WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

1 Samuel 13 (EHV)

1 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years. [1]

2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul at Mikmash and in the hill country near Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah [2] of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.

3 Jonathan struck the Philistine garrison [3] that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines and that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. The people were summoned to meet Saul at Gilgal.

5 The Philistines assembled their forces to fight against Israel with three thousand [4] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They came up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because their army was under pressure, the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, [5] among the rocks, in dugouts, [6] and in cisterns. 7 Some of the Hebrews had gone across the Jordan River to the territory of Gad and Gilead, but Saul remained in Gilgal, and all the people who remained with him were shaking with fear. 8 He waited there seven days, the time specified by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were starting to scatter from Saul. 9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.” He then presented the burnt offering.

10 No sooner had he finished presenting the burnt offering than Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and greet him with a blessing. 11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?”

Saul said, “I saw that the people were scattering from me, that you did not come within the set number of days, and that the Philistines had assembled their forces at Mikmash. 12 So I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”

13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave to you. The Lord would have established your kingship over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingship will not continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not obeyed the command the Lord gave you.”

15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal. ⎣The rest of the people followed Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal⎦ [7] to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him. There were about six hundred men. 16 Saul, and his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba [8] of Benjamin, but the Philistines camped at Mikmash.

17 Raiding parties set out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One group headed down the road toward Ophrah, toward the land of Shual. 18 Another group headed down the road to Beth Horon, and the third group headed toward the position on the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim, toward the wilderness.

19 At that time no blacksmith could be found throughout the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines said, “If we allow this, the Hebrews will make swords or spears for themselves.” 20 So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to get their plowshares, mattocks, [9] axes, and sickles [10] sharpened. 21 The price was two thirds of a shekel [11] to sharpen plowshares and mattocks and one third of a shekel for pitchforks and axes and to repair ox goads.

22 The result was that when the day of battle came, no swords or spears were found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

23 A garrison of the Philistines took up a position by the pass at Mikmash.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 12 (EHV)

1 Samuel said to all Israel, “You see that I have listened to your voice and to everything that you said to me. I have appointed a king over you. 2 Now, there he is. The king is walking before you. I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth till this very day.

3 “Here I am. Testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I defrauded anyone? Have I oppressed anyone? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to turn a blind eye to anything? If so, I will restore it for you.”

4 They replied, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

5 So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today that you have not found anything in my hand.”

They said, “He is witness.”

6 So this is what Samuel said to the people:

It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, stand here, so that I may present the case against you before the Lord on the basis of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did for you and for your fathers.

8 When Jacob had gone down into Egypt, [1] your fathers cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

9 But they forgot the Lord their God, so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 They cried to the Lord and said, “We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord. We have served the Baals and the Ashtartes, but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.” 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, [2] Bedan, [3] Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.

12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, even though the Lord your God was your king, you said to me, “No, we want a king to reign over us.”

13 Now look, here is the king you have chosen, the king you asked for. You see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the Lord and serve him and listen to his voice and do not rebel against the mouth of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will be following the Lord your God. 15 But if you do not listen to the Lord’s voice but rebel against the mouth of the Lord, then the Lord’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

16 Now then, take your positions here, and see this great thing that the Lord is about to do right in front of your eyes. 17 Isn’t today the time of wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain, [4] so that you may know and see that your wickedness is great, that wickedness which you have done in the Lord’s sight by asking for a king.

18 Then Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people were very afraid of the Lord and of Samuel.

19 So all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we do not die, for we have added to all our sins also this evil, that we asked for a king for ourselves.”

20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil. Nevertheless, do not turn away from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away to pursue empty things that cannot help you or save you, because they are empty. 22 For the sake of his great name, the Lord will not forsake his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own people for himself. 23 As for me, it is unthinkable [5] that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. Instead I will instruct you in the way that is good and right. 24 Above all, fear the Lord, and serve him in truth, with all your heart, considering the great things he has done for you. 25 But if you keep doing evil, you will be swept away, both you and your king.”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 10:17 – 11:15 (EHV)

17 Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the people of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19 But today you have rejected your God, the one who saves you out of all your disasters and your distress, and you have said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now line up in the presence of the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”

20 So Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. [1] 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was chosen. [2] Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they asked the Lord again, “Has the man arrived here yet?”

The Lord answered, “He has. Look, he is is hiding among the baggage.”

