¹Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. ²And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. ³Here I am. Witness against me before the Lᴏʀᴅ and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.” ⁴And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.” ⁵Then he said to them, “The Lᴏʀᴅ is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.” ⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lᴏʀᴅ who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lᴏʀᴅ concerning all the righteous acts of the Lᴏʀᴅ which He did to you and your fathers: ⁸When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the Lᴏʀᴅ, then the Lᴏʀᴅ sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. ⁹And when they forgot the Lᴏʀᴅ their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lᴏʀᴅ and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹And the Lᴏʀᴅ sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. ¹²And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lᴏʀᴅ your God was your king. ¹³Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the Lᴏʀᴅ has set a king over you. ¹⁴If you fear the Lᴏʀᴅ and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lᴏʀᴅ, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lᴏʀᴅ your God. ¹⁵However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lᴏʀᴅ, but rebel against the commandment of the Lᴏʀᴅ, then the hand of the Lᴏʀᴅ will be against you, as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶“Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the Lᴏʀᴅ will do before your eyes: ¹⁷Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lᴏʀᴅ, in asking a king for yourselves.” ¹⁸So Samuel called to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and the Lᴏʀᴅ sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lᴏʀᴅ and Samuel. ¹⁹And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.” ²⁰Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lᴏʀᴅ, but serve the Lᴏʀᴅ with all your heart. ²¹And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. ²²For the Lᴏʀᴅ will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lᴏʀᴅ to make you His people. ²³Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lᴏʀᴅ in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. ²⁴Only fear the Lᴏʀᴅ, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. ²⁵But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

¹Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. ²For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. ⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. ⁵For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” ⁶But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁷or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” ¹⁴How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” ¹⁶But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” ¹⁷So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. ¹⁸But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.” ¹⁹But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.” ²⁰But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.” ²¹But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.”

¹Against the Ammonites. Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in its cities? ²Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “That I will cause to be heard an alarm of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ³“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is plundered! Cry, you daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth! Lament and run to and fro by the walls; For Milcom shall go into captivity With his priests and his princes together. ⁴Why do you boast in the valleys, Your flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? Who trusted in her treasures, saying, ‘Who will come against me?’ ⁵Behold, I will bring fear upon you,” Says the Lᴏʀᴅ God of hosts, “From all those who are around you; You shall be driven out, everyone headlong, And no one will gather those who wander off. ⁶But afterward I will bring back The captives of the people of Ammon,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ⁷Against Edom. Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? ⁸Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, The time that I will punish him. ⁹If grape-gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, Would they not destroy until they have enough? ¹⁰But I have made Esau bare; I have uncovered his secret places, And he shall not be able to hide himself. His descendants are plundered, His brethren and his neighbors, And he is no more. ¹¹Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; And let your widows trust in Me.” ¹²For thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunk. And are you the one who will altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink of it. ¹³For I have sworn by Myself,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.” ¹⁴I have heard a message from the Lᴏʀᴅ, And an ambassador has been sent to the nations: “Gather together, come against her, And rise up to battle! ¹⁵“For indeed, I will make you small among nations, Despised among men. ¹⁶Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ¹⁷“Edom also shall be an astonishment; Everyone who goes by it will be astonished And will hiss at all its plagues. ¹⁸As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And their neighbors,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “No one shall remain there, Nor shall a son of man dwell in it. ¹⁹“Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the floodplain of the Jordan Against the dwelling place of the strong; But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? For who is like Me? Who will arraign Me? And who is that shepherd Who will withstand Me?” ²⁰Therefore hear the counsel of the Lᴏʀᴅ that He has taken against Edom, And His purposes that He has proposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out; Surely He shall make their dwelling places desolate with them. ²¹The earth shakes at the noise of their fall; At the cry its noise is heard at the Red Sea. ²²Behold, He shall come up and fly like the eagle, And spread His wings over Bozrah; The heart of the mighty men of Edom in that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs. ²³Against Damascus. “Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet. ²⁴Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. ²⁵Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy? ²⁶Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts. ²⁷“I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” ²⁸Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall strike. Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “Arise, go up to Kedar, And devastate the men of the East! ²⁹Their tents and their flocks they shall take away. They shall take for themselves their curtains, All their vessels and their camels; And they shall cry out to them, ‘Fear is on every side!’ ³⁰“Flee, get far away! Dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Hazor!” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. “For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, And has conceived a plan against you. ³¹“Arise, go up to the wealthy nation that dwells securely,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “Which has neither gates nor bars, Dwelling alone. ³²Their camels shall be for booty, And the multitude of their cattle for plunder. I will scatter to all winds those in the farthest corners, And I will bring their calamity from all its sides,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ³³“Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever; No one shall reside there, Nor son of man dwell in it.” ³⁴The word of the Lᴏʀᴅ that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, ³⁵“Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might. ³⁶Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go. ³⁷For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ; ‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them. ³⁸I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ³⁹‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

¹A Psalm of David. Vindicate me, O Lᴏʀᴅ, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lᴏʀᴅ; I shall not slip. ²Examine me, O Lᴏʀᴅ, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. ³For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. ⁴I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites. ⁵I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked. ⁶I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Lᴏʀᴅ, ⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. ⁸Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells. ⁹Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men, ¹⁰In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. ¹¹But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me. ¹²My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lᴏʀᴅ.

¹A Psalm of David. The Lᴏʀᴅ is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lᴏʀᴅ is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? ²When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. ³Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident. ⁴One thing I have desired of the Lᴏʀᴅ, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lᴏʀᴅ All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lᴏʀᴅ, And to inquire in His temple. ⁵For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. ⁶And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lᴏʀᴅ. ⁷Hear, O Lᴏʀᴅ, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” ⁹Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. ¹⁰When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lᴏʀᴅ will take care of me. ¹¹Teach me Your way, O Lᴏʀᴅ, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. ¹²Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. ¹³I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lᴏʀᴅ In the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait on the Lᴏʀᴅ; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lᴏʀᴅ!