The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And moreouer, Ruth the Moabitesse the wife of Mahlon, haue I bought to be my wife, to stirre vp the name of the dead vpon his inheritance, and that the name of the dead be not put out from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

And all the people that were in the gate, and the Elders sayd, We are witnesses: the Lord make the wife that commeth into thine house, like Rahel and like Leah, which twaine did build the house of Israel: and that thou mayest doe worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Beth-lehem,

And that thine house be like the house of Pharez (whom Thamar bare vnto Iudah) of the seede which the Lord shall giue thee of this yong woman.

So Boaz tooke Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in vnto her, the Lord gaue that she conceiued, and bare a sonne.

And the women sayd vnto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, and his name shalbe continued in Israel.

And this shall bring thy life againe, and cherish thine olde age: for thy daughter in lawe which loueth thee, hath borne vnto him, and she is better to thee then seuen sonnes.

And Naomi tooke the childe, and layde it in her lap, and became nource vnto it.

And the women her neighbours gaue it a name, saying, There is a childe borne to Naomi, and called the name thereof Obed: the same was the father of Ishai, the father of Dauid.

These now are ye generations of Pharez: Pharez begate Hezron,

And Hezron begate Ram, and Ram begate Amminadab,

And Amminadab begate Nahshon, and Nahshon begate Salmah,

And Salmon begate Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

And Obed begate Ishai, and Ishai begate Dauid.

There was a man of one of the two Ramathaim Zophim, of mount Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the sonne of Ieroham, the sonne of Elihu, the sonne of Tohu, the sonne of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

And he had two wiues: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

And this man went vp out of his citie euery yeere, to worship and to sacrifice vnto the Lord of hostes in Shiloh, where were the two sonnes of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas Priests of the Lord.

And on a day, when Elkanah sacrificed, he gaue to Peninnah his wife and to all her sonnes and daughters portions,

But vnto Hannah he gaue a worthy portion: for he loued Hannah, and the Lord had made her barren.

And her aduersarie vexed her sore, forasmuch as she vpbraided her, because the Lord had made her barren.

(And so did he yeere by yeere) and as oft as she went vp to the house of the Lord, thus she vexed her, that she wept and did not eate.

Then sayd Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thine heart troubled? am not I better to thee then ten sonnes?

So Hannah rose vp after that they had eaten and drunke in Shiloh (and Eli the Priest sate vpon a stoole by one of the postes of the Temple of the Lord)

And she was troubled in her minde, and prayed vnto the Lord, and wept sore:

Also she vowed a vowe, and sayd, O Lord of hostes, if thou wilt looke on the trouble of thine handmaide, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaide, but giue vnto thine handmaide a manchilde, then I will giue him vnto the Lord all the dayes of his life, and there shall no rasor come vpon his head.

And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli marked her mouth.

For Hannah spake in her heart: her lips did moue onely, but her voyce was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had bene drunken.

And Eli sayde vnto her, Howe long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy drunkennesse from thee.

Then Hannah answered and sayd, Nay my lord, but I am a woman troubled in spirit: I haue drunke neither wine nor strong drinke, but haue powred out my soule before the Lord.

Count not thine handmaide for a wicked woman: for of the abundance of my complaint and my griefe haue I spoken hitherto.

Then Eli answered, and sayd, Go in peace, and the God of Israel graunt thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

She sayd againe, Let thine handmayd finde grace in thy sight: so the woman went her way, and did eate, and looked no more sad.

Then they rose vp early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah. Nowe Elkanah knewe Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembred her.

For in processe of time Hannah conceiued, and bare a sonne, and she called his name Samuel, Because, said she, I haue asked him of the Lord.

So the man Elkanah and all his house went vp to offer vnto the Lord the yeerely sacrifice, and his vowe:

But Hannah went not vp: for she sayd vnto her husband, I will tarie vntill the childe be weined, then I will bring him that hee may appeare before the Lord, and there abide for euer.

