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 promise that we will not kill you.” So they tied Samson with two new ropes and led him up from the cave in the rock.

¹⁴ When Samson came to the place called Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him. They were shouting with joy. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson with great power. Samson broke the ropes—they were like burned strings falling from his arms and the ropes on his hands seemed to melt away. ¹⁵ Samson found a jawbone of a dead donkey and killed 1000 Philistine men with it.

¹⁶ Then Samson said,

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

¹⁸ Samson was very thirsty. So he cried to the Lord. He said, “I am your servant. You gave me this great victory. Please don’t let me die from thirst now. Please don’t let me be captured by men who are not even circumcised.”

¹⁹ There is a hole in the ground at Lehi. God made that hole crack open, and water came out. Samson drank the water and felt better. He felt strong again. So he named that water spring En Hakkore.^[c] It is still there in the city of Lehi today.

²⁰ Samson was a judge for the Israelites for 20 years during the time of the Philistines.

Samson Goes to the City of Gaza

16 One day Samson went to the city of Gaza. He saw a prostitute there and went in to stay the night with her. ² Someone told the people of Gaza, “Samson has come here.” They wanted to kill him, so they surrounded the city. They hid near the city gate and waited all night for him. They were very quiet all night long. They had said to each other, “When morning comes, we will kill Samson.”

³ But Samson only stayed with the prostitute until midnight. Then he got up and grabbed the doors of the city gate and pulled them loose from the wall. He pulled down the doors, the two posts, and the bars that lock the doors shut. He put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill near the city of Hebron.

Samson and Delilah

⁴ Later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who was from Sorek Valley.

⁵ The rulers of the Philistines went to Delilah and said, “We want to know what makes Samson so strong. Try to trick him into telling you his secret. Then we will know how to 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^[d] of silver.”

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

⁷ Samson answered, “Someone would have to tie me up with seven fresh, new bowstrings.^[e] If someone did that, I would be as weak as any other man.”

⁸ Then the rulers of the Philistines brought seven fresh, new bowstrings to Delilah, and she tied Samson with the bowstrings. ⁹ Some men were hiding in the next room. Delilah said to Samson, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” But Samson easily broke the bowstrings. They snapped like a string when it comes too close to a flame. So the Philistines did not find out the secret of Samson’s strength.

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

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

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

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You lied to me again. You made me look foolish. Now, tell me how someone could tie you up.”

Samson said, “If you use the loom to weave the seven braids of hair on my head and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁴ Later, Samson went to sleep, so Delilah used the loom to weave the seven braids of hair on his head.^[f] Then Delilah fastened the loom to the ground with a tent peg. Again she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” Samson pulled up the tent peg, the loom, and the shuttle.^[g]

¹⁵ Then Delilah said to Samson, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t even trust me? You refuse to tell me your secret. This is the third time you made me look foolish. You haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” ¹⁶ She kept bothering Samson day after day. He got so tired of her asking him about his secret that he felt like he was going to die. ¹⁷ Finally, Samson told Delilah everything. He said, “I have never had my hair cut. I was dedicated to God before I was born. If someone shaved my head, I would lose my strength. I would become as weak as any other man.”

¹⁸ Delilah saw that Samson had told her his secret. She sent a message to the rulers of the Philistines. She said, “Come back again. Samson has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines came back and brought the money that they had promised to give her.

¹⁹ Delilah got Samson to go to sleep with his head lying in her lap. Then she called in a man to shave off the seven braids of Samson’s hair. In this way she made Samson weak, and his strength left him. ²⁰ Then Delilah called out to him, “Samson, the Philistine men are going to capture you!” He woke up and thought, “I will escape as I did before and free myself.” But Samson did not know that the Lord had left him.

²¹ The Philistine men captured Samson. They tore out his eyes and took him down to the city of Gaza. Then they put chains on him to keep him from running away. They put him in prison and made him work grinding grain. ²² But his hair began to grow again.

²³ The Philistine rulers came together to celebrate. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They said, “Our god helped us defeat Samson our enemy.” ²⁴ When the Philistines saw Samson, they praised their god. They said,

²⁵ The people were having a good time at the celebration. So they said, “Bring Samson out. We want to make fun of him.” So they brought Samson from the prison and made fun of him. They made him stand between the columns in the temple of the god Dagon. ²⁶ A servant was holding his hand. Samson said to him, “Put me where I can feel the columns that hold this temple up. I want to lean against them.”

²⁷ The temple was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine rulers were there. There were about 3000 men and women on the roof of the temple. They were laughing and making fun of Samson. ²⁸ Then Samson said a prayer to the Lord, “Lord God, remember me. God, please give me strength one more time. Let me do this one thing to punish these Philistines for tearing out both of my eyes!” ²⁹ Then Samson took hold of the two columns in the center of the temple that supported the whole temple. He braced himself between the two columns. One column was at his right side and the other at his left side. ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with these Philistines!” Then he pushed as hard as he could, and the temple fell on the rulers and everyone in it. In this way Samson killed many more Philistines when he died than when he was alive.

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

Micah’s Idols

17 There was a man named Micah who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. ² Micah said to his mother, “Do you remember that someone stole 28 pounds^[h] of silver from you? I heard you say a curse about that. Well, I have the silver. I took it.”

