Samson Versus the Philistines 15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. He said to her father, “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” But her father would not let him enter. 15:2 Her father said, “I really thought
Samson’s Downfall 16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her. 16:2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. They relaxed all night, thinking, “He will not leave
Micah Makes His Own Religion 17:1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. 17:2 He said to his mother, “You know the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole it, but now I
The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance 18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. 18:2 The Danites sent out from their
Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited 19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 19:2 However, she got angry at him and went home to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had
Civil War Breaks Out 20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the LORD at Mizpah. 20:2 The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered four hundred
600 Brides for 600 Brothers 21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.” 21:2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. 21:3 They said, “Why, O LORD God of Israel, has this
Hannah Gives Birth to Samuel 1:1 There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 1:2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah and
Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer 2:1 Hannah prayed, “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted high because of the LORD. I loudly denounce my enemies, for I am happy that you delivered me. 2:2 No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one other than you! There is no rock like our God! 2:3 Don’t keep speaking so
The Call of Samuel 3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the LORD under Eli’s supervision. Word from the LORD was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent. 3:2 Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 3:3 and the