1 Samuel 7 Cross References - MSB

¹ Then the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to guard the ark of the LORD. ² And from that day a long time passed, twenty years in all, as the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim. And all the house of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. ³ Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served only the LORD. ⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.” ⁶ When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah. ⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. And when the Israelites learned of this, they feared the Philistines ⁸ and said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him. ¹⁰ As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel. ¹¹ Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth-car. ¹² Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” ¹³ So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The cities from Ekron to Gath, which the Philistines had taken, were restored to Israel, who also delivered the surrounding territory from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between the Israelites and the Amorites. ¹⁵ So Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ Every year he would go on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

¹⁴ On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side.

²¹ So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”

² And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name—the name of the LORD of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it. ³ They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart, ⁴ bringing with it the ark of God. And Ahio was walking in front of the ark.

⁵ So David assembled all Israel, from the River Shihor in Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ David and all Israel went up to Baalah of Judah (that is, Kiriath-jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name. ⁷ So they carried the ark of God from the house of Abinadab on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding the cart.

⁶ We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

⁴ When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’” declares the LORD.

²² “Return, O faithless children, and I will heal your faithlessness.” “Here we are. We come to You, for You are the LORD our God. ²³ Surely deception comes from the hills, and commotion from the mountains. Surely the salvation of Israel is in the LORD our God. ²⁴ From our youth, that shameful god has consumed what our fathers have worked for—their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. ²⁵ Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

⁹ They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”

¹⁰ Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ¹¹ On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. ¹¹ Consider what this godly sorrow of yours has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

² So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.

¹³ Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.

²⁰ You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.

⁴ You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him.

² and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today, ³ then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. ⁴ Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there. ⁵ And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers. ⁶ The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. ⁷ Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you. ⁸ And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and follow all His commandments I am giving you today. ⁹ So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers, ¹⁰ if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

¹⁴ Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

²³ “Now, therefore,” he said, “get rid of the foreign gods among you and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

¹³ for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

⁶ And again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. They served the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. Thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.

¹⁶ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.

¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

⁴⁸ and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name,

¹⁹ Now set your heart and soul to seek the LORD your God. Get started building the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.”

⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

³ However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart on seeking God.”

¹⁹ who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

¹³ As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him, ¹⁴ if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

¹ The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.

⁷ Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

³ For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among the thorns. ⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”

³¹ Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

¹ Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds. ² After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.

¹ Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.

¹² “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” ¹³ So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.

¹⁰ “Get behind Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

²⁴ No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

⁸ ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouths, and they honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

⁸ But Jesus answered, “Get behind Me, Satan! It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

²⁴ God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

¹¹ And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.

¹⁵ “We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!” ¹⁶ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.

³³ For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.

³ Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”

⁸ O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.

³⁸ Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel,

¹ Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

¹² Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

¹⁶ Every year he would go on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all these places.

¹⁷ After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah

²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way.

²³ When all the commanders of the armies and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, as well as their men.

¹ On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.

¹⁶ Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

⁴⁰ But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me—

¹⁰ The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

¹⁰ Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against You, for we have indeed forsaken our God and served the Baals.”

¹⁵ “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

¹⁴ For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.

⁴⁷ and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’

³ Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.

²¹ And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” ²³ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.

⁵ At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God, ⁶ and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens. ⁷ From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and put to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day. ⁸ But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from the LORD our God to preserve for us a remnant and to give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our bondage, our God has given us new life and light to our eyes. ⁹ Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commandments

¹ On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads. ² Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³ While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

²⁷ So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.

²⁰ My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.

²⁷ Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.

⁴ “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.

⁶ Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

⁶ I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

³ There is no soundness in my body because of Your anger; there is no rest in my bones because of my sin. ⁴ For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear. ⁵ My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly. ⁶ I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning. ⁷ For my loins are full of burning pain, and no soundness remains in my body. ⁸ I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

³ My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”

⁸ Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

⁶ We have sinned like our fathers; we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

¹³⁶ My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.

¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’” declares the LORD. ¹⁴ “Return, O faithless children,” declares the LORD, “for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.

¹ Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.

¹⁹ After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

¹¹ My eyes fail from weeping; I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief over the destruction of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

¹⁸ The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, and your eyes no rest. ¹⁹ Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street.

⁴⁹ My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief,

⁴ Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Confront them with the abominations of their fathers

³ So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.

¹² “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”

¹ Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: ² “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.” ³ This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey. ⁴ On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!” ⁵ And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. ⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷ Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. ⁸ Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands. ⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.” ¹⁰ When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.

¹⁸ I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.

⁶ Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.

¹¹ On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.