23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the people. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”

All the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

25 Samuel told the people the regulations concerning the kingship, and he wrote them on a scroll, which was placed before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each man to his own house. 26 Saul went home to Gibeah, and the army went with him, those men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But certain worthless good-for-nothings said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and brought him no gift, but Saul said nothing.

1 Nahash [3] the Ammonite went and set up camp against Jabesh Gilead. So all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you in order to dishonor all Israel.”

3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days, so that we can send messengers throughout all the borders of Israel. Then, if there is no one to rescue us, we will come out to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, all the people cried out and wept loudly.

5 Just then Saul came in from the field, following the oxen. Saul asked, “What has upset the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about the words of the men of Jabesh.

6 When Saul heard those words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him with power, and his anger burned intensely. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them to pieces and sent the pieces throughout all the borders of Israel in the hands of messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not turn out to follow Saul and Samuel.” The dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. 8 Saul counted them in Bezek. The men of Israel totaled three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be rescued.’”

The messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, and they were very happy. 10 So the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do with us whatever seems good to you.”

11 On the next day, Saul split the army into three divisions. They broke into the middle of the Ammonite camp during the last watch before morning and struck them down until the heat of the day. Those who survived were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who was it who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Hand those men over to us, so we can put them to death!”

13 But Saul said, “No one shall be put to death today, because today the Lord has rescued Israel.”

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come! Let’s go to Gilgal and confirm the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and they made Saul king in the presence of the Lord there at Gilgal. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the men of Israel held a great celebration there.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 9:1 – 10:16 (EHV)

1 From the tribe of Benjamin there was a man whose name was Kish. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a strong warrior and influential person. [1] 2 He had a son named Saul, who was an impressive young man. Among the men of Israel there was not a better man than Saul. He was a head taller than all the people.

3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish were lost, so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of our young men with you, and go look for the donkeys.” 4 So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. Then they traveled through the land of Sha’alim [2] but found nothing. Then he traveled through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find the donkeys.

5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the young man who was with him, “Come on. Let’s go back. If we don’t, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”

6 But the young man said to him, “Wait! In this city there is a man of God, who is highly regarded. Everything he says actually comes true. So let’s go there. Maybe he can tell us which way we should go.”

7 Then Saul said to his young man, “If we go, what should we bring for the man? Look, the bread in our bags is used up, and we do not have a gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?”

8 The young man responded to Saul, “Look here. I have a quarter of a shekel [3] of silver in my hand. I will give that to the man of God to tell us which way we should go.”

9 (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because the man who is now called a prophet used to be called a seer.)

10 So Saul said to his servant, “Good advice. Come on! Let’s go!” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the ascent to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, “Is the seer here?”

12 They answered them, “Yes, he is. He is there just ahead of you. Hurry! He has just come into the city today, because the people are presenting a sacrifice today at the high place. 13 As soon as you come into the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, since the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, those who have been invited will eat. So go up, right now, for this is the time for you to find him.”

14 So they went up to the city. Just as they were coming into the city, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way to the high place.

15 Now the Lord had revealed this to Samuel the day before Saul came. He had told him, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him to be leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I am looking out for my people, because their cry for help has come to me.”

17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “There, that is the man I was talking about! He will exercise authority over my people.”

18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up to the high place ahead of me, because you and your men are to eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and I will tell you everything that is on your heart. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be concerned about them, because they have been found. For who is it that all Israel desires? Isn’t it you and your father’s entire house?”

21 Saul answered, “But I am just a Benjaminite from the smallest of the tribes of Israel. And my family is the least important of all the families in the tribe of Benjamin. So why do you speak to me like this?”

22 Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the dining hall. He seated them at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty men.

23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, the one I told you to set aside.” 24 So the cook picked up the thigh and all the meat that was on it and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Look here, this has been reserved for you! Set it before you and eat, because ever since I said, ‘I have invited the people,’ it has been kept for you for the appointed time.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 When they had come down from the high place and gone into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the flat roof of the house. 26 They got up early, about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and the two of them, Saul and Samuel, went outside together. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the young man to go on ahead of us.” So the young man went on ahead. Then Samuel said, “You stay here, so that I can tell you God’s message.”

1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and told him this:

Hasn’t the Lord anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance? [4] 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you, “The donkeys that you have been looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is worried about the two of you. He is asking, ‘What should I do about my son?’”

3 As you go on farther from there, you will come to the oak tree at Tabor. Three men going up to God’s house at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another will be carrying three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a container of wine. 4 They will greet you, ask how you are doing, and give you two loaves of bread, which you are to accept from their hand.