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

³ Micah gave the 28 pounds of silver back to his mother. Then she said, “I will give this silver as a special gift to the Lord. I will give it to my son so that he can make a statue and cover it with the silver. So now, son, I give the silver back to you.”

⁴ But Micah gave the silver back to his mother. So she took about 5 pounds^[i] of the silver and gave them to a silversmith.^[j] He used the silver to make a statue covered with silver. The statue was put in Micah’s house. ⁵ Micah had a temple for worshiping idols. He made an ephod^[k] and some house 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 they thought was right.)

⁷ There was a young man who was a Levite from the city of Bethlehem in Judah. He had been living among the tribe of Judah. ⁸ He left Bethlehem to look for another place to live. As he was traveling, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of the land of Ephraim. ⁹ Micah asked him, “Where have you come from?”

The young man answered, “I am a Levite from the city of Bethlehem in Judah. I am 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^[l] of silver each year. I will also give you clothes and food.”

The Levite did what Micah asked. ¹¹ The young Levite agreed to live with Micah. He became like one of Micah’s own sons. ¹² Micah chose him to be his priest. So the young man became a priest and lived in Micah’s house. ¹³ And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me. I know this because I have a man from the tribe of Levi to be my priest.”

Dan Captures the City of Laish

18 At that time the Israelites did not have a king. And the tribe of Dan was still looking for a place to live. They did not have their own land yet. The other tribes of Israel already had their land, but the tribe of Dan had not taken their land yet.

² So the tribe of Dan sent five soldiers to look for some land. They went to search for a good place to live. These five men were from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They were chosen because they were from all the families of Dan. They were told, “Go, look for some land.”

The five men came to the hill country of Ephraim. They came to Micah’s house and spent the night there. ³ When the five men came close to Micah’s house, they heard the voice of the young Levite. They recognized his voice, so they stopped at Micah’s house. They asked the young man, “Who brought you to this place? What are you doing? Why are you here?”

⁴ The young man told them what Micah had done for him. “Micah hired me,” he said. “I am his priest.”

⁵ So they said to him, “Please ask God if our search for a place to live will be successful.”

⁶ The priest said to the five men, “Yes. Go in peace. The Lord will lead you on your way.”

⁷ So the five men left. They came to the city of Laish and saw that the people of that city lived in safety. They were ruled by the people of Sidon. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The people had plenty of everything, and they didn’t have any enemies nearby to hurt them. Also they lived a long way from the city of Sidon, and they did not have any agreements with the people of Aram.^[m]

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

⁹ The five men answered, “We have found some land, and it is very good. We should attack them. Don’t wait! Let’s go and take that land! ¹⁰ When you come to that place, you will see that there is plenty of land. There is plenty of everything there. You will also see that the people are not expecting an attack. Surely God has given that land to us.”

¹¹ So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They were ready for war. ¹² On their way to the city of Laish, they stopped near the city of Kiriath Jearim in the land of Judah. They set up a camp there. That is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is named Mahaneh Dan^[n] to this very day. ¹³ From there the 600 men traveled on to the hill country 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 an ephod in one of these houses. And there are also household gods, a carved statue, and a silver idol. You know what to do.” ¹⁵ So they stopped at Micah’s house, where the young Levite lived. They asked the young man how he was. ¹⁶ The 600 men from the tribe of Dan stood at the entrance of the gate. They all had their weapons and were ready for war. ^17-18 The five spies went into the house. The priest stood just outside by the gate with the 600 men who were ready for war. The men took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol. The young Levite priest said, “What are you doing?”

¹⁹ The five men answered, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us. Be our father and our priest. You must choose. Is it better for you to be a priest for just one man or for a whole tribe of Israelites with many family groups?”

²⁰ This made the Levite happy. So he took the ephod, the household idols, and the idol. He went with the men from the tribe of Dan.

²¹ Then the 600 men from the tribe of Dan and the Levite priest turned and left Micah’s house. They put their little children, their animals, and all their things in front of them.

²² The men from the tribe of Dan went a long way from that place. But the people living near Micah met together. Then they began chasing the men of Dan and caught up with them. ²³ The men with Micah were shouting at the men of Dan. The men of Dan turned around and said to Micah, “What’s the problem? Why are you shouting?”

²⁴ Micah answered, “You men from Dan took my idols. I made them for myself. You have also taken my priest. What do I have left now? How can you ask me, ‘What’s the problem?’”

²⁵ The men from the tribe of Dan answered, “You had better not argue with us. Some of our men become angry easily. If you shout at us, they will attack you. You and your families will be killed.”

²⁶ Then the men of Dan turned around and went on their way. Micah knew that these men were too strong for him, so he went back home.

²⁷ So the men of Dan took the idols that Micah made. They also took the priest who had been with Micah. Then they came to Laish. They attacked the people living in Laish. Those people were at peace. They were not expecting an attack. The men of Dan killed them with their swords and then burned the city. ²⁸ The people living in Laish did not have anyone to rescue them. They lived too far from the city of Sidon for the people there to help. And the people of Laish did not have any agreements with the people of Aram—so they did not help them. The city of Laish was in a valley, which belonged to the town of Beth Rehob. The people from Dan built a new city in that place, and it became their home. ²⁹ The people of Dan gave the city a new name. That city had been called Laish, but they changed the name to Dan. They named the city after their ancestor Dan, one of the sons of Israel.