¹⁹ They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.” ²⁰ “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “Even though you have committed all this evil, do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty. ²² Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own. ²³ As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way. ²⁴ Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.

⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.

⁶ On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves, ⁷ nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.

¹⁶ Confess your trespasses to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

²⁶ Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.”

²⁸ When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal’s altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar.

¹⁴ The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. ¹⁵ And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.

¹⁷ Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

¹² “Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.

⁸ And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

² “How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. ³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” ³² And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. ³³ Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, ³⁴ and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. ³⁵ So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. ³⁶ At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command. ³⁷ Answer me, O LORD! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.” ³⁸ Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.

¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called to the LORD and He answered.

¹ Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.

²³ So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴ The hail fell and the lightning continued flashing through it. The hail was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in all the land of Egypt from the time it became a nation. ²⁵ Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast; it beat down every plant of the field and stripped every tree.

³ saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them. ⁴ For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

¹⁰ And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹⁵ And in front of him the LORD routed with the sword Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army. Sisera abandoned his chariot and fled on foot.

⁸ When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.

²⁰ From the heavens the stars fought; from their courses they fought against Sisera.

¹⁰ Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.”

¹⁴ The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. ¹⁵ He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹¹ He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him. ¹² From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire. ¹³ The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire. ¹⁴ He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁶ The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken. ¹⁷ The clouds poured down water; the skies resounded with thunder; Your arrows flashed back and forth. ¹⁸ Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

³ Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side. ⁴ His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles.

⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.

¹⁸ And there were flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder, and rumblings, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake. ¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. ²⁰ Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found. ²¹ And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.

¹⁴ And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

¹⁸ Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it, ¹⁹ and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.

⁴⁵ So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar, ⁴⁶ and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸ Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” ⁵¹ Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me.

¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.

⁹ Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.

²⁰ And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. ²¹ Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ ²² you are to tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”

²⁶ Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”

¹ Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

¹ After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,

⁶ I have leaned on You since birth; You pulled me from my mother’s womb. My praise is always for You.

¹⁷ O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD near her border.

³ “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. ⁴ Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

²² But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:

¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He continues to deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,

¹ Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

⁵ For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

¹ Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years. ² He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home. ³ Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. ⁵ Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” ⁷ His armor-bearer replied, “Do all that is in your heart. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” ⁸ “Very well,” said Jonathan, “we will cross over toward these men and show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stay where we are and will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come on up,’ then we will go up, because this will be our sign that the LORD has delivered them into our hands.” ¹¹ So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!” ¹² So the men of the outpost called out to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come on up, and we will teach you a lesson!” “Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. And the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and finished them off. ¹⁴ In that first assault, Jonathan and his armor-bearer struck down about twenty men over half an acre of land. ¹⁵ Then terror struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked and panic spread from God. ¹⁶ Now when Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin looked and saw the troops melting away and scattering in every direction,

²⁰ Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor. ²¹ And the Hebrews who had previously gone up into the surrounding camps of the Philistines now went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they also joined Saul and Jonathan in the battle. ²³ So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth-aven.

⁴⁹ Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. ⁵⁰ Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. ⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him; and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. ⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. And the bodies of the Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.

³ Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land. ⁴ The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently.

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. ³ When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day. ⁷ When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

² and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

¹⁶ You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

¹⁷ Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

³⁴ They did not destroy the peoples as the LORD had commanded them,

¹⁶ Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

¹⁰ The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him. ¹¹ So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

⁶ When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

¹ Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to your voice in all that you have said to me, and I have set over you a king.

¹¹ So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.

¹ When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

²⁰ All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹ Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.

¹⁰ You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder

⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.

¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

² “When I choose a time, I will judge fairly.

³ Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.

⁷ Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. ⁸ From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.

²⁰ There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

⁷ There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.

⁴ The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. ⁵ The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.

¹ Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

¹⁹ The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the LORD, and then returned home to Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

¹⁸ So David ran away and escaped. And he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. ¹⁹ When Saul was told that David was at Naioth in Ramah, ²⁰ he sent messengers to capture him. But when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon them, and Saul’s messengers also began to prophesy. ²¹ When this was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they began to prophesy as well. So Saul tried again and sent messengers a third time, and even they began to prophesy. ²² Finally, Saul himself left for Ramah and came to the large cistern at Secu, where he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “At Naioth in Ramah,” he was told. ²³ So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. But the Spirit of God came upon even Saul, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. ³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.” ³² And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. ³³ Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood, ³⁴ and said, “Fill four waterpots and pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” “Do it a second time,” he said, and they did it a second time. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. ³⁵ So the water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench. ³⁶ At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.