Today’s
Reading : 1Samuel 3 – 4 and Acts 25 (KJV)
1Samuel 3
1Sa
3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD
before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was
no open vision.
1Sa 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to
wax dim, that he could not see;
1Sa 3:3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the
temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was,
and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
1Sa 3:4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered,
Here am I.
1Sa 3:5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst
me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
1Sa 3:6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And
Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am
I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down
again.
1Sa 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither
was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
1Sa 3:8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third
time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am
I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the
child.
1Sa 3:9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down:
and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt
say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel
went and lay down in his place.
1Sa 3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as
at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
1Sa 3:11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will
do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
1Sa 3:12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house:
when I begin, I will also make an end.
1Sa 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his
house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth;
because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
1Sa 3:14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of
Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor
offering forever.
1Sa 3:15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened
the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.
1Sa 3:16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my
son. And he answered, Here am I.
1Sa 3:17 And he said, What is
the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also,
if thou hide any thing from me of all
the things that he said unto thee.
1Sa 3:18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid
nothing from him. And he said, It is the
LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
1Sa 3:19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him,
and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
1Sa 3:20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was
established to be a prophet of the LORD.
1Sa 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for
the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1Samuel 4
1Sa
4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside
Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
1Sa 4:2 And the Philistines put themselves in array
against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the
Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
1Sa 4:3 And when the people were come into the camp,
the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us today before the
Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh
unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our
enemies.
1Sa 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might
bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the
cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
1Sa 4:5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD
came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth
rang again.
1Sa 4:6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of
the shout, they said, What meaneth
the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood
that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
1Sa 4:7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they
said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not
been such a thing heretofore.
1Sa 4:8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the
hand of these mighty Gods? these are the
Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
1Sa 4:9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye
Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to
you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
1Sa 4:10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was
smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great
slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
1Sa 4:11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two
sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
were slain.
1Sa 4:12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the
army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth
upon his head.
1Sa 4:13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by
the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the
man came into the city, and told it, all
the city cried out.
1Sa 4:14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying,
he said, What meaneth
the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.
1Sa 4:15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and
his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
1Sa 4:16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today
out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?
1Sa 4:17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel
is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter
among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
1Sa 4:18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of
the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the
gate, and his neck broke, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he
had judged Israel forty years.
1Sa 4:19 And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas'
wife, was with child, near to be
delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and
that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and
travailed; for her pains came upon her.
1Sa 4:20 And about the time of her death the women
that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she
answered not, neither did she regard it.
1Sa 4:21 And she named the child Ichabod,
saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken,
and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
1Sa 4:22 And she said, The glory is departed from
Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
Acts 25
Act
25:1 Now when Festus was come into the province,
after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
Act 25:2 Then the high priest and the chief of the
Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him,
Act 25:3 And desired favour against him, that he would
send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.
Act 25:4 But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept
at Caesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly thither.
Act 25:5 Let them therefore, said he, which among you
are able, go down with me, and accuse
this man, if there be any wickedness in him.
Act 25:6 And when he had tarried among them more than
ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment
seat commanded Paul to be brought.
Act 25:7 And when he was come, the Jews which came
down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints
against Paul, which they could not prove.
Act 25:8 While he answered for himself, Neither
against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against
Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
Act 25:9 But Festus, willing to do the Jews a
pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be
judged of these things before me?
Act 25:10 Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment
seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou
very well knowest.
Act 25:11 For if I be an offender, or have committed
any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these
things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto
Caesar.
Act 25:12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the
council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.
Act 25:13 And after certain days king Agrippa and
Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.
Act 25:14 And when they had been there many days,
Festus declared Paul's cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left
in bonds by Felix:
Act 25:15 About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the
chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me,
desiring to have
judgment against him.
Act 25:16 To whom I answered, It is not the manner of
the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the
accusers face to face, and have license to answer for himself concerning the
crime laid against him.
Act 25:17 Therefore, when they were come hither, without
any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be
brought forth.
Act 25:18 Against whom when the accusers stood up, they
brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:
Act 25:19 But had certain questions against him of
their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to
be alive.
Act 25:20 And because I doubted of such manner of
questions, I asked him whether he would
go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.
Act 25:21 But when Paul had appealed to be reserved
unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him
to Caesar.
Act 25:22 Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also
hear the man myself. Tomorrow, said he, thou shalt
hear him.
Act 25:23 And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and
Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the
chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was
brought forth.
Act 25:24 And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men
which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude
of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any
longer.
Act 25:25 But when I found that he had committed
nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have
determined to send him.
Act 25:26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto
my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and especially before
thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to
write.
Act 25:27 For it seemeth to
me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.