³⁰ The people of the tribe of Dan set up the idol in the city of Dan. They made Jonathan son of Gershom their priest. Gershom was the son of Moses.^[o] Jonathan and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time when the Israelites were taken into captivity. ³¹ The people of Dan set up for themselves the idol that Micah had made. That idol was there the whole time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

A Levite and His Woman Servant

19 At that time the Israelites did not have a king.

There was a Levite who lived far back in the hill country of Ephraim. He had taken as a wife a slave woman. She was from the city of Bethlehem in the country of Judah. ² But his slave woman had an argument with him. She left him and went back to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. She stayed there for four months. ³ Then her husband went after her. He wanted to speak kindly to her so that she would come back to him. He took with him his servant and two donkeys. The Levite came to her father’s house. Her father saw the Levite and came out to greet him. The father was very happy. ⁴ The woman’s father led the Levite into his house. The Levite’s father-in-law invited him to stay. So he stayed for three days. He ate, drank, and slept in his father-in-law’s house.

⁵ On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning. The Levite was getting ready to leave. But the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Eat something first. After you eat, you can go.” ⁶ So the Levite and his father-in-law sat down to eat and drink together. After that the young woman’s father said to the Levite, “Please stay tonight. Relax and enjoy yourself.” So the two men ate together. ⁷ The Levite got up to leave, but his father-in-law persuaded him to stay the night again.

⁸ Then, on the fifth day, the Levite got up early in the morning. He was ready to leave. But the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Eat something first. Relax and stay until this afternoon.” So they both ate together again.

⁹ Then the Levite, his slave woman, and his servant got up to leave. But the young woman’s father said, “It is almost dark. The day is almost gone. So stay the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow morning you can get up early and go on your way.”

¹⁰ But the Levite did not want to stay another night. He took his two donkeys and his slave woman. He traveled as far as the city of Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ¹¹ The day was almost over. They were near the city of Jebus. So the servant said to his master, the Levite, “Let’s stop at this Jebusite city. Let’s stay the night here.”

¹² But his master, the Levite man, said, “No, we will not go inside a strange city. Those people are not Israelites. We will go to the city of Gibeah.^[p]” ¹³ The Levite said, “Come on. Let’s try to make it to Gibeah or Ramah. We can stay the night in one of those cities.”

¹⁴ So the Levite and those with him traveled on. The sun was going down just as they entered the city of Gibeah. Gibeah is in the area that belongs to the tribe of Benjamin. ¹⁵ They planned to stop there and stay the night. They came to the city square and sat down, but no one invited them home to stay the night.

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

¹⁸ The Levite answered, “We have come from Bethlehem in Judah, where I went for a visit. Now I am on my way home,^[q] which is a long way into the hill country of Ephraim. I expected that someone here would invite us in for the night, but no one has. ¹⁹ We already have straw and food for our donkeys. There is also 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. I will give you anything you need, but don’t stay the night in the public square.” ²¹ Then the old man took the Levite and the people with him to his house. He fed their donkeys. They washed their feet and then had something to eat and drink.

²² While the Levite and those who were with him were enjoying themselves, some very bad men from the city surrounded the house. They began beating on the door. They shouted at the old man who owned the house. They said, “Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sex with him.”

²³ The old man went outside and said to them, “My friends, don’t do such an evil thing! This man is a guest in my house.^[r] Don’t commit this terrible sin. ²⁴ Look, here is my daughter. She has never had sex before. I will bring her out to you now. This man also has a slave woman. You can use them any way you want, but don’t do such a terrible sin against this man.”

²⁵ But those evil men would not listen to the old man. So the Levite took his slave woman and put her outside with them. They hurt her and raped her all night long. Then, at dawn, they let her go. ²⁶ At dawn, the woman came back to the house where her master was staying. She fell down at the front door and lay there until it was daylight.

²⁷ The Levite got up early the next morning. He wanted to go home. He opened the door to go outside, and a hand fell across the threshold of the door. There was his slave woman. She had fallen down against the door. ²⁸ The Levite said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer.

The Levite put her body on his donkey and went home. ²⁹ When he arrived at his house, he took a knife and cut her body into 12 parts. Then he sent the 12 parts of the woman to each of the areas where the Israelites lived. ³⁰ Everyone who saw this said, “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel before. We haven’t seen anything like this from the time we came out of Egypt. Discuss this and tell us what to do.”

The War Between Israel and Benjamin

20 So all the Israelites joined together. They all came together to stand before the Lord in the city of Mizpah. People came from everywhere in Israel.^[s] Even the Israelites from Gilead^[t] were there. ² The leaders of all the tribes of Israel were there. They took their places in the public meeting of God’s people. There were 400,000 soldiers with swords in that place. ³ The people from the tribe of Benjamin heard that the Israelites were meeting together in Mizpah. The Israelites said, “Tell us how this terrible thing happened.”

