Old/New Testament
Chapter 7
1 Some men from Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark of the Lord away. They brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar, his son, to take care of the Ark of the Lord.
Samuel the Judge.[a] 2 The Ark remained at Kiriath-jearim for a long time, for twenty years. All of the people of Israel lamented after the Lord.
3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you intend to return to the Lord with your whole heart, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods you have among you, the Astartes, and commit your hearts to serve the Lord alone, then he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites threw away their Baals and Astartes,[b] and served the Lord alone.
5 Samuel then said, “Assemble all of the Israelites at Mizpah,[c] and I will intercede to the Lord for you.” 6 When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it[d] before the Lord. They fasted that day and confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now, Samuel was the judge of the Israelites at Mizpah.
Defeat of the Philistines. 7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up to attack them. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Intercede for us unceasingly with the Lord, our God, that he might deliver us from the power of the Philistines.”
9 So Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord for the sake of Israel, and the Lord heard him.
10 While Samuel was performing the sacrifice, the Philistines drew near to engage the Israelites in combat. The Lord boomed with a loud thunder that day, and the Philistines panicked and they were defeated by the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines. They slaughtered them all the way to Beth-car. 12 Samuel then took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He called it “Ebenezer,” saying “the Lord helped us here.”[e]
13 Thus the Philistines were defeated and they no longer raided the territory of Israel. The hand of the Lord was raised against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. 14 The towns that lay between Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to the Israelites, and Israel was able to deliver its borderlands from the hands of the Philistines. There was even peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Samuel continued to serve as the judge of Israel throughout his entire lifetime. 16 Each year he made a circuit among Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, judging Israel in all of those places, 17 but he always returned to Ramah, for that was his home, and he judged Israel there, too. He built an altar to Yahweh there.
The Inauguration of the Monarchy[f]
Chapter 8
The People Request a King. 1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of the older was Joel, and the name of the younger was Abijah, and they were judges at Beer-sheba. 3 The sons did not walk in his ways. They sought dishonest gains, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 All of the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are now old, and your sons are not following in your path. Appoint a king over us, just like all the other nations have.”
6 It displeased Samuel when they said to him, “Appoint a king over us,” so Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to him, “Listen to everything that the people have requested of you. It is not you whom the people have rejected, they have rejected me as their king. 8 They have done this from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt to this very day. They have rejected me and served other gods, just as they have rejected you. 9 So grant their request, but warn them solemnly and inform them what the king who reigns over them will do.”
10 The Rule of a King. Samuel told the people who were asking for a king everything that the Lord had said. 11 He said, “This is what the king who reigns over you will do. He will take away your sons to serve him on his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.[g] 12 He will appoint some as commanders of groups of thousands, and others as commanders of groups of fifty. He will set some to plowing his fields and reaping his harvests. Others will make weapons and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves and he will give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain harvest and the harvest of your vineyards and give it to his officials and his attendants. 16 He will take your menservants and your maidservants, the best of your cattle and donkeys, and use them for his own work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you, yourselves, will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for help because of the king that you have chosen, but on that day the Lord will not listen to you.”[h]
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king over us! 20 Then we will be like every other nation, with a king to lead us and to go out before us to fight in our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard everything that the people had said, he repeated it to the Lord. 22 So the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them and appoint a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Let each man go back to his own town.”
Chapter 9
Saul and the Lost Donkeys. 1 There was a certain man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah. He was a man of high standing in Benjamin. 2 He had a son whose name was Saul. He was a handsome young man, and there was no one in Israel who was more handsome than he. He was also a head taller than anyone else. 3 Now the donkeys belonging to Kish, the father of Saul, were lost, and Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the servants with you and go up and look for the donkeys.”[i]
4 So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim, in the area around Shalishah, but he could not find them. Then he went into the area around Shaalim, but they were not there. He next passed into the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come on, let us go back, lest my father stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” 6 But the servant replied, “There is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected, and everything that he says comes true. Let us now go to him, perhaps he can tell us where to go.”
7 Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what are we going to bring the man? We have used up all of the food in our sacks. We have nothing to give the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul, saying, “I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he can tell us which way to go.” 9 (In former days in Israel, if someone wanted to ask something of God, he would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for in those days prophets were called seers.) 10 So Saul said to his servant, “Good! Let us go.” They went into the town where the man of God was living.
11 As they were going up the hill on the way to the town, they met some young women who were coming out to draw water. They said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is. Hurry now, for he has just arrived in the town today because the people are offering a sacrifice on the heights.[j] 13 Find him as soon as you enter the town before he goes up to the heights to eat. The people will not start to eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now, for right around now you should find him.”
14 Saul Meets Samuel. They went into the town, and as they were entering the town, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the heights. 15 Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. You will anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people out of the hands of the Philistines. I have regarded my people, for their cry has risen up to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man of whom I have spoken to you. He is to rule over my people.”
18 [k]Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said to him, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 But Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the heights, for you will eat with me today. I will let you go on your way tomorrow, and I will make known to you all that is on your mind. 20 As for the donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. Is not all the desire of Israel placed upon you and all your father’s family?” 21 But Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, the smallest of the tribes in Israel? Is not my family the least important of the clans in the tribe of Benjamin? Why are you saying this to me?”
22 Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall, and he sat them down at the head of those who had been invited; there were about thirty in all. 23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring me the piece of meat that I brought you, the portion I told you to set aside.” 24 The cook brought up the leg and what was on it and set it in front of Saul. He said, “Here is what I saved for you. Eat it, because I set it aside for this moment from when I first invited the guests.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 After they came down from the heights into the town, he spoke to Saul on the roof of his house. 26 They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called up to Saul on the rooftop, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside together. 27 As they were coming to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell your servant to go on ahead of us,” and he went on ahead. He continued, “You stay here for a while, so that I can reveal the word of God to you.”
18 Peter’s Confession That Jesus Is the Christ.[a]Once while Jesus was praying by himself, he asked his disciples who were standing close by, “Who do the people say that I am?” 19 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” 20 “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him: “The Christ of God.” 21 Thereupon he gave them strict orders and commanded them not to tell this to anyone.
22 Jesus Predicts His Passion. He then went on to say, “The Son of Man must endure great suffering, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised.”
23 The Conditions of Discipleship.[b] Then he said to all who were with him, “Anyone who wishes to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
26 “If anyone is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
28 Jesus Is Transfigured.[c] About eight days after he had said this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face underwent a change, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, there were two men talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which would come to pass in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake they beheld his glory and the two men standing beside him.
33 When they were ready to leave, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not truly know what he was saying. 34 While he was speaking, a cloud came and cast its shadow over them, and the three disciples became frightened as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.[d] Listen to him.” 36 After the voice had spoken, they beheld only Jesus. They kept silent and at that time they did not tell anyone about what they had witnessed.
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