And Elkanah her husband sayd vnto her, Do what seemeth thee best: tarie vntill thou hast weined him: only the Lord accomplish his word. So the woman abode, and gaue her sonne sucke vntill she weined him.

And when she had weined him, she tooke him with her with three bullockes and an Ephah of floure and a bottell of wine, and brought him vnto the house of the Lord in Shiloh, and the childe was yong.

And they slewe a bullocke, and brought the childe to Eli.

And she said, Oh my Lord, as thy soule liueth, my lord, I am the woman that stoode with thee here praying vnto the Lord.

I prayed for this childe, and the Lord hath giuen me my desire which I asked of him.

Therefore also I haue giuen him vnto the Lord: as long as he liueth hee shalbe giuen vnto the Lord: and he worshipped the Lord there.

And Hannah prayed, and said, Mine heart reioyceth in the Lord, mine horne is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged ouer mine enemies, because I reioyce in thy saluation.

There is none holy as the Lord: yea, there is none besides thee, and there is no god like our God.

Speake no more presumptuously: let not arrogancie come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him enterprises are established.

The bow and the mightie men are broken, and the weake haue girded themselues with strength.

They that were full, are hired foorth for bread, and the hungrie are no more hired, so that the barren hath borne seuen: and shee that had many children, is feeble.

The Lord killeth and maketh aliue: bringeth downe to the graue and raiseth vp.

The Lord maketh poore and maketh rich: bringeth lowe, and exalteth.

He raiseth vp ye poore out of the dust, and lifteth vp the begger from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherite the seate of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lordes, and he hath set the world vpon them.

Hee will keepe the feete of his Saintes, and the wicked shall keepe silence in darkenes: for in his owne might shall no man be strong.

The Lordes aduersaries shall be destroyed, and out of heauen shall he thunder vpon them: the Lord shall iudge the endes of the worlde, and shall giue power vnto his King, and exalt the horne of his Anoynted.

And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house, and the childe did minister vnto the Lord before Eli the Priest.

Now the sonnes of Eli were wicked men, and knewe not the Lord.

For the Priestes custome towarde the people was this: when any man offered sacrifice, the Priestes boy came, while the flesh was seething, and a fleshhooke with three teeth, in his hand,

And thrust it into the kettle, or into the caldron, or into the panne, or into the potte: all that the fleshhooke brought vp, the Priest tooke for himselfe: thus they did vnto all the Israelites, that came thither to Shiloh.

Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priests boy came and saide to the man that offered, Giue me flesh to rost for the priest: for he wil not haue sodden flesh of thee, but rawe.

And if any man saide vnto him, Let them burne the fatte according to the custome, then take as much as thine heart desireth: then hee would answere, No, but thou shalt giue it nowe: and if thou wilt not, I will take it by force.

Therefore the sinne of the yong men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

Now Samuel being a yong childe ministred before the Lord, girded with a linen Ephod.

And his mother made him a litle coat, and brought it to him from yeere to yeere, when she came vp with her husband, to offer the yerely sacrifice.

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord giue thee seede of this woman, for the petition that she asked of the Lord: and they departed vnto their place.

And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceiued, and bare three sonnes, and two daughters. And the childe Samuel grewe before the Lord.

So Eli was very olde, and heard all that his sonnes did vnto all Israel, and howe they laye with the women that assembled at the doore of the tabernacle of the Congregation.

And hee saide vnto them, Why doe ye such things? for of all this people I heare euill reportes of you.

Do no more, my sonnes, for it is no good report that I heare, which is, that ye make the Lords people to trespasse.

If one man sinne against another, the Iudge shall iudge it: but if a man sinne against the Lord, who will pleade for him? Notwithstanding they obeyed not the voyce of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

(Nowe the childe Samuel profited and grewe, and was in fauour both with the Lord and also with men)

And there came a man of God vnto Eli, and said vnto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did not I plainely appeare vnto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaohs house?