⁴ So the Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, told them the story. He said, “My slave woman and I came to the city of Gibeah in the area of Benjamin. We spent the night there. ⁵ But during the night the men of the city of Gibeah came to the house where I was staying. They surrounded the house, and they wanted to kill me. They raped my slave woman, and she died. ⁶ So I took her and cut her into pieces. Then I sent one piece to each of the tribes of Israel. I sent the 12 pieces to the lands we have received. I did that because the people of Benjamin have done this terrible thing in Israel. ⁷ Now, all you men of Israel, speak up. Give your decision about what we should do.”

⁸ Then all the people stood up at the same time. They said together, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will go back to his house. ⁹ Now this is what we will do to the city of Gibeah. We will throw lots to let God show us who will lead the attack. ¹⁰ We will choose ten men from every 100 from all the tribes of Israel. And we will choose 100 men from every 1000. We will choose 1000 men from every 10,000. These men we have chosen will get supplies for the army. Then the army will go to the city of Gibeah in the area of Benjamin. The army will punish those people for the terrible thing they did among the Israelites.”

¹¹ So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city of Gibeah, united together and in agreement as to what they were doing. ¹² The tribes of Israel sent men to the tribe of Benjamin with this message: “What about this terrible thing that some of your men have done? ¹³ Send the bad men from the city of Gibeah to us so that we can put them to death. We must remove the evil from among the Israelites.”

But the people from the tribe of Benjamin would not listen to the messengers from their relatives, the other Israelites. ¹⁴ The people from the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and went to the city of Gibeah. They went to Gibeah to fight against the other tribes of Israel. ¹⁵ The people from the tribe of Benjamin got 26,000 soldiers together who were trained for war. They also had 700 trained soldiers from the city of Gibeah. ¹⁶ There were also 700 trained soldiers who were trained to fight with their left hand.^[u] Each one of them could use a sling with great skill. They all could use a sling to throw a stone at a hair and not miss!

¹⁷ All the tribes of Israel, except Benjamin, gathered together 400,000 fighting men with swords. Each one was a trained soldier. ¹⁸ The Israelites went up to the city of Bethel. At Bethel they asked God, “Which tribe will be first to attack the tribe of Benjamin?”

The Lord answered, “The tribe of Judah will go first.”

¹⁹ The next morning the Israelites got up. They made a camp near the city of Gibeah. ²⁰ Then the army of Israel took their positions for battle against the army of Benjamin at the city of Gibeah. ²¹ Then the army of Benjamin came out of the city of Gibeah. The army of Benjamin killed 22,000 men in the army of Israel during the battle that day.

^22-23 The Israelites went to the Lord and cried until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we go to fight the people of Benjamin again? They are our relatives.”

The Lord answered, “Go fight against them.” The men of Israel encouraged each other. So they again went out to fight, as they had done the first day.

²⁴ Then the army of Israel came near the army of Benjamin. This was the second day of the war. ²⁵ The army of Benjamin came out of the city of Gibeah to attack the army of Israel on the second day. This time, the army of Benjamin killed another 18,000 men from the army of Israel. All the men in the army of Israel were trained soldiers.

²⁶ Then all the Israelites went up to the city of Bethel. There they sat down and cried to the Lord. They did not eat anything all day, until evening. They also offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. ²⁷ The men of Israel asked the Lord a question. (In those days God’s Box of the Agreement was there at Bethel. ²⁸ Phinehas was the priest who served God there. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. Eleazar was the son of Aaron.) The Israelites asked, “The people of Benjamin are our relatives. Should we again go to fight against them? Or should we stop fighting?”

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

²⁹ Then the army of Israel hid some men all around the city of Gibeah. ³⁰ The army of Israel went to fight against the city of Gibeah on the third day. They got ready for battle as they had done before. ³¹ The army of Benjamin came out of the city of Gibeah to fight the army of Israel. The army of Israel backed up and let the army of Benjamin chase them. In this way the army of Benjamin was tricked into leaving the city far behind them.

The army of Benjamin began to kill some of the men in the army of Israel, as they had done before. They killed about 30 men from Israel. They killed some of them in the fields, and they killed some of them on the roads. One road led to the city of Bethel. The other road led to the city of Gibeah. ³² The men of Benjamin said, “We are winning as before!”

The men of Israel were running away, but it was a trick. They wanted to lead the men of Benjamin away from their city and onto the roads. ³³ So all the men ran away. They stopped at a place named Baal Tamar. Some of the men of Israel were hiding west of Gibeah. They ran from their hiding places. ³⁴ 10,000 of Israel’s best-trained soldiers attacked the city of Gibeah. The fighting was very heavy. But the army of Benjamin did not know that a terrible thing was about to happen to them.

³⁵ The Lord used the army of Israel and defeated the army of Benjamin. On that day the army of Israel killed 25,100 soldiers from Benjamin. All of them had been trained for war. ³⁶ So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated.

The army of Israel had moved back because they were depending on the surprise attack. They had men hiding near Gibeah. ³⁷ The men who were hiding rushed into the city of 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 who were hiding. The men who were hiding were supposed to send a special signal. They were supposed to make a big cloud of smoke.

^39-41 The army of Benjamin had killed about 30 Israelite soldiers. So the men of Benjamin were saying, “We are winning, as before.” But then a big cloud of smoke began to rise from the city. The men of Benjamin turned around and saw the smoke. The whole city was on fire. Then the army of Israel stopped running away. They turned around and began to fight. The men of Benjamin were afraid because they knew that a terrible thing had happened to them.

