1 Samuel 10 - 12, Hebrews 6, Proverbs 14

Saul Among the Prophets

10Then ^aSamuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, ^bkissed him, and said, “Has not ^cYahweh anointed you a ruler over ^dHis inheritance? ²“When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to ^aRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^bThe donkeys which you went to search for have been found. Now behold, your father has ¹ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ ³“Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ¹^,^aoak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^bto God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; ⁴and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread. And you will take them from their hand. ⁵“Afterward you will come to ¹^,^athe hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^ba group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and ^cthey will be prophesying. ⁶“Then ^athe Spirit of Yahweh will ¹come upon you mightily, and ^byou shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. ⁷“Now it will be when these signs come to you, ^ado for yourself whatever your hand finds to do, for ^bGod is with you. ⁸“And ^ayou shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^bsacrifice peace offerings. ^cYou shall wait seven days until I come to you and make you know what you should do.”

⁹Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God ^achanged ¹his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ¹⁰^aAnd they came to ¹the hill there, and behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God ²came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. ¹¹Now it happened that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, so the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? ^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” ¹²And a man there answered and said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³Then he finished prophesying and came to the high place.

¹⁴Now ^aSaul’s uncle said to him and his young man, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^bTo look for the donkeys. And we saw that they were not anywhere, so we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶So Saul said to his uncle, “^aHe told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had said.

Saul the King

¹⁷Then Samuel called the ^apeople together to Yahweh at Mizpah; ¹⁸and he said to the sons of Israel, “^aThus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹“But you ^ahave today rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have ¹said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ So now, ^btake your stand before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”

²⁰Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but they looked for him, and he could not be found. ²²Therefore ^athey inquired further of Yahweh, “Has the man come here yet?” So Yahweh said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.” ²³So they ran and took him from there, and he stood among the people. And ^ahe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^awhom Yahweh has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “¹^,^bLong live the king!”

²⁵Then Samuel spoke with the people about ^athe legal judgments of the kingdom and wrote them in the book and ^bplaced it before Yahweh. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. ²⁶Saul also went ^ato his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷But certain ¹^,^avile men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and ^bdid not bring him any present. But he kept silent.

Saul Strikes Down the Ammonites

11And ^aNahash the Ammonite came up and ¹besieged ^bJabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Cut ^ca covenant with us, and we will serve you.” ²But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will cut it with you on this condition, ^athat I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it ^ba reproach on all Israel.” ³^aThen the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” ⁴Then the messengers came ^ato Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people ^blifted up their voices and wept.

⁵Now behold, Saul was coming from the field ^abehind the oxen, and ¹he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶Then ^athe Spirit of God ¹came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and ²he burned with anger exceedingly. ⁷Then he took a pair of oxen and ^acut them in pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “^bWhoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of Yahweh fell on the people, and they came out ^cas one man. ⁸And he ¹numbered them in ^aBezek; and the ^bsons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. ⁹And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have salvation.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. ¹⁰Then the men of Jabesh said, “^aTomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good in your eyes.” ¹¹Then the next morning Saul put the people ^ain three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹²Then the people said to Samuel, “^aWho is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ¹^,^bBring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³But Saul said, “^aNot a man shall be put to death this day, for today ^bYahweh has accomplished salvation in Israel.”

¹⁴Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to ^aGilgal and ^brenew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^abefore Yahweh in Gilgal. There they also ^boffered sacrifices of peace offerings before Yahweh; and there Saul and all the men of Israel were exceedingly glad.

Samuel Speaks to Israel

12Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I ^bhave ¹appointed a king over you. ²“So now, ^ahere is the king walking before you, but ^bI am old and gray, and behold, ^cmy sons are with you. And ^dI have walked before you from my youth even to this day. ³“Here I am; bear witness against me before Yahweh and ^aHis anointed. ^bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^cfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” ⁴And they said, “You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” ⁵So he said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^ayou have found nothing ^bin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who ¹^,^aappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷“So now, take your stand, ^athat I may judge you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh which He did for you and your fathers. ⁸“^aWhen Jacob went into Egypt and ^byour fathers cried out to Yahweh, then ^cYahweh sent Moses and Aaron ¹^,^dwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹“But ^athey forgot Yahweh their God, so ^bHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^cinto the hand of the Philistines and ^dinto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰“^aAnd they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served ^bthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^cnow deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹“Then Yahweh sent ^aJerubbaal and ¹^,^bBedan and ^cJephthah and ^dSamuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. ¹²“But you saw ^athat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said to me, ‘^bNo, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^calthough Yahweh your God was your king. ¹³“So now, ^abehold, the king whom you have chosen, ^bwhom you have asked for, and behold, Yahweh has set a king over you. ¹⁴“^aIf you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ¹command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God. ¹⁵“^aBut if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the ¹command of Yahweh, then ^bthe hand of Yahweh will be against you, ^cas it was against your fathers. ¹⁶“Even now, ^atake your stand and see this great thing which Yahweh will do before your eyes. ¹⁷“^aIs it not the wheat harvest today? ^bI will call to Yahweh, that He may send ¹thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^cyour wickedness is great which you have done in the eyes of Yahweh by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent ¹thunder and rain that day; and ^aall the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.

