Zion's Coming Salvation

62For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,and her salvation as a burning torch.2The nations shall see your righteousness,and all the kings your glory,and you shall be called by a new namethat the mouth of theLordwill give.3You shall bea crown of beauty in the hand of theLord,and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.4You shall no more be termedForsaken,[a]and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,[b]but you shall be calledMy Delight Is in Her,[c]and your land Married;[d]for theLorddelights in you,and your land shall be married.5For as a young man marries a young woman,soshall your sons marry you,and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,soshall your God rejoice over you.

6On your walls, O Jerusalem,I have setwatchmen;all the day and all the nightthey shall never be silent.You who put theLordin remembrance,take no rest,7and give him no restuntil he establishes Jerusalemand makes ita praise in the earth.8TheLordhas swornby his right handand by his mighty arm:I will not again giveyour grainto be food for your enemies,and foreigners shall not drink your winefor which you have labored;9butthose who garner it shall eat itand praise theLord,andthose who gather it shall drink itin the courts of my sanctuary.[e]

10Go through, go through the gates;prepare the way for the people;build up, build up the highway;clear it of stones;lift up a signal over the peoples.11Behold, theLordhas proclaimedto the end of the earth:Say to the daughter of Zion,Behold, your salvation comes;behold, his reward is with him,and his recompense before him.12And they shall be called The Holy People,The Redeemed of theLord;and you shall be called Sought Out,A City Not Forsaken.

The Year of theLord's Favor

61The Spirit of the LordGodis upon me,because theLordhasanointed meto bring good news to the poor;[a]he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives,andthe opening of the prison to those who are bound;[b]2to proclaim the year of theLord's favor,and the day of vengeance of our God;to comfort all who mourn;3to grant to those who mourn in Zionto give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,the oil of gladness instead of mourning,the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;that they may be called oaks of righteousness,the planting of theLord,that he may be glorified.[c]4They shall build up the ancient ruins;they shall raise up the former devastations;they shall repair the ruined cities,the devastations of many generations.

5Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6but you shall be called the priests of theLord;they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;you shall eat the wealth of the nations,and in their glory you shall boast.7Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;they shall have everlasting joy.

8For I theLordlove justice;I hate robbery and wrong;[d]I will faithfully give them their recompense,and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9Their offspring shall be known among the nations,and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;all who see them shall acknowledge them,that they are an offspring theLordhas blessed.

10I will greatly rejoice in theLord;my soul shall exult in my God,for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,as a bridegroom decks himselflike a priest with a beautiful headdress,and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,so the LordGodwill causerighteousness and praiseto sprout up before all the nations.

The Future Glory of Israel

60Arise, shine, for your light has come,andthe glory of theLordhas risen upon you.2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,and thick darkness the peoples;but theLordwill arise upon you,and his glory will be seen upon you.3And nations shall come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4Lift up your eyes all around, and see;they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from afar,and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5Then you shall see andbe radiant;your heart shall thrill and exult,[a]because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6A multitude of camels shall cover you,the young camels ofMidian andEphah;all those fromSheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense,and shall bring good news, the praises of theLord.7All the flocks ofKedar shall be gathered to you;the rams ofNebaioth shall minister to you;they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,and I will beautify my beautiful house.

8Who are these that fly like a cloud,andlike doves to their windows?9Forthe coastlands shall hope for me,the ships of Tarshish first,to bring your children from afar,their silver and gold with them,for the name of theLordyour God,and for the Holy One of Israel,becausehe has made you beautiful.

10Foreigners shall build up your walls,andtheir kings shall minister to you;for in my wrath I struck you,but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11Your gates shall be open continually;day and night they shall not be shut,that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,with their kings led in procession.12For the nation and kingdomthat will not serve you shall perish;those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,the cypress, the plane, andthe pine,to beautify the place of my sanctuary,and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14The sons of those who afflicted youshall come bending low to you,and all who despised youshall bow down at your feet;they shall call you the City of theLord,the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,with no one passing through,I will make you majestic forever,a joy from age to age.16You shall suck the milk of nations;you shall nurse at the breast of kings;and you shall know thatI, theLord, am your Saviorand your Redeemer,the Mighty One of Jacob.