⁴² So the army of Benjamin ran away from the army of Israel. They ran toward the desert. But they could not escape the fighting. And the men of Israel came out of the cities and killed them. ⁴³ The men of Israel surrounded the men of Benjamin and began chasing them. They did not let them rest. They defeated them in the area east of Gibeah. ⁴⁴ So 18,000 brave and strong fighters from the army of Benjamin were killed.

⁴⁵ The army of Benjamin turned around and ran toward the desert. They ran to a place called the Rock of Rimmon, but the army of Israel killed 5000 soldiers from Benjamin along the roads. They kept chasing the men of Benjamin. They chased them as far as a place named Gidom. The army of Israel killed 2000 more men from Benjamin in that place.

⁴⁶ On that day 25,000 men of the army of Benjamin were killed. All of them fought bravely with their swords. ⁴⁷ But 600 men from Benjamin ran into the desert to the place called the Rock of Rimmon and stayed there for four months. ⁴⁸ The men of Israel went back to the land of Benjamin. They killed the people and all the animals in every city. They destroyed everything they could find and burned every city they came to.

Getting Wives for the Men of Benjamin

21 At Mizpah, the men of Israel 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 Israelites went to the city of Bethel. There they sat before God until evening. They cried loudly as they sat there. ³ They said to God, “Lord, you are the God of the Israelites. Why has this terrible thing happened to us? Why has one tribe of the Israelites been taken away?”

⁴ Early the next day, the Israelites built an altar. They put burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to God on that altar. ⁵ Then the Israelites said, “Are there any tribes of Israel who did not come here to meet with us before the Lord?” They asked this question because they had made a serious promise. They had promised that anyone who did not come together with the other tribes at the city of Mizpah would be killed.

⁶ Then the Israelites felt sorry for their relatives, the people of Benjamin. They said, “Today, one tribe has been separated from Israel. ⁷ We made a promise with an oath before the Lord. We promised not to allow our daughters to marry a man from Benjamin. How can we make sure that the men of Benjamin will have wives?”

⁸ Then the Israelites asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come here to Mizpah? We have come together before the Lord. Surely one family was not here!” Then they found that no one from the city of Jabesh Gilead had met together with the other Israelites. ⁹ The Israelites counted everyone to see who was there and who was not. They found that no one from Jabesh Gilead was there. ¹⁰ So the Israelites sent 12,000 soldiers to the city of Jabesh Gilead. They told the soldiers, “Go to Jabesh Gilead, and use your swords to kill everyone who lives there, even the women and children. ¹¹ You must do this! You must kill every man in Jabesh Gilead and every woman who has had sexual relations with a man. But do not kill any woman who has never had sex with a man.” So the soldiers did these things.^{[v] 12} The 12,000 soldiers found 400 young women in the city of Jabesh Gilead who had never had sex with a man. They brought these women to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³ Then the Israelites sent a message to the men of Benjamin. They offered to make peace with the men of Benjamin. The men of Benjamin were at the place named the Rock of Rimmon. ¹⁴ So the men of Benjamin came back to Israel. The Israelites gave them the women from Jabesh Gilead who they had not killed. But there were not enough women for all the men of Benjamin.

¹⁵ The Israelites felt sorry for the men of Benjamin. They felt sorry for them because the Lord had separated them from the other tribes of Israel. ¹⁶ The elders of the Israelites said, “The women of the tribe of Benjamin have been killed. Where can we get wives for the men of Benjamin who are still alive? ¹⁷ The men of Benjamin who are still alive must have children to continue their families. This must be done so that a tribe in Israel will not die out! ¹⁸ But we cannot allow our daughters to marry the men of Benjamin. We have made this promise: ‘Bad things will happen to anyone who gives a wife to a man of Benjamin.’ ¹⁹ We have an idea! This is the time for the festival of the Lord at the city of Shiloh. This festival is celebrated every year there.” (The city of Shiloh is north of the city of Bethel and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. And it is also to the 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 time during the festival when the young women from Shiloh come out to join the dancing. Then run out from where you are hiding in the vineyards. Each of you should take one of the young women from the city of Shiloh. Take them to the land of Benjamin and marry them. ²² The fathers or brothers of the young women will come and complain to us. But we will say, ‘Be kind to the men of Benjamin. Let them marry the women. We could not get wives for each of them during the war. And you did not willingly give the women to the men of Benjamin, so you did not break your promise.’”

²³ So that is what the men of the tribe of Benjamin 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 their land. The men of Benjamin built cities again in that land, and they lived in them. ²⁴ Then the Israelites went home. They went to their own land and tribe.

²⁵ In those days the Israelites did not have a king, so everyone did whatever they thought was right.

Famine in Judah

1 Long ago, during the time the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man named Elimelech left the town of Bethlehem in Judah. He, his wife, and his two sons moved to the country of Moab. ² The man’s wife was named Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Kilion. They were from the Ephrathah family of Bethlehem in Judah. The family traveled to the hill country of Moab and stayed there.

³ Later, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, so only Naomi and her two sons were left. ⁴ Her sons married women from the country of Moab. One wife’s name was Orpah, and the other wife’s name was Ruth. They 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.

