he lies down. Go there and lift the cover off his feet^[m] and lie down. He will tell you what you should do.”

⁵ Then Ruth answered, “I will do everything you say.”

⁶ So Ruth went down to the threshing floor. She did all her mother-in-law told her to do. ⁷ After eating and drinking, Boaz was feeling good. He went to lie down beside the pile of grain. Then Ruth went to him quietly. She lifted the cover from his feet and lay down.

⁸ About midnight Boaz woke up suddenly and rolled over. He was startled! There was a woman lying near his feet! ⁹ Boaz asked, “Who are you?”

She said, “I am Ruth, your servant girl. Spread your cover over me because you are the one who is to take care of me.”

¹⁰ Then Boaz said, “The Lord bless you, my daughter. Your kindness to me is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You didn’t look for a young man to marry, either rich or poor. ¹¹ Now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do everything you ask. All the people in our town know you are a very good woman. ¹² And it is true, I am a relative who is to take care of you. But there is a man who is a closer relative to you than I. ¹³ But stay here tonight. In the morning we will see if he will take care of you. If he decides to take care of you, that is fine. If he refuses to take care of you, I myself will marry you. Then I will buy back Elimelech’s land for you. As surely as the Lord lives, I promise to do this. So lie here until morning.”

¹⁴ So Ruth lay near his feet until the morning. She rose while it was still too dark to be recognized. Boaz said to his servants, “Don’t tell anyone that the woman came here to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Bring me your shawl. Now, hold it open.”

So Ruth held her shawl open, and Boaz poured six portions of barley into it. Boaz then put it on her back, and she went to the city.

¹⁶ Ruth went to the home of her mother-in-law. And Naomi asked, “How did you do, my daughter?”

So Ruth told Naomi everything that Boaz did for her. ¹⁷ She said, “Boaz gave me these six portions of barley. He said, ‘You must not go home without a gift for your mother-in-law.’”

¹⁸ Naomi answered, “Ruth, my daughter, wait until you hear what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do this day.”

Boaz Marries Ruth

4 Boaz went to the city gate. He sat there until the close relative he had mentioned passed by. Boaz called to him, “Come here, friend! Sit down here!” So the man came over and sat down. ² Boaz gathered ten of the old men who were leaders of the city. He told them, “Sit down here!” So they sat down.

³ Then Boaz spoke to the close relative. He said, “Naomi has come back from the country of Moab. She wants to sell the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. ⁴ So I decided to say this to you: If you want to buy back the land, then buy it! Buy it in front of the people who live here and in front of the elders of my people. If you don’t want to buy it, tell me. I am the only person after you who can buy back the land. If you don’t buy it back, I will.”

And the close relative said, “I will buy back the land.”

⁵ Then Boaz said, “When you buy the land from Naomi, you must marry Ruth, the dead man’s wife. She is the woman from Moab. That way, the land will stay in her dead husband’s family.”

⁶ The close relative answered, “Then I can’t buy back the land. If I did, I might lose what I can pass on to my own sons. I cannot buy the land back. So you buy it yourself.”

⁷ Long ago in Israel when people traded or bought back something, one person took off his sandal and gave it to the other person. This was their proof of purchase.

⁸ So the close relative said, “Buy the land yourself.” And then he took off his sandal.

⁹ Then Boaz spoke to the elders and to all the people. He said, “You are witnesses today of what I am buying from Naomi. I am buying everything that belonged to Elimelech and Kilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I am also taking Ruth as my wife. She is the Moabite who was the wife of Mahlon. I am doing this so her dead husband’s property will stay with his family. This way, his name will not be separated from his family and his land. You are witnesses this day.”

¹¹ So all the people and elders who were at the city gate said, “We are witnesses. This woman will be coming into your home. We hope the Lord will make her like Rachel and Leah. They had many children. So the people of Israel grew in number. May you become powerful in the district of Ephrathah. May you become famous in Bethlehem! ¹² Tamar gave birth to Judah’s son Perez.^[n] In the same way, may the Lord give you many children through Ruth. And may your family be great like his.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and married her. The Lord let her become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women told Naomi, “Praise the Lord who gave you this grandson. And may he become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ He will give you new life. And he will take care of you in your old age. This happened because of your daughter-in-law. She loves you. And she is better for you than seven sons. She has given birth to your grandson.”

¹⁶ Naomi took the boy, held him in her arms and cared for him. ¹⁷ The neighbors gave the boy his name. These women said, “This boy was born for Naomi.” The neighbors named him Obed. Obed was Jesse’s father. And Jesse was the father of David.

