Jonathan

archive

1 SAMUEL 11:8 – 12:9
11:8 And he mustered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah were thirty thousand.
11:9 And they said to the messengers who had come, Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, Tomorrow you will have deliverance by the time the sun is hot. So the messengers went and told this to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
11:10 And the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us all that seems good in your sight.
11:11 And on the next day Saul put the people into three companies, and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch. And they struck Ammon until the day was hot; and those who remained were so scattered that not two of them remained together.
11:12 And the people said to Samuel, Who said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death.
11:13 But Saul said, No man shall be put to death on this day, for today Jehovah has accomplished deliverance in Israel.
11:14 Then Samuel said to the people, Come and let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.
11:15 And all the people went to Gilgal. And there they made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal, and there they sacrificed peace offerings before Jehovah, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
12:1 And Samuel said to all Israel, I have now listened to your voice according to all that you have said to me, and I have placed a king over you.
12:2 And now, here is the king who goes before you. But I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you, and I have gone before you from my youth until this day.
12:3 Here I am; testify against me before Jehovah and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe in order to blind my eyes with it? Then I will restore it to you.
12:4 And they said, You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from anyone’s hand.
12:5 And he said to them, Jehovah is Witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. And they said, He is witness.
12:6 And Samuel said to the people, It is Jehovah who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
12:7 Now therefore stand here, that I may plead with you before Jehovah concerning all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which He did to you and to your fathers.
12:8 When Jacob went to Egypt, and your fathers cried out to Jehovah, Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron; and they brought your fathers out from Egypt and caused them to dwell in this place.
12:9 But they forgot Jehovah their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera, the captain of Hazor’s army, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.

Read More →

1 SAMUEL 10:17 – 11:7
10:17 Then Samuel gathered the people together to Jehovah at Mizpah.
10:18 And he said to the children of Israel, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.
10:19 But today you have rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your calamities and distresses, and have said, No; but set a king over us. And now present yourselves before Jehovah according to your tribes and according to your thousands.
10:20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
10:21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near according to its families, and the family of Matri was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
10:22 Therefore they asked of Jehovah again, Is there yet another man coming here? And Jehovah said, There he is; he has hidden himself among the baggage.
10:23 And they ran and took him from there. And when he stood up among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up.
10:24 And Samuel said to all the people, See him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted and said, Long live the king!
10:25 Then Samuel told the people the practice of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book and laid it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
10:26 And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the men of valor, whose hearts God had touched, went with him;
10:27 But some worthless men said, How can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no present. But he kept silent.
11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.
11:2 And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that all your right eyes be gouged out; and I will make it a reproach upon all Israel.
11:3 And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers throughout all the territory of Israel. And if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.
11:4 Then the messengers went to Gibeah of Saul, and they spoke these words in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voice and wept.
11:5 And Saul was just coming from the field after the oxen, and Saul said, What is wrong with the people that they weep so? And they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh.
11:6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul as he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
11:7 And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by means of the messengers, saying, Whoever does not come forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the dread of Jehovah fell upon the people, and they came forth as one man.

Read More →

1 SAMUEL 10:1-16
10:1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it upon his head, and he kissed him and said, Jehovah anoints you ruler over His inheritance.
10:2 When you depart from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The donkeys that you went to look for have been found; and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, What shall I do about my son?
10:3 Then you will go on further from there and come to the terebinth of Tabor; and three men will meet you there, going up to God at Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.
10:4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, and you will take them from their hand.
10:5 After that you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines’ garrison is. And as you come to the city there, you will encounter a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harp and tambourine and pipe and lyre; and they will be prophesying.
10:6 And the Spirit of Jehovah will rush upon you; and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
10:7 And when these signs happen to you, do as you find occasion, for God is with you.
10:8 And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer up burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. You shall wait seven days, until I come to you; then I will make known to you what you shall do.
10:9 And so when he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs happened that day.
10:10 And when they came there to the hill, there was the group of prophets, coming to meet him. And the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
10:11 And when all who had known him previously saw that now he was prophesying with the prophets, the people said one to another, What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
10:12 And someone from there answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
10:13 And when he finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
10:14 And Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, Where did you go? And he said, To look for the donkeys; and when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.
10:15 And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me then what Samuel said to you.
10:16 And Saul said to his uncle, He told us clearly that the donkeys had been found. But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom that Samuel had spoken of.

Read More →

1 SAMUEL 9:12-27
9:12 And they answered them and said, He is; there he is ahead of you. Hurry now; for he has just come to the city today, because the people have a sacrifice at the high place today.
9:13 Right when you enter the city, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he is the one who blesses the sacrifice. Right after that, those who have been invited will eat. Go up now then, for you will find him right away.
9:14 So they went up into the city. As they came into the midst of the city, there came Samuel out toward them, going up to the high place.
9:15 Now Jehovah had revealed this to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying,
9:16 At about this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have looked upon My people because their cry has come to Me.
9:17 And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah declared to him, Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. This man shall rule over My people.
9:18 And Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, Tell me, please, where is the seer’s house?
9:19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will send you away, and I will tell you all that is in your heart.
9:20 And as for your donkeys that have now been lost three days, do not even consider them; for they have been found. And for whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?
9:21 And Saul answered and said, Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?
9:22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them to the hall, and put them in the chief place among those who had been invited; and there were about thirty men.
9:23 And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion that I gave, concerning which I said to you, Set it by you.
9:24 And the cook took up the thigh and what was attached to it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Here is what has been reserved. Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you for the appointed time, when I said I was inviting the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
9:25 And when they came down from the high place to the city, he spoke with Saul upon the roof.
9:26 And they rose early; and around the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, Rise up, and I will send you away. So Saul rose up, and they both went outside, he and Samuel.
9:27 As they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to go on ahead of us — and the servant went on — but you stand here now, and I will let you hear the word of God.

Read More →

1 SAMUEL 8:16 – 9:11
8:16 And he will take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
8:17 He will exact a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his servants.
8:18 And you will cry out in that day on account of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but Jehovah will not answer you in that day.
8:19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No; but there will be a king over us,
8:20 That we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.
8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he spoke them in the hearing of Jehovah.
8:22 Then Jehovah said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and appoint a king to them. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go, each one to his city.
9:1 Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.
9:2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man; and there was not a man among the children of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders and up he was taller than all the people.
9:3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take with you one of the servants, and rise up and go to search for the donkeys.
9:4 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and he passed through the land of Shalishah; but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of Benjamin, but they did not find them.
9:5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, and let us return; otherwise, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and will worry about us.
9:6 But he said to him, There is a man of God here in this city, and he is a man held in honor; all that he says happens without fail. Let us now go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey that we have set out on.
9:7 And Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what will we bring the man? For the food is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring the man of God. What do we have?
9:8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, Here in my hand is a quarter shekel of silver, and I can give it to the man of God; then he will tell us our way.
9:9 (Formerly in Israel a man spoke this way when he went to inquire of God, Come, and let us go to the seer; for today’s prophet was formerly called a seer.)
9:10 Then Saul said to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.
9:11 As they went up the ascent into the city, they found some girls coming out to draw water; and they said to them, Is the seer here?

Read More →