Naomi Goes Home

⁶ While Naomi was in the country of Moab, she heard that the Lord had helped his people. He had given food to his people in Judah. So Naomi decided to leave the hill country of Moab and go back home. Her daughters-in-law also decided to go with her. ⁷ They left the place where they had been living and started walking back to the land of Judah.

⁸ Then Naomi told her daughters-in-law, “Each of you should go back home to your mother. You have been very kind to me and my sons who are now dead. So I pray that the Lord will be just as kind to you. ⁹ I pray that the Lord will help each of you find a husband and a good home.” Naomi kissed her daughters-in-law, and they all started crying.

¹⁰ Then the daughters said, “But we want to come with you and go to your family.”

¹¹ But Naomi said, “No, daughters, go back to your own homes. Why should you go with me? I can’t have any more sons to be your husbands. ¹² Go back home. I am too old to have a new husband. Even if I thought I could be married again, I could not help you. If I became pregnant tonight and had two sons, ¹³ you would have to wait until they grew to become men before you could marry them. I cannot make you wait that long for husbands. That would make me very sad. And I am already sad enough—the Lord has done many things to me!”

¹⁴ So again they cried very much. Then Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye, but Ruth hugged her and stayed.

¹⁵ Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her own people and her own gods. You should do the same.”

¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Don’t force me to leave you! Don’t force me to go back to my own people. Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you sleep, I will sleep. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. I ask the Lord to punish me if I don’t keep this promise: Only death will separate us.”^[w]

The Homecoming

¹⁸ Naomi saw that Ruth wanted very much to go with her. So Naomi stopped arguing with her. ¹⁹ Naomi and Ruth traveled until they came to the town of Bethlehem. When the two women entered Bethlehem, all the people were very excited. They said, “Is this Naomi?”

²⁰ But Naomi told the people, “Don’t call me Naomi^[x]; call me Marah.^[y] Use this name because God All-Powerful has made my life very sad. ²¹ I had everything I wanted when I left, but now, the Lord brings me home with nothing. The Lord has made me sad, so why should you call me ‘Happy’^[z]? God All-Powerful has given much trouble to me.”

²² So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, the Moabite, came back from the hill country of Moab. These two women came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Ruth Meets Boaz

2 There was a rich man named Boaz living in Bethlehem. Boaz was one of Naomi’s close relatives^[aa] from Elimelech’s family.

² One day Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, “I think I will go to the fields. Maybe I can find someone who will be kind to me and let me gather the grain they leave in their field.”

Naomi said, “Fine, daughter, go ahead.”

³ So Ruth went to the fields. She followed the workers who were cutting the grain and gathered the grain that was left.^[ab] It happened that part of the field belonged to Boaz, the man from Elimelech’s family.

⁴ Later, Boaz came to the field from Bethlehem and greeted his workers. He said, “The Lord be with you!”

And the workers answered, “And 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 came early this morning and asked me if she could follow the workers and gather the grain that was left on the ground. She rested only a short time in that shelter.”^[ac]

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, child. Stay here in my field to gather grain for yourself. There is no need for you to go to any other field. Continue following behind my women workers. ⁹ Watch to see which fields they go into to cut the grain and follow them. I have warned the young men not to bother you. When you are thirsty, go and drink from the same water jug my men drink from.”

¹⁰ Then Ruth bowed very low to the ground. She said to Boaz, “I am a foreigner, so I am surprised you even noticed me.”

¹¹ Boaz answered her, “I know about all the help you have given to your mother-in-law Naomi. I know you helped her even after your husband died. And I know that you left your father and mother and your own country and came here to this country. You did not know anyone from this country, but you came here with Naomi. ¹² The Lord will reward you for all the good things you have done. The Lord, the God of Israel, will pay you in full. You have come to him for safety,^[ad] and he will protect you.”

¹³ Then Ruth said, “I hope I can continue to please you, sir. You are very kind. I am only a servant and not even one of your own servants. But you have said kind words to me and comforted me.”

¹⁴ At mealtime, Boaz told Ruth, “Come and 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. ¹⁵ Then Ruth got up and went back to work.

Then Boaz told his servants, “Let Ruth gather even around the piles of grain. Don’t stop her. ¹⁶ And make her work easier by dropping some full heads of grain for her. Let her gather that grain. Don’t tell her to stop.”

Naomi Hears About Boaz

¹⁷ Ruth worked in the fields until evening. Then she separated the grain from the chaff. There was about one-half bushel^[ae] of barley. ¹⁸ Ruth carried the grain into town to show her mother-in-law what she had gathered. She also gave her the food that was left from lunch.

¹⁹ Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather all this grain? Where did you work? Bless the man who noticed you.”

Then Ruth told her who she had worked with. She said, “The man I worked with today is a man named Boaz.”

²⁰ Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “The Lord bless him! He has continued showing his kindness to the living as well as the dead.” Then Naomi told her daughter-in-law, “Boaz is one of our relatives. He is one of our protectors.^[af]”

²¹ Then Ruth said, “Boaz also told me to come back and continue working. He said that I should work closely with his servants until the harvest is finished.”

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, some man 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. Ruth continued living with her mother-in-law Naomi.

