1 Samuel 3 - 4 - Legacy Standard Bible

1 Samuel 3 - 4

Yahweh Calls Samuel

Now the young boy Samuel was ministering to Yahweh before Eli. And word from Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were infrequent. 2 And it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to fade, and he could not see well), 3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God was, 4 that Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Then Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call, my son; go back, lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him. 8 So Yahweh called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that Yahweh was calling the young boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Then Yahweh came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your slave is listening.” 11 And Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day I will establish against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew because his sons have been bringing a curse on themselves, but he did not rebuke them. 14 Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” 15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And he said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.” 19 Thus Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 So all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh. 21 And Yahweh appeared again at Shiloh, because Yahweh revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.

The Philistines Take the Ark

Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped in Aphek. 2 And the Philistines arranged themselves to meet Israel. Then the battle spread, and Israel was defeated before the Philistines who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield. 3 Then the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And it happened that as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth was thrown into confusion. 6 Then the Philistines heard the noise of the shout and said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, become men and fight.” 10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his robes torn and dust on his head. 13 And he came, and behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 Then Eli heard the noise of the outcry, and he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” So the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?” 17 Then the one who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” 18 And it happened that when he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for the man was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years. 19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child and about to give birth. And she heard the report that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, so she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

Hebrews 3

Jesus Greater than Moses

Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession—Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. 3 For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, in so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope. 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today if you hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,

As in the day of trial in the wilderness,

Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,

And saw My works for forty years.

Therefore I was angry with this generation,

And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,

And they did not know My ways’;

As I swore in My wrath,

‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

Warning Against Unbelief

12 See to it brothers, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said,

“Today if you hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.”

16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

Proverbs 11

A deceptive balance is an abomination to Yahweh,

But a just weight is His delight.

When arrogance comes, then comes disgrace,

But with the meek is wisdom.

The integrity of the upright will lead them,

But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.

Wealth will not profit in the day of wrath,

But righteousness will deliver from death.

The righteousness of the blameless will make his way straight,

But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,

But the treacherous will be captured by their own desire.

When a wicked man dies, his hope will perish,

And the expectation of vigorous men perishes.

The righteous is rescued from distress,

But the wicked takes his place.

With his mouth the godless man corrupts his neighbor,

But through knowledge the righteous will be rescued.

When it goes well with the righteous, the city exults,

And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

By the blessing of the upright a city is raised up,

But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

He who despises his neighbor lacks a heart of wisdom,

But a man of discernment keeps silent.

He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

But he who is faithful in spirit conceals a matter.

Where there is no guidance the people fall,

But in abundance of counselors there is salvation.

If one becomes a guarantor for a stranger, he will surely suffer,

But he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.

A gracious woman holds fast to glory,

But ruthless men hold fast to riches.

The man of lovingkindness deals bountifully with his soul,

But the cruel man brings trouble on his flesh.

The wicked earns deceptive wages,

But he who sows righteousness gets a true reward.

He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life,

And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.

Those with a crooked heart are an abomination to Yahweh,

But those of a blameless way are His delight.

Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,

But the seed of the righteous will escape.

As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout

So is a beautiful woman who turns away from discretion.

The desire of the righteous is only good,

But the hope of the wicked is wrath.

There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,

And there is one who holds back what is rightly due, and yet results only in want.

The soul that blesses will be enriched,

And he who waters will himself be watered.

He who withholds grain, the people will curse him,

But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

He who earnestly seeks good seeks favor,

But he who searches for evil, evil will come to him.

He who trusts in his riches will fall,

But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

He who troubles his own house will inherit wind,

And the ignorant fool will be a slave to the wise of heart.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

And he who is wise wins souls.

If the righteous will be repaid in the earth,

How much more the wicked and the sinner!