1 Samuel 1-2, Psalm 120, Acts 5 - NASB - New American Standard Bible

1 Samuel 1-2

Elkanah and His Wives

Now there was a certain man from ^aRamathaim-zophim from the ^bhill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^cElkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had ^atwo wives: the name of one was ^bHannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 Now this man would go up from his city ^ayearly ^bto worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in ^cShiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. 4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he ^awould give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; 5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^abut the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Her rival, however, ^awould provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? ^aAm I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^athe temple of the Lord. 10 She, ¹greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 She ^amade a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed ^blook on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a ¹son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^ca razor shall never come on his head.”
12 Now it came about, as she ¹continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, ^ashe was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “^aHow long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” 15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman ¹oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^ahave poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not ¹consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and ²provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “^aGo in peace; and may the God of Israel ^bgrant your petition that you have asked of Him.” 18 She said, “^aLet your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and ^bher face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

19 Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in ^aRamah. And Elkanah ¹had relations with Hannah his wife, and ^bthe Lord remembered her. 20 It came about ¹in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^aBecause I have asked him of the Lord.”
21 Then the man Elkanah ^awent up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will ^abring him, that he may appear before the Lord and ^bstay there forever.” 23 ^aElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best ¹to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only ^bmay the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Now when she had weaned him, ^ashe took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to ^bthe house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. 25 Then ^athey slaughtered the bull, and ^bbrought the boy to Eli. 26 She said, “Oh, my lord! ^aAs your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. 27 ^aFor this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 ^aSo I have also ¹dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is ¹dedicated to the Lord.” And ^bhe worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

Then Hannah ^aprayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;

^bMy ¹horn is exalted in the Lord,

My mouth ²speaks boldly against my enemies,

Because ^cI rejoice in Your salvation.

“^aThere is no one holy like the Lord,

Indeed, ^bthere is no one besides You,

^cNor is there any rock like our God.

“¹Boast no more so very proudly,

^aDo not let arrogance come out of your mouth;

^bFor the Lord is a God of knowledge,

^cAnd with Him actions are weighed.

“^aThe bows of the mighty are shattered,

^bBut the feeble gird on strength.

“Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,

But those who were hungry cease to hunger.

^aEven the barren gives birth to seven,

But ^bshe who has many children languishes.

“^aThe Lord kills and makes alive;

^bHe brings down to ¹Sheol and raises up.

“^aThe Lord makes poor and rich;

^bHe brings low, He also exalts.

“^aHe raises the poor from the dust,

^bHe lifts the needy from the ash heap

^cTo make them sit with nobles,

And inherit a seat of honor;

^dFor the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

And He set the world on them.

“^aHe keeps the feet of His godly ones,

^bBut the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;

^cFor not by might shall a man prevail.

“^aThose who contend with the Lord will be shattered;

^bAgainst them He will thunder in the heavens,

^cThe Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

^dAnd He will give strength to His king,

^eAnd will exalt the ¹horn of His anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went to his home at ^aRamah. ^bBut the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli were ¹^aworthless men; they did not know the Lord 13 ^aand the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before ^athey burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16 If the man said to him, “They must surely ¹burn the fat ²first, and then take as much as ³you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^adespised the offering of the Lord.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

18 Now ^aSamuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy ¹^bwearing a linen ephod. 19 And his mother would make him a little ^arobe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^bthe yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would ^abless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you ¹children from this woman in place of ²the one she ^bdedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own ³home.
21 ^aThe Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^bthe boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^aall that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^bthe women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 23 He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24 No, my sons; for the report is not good ^awhich I hear ¹the Lord’s people circulating. 25 If one man sins against another, ^aGod will mediate for him; but ^bif a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the ^cLord desired to put them to death.
26 Now the boy ^aSamuel ¹was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.
27 Then ^aa man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘^bDid I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? 28 ^aDid I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^bgive to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? 29 Why do you ^akick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^bwhich I have commanded in My ^cdwelling, and ^dhonor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ¹choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘^aI did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me⁠—for ^bthose who honor Me I will honor, and those ^cwho despise Me will be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, ^athe days are coming when I will break your ¹strength and the ¹strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 You will see ^athe distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ¹I do for Israel; and an ^bold man will not be in your house forever. 33 Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar ¹so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die ²in the prime of life. 34 This will be ^athe sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^bon the same day both of them will die. 35 But ^aI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and ^bI will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before ^cMy anointed always. 36 Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a ¹piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ²assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

Psalm 120

Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.

A Song of ¹Ascents.

^aIn my trouble I cried to the Lord,

And He answered me.

Deliver my soul, O Lord, from ^alying lips,

From a ^bdeceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,

You ^adeceitful tongue?

^aSharp arrows of the warrior,

With the burning ^bcoals of the broom tree.

Woe is me, for I sojourn in ^aMeshech,

For I dwell among the ^btents of ^cKedar!

Too long has my soul had its dwelling

With those who ^ahate peace.

I ^aam for peace, but when I speak,

They are ^bfor war.

Acts 5

Fate of Ananias and Sapphira

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and ^akept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s ¹full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he ^blaid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^aSatan filled your heart to lie ^bto the Holy Spirit and to ^ckeep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not ¹under your control? Why is it that you have ²conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but ^ato God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias ^afell down and breathed his last; and ^bgreat fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and ^acovered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land ¹^afor such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, ¹that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to ^aput ^bthe Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she ^afell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And ^agreat fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
12 ¹At the hands of the apostles many ^asigns and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in ^bSolomon’s portico. 13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, ^athe people held them in high esteem. 14 And all the more ^abelievers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly ^badded to their number, 15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by ^aat least his shadow might fall on any one of them. 16 Also the ¹people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick ²or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

Imprisonment and Release

17 But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is ^athe sect of ^bthe Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 18 They laid hands on the apostles and ^aput them in a public jail. 19 But during the night ^aan angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, 20 “Go, stand and ¹speak to the people in the temple ²^athe whole message of this Life.” 21 Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple ^aabout daybreak and began to teach.
Now when ^bthe high priest and his associates came, they called ^cthe ¹Council together, even all the Senate of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison house for them to be brought. 22 But ^athe officers who came did not find them in the prison; and they returned and reported back, 23 saying, “We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.” 24 Now when ^athe captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what ¹would come of this. 25 But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” 26 Then ^athe captain went along with ^bthe officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for ^cthey were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).
27 When they had brought them, they stood them ¹before ^athe Council. The high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We gave you ^astrict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and ¹yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and ^bintend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “^aWe must obey God rather than men. 30 ^aThe God of our fathers ^braised up Jesus, ¹whom you had ^cput to death by hanging Him on a ²cross. 31 ^aHe is the one whom God exalted ¹to His right hand as a ²^bPrince and a ^cSavior, to grant ^drepentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are ^awitnesses ¹of these things; and ^bso is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Counsel

33 But when they heard this, they were ^acut ¹to the quick and intended to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee named ^aGamaliel, a ^bteacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in ^cthe Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, ^aclaiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. ¹But he was killed, and all who ²followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of ^athe census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who ¹followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or ¹action ^ais of men, it will be overthrown; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found ^afighting against God.”
40 They ¹took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they ^aflogged them and ordered them not to ²speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the ¹^aCouncil, ^brejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame ^cfor His name. 42 ^aAnd every day, in the temple and ¹from house to house, they ²kept right on teaching and ³^bpreaching Jesus as the ⁴Christ.

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