The Threshing Floor

3 Then Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, maybe I should find a husband and a good home for you. That would be good for you. ² Boaz is our close relative.^[ag] You worked with his women servants. Tonight he will be working at the threshing floor. ³ Go wash yourself and get dressed. Put on a nice dress, and go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating his dinner. ⁴ After he eats, he will lie down to rest. Watch him so that you will know where he lies down. Go there and lift the cover off his feet.^[ah] Then lie down there with Boaz. He will tell you what you should do about marriage.”

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

⁶ So Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did everything that her mother-in-law told her to do. ⁷ After eating and drinking, Boaz was very satisfied. He went to lie down near the pile of grain. Then Ruth went to him very quietly and lifted the cover from his feet and lay down by his feet.

⁸ About midnight, Boaz rolled over in his sleep and woke up. He was very surprised. There was a woman lying near his feet. ⁹ Boaz said, “Who are you?”

She said, “I am Ruth, your servant girl. Spread your cover over me.^[ai] You are my protector.”

¹⁰ Then Boaz said, “May the Lord bless you, young woman. You have been very kind to me. Your kindness to me is greater than the kindness you showed to Naomi in the beginning. You could have looked for a young man to marry, rich or poor. But you did not. ¹¹ Now, young woman, don’t be afraid. I will do what you ask. All the people in our town know that you are a very good woman. ¹² And it is true that I am a close relative. But there is a man who is a closer relative to you than I am. ¹³ Stay here tonight. In the morning we will see if he will help^[aj] you. If he decides to help you, that is fine. If he refuses to help, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, I will marry you and buy back Elimelech’s land for you.^[ak] So lie here until morning.”

¹⁴ So Ruth lay near Boaz’s feet until morning. She got up while it was still dark, before it was light enough for people to recognize each other.

Boaz said to her, “We will keep it a secret that you came here to me last night.” ¹⁵ Then he said, “Bring me your coat. Now, hold it open.”

So Ruth held her coat open, and Boaz measured out about a bushel of barley^[al] as a gift to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Boaz then wrapped it in Ruth’s coat, and put it on her back. Then he went to the city.

¹⁶ Ruth went to the home of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi went to the door and asked, “Who’s there?”

Ruth went in telling Naomi everything that Boaz did for her. ¹⁷ She said, “Boaz gave me this barley as a gift for you. He said that I must not go home without bringing a gift for you.”

¹⁸ Naomi said, “Daughter, be patient until we hear what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do. We will know what will happen before the day is ended.”

Boaz and Naomi’s Close Relative

4 Boaz went to the place where people gather near the city gates. He sat there until the close relative he had told Ruth about passed by. Boaz called to him, “Come and sit here, friend.”

² Boaz also gathered ten of the elders of the city. He told them, “Sit here!” So they sat down.

³ Then Boaz spoke to Naomi’s close relative. He said, “Naomi came back from the hill country of Moab. She wants to sell the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. ⁴ I decided to tell you about this in front of the people living here and in front of the elders of our people. If you want to pay the widow for the land and keep it in the family, then pay her for it. If you don’t want to buy the land, tell me, because I am the next one in the family who has the right to buy it. If you don’t buy the land from her, I will.”

Naomi’s closest relative said, “I will buy the land from her.”

⁵ Then Boaz said, “If you buy the land from her, you must also marry the dead man’s wife, Ruth, the Moabite woman. Then the first child will get the land, and it will stay in the dead man’s family.”

⁶ The close relative answered, “Then I cannot buy the land. If I do, I might lose my own land. So I cannot do it. You buy the land.” ⁷ Then he gave Boaz something to show that he was serious. During that time in Israel, when people bought property, one person took off a sandal and gave it to the other person. This was like signing an agreement. ⁸ So when the close relative said to Boaz, “You buy the land,” he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz.^[am]

⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I also take Ruth to be my wife. Then the dead man’s property will continue to belong to his family. And he will always be remembered by his family and the people in his hometown. You are all witnesses of what I am doing today.”

¹¹ So all the elders and the people who were near the city gates said, “We are witnesses to all of this. And may the Lord bless this woman who is coming into your home to be like Rachel and Leah. They are the ones who had many children to make the people of Israel strong. And may you become powerful in the tribe of Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem! ¹² May the Lord bless you with many children through Ruth. May your family become great like the family of Perez,^[an] the son Tamar bore for Judah.”

¹³ So Boaz married Ruth. The Lord allowed Ruth to become pregnant, and she had a son. ¹⁴ The women there said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord who gave you this child.^[ao] May he become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ He will make you alive again and care for you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law made it happen because she bore this child for you. She loves you, and she is better for you than seven sons.”

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, “Naomi has a son now!”^[ap] They named him Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.

The Family of Ruth and Boaz

¹⁸ This is the family history of Perez:

Elkanah’s Family Worships at Shiloh

1 There was a man named Elkanah from the Zuph family who lived in Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim.

² Elkanah had two wives. One wife was named Hannah and the other wife was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

³ Every year Elkanah left his town of Ramah and went up to Shiloh. He worshiped the Lord All-Powerful at Shiloh and offered sacrifices to the Lord there. Shiloh was where Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served as priests of the Lord. ⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered his sacrifices, he always gave one share of the food to his wife Peninnah and a share of the food to each of Peninnah’s children. ⁵ Elkanah always gave an equal share^[aq] of the food to Hannah. He did this because he loved her very much, even though the Lord had not let Hannah have any children.