17Instead of bronze I will bring gold,and instead of iron I will bring silver;instead of wood, bronze,instead of stones, iron.I will make your overseers peaceand your taskmasters righteousness.18Violence shall no more be heard in your land,devastation or destruction within your borders;you shall call your walls Salvation,and your gates Praise.

19The sun shall be no moreyour light by day,nor for brightness shall the moongive you light;[b]but theLordwill be your everlasting light,and your God will be your glory.[c]20Your sun shall no more go down,nor your moon withdraw itself;for theLordwill be your everlasting light,andyour days of mourning shall be ended.21Your people shall all be righteous;they shall possess the land forever,the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,that I might be glorified.[d]22The least one shall become a clan,and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am theLord;in its time I will hasten it.

Samuel Judges Israel

3And Samuel said to all the house of Israel,If you are returning to theLordwith all your heart, thenput away the foreign gods and theAshtaroth from among you anddirect your heart to theLordand serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.4So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served theLordonly.

5Then Samuel said, Gather all Israel atMizpah, and I will pray to theLordfor you.6So they gathered atMizpahand drew water and poured it out before theLordand fasted on that day and said there,We have sinned against theLord. And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.7Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.8And the people of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out to theLordour God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.9So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to theLord. AndSamuel cried out to theLordfor Israel, and theLordanswered him.10As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel.But theLordthundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel.11And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.

12Then Samueltook a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen[a]and called its name Ebenezer;[b]for he said, Till now theLordhas helped us.13So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of theLordwas against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.14The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

15Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.16And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places.17Then he would return toRamah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel.And he built there an altar to theLord.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6The ark of theLordwas in the country of the Philistines seven months.2And the Philistines called for the priests andthe diviners and said, What shall we do with the ark of theLord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.3They said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return hima guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you whyhis hand does not turn away from you.4And they said, What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him? They answered, Five goldentumors and five golden mice,according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.5So you must make images of yourtumors and images of your mice that ravage the land,and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhapshe will lighten his hand from off youand your gods and your land.6Why should you harden your hearts asthe Egyptians andPharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them,did they not send the people away, and they departed?7Now then, take and preparea new cart and two milk cowson which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.8And take the ark of theLordand place it on the cart and put in a box at its sidethe figures of gold, which you are returning to him asa guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, toBeth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is nothis hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.

10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.11And they put the ark of theLordon the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.12And the cows went straight in the direction ofBeth-shemesh alongone highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border ofBeth-shemesh.13Now the people ofBeth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. And when they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it.14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there.A great stone was there. And they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to theLord.15And the Levites took down the ark of theLordand the box that was beside it, in which were the golden figures, and set them uponthe great stone. And the men ofBeth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices on that day to theLord.16And whenthe five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.

17These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as aguilt offering to theLord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron,18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords,both fortified cities and unwalled villages.The great stone beside which they set down the ark of theLordis a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

19And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of theLord. He struck seventy men of them,[a]and the people mourned because theLordhad struck the people with a great blow.20Then the men of Beth-shemesh said,Who is able to stand before theLord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?21So they sent messengers to the inhabitants ofKiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have returned the ark of theLord. Come down and take it up to you.

7And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of theLordand brought it to the house ofAbinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of theLord.2From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after theLord.

The Philistines and the Ark

5When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it fromEbenezer toAshdod.2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up besideDagon.3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold,Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of theLord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of theLord,and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.5This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagondo not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6The hand of theLordwas heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them withtumors, both Ashdod and its territory.7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.8So they sent and gathered together allthe lords of the Philistines and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? They answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath. So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.9But after they had brought it around,the hand of theLordwas against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so thattumors broke out on them.10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.11They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people. For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city.The hand of God was very heavy there.12The men who did not die were struck withtumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6The ark of theLordwas in the country of the Philistines seven months.2And the Philistines called for the priests andthe diviners and said, What shall we do with the ark of theLord? Tell us with what we shall send it to its place.3They said, If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return hima guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you whyhis hand does not turn away from you.4And they said, What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him? They answered, Five goldentumors and five golden mice,according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.5So you must make images of yourtumors and images of your mice that ravage the land,and give glory to the God of Israel. Perhapshe will lighten his hand from off youand your gods and your land.6Why should you harden your hearts asthe Egyptians andPharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them,did they not send the people away, and they departed?7Now then, take and preparea new cart and two milk cowson which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them.8And take the ark of theLordand place it on the cart and put in a box at its sidethe figures of gold, which you are returning to him asa guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way9and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, toBeth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is nothis hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.