¹⁹Then all the people said to Samuel, “^aPray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins ^bthis evil by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^ado not turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart. ²¹“And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^ameaningless things which cannot profit and cannot deliver, because they are meaningless. ²²“For ^aYahweh will not abandon His people ^bon account of His great name, because Yahweh ^chas been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³“Moreover, as for me, ^afar be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you; but ^bI will instruct you in the good and upright way. ²⁴“^aOnly ¹fear Yahweh and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for see ^bwhat great things He has done for you. ²⁵“^aBut if you still do wickedly, ^bboth you and your king ^cwill be swept away.”

Warning Against Falling Away

6Therefore ^aleaving ^bthe ¹elementary teaching about the ²Christ, let us press on to ³^,^cmaturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from ^ddead works and of faith toward God, ²of ^ateaching about washings and ^blaying on of hands, and the ^cresurrection of the dead and ^deternal judgment. ³And this we will do, ^aif God permits. ⁴For in the case of those once having been ^aenlightened and having tasted of ^bthe heavenly gift and having become ^cpartakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵and having ^atasted the good ^bword of God and the powers of ^cthe age to come, ⁶and having fallen away, it is ^aimpossible to renew them again to repentance, ¹^,^bsince they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. ⁷For ground that drinks the rain which often ¹falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those ^afor whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is unfit and ^aclose ¹to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

The Inheritance of the Promises

⁹But we are convinced about you, ^abeloved, of things that are better and that belong to salvation, though we are speaking in this way. ¹⁰For ^aGod is not unrighteous so as to forget ^byour work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ^cministered and continuing to minister to the ¹saints. ¹¹And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence ¹so as to realize the ^afull assurance of ^bhope until the end, ¹²so that you may not become dull, but ^aimitators of those who through ^bfaith and patience ^cinherit the promises.

¹³For ^awhen God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He ^bswore by Himself, ¹⁴saying, “^aI will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply you.” ¹⁵And so, ^ahaving patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ¹⁶^aFor men swear by ¹one greater than themselves, and with them ^ban oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. ¹⁷¹In the same way God, desiring even more to show to ^athe heirs of the promise ^bthe unchangeableness of His purpose, guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸so that by two unchangeable things in which ^ait is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of ^bthe hope set before us. ¹⁹¹This ^ahope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and confirmed and one which ^benters ²within the veil, ²⁰^awhere a forerunner has entered for us—Jesus, having become a ^bhigh priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

14The ¹^,^awise woman builds her house,But the woman of folly tears it down with her own hands.²He who ^awalks in his uprightness fears Yahweh,But he who is ^bdevious in his ways despises Him.³In the mouth of the ignorant fool is a rod of lofty pride,But ^athe lips of the wise will keep them.⁴Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.⁵A ^afaithful witness will not lie,But a ^bfalse witness ^cbreathes out lies.⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.⁷Leave the ^apresence of a fool,As you have not known lips of knowledge there.⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,But ^athe folly of fools is deceit.⁹Ignorant fools scoff at guilt,But ^aamong the upright there is favor.¹⁰The heart knows its own ^abitterness,And a stranger does not share its gladness.¹¹The ^ahouse of the wicked will be destroyed,But the tent of the upright will flourish.¹²There ^ais a way which seems right to a man,But its ^bend is the way of death.¹³Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,And the ^aend of joy may be grief.¹⁴The one who turns back in his heart will be satisfied with his ^aways,But a good man will ^bbe satisfied ¹with his.¹⁵The simple believes everything,But the prudent one discerns his steps.¹⁶A wise man fears and ^aturns away from evil,But a fool gets angry and feels secure.¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts in folly,And a man of evil schemes is hated.¹⁸The simple inherit folly,But the prudent are ¹crowned with knowledge.¹⁹The ^aevil will bow down before the good,And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.²⁰The ^apoor is hated even by his neighbor,But those who love the rich are many.²¹He who ^adespises his neighbor sins,But how ^bblessed is he who is gracious to the ¹poor.²²Will they not wander in error who ^adevise evil?But lovingkindness and truth will be to those who devise good.²³In all painful labor there is profit,But mere words from the lips lead only to want.²⁴The ^acrown of the wise is their riches,But the folly of fools is folly.²⁵A truthful witness delivers souls,But he who ^abreathes out lies is deceitful.²⁶In the ¹^,^afear of Yahweh there is strong security,And ²his children will have refuge.²⁷The ¹fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life,To turn aside from the snares of death.²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s splendor,But in the dearth of people is a prince’s ruin.²⁹He who is ^aslow to anger has great discernment,But he who is ¹quick-tempered raises up folly.³⁰A ¹^,^atranquil heart is life to the body,But jealousy is ^brottenness to the bones.³¹He ^awho oppresses the poor reproaches ^bhis Maker,But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.³²The wicked is ^athrust down by his own evil,But the ^brighteous takes refuge even in his death.³³Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,But in the midst of fools it is merely made known.³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation,But sin is a disgrace to any people.³⁵The king’s favor is toward a ^aservant who acts insightfully,But his fury is toward him who acts shamefully.