And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my Priest, to offer vpon mine altar, and to burne incense, and to weare an Ephod before me, and I gaue vnto the house of thy father all the offrings made by fire of the children of Israel.

Wherefore haue you kicked against my sacrifice and mine offering, which I commanded in my Tabernacle, and honourest thy children aboue mee, to make your selues fatte of the first fruites of all the offerings of Israel my people?

Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I saide, that thine house and the house of thy father should walke before mee for euer: but nowe the Lord saith, It shall not be so: for them that honour me, I will honour, and they that despise me, shall be despised.

Beholde, the dayes come, that I will cut off thine arme, and the arme of thy fathers house, that there shall not be an olde man in thine house.

And thou shalt see thine enemie in the habitation of the Lord in all thinges wherewith God shall blesse Israel, and there shall not be an olde man in thine house for euer.

Neuerthelesse, I will not destroy euery one of thine from mine altar, to make thine eyes to faile, and to make thine heart sorowfull: and all ye multitude of thine house shall die when they be men.

And this shalbe a signe vnto thee, that shall come vpon thy two sonnes Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both.

And I will stirre me vp a faithfull Priest, that shall do according to mine heart and according to my minde: and I wil build him a sure house, and he shall walke before mine Anointed for euer.

And all that are left in thine house, shall come and bowe downe to him for a piece of siluer and a morsell of bread, and shall say, Appoint me, I pray thee, to one of the priestes offices, that I may eate a morsell of bread.

Nowe the childe Samuel ministred vnto the Lord before Eli: and the word of the Lord was precious in those dayes: for there was no manifest vision.

And at that time, as Eli lay in his place, his eyes began to waxe dimme that he could not see.

And yet the light of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the Arke of God was.

Then the Lord called Samuel: and hee said, Here I am.

And he ranne vnto Eli, and said, Here am I, for thou calledst me. But he said, I called thee not: goe againe and sleepe. And he went and slept.

And the Lord called once againe, Samuel. And Samuel arose, and went to Eli, and said, I am here: for thou diddest call me. And he answered, I called thee not, my sonne: go againe and sleepe.

Thus did Samuel, before hee knewe the Lord, and before the word of the Lord was reueiled vnto him.

And the Lord called Samuel againe the thirde time: and he arose, and went to Eli, and said, I am here: for thou hast called me. Then Eli perceiued that the Lord had called the childe.

Therefore Eli saide vnto Samuel, Goe and sleepe: and if he call thee, then say, Speake Lord, for thy seruant heareth. So Samuel went, and slept in his place.

And the Lord came, and stoode, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speake, for thy seruant heareth.

Then the Lord said to Samuel, Beholde, I wil doe a thing in Israel, whereof whosoeuer shall heare, his two eares shall tingle.

In that day I will raise vp against Eli all things which I haue spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an ende.

And I haue tolde him that I will iudge his house for euer, for the iniquitie which hee knoweth, because his sonnes ranne into a slaunder, and he stayed them not.

Nowe therefore I haue sworne vnto the house of Eli, that the wickednes of Elis house, shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offring for euer.

Afterward Samuel slept vntil the morning, and opened the doores of the house of the Lord, and Samuel feared to shewe Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel my sonne. And he answered, Here I am.

Then he said, What is it, that the Lord said vnto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from mee. God doe so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me, of all that he said vnto thee.

So Samuel tolde him euery whit, and hid nothing from him. Then hee said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.

And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that faithfull Samuel was the Lordes Prophet.

And the Lord appeared againe in Shiloh: for the Lord reueiled himselfe to Samuel in Shiloh by his word.

And Samuel spake vnto all Israel: and Israel went out against the Philistims to battel and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistims pitched in Aphek.

And the Philistims put themselues in aray against Israel: and when they ioyned the battell, Israel was smitten downe before the Philistims: who slewe of the armie in the fielde about foure thousand men.