The Birth of Moses

2 Now a ^(A)man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. ² The woman conceived and bore a son, and ^(B)when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes^[a] and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the ^(C)reeds by the river bank. ⁴ And ^(D)his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. ⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. ⁹ And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became ^(E)her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I ^(F)drew him out of the water.”^[b]

Moses Flees to Midian

¹¹ One day, ^(G)when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their ^(H)burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.^{[c] 12} He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he ^(I)struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ When ^(J)he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” ¹⁴ He answered, ^(K)“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” ¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But ^(L)Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by ^(M)a well.

¹⁶ Now the ^(N)priest of Midian had seven daughters, and ^(O)they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. ¹⁷ The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and ^(P)watered their flock. ¹⁸ When they came home to their father ^(Q)Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” ¹⁹ They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and ^(R)watered the flock.” ²⁰ He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may ^(S)eat bread.” ²¹ And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter ^(T)Zipporah. ²² She gave birth to a son, and he called his name ^(U)Gershom, for he said, “I have been a ^(V)sojourner^[d] in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel's Groaning

^23 (W)During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel ^(X)groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. ^(Y)Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. ²⁴ And ^(Z)God heard their groaning, and God ^(AA)remembered his covenant with ^(AB)Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵ God ^(AC)saw the people of Israel—and God ^(AD)knew.

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man of ^(A)Ramathaim-zophim of ^(B)the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, ^(C)an Ephrathite. ² He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now this man used to go up ^(D)year by year from his city ^(E)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts ^(F)at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. ⁴ On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, ^(G)he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.^{[a] 6} And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸ And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? ^(H)Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of ^(I)the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She was ^(J)deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she ^(K)vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed ^(L)look on the affliction of your servant and ^(M)remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, ^(N)and no razor shall touch his head.”

¹² As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. ¹⁴ And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but ^(O)I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not regard your servant as ^(P)a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered, ^(Q)“Go in peace, and the God of Israel ^(R)grant your petition that you have made to him.” ¹⁸ And she said, ^(S)“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman ^(T)went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

¹⁹ They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at ^(U)Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^(V)remembered her. ²⁰ And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”^[b]

Samuel Given to the Lord

²¹ The man Elkanah and all his house ^(W)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord ^(X)and dwell there forever.” ^23 (Y)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; ^(Z)only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ And when she had weaned him, ^(AA)she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,^[c] an ephah^[d] of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^(AB)the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^(AC)As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ For this child I prayed, ^(AD)and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. ²⁸ Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

^(AE)And he worshiped the Lord there.

The Death of Samuel

25 ^(A)Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled ^(B)and mourned for him, and they buried him ^(C)in his house at ^(D)Ramah.

David and Abigail

Then David rose and went down to ^(E)the wilderness of Paran. ² And there was a man in ^(F)Maon whose business was in ^(G)Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. ^(H)He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³ Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; ^(I)he was a Calebite. ⁴ David heard in the wilderness that Nabal ^(J)was shearing his sheep. ⁵ So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. ⁶ And thus you shall greet him: ^(K)‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. ⁷ I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, ^(L)and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come ^(M)on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”

⁹ When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. ¹⁰ And Nabal answered David's servants, ^(N)“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? ^(O)There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Shall I take ^(P)my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to ^(Q)men who come from I do not know where?” ¹² So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. ¹³ And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And ^(R)about four hundred men went up after David, ^(S)while two hundred ^(T)remained with the baggage.

¹⁴ But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. ¹⁵ Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, ^(U)and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. ¹⁶ They were ^(V)a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷ Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, ^(W)for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such ^(X)a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”

¹⁸ Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs^[a] of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. ¹⁹ And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. ²¹ Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, ^(Y)so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has ^(Z)returned me evil for good. ^22 (AA)God do so to the enemies of David^[b] and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried ^(AB)and got down from the donkey ^(AC)and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, ^(AD)“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. ²⁵ Let not my lord regard ^(AE)this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal^[c] is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. ²⁶ Now then, my lord, ^(AF)as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because ^(AG)the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from ^(AH)saving with your own hand, now then ^(AI)let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. ²⁷ And now let this ^(AJ)present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my lord ^(AK)a sure house, because my lord ^(AL)is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. ²⁹ If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies ^(AM)he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince^[d] over Israel, ³¹ my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord ^(AN)working salvation himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

³² And David said to Abigail, ^(AO)“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! ³³ Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, ^(AP)who have kept me this day from bloodguilt ^(AQ)and from working salvation with my own hand! ³⁴ For as surely ^(AR)as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, ^(AS)who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.” ³⁵ Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, ^(AT)“Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

³⁶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, ^(AU)he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart ^(AV)was merry within him, for he was very drunk. So she told him nothing ^(AW)at all until the morning light. ³⁷ In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸ And about ten days later ^(AX)the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

³⁹ When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, ^(AY)“Blessed be the Lord who has ^(AZ)avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, ^(BA)and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. ^(BB)The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent and ^(BC)spoke to Abigail, to take her as his wife. ⁴⁰ When the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife.” ⁴¹ And she rose ^(BD)and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your handmaid is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” ⁴² And Abigail hurried and rose and mounted a donkey, and her five young women attended her. She followed the messengers of David and became his wife.

⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of ^(BE)Jezreel, ^(BF)and both of them became his wives. ⁴⁴ Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

^3 (A)I thank God ^(B)whom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^(C)with a clear conscience, as I remember you ^(D)constantly in my prayers night and day. ^4 (E)As I remember your tears, ^(F)I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of ^(G)your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(H)your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you ^(I)to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us ^(J)a spirit not of fear but ^(K)of power and love and self-control.