5 After that, you will come to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine garrison. When you come to the city, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place. Musicians with a harp, a hand drum, a flute, and a lyre will be going in front of them, and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you with power, and you will prophesy with them, and you will become a changed man. 7 When you have received these signs, do whatever is appropriate for the occasion, [5] for God is with you.

8 Go down to Gilgal ahead of me. Watch for me. I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice fellowship offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you are to do.

9 As Saul was turning away from Samuel to leave, God gave him a changed heart, and all those signs were fulfilled that day.

10 When they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets met Saul, and the Spirit of God came upon him with power, and he prophesied among them. 11 When everyone who had known him previously saw that Saul was prophesying along with the prophets, the people were surprised and said to each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is even Saul among the prophets?”

12 Someone from that area responded, “Who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “Is even Saul among the prophets?”

13 When Saul had finished prophesying, he arrived at the high place.

14 Saul’s uncle asked Saul and his servant, “Where did you go?”

Saul said, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized that we were not succeeding, we went to Samuel.”

15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 Saul said to his uncle, “He made it clear to us that the donkeys had been found.”

But Saul did not tell his uncle anything about the matter of the kingship, about which Samuel had also spoken.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 7:3 – 8:22 (EHV)

3 Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, put away the foreign gods and the Ashtartes [1] from among you. Direct your hearts to the Lord and serve him only. Then he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

4 So the people of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtartes and served the Lord only. 5 Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

6 So Israel gathered together at Mizpah. They drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and they said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.”

Samuel acted as judge for the people of Israel at Mizpah.

7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered together at Mizpah, the serens of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the people of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines, 8 and the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out for us to the Lord our God, so that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing 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 Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to engage in battle with Israel, but on that day the Lord thundered against the Philistines with a loud roar and threw them into a panic, so they were struck down before Israel. 11 The men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down until they arrived at a point below Beth Kar.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named that place Ebenezer, [2] saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.” [3] 13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they no longer came into the territory of Israel. The Lord’s hand was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel. From Ekron all the way to Gath, Israel recovered the territory of those cities from the control of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 Each year he would travel in a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places. 17 He then would return to Ramah, where his home was, and he would also judge Israel there. He also built an altar to the Lord there.

1 When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They served as judges in Beersheba. 3 His sons did not follow in his footsteps. Instead, they turned aside to seek dishonest gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons are not walking in your ways. Now appoint a king for us so that he can judge [4] us like all the other nations.” 6 But in Samuel’s eyes, their request to receive a king to judge them looked evil, so Samuel prayed to the Lord.

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding everything they have said to you, because it is not you whom they have rejected. I am the one they have rejected as king over them. 8 This is just like all the actions they have taken from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, right up to this present day. They have forsaken me and served other gods, and now they are also acting the same way toward you. 9 So now listen to them. Nevertheless, warn them strongly and show them what the king who reigns over them will do.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people, who had asked him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who reigns over you will do. He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and with his teams of horses, [5] and they will have to run ahead of his chariots. 12 He will make them serve as commanders of a thousand soldiers and as commanders of fifty. He will assign some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest. He will assign some to make his weapons and the trappings [6] for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to serve as perfume makers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even the best of them, and give them to his officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards, and he will give it to the members of his court and to his officials. 16 He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, [7] and your donkeys, and he will use them to do his work. 17 He will take a tenth from your flocks, and you will become his servants. 18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel. Instead they said, “No, we want to have a king over us, 20 so that we also can be like all the nations, and our king can judge us and lead us out to fight our battles.”

21 Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them, and appoint a king for them.”

So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go home to your own city.”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 5:1 – 7:2 (EHV)

1 After the Philistines had captured God’s ark, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 The Philistines took God’s ark and brought it into the house of Dagon [1] and set it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, there was Dagon—fallen facedown to the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. 4 When they got up early the following morning, it had happened again! There was Dagon, fallen facedown in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both of his hands were broken off and were lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s torso [2] was intact. 5 That is why the priests of Dagon and any people who enter Dagon’s temple in Ashdod do not step on the threshold of Dagon to this day.

6 Then the Lord’s hand was heavy against the people of Ashdod. He devastated them and struck them with tumors. [3] He struck Ashdod and its surrounding territory. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw what was taking place, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on our god Dagon.” 8 They called together a meeting of all the serens [4] of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”

They answered, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried over to Gath.” So they carried the Ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But after they had carried it there, the Lord’s hand was against that city, and there was great panic. He struck the men of the city, both young and old, [5] so that tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent God’s ark to Ekron.

