Judges 11

³²And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

¹²And the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

¹Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.

¹⁶It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words

¹⁰Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

²No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the Lord, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.

²⁰Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

³⁰But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

³Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,

⁴So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.

²And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

⁸The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.

¹“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.

²What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?

²So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

⁶When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁹The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was in deep distress.

²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

²⁸He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,

³⁵This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.

²²The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

²³This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

¹²Then the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not reign over us? Bring those men here so we can kill them!”

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

¹⁸And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

²⁷But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!

⁵And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

⁹As for those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.

¹⁷A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁴The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

⁹Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

²⁷“Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”

¹⁸And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”

²⁸Pray to the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”

¹⁷Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the Lord your God, that He may remove this death from me.”

⁶Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.

²⁸Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

⁸Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

²⁰Moses replied, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle,

²¹and if every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord, until He has driven His enemies out before Him,

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the Lord your God sends you to tell us.

⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

²³For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the Lord.”

¹²May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

⁵Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.

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

¹Then 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.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

¹⁵So 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.

¹⁵If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

⁸do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,

²⁶So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying,

¹⁴From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.

⁹But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.

²¹Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

²²During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

²⁴And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.

²⁵Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

³⁷But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the Lord our God had forbidden.

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.

¹⁶and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.

¹¹He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

⁷I am in favor of peace; but when I speak, they want war.

¹⁸If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.

¹⁹But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

¹⁰And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.

¹³From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.

¹⁴Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon,

²⁷That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored.

²⁸For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights.

¹²Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.

¹³Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.

²⁵Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

⁴⁰But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”

¹In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

²⁶and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

⁶For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the Lord. So the Lord vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

⁴⁶For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time.

¹⁴From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,

¹⁵how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,

⁴and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.

⁵Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.

¹In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

⁹Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

²⁹just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving us.”

⁴Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey

⁵and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”

¹Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the Lord had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir.

²At this time the Lord said to me,

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite city on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.

³⁷They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the outskirts of the land of Edom.

³⁸At the Lord’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt.

²²After they had set out from Kadesh, the whole congregation of Israel came to Mount Hor.

²⁶So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying,

²⁷“Let us pass through your land; we will stay on the main road. We will not turn to the right or to the left.

²¹Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

²²“Let us pass through your land. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”

⁸The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had assigned to them:

⁹The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,

¹Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.

²But the Lord said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”

¹⁰He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings:

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan.

³²So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz.

³³And the Lord our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army.

¹⁵This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben:

¹⁶The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba,

²³But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

²⁴And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.

²²You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.

¹⁷He struck down great kings His loving devotion endures forever.

¹⁸and slaughtered mighty kings—His loving devotion endures forever.

³⁶From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them.

⁵Though all the nations may walk in the name of their gods, yet we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

²⁹Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

⁵⁵He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁷At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.

¹⁰He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.

¹²For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord. And because of these detestable things, the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you.

⁵My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the Lord.’”

⁹Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

¹⁰but I would not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you from his hand.

³No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation.

⁴For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.

²Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,

³and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites.

³⁶From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them.

²Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead,

²²After Abimelech had reigned over Israel for three years,

³¹So may all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

¹⁸Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.

²⁸In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,

²⁵Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

¹⁵May the Lord be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”

¹²May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

⁵³May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

¹⁰Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

¹¹It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”

¹⁸Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹¹But Amaziah would not listen, so Jehoash king of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah faced each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah.

¹⁰The 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.

²⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

²⁵And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

¹⁰When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

³⁴So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.

²⁰Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

¹¹And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”

⁴When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.

⁵It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

²Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

²If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.

³And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge,

¹³I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—

¹⁴the vows that my lips promised and my mouth spoke in my distress.

²⁸I now dedicate the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

¹¹And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”

²⁸Nothing that a man sets apart to the Lord from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.

²⁹No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

⁴⁴And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”

³Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.

⁴When Judah attacked, the Lord delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.

¹⁰The 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.

¹⁸Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.

¹⁷Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.

³⁶From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them.

⁴Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

²⁰Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

¹¹So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

¹⁷Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.

⁴Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.

²⁵The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.

⁷so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.

⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

³⁶Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

³⁷Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.”

³⁰While they were on the way, a report reached David: “Absalom has struck down all the sons of the king; not one of them is left!”

³¹Then the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground. And all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

⁴⁴And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”

⁴⁵But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

³⁴Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

²⁰Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

¹³Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

⁴who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

³⁰because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.

¹⁹Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the Lord has avenged him of his enemies.”

³⁰And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”

³¹Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the Lord has avenged you of all who rose up against you!”

²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

⁶Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her.

³Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.

³¹then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

¹⁸Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.

²⁸Nothing that a man sets apart to the Lord from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.

²⁹No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

²⁴Once she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. Though the boy was still young, she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.

¹¹And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”