¹⁸ This is the family history of Perez. Perez was the father of Hezron. ¹⁹ Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab. ²⁰ Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. ²¹ Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. ²² Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah son of Jeroham. He was from Ramathaim in the mountains of Ephraim. Elkanah was from the family of Zuph. (Jeroham was Elihu’s son. Elihu was Tohu’s son. And Tohu was the son of Zuph from the family group of Ephraim.) ² Elkanah had two wives. One was named Hannah, and the other was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ Every year Elkanah left his town Ramah and went up to Shiloh. There he worshiped the Lord of heaven’s armies and offered sacrifices to him. Shiloh was where Hophni and Phinehas served as priests of the Lord. They were the sons of Eli. ⁴ When Elkanah offered sacrifices, he always gave a share of the meat to his wife Peninnah. He also gave shares of the meat to her sons and daughters. ⁵ But Elkanah always gave a special share of the meat to Hannah. He did this because he loved Hannah and because the Lord had made Hannah unable to have children. ⁶ Peninnah would upset Hannah and make her feel bad. She did this because the Lord had made Hannah unable to have children. ⁷ This happened every year when they went up to the Tent of the Lord at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah until Hannah would cry and not eat anything. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why are you sad? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Once, after they had eaten their meal in Shiloh, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the entrance to the Lord’s Holy Tent. ¹⁰ Hannah was very sad. She cried much and prayed to the Lord. ¹¹ She made a promise. She said, “Lord of heaven’s armies, see how bad I feel. Remember me! Don’t forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him back to you all his life. And no one will ever use a razor to cut his hair.”^[o]

¹² While Hannah kept praying, Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ She was praying in her heart. Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ He said to her, “Stop getting drunk! Throw away your wine!”

¹⁵ Hannah answered, “No, master, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I was telling the Lord about all my problems. ¹⁶ Don’t think of me as an evil woman. I have been praying because of my many troubles and much sadness.”

¹⁷ Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the God of Israel give you what you asked of him.”

¹⁸ Hannah said, “I want to be pleasing to you always.” Then she left and ate something. She was not sad anymore.

¹⁹ Early the next morning Elkanah’s family got up and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had intimate relations with his wife Hannah. And the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So Hannah became pregnant, and in time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel.^[p] She said, “His name is Samuel because I asked the Lord for him.”

Hannah Gives Samuel to God

²¹ Every year Elkanah went to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. He went to keep the promise he had made to God. He brought his whole family with him. So once again he went up to Shiloh. ²² But Hannah did not go with him. She told him, “When the boy is old enough to eat solid food, I will take him to Shiloh. Then I will give him to the Lord. He will become a Nazirite. He will always live there at Shiloh.”

²³ Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, said to her, “Do what you think is best. You may stay home until the boy is old enough to eat. May the Lord do what you have said.” So Hannah stayed at home to nurse her son until he was old enough to eat.

²⁴ When Samuel was old enough to eat, Hannah took him to the Tent of the Lord at Shiloh. She also took a three-year-old bull, one-half bushel of flour and a leather bag filled with wine. ²⁵ They killed the bull for the sacrifice. Then Hannah brought Samuel to Eli. ²⁶ She said to Eli, “As surely as you live, my master, I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child. The Lord answered my prayer and gave him to me. ²⁸ Now I give him back to the Lord. He will belong to the Lord all his life.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah Gives Thanks

2 Hannah said:

Eli’s Evil Sons

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.

¹² Now Eli’s sons were evil men. They did not care about the Lord. ¹³ This is what the priests would do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest’s servant would then come with a fork in his hand. The fork had three prongs. ¹⁴ He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. ¹⁵ But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come to the person offering sacrifices. The servant would say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you. He will only accept raw meat.”

¹⁶ But the man who offered the sacrifice might say, “Let the fat be burned up first as usual. Then you may take anything you want.”

If so, the priest’s servant would answer, “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

¹⁷ The Lord saw that the sin of the servants was very great. They did not show respect for the offerings made to the Lord.

Samuel Grows Up

¹⁸ But Samuel obeyed the Lord. He wore a linen holy vest. ¹⁹ Every year Samuel’s mother would make a little coat for him. She would take it to him when she went to Shiloh. She went there with her husband for the sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. Eli would say, “May the Lord repay you with children through Hannah. They will take the place of the boy Hannah prayed for and gave back to the Lord.” Then Elkanah and Hannah would go home. ²¹ The Lord was kind to Hannah. She became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.

²² Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites. He also heard about how his sons had physical relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. ²³ Eli said to his sons, “The people here tell me about the evil you do. Why do you do these evil things? ²⁴ No, my sons. The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. ²⁵ If someone sins against another person, God can help him. But if he sins against the Lord himself, no one can help him!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him. This was because the Lord had decided to put them to death.

²⁶ The boy Samuel kept growing. He pleased God and the people.

²⁷ A man of God came to Eli. He said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron. This was when they were slaves to the king of Egypt. ²⁸ I chose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense and to wear the holy vest. I also let the family of your ancestor have part of all the offerings sacrificed by the Israelites. ²⁹ So why don’t you respect the sacrifices and gifts? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat on the best parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.’