When God’s ark came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our people.” 11 They called a meeting of all the serens of the Philistines, and they said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” Indeed, the threat of death caused panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 12 The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the outcry from the city went up to heaven.

1 The Lord’s ark remained in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners [6] and asked, “What should we do with the Lord’s ark? Advise us how we should send it back to its place.”

3 They said, “If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but, by all means, send it to him with a restitution offering. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been removed from you.” [7]

4 Then they said, “What restitution offering should we send to him?”

They said, “There are five serens of the Philistines, so five gold tumors and five gold mice should be sent, because the same plague was on all of you and on your serens. 5 Therefore you should make replicas of your tumors and figurines of the mice that are ruining your land, and you will give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will lighten his hand on you, on your gods, and on your land. 6 Why harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After the Lord had dealt ruthlessly with them, didn’t the Egyptians let the people go, and they departed?

7 “So make a new cart and take two cows that are nursing their calves, cows that have never had a yoke on them. Hitch the cows to the cart, and take their calves away from them and send them home. 8 Then take the Ark of the Lord and place it on the cart. Place the gold objects, which you are sending to him as a restitution offering, into a box beside the ark. Then send it on its way, and let it go on its own. 9 Watch it. If it goes up on the road toward the border of Israel, to Beth Shemesh, then it is their god who has inflicted this disaster on us. But if not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us. It was a coincidence that this happened to us.”

10 So that is what the men did. They took two cows that were nursing calves, hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11 Then they put the Ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the box containing the gold mice and the replicas of their tumors. 12 The cows headed straight up the road toward Beth Shemesh. They went straight along the highway without stopping, lowing as they went. They did not turn aside to the right or to the left. The serens of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. They looked up and saw the Ark, and they rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh and stopped there, near the large stone that was there. Then the people split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites took the Lord’s ark and the box with it, which contained the gold objects, and they put them on the large stone. On that same day, the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord.

16 When the five serens of the Philistines had seen this, they returned to Ekron that same day.

17 This is the number of gold tumors that the Philistines sent back as a restitution offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron. 18 The gold mice also corresponded to the number of all the cities of the Philistines that belonged to the five serens, the fortified cities along with the rural villages. The objects were placed on the large stone [8] on which they had placed the Ark of the Lord. That stone remains in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh to this day. 19 The Lord struck some of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men. [9] Then the people mourned, because the Lord had struck the people with such a heavy blow. 20 The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy God, the Lord? To whom can we send it [10] to get it away from here?”

21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim. They said, “The Philistines have sent back the Ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up for yourselves.”

1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came, took the Ark of the Lord, and brought it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. Then they consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the Ark of the Lord. 2 So from that day the ark stayed in Kiriath Jearim for a long time—twenty years. And the entire house of Israel deeply longed for the return of the Lord.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 4:1b-22 (EHV)

1 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle. The Israelites camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines formed battle lines to confront the Israelites. As the battle developed, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of the Israelites lined up on the battlefield.

3 When the people had come back into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated today before the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that it [2] may come into our midst and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent word to Shiloh, and from there they brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Armies, who sits above the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 5 When the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a shout so loud that the earth shook. [3]

6 When the Philistines heard the noise of all the shouting, they asked, “Why is there this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?” They learned that the Ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7 The Philistines were afraid, so they said, “A god has come into the camp.” They said, “We’re doomed! Nothing like this has happened before. 8 We are doomed! Who can deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness. 9 Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, so that you will not become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Act like men and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. A very great slaughter took place, in which thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 God’s ark was taken, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, died.

12 A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and came to Shiloh that same day. His clothing was torn, and his face was dirty. 13 When he arrived, Eli was there, sitting on his chair beside the road. He was watching, because his heart was trembling with fear for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told them what had happened, the whole city was in an uproar. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the uproar, he said, “What does this noisy commotion mean?”

The man came quickly and told Eli what had happened. 15 Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes stared straight ahead [4] because he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battlefield. Today I fled from the battlefield.”

Eli said, “What was the outcome, my son?”

17 The man who brought the news answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people. In addition, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and God’s ark has been captured.”

18 When the man mentioned God’s ark, Eli fell backwards off his seat, which was by the city gate. He broke his neck, and he died, because he was an old man, and he was overweight. He had judged Israel [5] for forty years.