10The men did so, and took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home.11And they put the ark of theLordon the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.12And the cows went straight in the direction ofBeth-shemesh alongone highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border ofBeth-shemesh.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped atEbenezer, and the Philistines encamped atAphek.2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.3And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has theLorddefeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of theLordherefrom Shiloh, that it[a]may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.4So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of theLordof hosts,who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5As soon as the ark of the covenant of theLordcame into the camp, all Israelgave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.6And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? And when they learned that the ark of theLordhad come to the camp,7the Philistines were afraid, for they said, A god has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before.8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrewsas they have been to you; be men and fight.

10So the Philistines fought,and Israel was defeated,and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.11And the ark of God was captured,and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

12A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day,with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head.13When he arrived,Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, What is this uproar? Then the man hurried and came and told Eli.15Now Eli was ninety-eight years oldand his eyes were set so that he could not see.16And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today. And he said,How did it go, my son?17He who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.18As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backwardfrom his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

19Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.20And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her,Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer or pay attention.21And she named the childIchabod, saying,The glory has departed[b]from Israel! becausethe ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.22And she said, The glory has departed from Israel,for the ark of God has been captured.

TheLordCalls Samuel

3Now the boy Samuel was ministering to theLordin the presence of Eli.And the word of theLordwas rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

2At that time Eli,whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying downin the temple of theLord, where the ark of God was.

4Then theLordcalled Samuel, and he said, Here I am!5and ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call; lie down again. So he went and lay down.

6And theLordcalled again, Samuel! and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call, my son; lie down again.7Now Samuel did not yet know theLord, and the word of theLordhad not yet been revealed to him.

8And theLordcalled Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that theLordwas calling the boy.9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, Speak,Lord, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10And theLordcame and stood, calling as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears.11Then theLordsaid to Samuel, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israelat which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.12On that day I will fulfill against Eliall that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.13And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew,because his sons were blaspheming God,[a]and he did not restrain them.14Therefore I swear to the house of Elithat the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.

15Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of theLord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.16But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am.17And Eli said, What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me.May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said,It is theLord. Let him do what seems good to him.

19And Samuel grew, and theLordwas with himand let none of his words fall to the ground.20And all Israelfrom Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of theLord.21And theLordappeared again at Shiloh, for theLordrevealed himself to Samuelat Shilohby the word of theLord.

Eli's Worthless Sons

12Now the sons of Eli wereworthless men.They did not know theLord.13The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,14and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.15Moreover,before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.16And if the man said to him, Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish, he would say, No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.17Thus the sin of the young men was very greatin the sight of theLord,for the men treated the offering of theLordwith contempt.

18Samuel was ministering before theLord, a boyclothed with a linen ephod.19And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each yearwhen she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.20Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, May theLordgive you children by this womanfor the petition she asked of theLord. So then they would return to their home.

21Indeed theLordvisited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of theLord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

22Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women whowere serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.23And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.24No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of theLordspreading abroad.25If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against theLord, who can intercede for him? But they would not listen to the voice of their father,for it was the will of theLordto put them to death.

26Now the boy Samuelcontinued to grow both in stature and in favor with theLordand also with man.

TheLordRejects Eli's Household

27And there camea man of God to Eli and said to him, Thus says theLord,Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh?28Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,to wear an ephod before me?I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel.29Why then do youscorn[a]my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?30Therefore theLord, the God of Israel, declares:I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,but now theLorddeclares: Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.31Behold,the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.32Thenin distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel,and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.33The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his[b]eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants[c]of your house shall die by the sword of men.[d]34And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall dieon the same day.35And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind.And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out beforemy anointed forever.36And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.