Day 166 of 365

¹Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; to whom he said, "Come over here, friend, and sit down!" He turned aside, and sat down.

²He took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." They sat down.

³He said to the near kinsman, "Naomi, who has come back out of the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's.

⁴I thought to disclose it to you, saying, 'Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem it besides you; and I am after you." He said, "I will redeem it."

⁵Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance."

⁶The near kinsman said, "I can't redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption for yourself; for I can't redeem it."

⁷Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of attestation in Israel.

⁸So the near kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." He took off his shoe.

⁹Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, "You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi.

¹⁰Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day."

¹¹All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which two built the house of Israel; and treat you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem.

¹²Let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give you of this young woman."

¹³So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

¹⁴The women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer; and let his name be famous in Israel.

¹⁵He shall be to you a restorer of life, and sustain you in your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."

¹⁶Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and looked after him.

¹⁷The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi." And they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸Now this is the history of the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron,

¹⁹and Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab,

²⁰and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon,

²¹and Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed,

²²and Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.

¹Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

²and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to the Lord, were there.

⁴When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

⁵but to Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had shut up her womb.

⁶Her rival taunted her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had shut up her womb.

⁷As he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she taunted her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

⁸Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

⁹So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drank. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the Lord's temple.

¹⁰She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly.

¹¹She vowed a vow, and said, "Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a boy, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head."

¹²It happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli saw her mouth.

¹³Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you."

¹⁵Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the Lord.

¹⁶Do not count your handmaid as a worthless woman; for I have been speaking out of the abundance of my distress and my anguish."

¹⁷Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him."

¹⁸She said, "Let your handmaid find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way, and ate; and her facial expression wasn't sad any more.

¹⁹They rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.

²⁰It happened, when the time had come, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of the Lord."

²¹The man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

²²But Hannah did not go up; for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and stay there forever."

²³Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish his word." So the woman waited and nursed her son, until she weaned him.

²⁴When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three year old bull, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the Lord's house in Shiloh. The child was young.

²⁵They killed the bull, and brought the child to Eli.

²⁶She said, "Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord.

²⁷For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him.

²⁸Therefore also I have granted him to the Lord. As long as he lives he is granted to the Lord." He worshiped the Lord there.

¹Hannah prayed, and said: "My heart exults in the Lord! My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.

²There is no one as holy as the Lord, For there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God.

³"Talk no more so exceeding proudly. Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth, For the Lord is a God of knowledge. By him actions are weighed.

⁴"The bows of the mighty men are broken. Those who stumbled are armed with strength.

⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. Those who were hungry are satisfied. Yes, the barren has borne seven. She who has many children languishes.

⁶"The Lord kills, and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.

⁷The Lord makes poor, and makes rich. He brings low, he also lifts up.

⁸He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's. He has set the world on them.

⁹He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; for no man shall prevail by strength.

¹⁰Those who strive with the Lord shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. "The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."

¹¹Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served the Lord before Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were base men; they did not know the Lord.

¹³The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand;

¹⁴and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵Yes, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw."

¹⁶If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as your soul desires"; then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force."

¹⁷The sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for they despised the offering of the Lord.

¹⁸But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod.

¹⁹Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "The Lord give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of the Lord." They went to their own home.

²¹The Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before the Lord.

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

²³He said to them, "Why do you do such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

²⁴No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: you make the Lord's people disobey.

²⁵If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?" Notwithstanding, they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord intended to kill them.

²⁶The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with the Lord, and also with men.

²⁷A man of God came to Eli, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, I plainly revealed myself to the house of your father, when they were slaves in Egypt to the house of Pharaoh.

²⁸And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me. And I gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire.

²⁹Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?'

³⁰"Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.' But now the Lord says, 'Be it far from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

³¹Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.

³²You shall see the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which I shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

³³The man of yours, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall consume your eyes, and grieve your heart; and all the increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age.

³⁴"'This shall be the sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall both die.

³⁵I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed forever.

³⁶It shall happen, that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, "Please put me into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread."'"

¹Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge.

²My soul, you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing."

³As for the holy ones who are in the land, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

⁴Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.

⁵The Lord assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.

⁶The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.

⁷I will bless the Lord, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

⁸I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety.

¹⁰For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

¹¹You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but accurate weights are his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.

⁷When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.

⁸A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.

¹⁴Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.

²⁰Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.

²¹Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous will be delivered.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.

²⁶People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.

²⁹He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner!