1 SAMUEL 11

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Saul Defeats the Ammonites  11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
    5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. The Kingdom Is Renewed12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

1 SAMUEL 12

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Samuel’s Farewell Address  12:1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord 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 to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The Lord 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.”
    6 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. 16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
    19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

PROVERBS 4

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A Father’s Wise Instruction4:1

Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,

and be attentive, that you may gain insight, 2

for I give you good precepts;

do not forsake my teaching. 3

When I was a son with my father,

tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, 4

he taught me and said to me,

“Let your heart hold fast my words;

keep my commandments, and live. 5

Get wisdom; get insight;

do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6

Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;

love her, and she will guard you. 7

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight. 8

Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her. 9

She will place on your head a graceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
10

Hear, my son, and accept my words,

that the years of your life may be many. 11

I have taught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the paths of uprightness. 12

When you walk, your step will not be hampered,

and if you run, you will not stumble. 13

Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your life. 14

Do not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15

Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on. 16

For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17

For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence. 18

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know over what they stumble.
20

My son, be attentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings. 21

Let them not escape from your sight;

keep them within your heart. 22

For they are life to those who find them,

and healing to all their flesh. 23

Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life. 24

Put away from you crooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you. 25

Let your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you. 26

Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure. 27

Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

PSALM 52

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The Steadfast Love of God EnduresTo the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52:1

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day. 2

Your tongue plots destruction,

like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. 3

You love evil more than good,

and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah 4

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.
5

But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and tear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah 6

The righteous shall see and fear,

and shall laugh at him, saying, 7

“See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!”
8

But I am like a green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever. 9

I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, for it is good,

in the presence of the godly.