19 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, ready to give birth. When she heard the news that God’s ark had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she crouched down and gave birth, because labor pains had come upon her. 20 As her death approached, the women who stood by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay attention. 21 She named the boy Ichabod and said, “The glory has departed from Israel.” [6] Because God’s ark had been taken, and because of the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, 22 she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because God’s ark has been taken.”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 3:1 – 4:1a (EHV)

1 The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days. Prophetic vision was not common.

2 Now it happened that Eli’s eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see. Once when Eli was lying down in his place 3 and God’s lamp had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s temple, where God’s ark was. 4 The Lord called Samuel, and Samuel said, “I am here.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”

Eli said, “I did not call. Lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 Then the Lord called once more, “Samuel!”

So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”

He answered, “I did not call, my son. Lie down again.”

7 Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord’s presence, [1] that is, the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 The Lord called Samuel for the third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the young man. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”

So Samuel went and once again lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there and called as he had the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look, I am going to do something in Israel that will make both ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 On that day I am going to carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken against his house, from beginning to end. 13 I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever because of their guilty behavior, which he knew about. This will happen because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he did not restrain them. 14 I have sworn to the house of Eli that the guilt of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for with sacrifice or offering.”

15 So Samuel lay there until morning. [2] Then he opened the doors to the Lord’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 But Eli called to Samuel, “Samuel, my son!”

He said, “I am here.”

17 Eli said, “What is the message that he has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God punish you severely and double it, [3] if you hide from me one word of all of the things that he spoke to you.”

18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.

Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do whatever is good in his eyes.”

19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. The Lord let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, because at Shiloh the Lord revealed himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord. ⎣So Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord for all Israel, from one end of the land to the other end.⎦ [4]

1 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 2:12-36 (EHV)

12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked scoundrels. They did not know the Lord.

13 The practice of the priests with the people was that whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, while the meat was still boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 He would thrust it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or cooking pot. The priest would then take for himself everything that the fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 Before the people had even burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and tell the person who was making the sacrifice, “Give me meat for the priest to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw meat.”

16 If the man said to him, “Let us burn the fat first. Then take as much as you want,” the servant would say, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you do not, I will take it by force.” 17 So the sin of the young men was very serious in the sight of the Lord, because the men were treating the Lord’s offerings with contempt.

18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord while he was still a young boy, dressed in a special vest [1] made of linen. 19 His mother would make a little robe for him and bring it to him whenever she came up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you offspring [2] from this woman in place of the son she asked for, whom she loaned to the Lord.” Then they would go back to their home. 21 The Lord came to Hannah with his blessing, [3] and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything that his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I keep hearing from all these people about your evil actions. 24 No, my sons, it is not a good report that I hear! The people are spreading this report everywhere. [4] 25 If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will mediate for him?” But they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to put them to death. [5]

26 The young man Samuel continued to grow, and he increased in favor with both the Lord and with men.

27 A man of God came to Eli and told him this:

This is what the Lord says. Didn’t I clearly reveal myself to the house of your father [6] when they were in Egypt, subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose him to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the special vest before me. I also gave the house of your father all the food offerings [7] from the people of Israel. 29 Why do you all kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded for my dwelling place? [8] Why do you, Eli, honor your sons more than me? Why do you fatten yourselves with the best of all the offerings from my people Israel?

30 Therefore this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel: I stated solemnly that your house [9] and the house of your father would walk before me forever. But now the Lord declares, “This will never be! Yes, I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed.” 31 Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will never be an old man in your house. 32 You will see the distress of the dwelling place. Even when things are good for Israel, there shall never be an old man in your house. 33 Any man of yours whom I do not cut off from my altar will only wear out your eyes with tears and your heart with grief, and all the future generations of your house will die before they reach old age. [10]

34 This will be the sign for you that will come on your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: In one day they will both die. 35 I will raise up a faithful priest for myself, one who will act according to what is in my heart and in my soul. I will build an enduring house for him, and he will walk before my anointed one forever. 36 Then anyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to the faithful priest to receive a piece of silver and a loaf of bread. The one who is left will say, “Please appoint me to one of the priests’ offices, so that I can eat a scrap of bread.”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 2:1-11 (EHV)

1 Hannah prayed and said:

My heart rejoices in the Lord!

3 Do not talk so high and mighty.

4 The bows of powerful warriors are broken.

6 The Lord puts to death, and he makes alive.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the young boy served the Lord as an attendant to Eli the priest.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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