NKJV Bible in 365 Days
God Rejected, a King Requested — March 16
1 Samuel 4-8
1 Samuel 4
1 And the word of Samuel came to all [a] Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 365N 75.1
2 Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was [b] defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 365N 75.2
3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.” 365N 75.3
4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 365N 75.4
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. 365N 75.5
6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean? ” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 365N 75.6
7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. 365N 75.7
8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 365N 75.8
9 Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. [c] Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” 365N 75.9
10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was [d] defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 365N 75.10
11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 365N 75.11
12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 365N 75.12
13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat [e] by the wayside watching, for his heart [f] trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. 365N 75.13
14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the sound of this tumult mean? ” And the man came quickly and told Eli. 365N 75.14
15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so [g] dim that he could not see. 365N 75.15
16 Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.” And he said, “What happened, my son?” 365N 75.16
17 So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.” 365N 75.17
18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 365N 75.18
19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her. 365N 75.19
20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she [h] regard it. 365N 75.20
21 Then she named the child Ichabod, [i] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 365N 75.21
22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” 365N 75.22
1 Samuel 5
1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 365N 75.23
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon [a] and set it by Dagon. 365N 75.24
3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord . So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 365N 75.25
4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord . The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only [b] Dagon’s torso was left of it. 365N 75.26
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. 365N 75.27
6 But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, [c] both Ashdod and its territory. 365N 75.28
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” 365N 75.29
8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. 365N 75.30
9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, [d] and tumors broke out on them. 365N 75.31
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” 365N 75.32
11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 365N 75.33
12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. 365N 75.34
1 Samuel 6
1 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 365N 75.35
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord ? Tell us how we should send it to its place.” 365N 75.36
3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.” 365N 75.37
4 Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?” They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of [a] you and on your lords. 365N 75.38
5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten [b] His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 365N 75.39
6 Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart? 365N 75.40
7 Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. 365N 75.41
8 Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. 365N 75.42
9 And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done [c] us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us—it happened to us by chance.” 365N 75.43
10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 365N 75.44
11 And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. 365N 75.45
12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh. 365N 75.46
13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 365N 75.47
14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord . 365N 75.48
15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord . 365N 75.49
16 So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 365N 75.50
17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord : one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; 365N 75.51
18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord , which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. 365N 75.52
19 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord . [d] He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. 365N 75.53
20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” 365N 75.54
21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord ; come down and take it up with you.” 365N 75.55
1 Samuel 7
1 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord , and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord . 365N 75.56
2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord . 365N 75.57
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths [a] from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord , and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 365N 75.58
4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the [b] Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. 365N 75.59
5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 365N 75.60
6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord . And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord .” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. 365N 75.61
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 365N 75.62
8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 365N 75.63
9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord . Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 365N 75.64
10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. 365N 75.65
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and [c] drove them back as far as below Beth Car. 365N 75.66
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name [d] Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 365N 75.67
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 365N 75.68
14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 365N 75.69
15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 365N 75.70
16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 365N 75.71
17 But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord . 365N 75.72
1 Samuel 8
1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 365N 75.73
2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 365N 75.74
3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 365N 75.75
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 365N 75.76
5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 365N 75.77
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord . 365N 75.78
7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 365N 75.79
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 365N 75.80
9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.” 365N 75.81
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. 365N 75.82
11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 365N 75.83
12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 365N 75.84
13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 365N 75.85
14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 365N 75.86
15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 365N 75.87
16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest [a] young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 365N 75.88
17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 365N 75.89
18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” 365N 75.90
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 365N 75.91
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.” 365N 75.92
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord . 365N 75.93
22 So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.” 365N 75.94