Peninnah Upsets Hannah

⁶ Peninnah always upset Hannah and made her feel bad because the Lord had not made her able to have children. ⁷ This happened every year when their family went to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would begin to cry and would not eat anything. One year when this happened, ⁸ her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why are you so sad? You have me. Isn’t that better than having even ten sons?”

Hannah’s Prayer

⁹ After eating and drinking, Hannah quietly got up and went to pray to the Lord.^[ar] Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the door of the Lord’s Holy Building.^{[as] 10} Hannah was so sad that she cried the whole time she was praying to the Lord. ¹¹ She made a special promise to God and said, “Lord All-Powerful, you can see how sad I am. Remember me. Don’t forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him to you. He will be yours his whole life, and as a Nazirite, he will not drink wine or strong drink,^[at] and no one will ever cut his hair.”

¹² Hannah prayed to the Lord a long time. Eli was watching her mouth while she was praying. ¹³ Hannah was praying in her heart. Her lips were moving, but since she did not say the words out loud, Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ He said to her, “You have had too much to drink. It is time to put away the wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah answered, “Sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am deeply troubled, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems. ¹⁶ Don’t think I am a bad woman. I have been praying so long because I have so many troubles and am very sad.”

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

¹⁸ Hannah said, “May you be happy with me.” Then she left and ate something. She was not sad anymore.

¹⁹ Early the next morning Elkanah’s family got up. They worshiped the Lord and then went back home to Ramah.

Samuel’s Birth

Elkanah had sexual relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered Hannah. ²⁰ By that time the following year, Hannah had become pregnant and had a son. She named him Samuel.^[au] She said, “His name is Samuel because I asked the Lord for him.”

²¹ Elkanah went to Shiloh to offer the sacrifice for that year and the gift he had promised to the Lord. He took his family with him. ²² But Hannah did not go. She told Elkanah, “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.^[av] He will stay there at Shiloh.”

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

Hannah Takes Samuel to Eli at Shiloh

²⁴ When the boy was old enough to eat solid food, Hannah took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. She also took a bull that was three years old, 20 pounds^[ax] of flour, and a bottle of wine.

²⁵ They went before the Lord. Elkanah killed the bull as a sacrifice to the Lord as he usually did.^[ay] Then Hannah gave the boy to Eli. ²⁶ She said to him, “Pardon me, sir. I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the Lord. I promise that I am telling the truth. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer. He gave me this child. ²⁸ And now I give this child to the Lord. He will serve^[az] the Lord all his life.”

Then Hannah left the boy there^[ba] and worshiped the Lord.

Hannah Gives Thanks

2 Hannah said,

¹¹ Elkanah and his family went home to Ramah, but the boy stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Evil Sons

¹² Eli’s sons were evil men who did not care about the Lord. ¹³ They did not care about how priests were supposed to treat people. Whenever someone brings a sacrifice, priests are supposed to put the meat in a pot of boiling water. Then their servant is supposed to get the three-pronged fork ¹⁴ and use it to get some meat out of the pot or kettle. The priest is supposed to take whatever his helper removes from the pot with the special fork. This is what the priests should have done for the Israelites who came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh. ¹⁵ But that is not what the sons of Eli did. Even before the fat was burned on the altar, their servant would go to the people offering sacrifices and say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you.”

¹⁶ Maybe the man offering the sacrifice would say, “Burn the fat^[bg] first, and then you can take whatever you want.” But the servant would answer: “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll take it from you!”

¹⁷ In this way Hophni and Phinehas showed that they did not respect the offerings made to the Lord. This was a terrible sin against the Lord.

¹⁸ But Samuel served the Lord. He was a helper who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ Every year Samuel’s mother made a robe for Samuel. She took the little robe to Samuel when she went up to Shiloh with her husband for the sacrifice every year.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. He would say, “May the Lord give you more children through Hannah who will take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to the Lord.”

Elkanah and Hannah went home. ²¹ The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the holy place near the Lord.

Eli Fails to Control His Evil Sons

²² Eli was very old. He heard about the bad things his sons were doing to the Israelites at Shiloh and how his sons were having sexual relations with the women who served at the door of the Meeting Tent.

²³ Eli said to his sons, “The people here told me about the evil things you have done. Why are you doing such things? ²⁴ Sons, stop that! The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. ²⁵ If you sin against other people, God might protect you. But who can help you if you sin against the Lord?”

Eli’s sons refused to listen to him, so the Lord decided to kill them.

²⁶ The boy Samuel kept growing. He was pleasing to the Lord and to the people.

The Terrible Prophecy About Eli’s Family

²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said, “The Lord says, ‘I appeared to your ancestors^[bh] when they were slaves of Pharaoh. ²⁸ From all the tribes of Israel, I chose your tribe to be my priests. I chose them to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and wear the ephod. I also let your tribe have the meat from the sacrifices that the Israelites give to me. ²⁹ So why don’t you respect these gifts and sacrifices? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat eating the best parts of the meat that the Israelites bring to me.’