Boaz Marries Ruth

4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gateq and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemera r he had mentioneds came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

2 Boaz took ten of the elderst of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.u 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek.v 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if youb will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you,w and I am next in line.”

“I will redeem it,” he said.

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,x thec dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”y

6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeemz it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”a

7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemptionb and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandalc and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactionsd in Israel.)e

8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.f

9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnessesg that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite,h Mahlon’s widow, as my wife,i in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown.j Today you are witnesses!k”

11 Then the elders and all the people at the gatel said, “We are witnesses.m May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah,n who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathaho and be famous in Bethlehem.p 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez,q whom Tamarr bore to Judah.”

Naomi Gains a Son

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive,s and she gave birth to a son.t 14 The womenu said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord,v who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer.w May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law,x who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons,y has given him birth.”

16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse,z the father of David.a

The Genealogy of David

4:18–22pp—1Ch 2:5–15; Mt 1:3–6; Lk 3:31–33

18 This, then, is the family line of Perezb:

Perez was the father of Hezron,c

19 Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,d

20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,e

Nahshon the father of Salmon,d

21 Salmon the father of Boaz,f

Boaz the father of Obed,

22 Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of David.

1 Samuel

Samuel was a transitional leader between the time of the judges and the reigns of the kings. He appointed Israel’s first king, Saul. After Saul’s failure to obey God, Saul tried violently to prevent God’s king-elect, David, from taking the throne.

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim,a a Zuphitea b from the hill countryc of Ephraim,d whose name was Elkanahe son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives;f one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

3 Year after yearg this man went up from his town to worshiph and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh,i where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli,j were priests of the Lord. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice,k he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.l 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portionm because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.n 6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.o 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.p 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?q”

9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house.r 10 In her deep anguishs Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow,t saying, “Lord Almightyu, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and rememberv me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life,w and no razorx will ever be used on his head.”

12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled.y I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouringz out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”a

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace,b and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.c”

18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.d” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.e

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.f Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord rememberedg her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.h She namedi him Samuel,b j saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annualk sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,l 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and presentm him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”c

23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make goodn hisd word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weanedo him.

24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,e p an ephahf of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayedq for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole lifer he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Then Hannah prayed and said:s

“My heart rejoicest in the Lord;

in the Lord my horna u is lifted high.

My mouth boastsv over my enemies,w

for I delight in your deliverance.

2 “There is no one holyx likey the Lord;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rockz like our God.

3 “Do not keep talking so proudly

or let your mouth speak such arrogance,a

for the Lord is a God who knows,b

and by him deedsc are weighed.d

4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,e

but those who stumbled are armed with strength.f

5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,

but those who were hungryg are hungry no more.

She who was barrenh has borne seven children,

but she who has had many sons pines away.

6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;i

he brings down to the grave and raises up.j

7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;k

he humbles and he exalts.l

8 He raisesm the poorn from the dusto

and lifts the needyp from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes

and has them inherit a throne of honor.q

“For the foundationsr of the earth are the Lord’s;

on them he has set the world.

9 He will guard the feets of his faithful servants,t

but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.u

“It is not by strengthv that one prevails;

10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken.w

The Most High will thunderx from heaven;

the Lord will judgey the ends of the earth.

“He will give strengthz to his king

and exalt the horna of his anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,b but the boy ministeredc before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Wicked Sons

12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regardd for the Lord. 13 Now it was the practicee of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meatf was being boiled 14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

16 If the person said to him, “Let the fatg be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for theyb were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.h

18 But Samuel was ministeringi before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.j 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annualk sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayedl for and gave toc the Lord.” Then they would go home. 21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah;m she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grewn up in the presence of the Lord.

22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everythingo his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the womenp who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one person sins against another, Godd may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who willq interceder for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grows in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.t

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

27 Now a man of Godu came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chosev your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,w and to wear an ephodx in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offeringsy presented by the Israelites. 29 Why do youe scorn my sacrifice and offeringz that I prescribed for my dwelling?a Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’

30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.b’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor,c but those who despised me will be disdained.e 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age,f 32 and you will see distressg in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.h 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendantsi will die in the prime of life.

34 “ ‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a signj to you—they will both diek on the same day.l 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,m who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointedn one always. 36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead,o “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.p” ’ ”